Amazing things happen when Spring arrives…
Smiles come more easily.
Dust bunnies disappear (not really, but it’s harder to see them when the house is full of sunshine).
The basket full of laundry from the clothesline get folded and put away (maybe!).
Jasmine haunts the draperies.
So open the windows, hang the laundry out (much more efficient than a dryer), sweep the patio, pull up a chair, sit down, and enjoy the warmth.
Made a pillow. It was dull and boring. So searched my stash and found some nice simple contrast fabric to attach to the front. Simple, not too manly, just right for a back pillow.
Custom insert, chocolate brown linen, upholstery-weight beige velvet, and contrast face fabric in a traditional cotton print. All worked nicely together.
Okay, fake fur! I’m so not a snob….
While pondering ways to get my earring collection out of the box to a place where I could see it, I came across a remnant of low pile black fake fur and an UGLY black and gold pressboard (but heavy) picture frame. Once I located my stapler, it took all of 2 minutes to attach the fabric and another 2 minutes to hang on the wall, with much more time spent rounding up matched pairs of earrings.
In the lower right hand corner of the frame is an antique hat pin I’ve had forever and it needed a place to go. As you can see (the frame is about 29″x32″) I’ve got lots of room to expand, but I like some blank space, too. I’ll probably swing some necklaces from the upper right corner to get them out where I can see them.
This works with pieces of fabric you love (but can only afford a yard of) that you’d like to display. They can be very dramatic, simple or bold, and work as excellent sound insulators. If you’d like a soft edge and for greater acoustical effects, wrap with a layer of light batting before you attach the face fabric.
A picture for the day - anybody have a need for a tiki stained glass window?
See http://www.stainedglasswindows.com/religious.html for some fun windows (prices on the Tiki start at $280)
Here is one way to jazz your floor:
These are from Interface Flor - they have another new collection, Metadoodle, which is their Toy Poodle design with shiny loops…. I have the Toy Poodle tiles and LOVE them!!
Another fun floor idea:
This is rubber flooring by Roppe (see http://www.roppe.com/4_products.asp)
One of my fave bloggers put white rubber floors in!
Crazy fun: http://grassrootsmodern.com/tag/flooring/
Welcome to 2009! A year of changes on my part. I already started, but most changes will not be visible on the site and in our business right off the bat. My husband is somewhat more savvy than I when it comes to tech and computer stuff, so I’ve got some learning to do.
Fun things involving 7 Threadz for 2009 include:
Been lax lately - running around doing a whole lot of everything else but writing…..
The studio room is COLD. Yes, it actually has been below freezing two nights in a row here at our Texas abode and I’m not too keen on doing any major work out there.
But we did our goal planning for 2009 (over spicy Asian noodle bowls) and I am excited that we’re still in business!! I was not worried, but every time we go somewhere I see another business that did not make it through the last quarter. I know how hard people work and how much they sacrifice for their businesses. It’s hard to see and if that is you - we feel your pain! When we wrote our business plan, we had to include our exit strategy. Now I realize that no matter what happens, we have learned more in the last few years than we ever could have learned in a class. And now that we’ve done it once, we know how NOT to start a business and we’ll probably be forever addicted to the whole process. There is nothing like working for yourself….
I have another slow week or two, then January begins my crazy days. I’ve put in a lot of proposals and research for new projects lately (there are a lot of new sources for fabric, hardware, and furniture out there) and most of the real work begins right after the New Year. Should be exciting! I love that everything is different and requires my brain to be on overdrive. I just need to find an effective OFF switch.
Merry Christmas!! Hope you all are warm and dry, with cozy beds to dream in, and have someone(s) to share the hot cocoa with (big or little people and pets accepted!).
It’s official. We’ve moved into my garage. For the moment it is the best option. We don’t need a retail space or an office; since we have not decided, the garage won. Better than settling for something that just “works”. It’s rather nice to have all my books and samples, machines and table so close. Or horrible, now that I can work whenever I have a moment.
Rather than meeting my clients at my house, I will meet them at coffee shops throughout the area. One of my favorite things to do and I rarely got the opportunity to chill and talk with clients in a relaxed atmosphere. At the studio we always hit right into creative work mode. I’ll let you know how this works out. My first appointment at “La Madeleine’s” in Round Rock is tomorrow. I can already smell the cinnamon rolls and fresh coffee…. Another plus: I get to meet the president of a general contracting company that I’ve admired for a few years. Every time I saw one of their work trucks I’d wish I needed something built.
Sorry no pics for today, but there is no way I’m taking a visual record of the garage. Maybe never!! It just looks like a garage with a tall, padded table, two ugly commercial sewing machines, a couple hundred fabric and wallcovering sample books and tons of files. Not very exciting!
For those of you with tall, narrow windows here is one solution. If you can get the trays (I think these were from Pottery Barn) on sale, even better! I hung them with a picture hanging kit: use two small screw eyes and the wire, then one small nail in the middle of the window. We did this to add some personality to the windows without being frou-frou and to cover up the ugly header on the shade. This project took very little time and not much $$. Happy DIY!
