3 Cheers for Indoor Plumbing!!

I'm back to the 21st century! My toilet is back where it belongs, and my bathroom is (mostly) finished. I have a light fixture in the sink, but who's to say that's not normal in some parts?

The floor is river rock on 3'x3' mesh backing. It was frustrating for Nan to lay it because it was sooo flexible--it kept curling under on two sides when he would go to lay it, ending up in the mortar.

I also now have flooring in my room *grin* Unfortunately, my wonderful brother-in-law is going to be in Oxford at work all week, so this is where the flooring will end for now. But since I still have painting to do, I guess that will be ok. By the time he gets back, it should all be ready for floor!

But other than that, I am POOPED!! Worked Saturday in the house for 10 hours straight with only a 15 minute lunch break. And since I was only cutting-in in the hallway, I feel like I got nothing done...However, I did paint my closet and swept and shop-vacced the craft room and down the hallway.

Here's the craft room. See--the begonia isn't quite so begonia now that the tiki hut is on the wall! Can't wait until I have money to buy the chair rail!! Hahaha --it'll be great then *grin* (and when I can get rid of the ugly pink fan!!)

And now for my favorite part--MY ROOM!! The floor looks fabulous with the green paint...koi pond--that's the name of it. Nan has done a really, really good job on the floor so far. I can't wait until the whole house is done!

Isn't it gorgeous? I love it! And you can see the $16 light fixture I got--it's not what will be there permanently, but it's better than wires hanging out of the ceiling!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon...hopefully I'll have more updates on the house soon!

I'm a Wreath Girl! (aka Spring Wreath Tutorial)

Today I'm sharing my first tutorial! 

I decided the other day that I needed a new wreath for my front door--I still had the red berry wreath up from Christmas, and although it is holiday neutral, I decided it was time for a change.

So this is what I came up with...a cheery, happy Spring Wreath!

Here is the list of materials you'll need to make this wreath:

• One wreath form--I chose a straw form at Hobby Lobby because it was cheaper, but you can use a foam form if you prefer
• Felt sheets in the colors of your choice--quantity will vary based on the size wreath form you use--my wreath is 14" diameter and I used 12 felt sheets total
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Complementary shade of grosgrain ribbon for the hanger--I used 1/2 yard
• Three complementary shades of worsted weight yarn for the roses
• Size G crochet hook
• Yarn needle
• 6 extra long straight pins (optional)
• Pinking shears or other decorative edge scissors

Take your felt sheets and cut them in strips about 3 inches wide and long enough to wrap around the wreath form. Using the hot glue gun, shoot a strip of hot glue across one end of the strip and, pulling the other end tight, overlap and secure it in place.

You can choose any pattern you'd like--I used purple, pink, green, pink, green then started over.

Once you get it all covered, it'll look like this:

You can see at the bottom of this picture, the last purple strip is completely on top of the other strips. This is where I chose to place my crocheted flowers.

The tutorial I followed for the crochet roses was from the pompom Emporium and is very easy. However, you can use any flower pattern you like.

Note: If you use the pompom Emporium's pattern, leave a long tail on the beginning and end of your crochet--longer than the 10" she instructs. That way, you have plenty of yarn with which to tie your rose to your wreath.

I made three roses, but you can use however many flowers you want--it's all up to you how flowery your wreath will be! (I like things in threes and other odd numbers)

Once you've completed each rose, use the long tails you left on each end to tie them to the wreath form. Once you've knotted the ends, cut off any excess yarn. (sorry I didn't take a picture of this step!)

To make the hanger, lap the ends of your ribbon over each other (once again, I neglected to take a picture of this step) and sew across the width of the ribbon--either by hand or machine. Then, using your hot glue again, attach the hanger to the back of your wreath. I used six extra long straight pins to reinforce the hanger--you just pin them right through your big blob of hot glue.

Once the hot glue on the hanger has sufficiently cooled (about 5 minutes does the trick) you're ready to hang up your Spring Wreath!

Voila!!

Easy peasy, right?? 

I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial. Hopefully there will be other ones in the future, and hopefully I'll remember to take a photo of each and every step!

(Update as of 3-16-12--> now seen on That's the Ticket Blog Hop!! Check it out! 3-18-12 check out Rusty and Redone KISS party too!)

WIP update

So I finally finished the embroidery on the fish! Well--on the body of the fish anyway. 

It took an entire skein of embroidery floss. So I'm off to the store today to buy another so I can complete the fins and tail. After that, all that will be left to embroider are the other two lily pads!

I'd love to hear from you, especially if you decide to make your own Spring Wreath--let me know how it turns out!

It's Hump Day!

Well--I did take a little break...I didn't work on anything Monday night :)  But then I just couldn't help myself and had to go back to it on Tuesday. (Monday night was devoted to watching The Walking Dead and Alcatraz) hehe :)

I worked on my polka dot squares a little and worked a little more on the embroidery on my quilt. I continued work on the "scales" of the koi...that's what it is, by the way, a koi pond. I don't think I've been that specific about it before! So here's a peek at the scales...

he has eyes too! :) 

I'm pleased with how the scales are coming along, but it's slow work. I'm using regular embroidery floss (DMC cotton, size 25) for the scales (two strands) and it's much easier on the fingers--smaller needle and not as much brute force required to get through the fabric. The eyes are also regular floss. The white stripe (I'm not sure of what that is actually called on a real koi) is DMC Pearl cotton, size 5 (as are the veins on the lily pad).

I'm not sure how I'll work the fins and tail yet. I'm thinking I'm going to have to look at many more pictures of real koi to see what might look the best. 

I can't wait to see what it looks like when I get all the embroidery finished! I have an idea of what I'll do for the backing, but I still have no idea about the binding. So if any quilters out there are reading this and have any ideas about a good binding--PLEASE leave a comment with your suggestion! I'd really appreciate it. I know I haven't posted a picture of the whole thing yet, but the blue is the entire background, and the only other colors are the orange of the koi and the green of the lily pad.

Even if you're not a quilter, I'd still love some comments and feedback! Let me hear from you!

She selects wool and flax 

and works with eager hands.

Proverbs 31:13