Cafe Curtains

The weekend before last I went to the Springfield Antique Show and I loved it! I went with my Dad and my friend Mary. You should have seen us when we pulled out of there...we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. The truck was full to the brim with 4 tables, 2 chairs, 3 millstones, vintage tablecloths, sheets, vases, pulleys and glasses, numerous pumpkins and mums, and three very tired shoppers squeezed into the cab. What a day!

The photo above shows the sheets that I made into cafe curtains for the bedroom. When I bought them I thought they were tablecloths, but they turned out to only have the trim at one end...so I decided they were sheets. It made me feel less guilty about cutting them up to make curtains.

It was harder than I thought it would be because I had to use my seam ripper to get the bottom trim off the edge of the sheets. I also had to rip seams out three times! Aaaaargh! I don't believe in ripping seams unless I really have to. I think I was tired. By now I know that things are never as easy as they might first appear, but in the end I am very happy with them.

Cinnamon Squash Rolls

George has really outdone himself this time. These rolls were delicious! And they use up the butternut squash we get from the CSA. It couldn't get any better than that.

The recipe was adapted from a Family Circle Pumpkin Bun recipe that you can see here. George halved the recipe (it makes 12 if you halve it) and substituted squash for pumpkin. He also added nutmeg and a handful of oats (that George- always trying to make it more healthy!).

Probably the tastiest way you will ever eat squash!

Stone Wall and Plants

When we added the screen porch to the house we had to get rid of half the flower bed below it. So Tim Hodge (the mason who made the stone columns) just built us a beautiful wall to hold up the remaining flower bed.

This left me an empty flower bed which was quickly remedied at the Natorp's sale this past Friday. Seven dollar perennials and three dollar mums... I was like a kid in a candy store!

BTW...those lime green beauties are heuchera.

Porch Curtains

Getting curtains for the porch was more of a project than I had anticipated. Originally I thought I would buy Sunbrella curtains for the porch. But when I figured out that I needed 12 panels and they were $80/panel I decided to rethink that idea.

So I bought 83'' sailcloth panels from Target. I washed 2 of them as a test and they shrank about 6'' and were then too short. They looked ridiculous...like my porch was wearing floods!

So then I returned those and ordered 96'' panels from JCPenney and figured I would hem them. But then I realized those panels were only 41'' wide and they might shrink too much in width.

So I returned those and ended up buying the 96'' panels from Target that were an inch wider. I washed and dried them but they were still too long. So I ended up hemming 4 of the 12 panels to about an inch above the ground.

I was very pleased with myself until I woke up the next day and they were all dragging the ground because they had swollen with the dew. I was so mad! But my mom suggested washing them again. And lo and behold...they shrank the perfect amount! So I hemmed the rest and am now done with it!

So if you actually made it to the end of this story, I'm not sure what the moral is. Perhaps that sometimes the problem is the solution.

(Please visit NessyPress.com if you are interested in viewing my botanical linocut fine art prints!)

Porch Pillows

I have had the fabric to make these pillows for months now and I finally found time to make them. At first I was going to make the whole pillow out of the rose fabric, but then I had the idea of just using a stripe of it and I think I like it much better.

I used the instructions on Cottage Magpie as a general guide. The instructions were great. Now I think I want to make some "hot dog" pillows to go next to the arm rests. Ooh, the possibilities!

Vintage Flower Tray

I was super excited to find two of these flower trays at the Burlington flea market. They are perfect for catching fallen petals from flower arrangements.

If you look closely you can see the surface is scratched and worn. It is so wabi sabi and I love it! I am now addicted to vintage flower trays!

Orange Vase

I just had to post a photo of this cute little vase. I got it at Jungle Jim's a couple years ago and I love the smooth feel of it. There were more pieces that matched it, but when I went back for more they were gone. C'est la vie.

Guest Room Ceiling Color

When we bought our house 6 years ago I remember thinking the first thing I would do is to paint the guest room ceiling. The bright yellow is just not me. The only reason it has existed this long is because my mom gave me those cute pillow cases from when we were kids and they have a great 60's pattern with yellow in it.

But it is finally time to change it and I have photoshopped several choices. Please let me know what you think.

Pale Blue
Pale Green
White