crafting
Quilt back almost done!
I finally cut out the last piece. Now I just need to sew it all down (zig zag over raw edges – I like the free form look on applique for kids quilts).
I need to hussle if I’m going to finish by her birthday (April 27)!!!
I can’t wait to see this one finished. It’s my first quilt with so much linen.
Eleanor’s Nursery
I finally took some pictures of Eleanor’s room with some daylight. I wish I could show it to you with her finished quilt, but alas – it’s not done yet. I’ll add a picture of it at the end so you can photoshop it in your mind. =) 
Two of those windows are south-facing, so it could actually get lovely light during the day, but the wooden blinds are closed almost 24/7. Very occasionally I will give her a few toys to play in her crib, but mostly she just nurses and sleeps in here. This room is the perfect nursery, in my opinion: serene, simple, calming, and beautiful. And I can pull the white blanket off the rocker and wash it in the washing machine – easy peasy. Unfortunately, you can’t see the beauty of the antique dresser in these pictures, but trust me – it really is lovely.
I change diapers in the bathroom (just a few steps out the door), so I don’t need any diaper changing stuff in here. I sometimes use this changing pad to get her dressed. Above, you can see the lavendar stool I painted with Annie Sloan chalk paint (leftover from Adele’s room) – quick and easy! I left the wooden legs unpainted because they are so pretty. I realize that I have a LOT of different tones of wood in here – and I’m OK with that; perhaps it’s because the (non-wood) colors are pretty muted.
I know this crib area looks bare to most people, but I see calming serenity. I bought a crib skirt (really cute tiered white ruffles) – actually two so that it went all the way to the floor when the crib mattress was higher, but I like it better with nothing.
And the obligatory gallery wall. I know it’s a trend but I just can’t get enough. The three oval frames on the left were made by my late paternal Grandma Eva. She made lots of ceramics when my sister and I were growing up. The frames hold pictures of each of my babes, just hours old (Adele on the far left, then Everett, then Eleanor). I used an antique filter on the pictures, so that the colors would be extremely muted (to go with the muted colors scheme in the room), but I may reprint them with less adjustments.
Here’s a picture of her unfinished quilt to assist with the mind photoshopping =)
P.S. I bought the fabrics for the quilt and the poofies for over the crib and that’s about all I bought new for this room. I bought the crib, rocker, and dresser on craigslist and everything else we already had.
Eleanor’s quilt update
So, I finished sewing together the hexagons for Eleanor’s quilt – but now I think it needs to be larger than crib size, since she’s already mobile (i.e. not content to stay within the confines of a blanket). I am thinking it needs to be a twin size, which means I now have a bit more piecing to do. Here’s what I have so far:
It’s a mix of linen and quilting cotton. And compared to the loud colors of Adele’s quilt, this is very low-volume. I think the girls will end up sharing a room at some point, though, so I hope that the quilts will look good together, since Eleanor’s colors are just muted versions of the same colors as Adele’s quilt. Here’s Adele’s quilt for comparison:
Eleanor’s Quilt Update
I am really making some progress on Eleanor’s hexagon quilt! It’s a really fun project!!
And, I am almost done with the last three years of mypublisher family albums! If you do these in your family, hold out until you see the $60 vouchers. It’s for up to 100 pages and it’s the best deal I’ve seen (unless your books are smaller, then the %off deals might be better for you). I just love having the looming expiration date as a fire under my pants to GET THEM DONE. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I want them DONE!
Adele and her friend M set up a little bakery. Lots of fun!
I bought this little ottoman a loooong time ago but I never liked the (plaid flannel) fabric. I thought it would be an easy re-upholstery job, but I just never got around to it. I figured the easiest and fastest solution would be to paint the fabric (like I did with the formerly-green chairs in the living room) and I could still reupholster it later if I wanted to. So, now the little ottoman is lavender and it lives in Eleanor’s room, which I am happy to say is slowly coming together! 
I am also finishing the quilt my grandmother pieced for my Aunt Jennifer — I am more than half-way done with the binding and then I have just a few finishing touches to the quilting. I can’t wait to cross that quilt off my to-do list!! That thing has been making me feel guilty for YEARS!
Eleanor’s nursery – sneak peak
I am not finished with Eleanor’s quilt (remember the hexagons up on the design board MONTHS ago?) which really ties the whole room together, but I thought I’d share a few (grainy iPhone) pics of her room just to give you an idea. I took these pics so that I would know what size and orientation to get prints for the gallery wall. Just know that the room will look better with the quilt – you know, whenever I finish it.
P.S. See the wool knit blanket hanging over the side of the crib? I made that. Just so you don’t feel too sorry for my third kid who hasn’t got a finished quilt yet. Maybe by her first birthday???
Finally, the Basement!
Are you tired of reading about my house yet?
Our basement is earth-banked on the east side and level with the outside on the west side. This is a pretty clever use of a very skinny sloping lot, as you get the temperature benefits of being underground as well as the natural light from windows on the west and walk-out French doors to the patio. The basement is really spacious and has more natural light than most basements. And, because it has a full bath, it doubles as our guest room.
As far as sewing goes, this is where the magic happens. I am in the middle of several projects right now (Eleanor’s hexagon quilt and cushion covers for Adele’s window seat), so my sewing area is kind of messy, but honestly this is way cleaner than usual. That blue and purple quilt was made by my grandmother – I’m just quilting it for her (almost done!). That quilt is on a rolling cupboard that came (free!) with the sewing table (from craigslist) and it holds all my thread, sewing notions, elastics, etc. . . .
And like magic – the bed is made!
You can see the beginning of Eleanor’s quilt on the design board (leaning against the wall int he pic above), but I am going to add in some muslin and white fabrics to lighten it up a bit. I’m going for a low-volume quilt – mostly whites, beiges, and linens with some muted purples and pinks.
About the design board – I think you should make one! It’s a hollow-core door (easy to find on craigslist or very inexpensive new at a big box store), covered in a layer of batting then a layer of muslin (flannel would be even better) and stapled around on the back side. And, when I need to press a lot of large items, I lay it over the day bed, and like magic, it’s also a pressing board at a perfect standing height.
The armoire you see on the left down there holds my quilting cottons, vintage feedsack fabrics from my grandmother, cotton velveteens and corduroys, patterns, interfacings, button collection, etc. . . .
This picture (below) shows the west side of the room and I’m so glad we had room for the Victorian couch down here. It doesn’t work for our current living room (too long) and it needs to be reupholstered (but all those tufts are so intimidating!) and refinished to show its true beauty. So, here it sits, fully functional for a basement, awaits its makeover.
