marimekkoesque animal rug

I found this great large graphic fabric at Ikea. The "Inger" line seems to be Marimekko inspired. I knew that I wanted to make a rug for my son's room, but a square or rectangular shape seemed too simple. While reading "Good Night Moon" it hit me - animal skin rug. The species is unclear - the final shape was inspired by the fabric's print more than an animal.














I folded the fabric in half (wrong sides together), and with a fabric pen outlined the shape of an animal. After I cut the print piece, I kept it folded in half, and laid it on top of the canvas backing also folded in half. I cut around the print animal as a pattern. Then I sewed the front to the back, right sides together, leaving a section open for turning. After pressing the seams, I top-stitched around the edge, closing the final bit with the top-stitch. It was a simple project that only took a couple of hours. I love the rug.

kicky curtains III

My third and final post about funky drapes - tradition with a twist. These shantung curtains were much cheaper than they appear. I got the primary green fabric at Hancock on sale, and the lining is an inexpensive cotton. It is another example of mixing fabrics, textures, color, and pushing scale. What really amps up the luxury of these drapes is the way that they are hung.

I originally made these drapes for a dining room filled with windows. The wall paint almost matched the green fabric exactly, so I chose the mustard lining as a bold accent color. The shantung is woven from green and yellow fibers, so the mustard is a great compliment. I especially love the way the curtains look when sunshine makes the mustard color glow through the green.

From the front these drapes look like your grandma's drapes complete with traverse rod and hooks, but the application is much easier. I got the idea from a set of drapes we purchased from Pottery Barn. On the back of the drapes, a couple of inches from the top, I have applied wide tabs a few inches apart. This creates more dramatic pleats than you get from a rod pocket. I stabilized the top with some heavy canvas, both inside the curtain and inside the tabs. Enjoy!

creamy chocolate soy ice cream

I have tried many recipes for non-dairy ice cream like tofu, coconut milk, gelatin. In an effort to create yummy, rich, creamy ice cream I have tried everything from lots of eggs to vegetable oil. I finally found the key (minus the cholesterol) in one of my many vintage cookbooks. In the 1950’s cookbook “Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook” under the section titled “Refrigerator Desserts” there is a recipe for “Custard for Ice Cream.” I have adapted the recipe substituting soy milk for cow’s milk, and I have added chocolate.

Enjoy!

1 Cup chocolate chips
melt in a double boiler and cool

2 Cups vanilla soy milk, scalded
1 Cup sugar,
Dash salt
2 ½ Tablespoons flour

Mix sugar, salt, and flour; add to soy milk.

Cook mixture in double boiler until thick , stir often
(I had better luck cooking this in our heavy sauce pan than with the double boiler. If you get lumps strain the mixture before chilling.)

Chill in refrigerator until needed. The mixture may separate in the fridge, simply remix.

Once the milk mixture is chilled, fold in
½ Cup soy milk
1 ½ Teaspoon vanilla

Freeze in ice cream maker according to directions.

Makes 1 pint

kicky curtains II

As I promised some more of my funky drapes - tradition with a twist. I have moved a lot in recent years. Each time we sell a house, I do not include the curtains! It is not always readily apparent how I might use them again, but curtains are easily manipulated to suit a new space. These brown velvet curtains have lived a single foyer window, a double bedroom window, and now a double dining room window. These were the first curtains I made with a grand, heavy theatre curtain in mind. It is another example of mixing fabrics, textures, color, and pushing scale.

I found both of these great fabrics on sale. The front is a heavy brown velvet and the lining is a beautiful silk shantung. The shantung fabric is woven from blue and green-yellow fibers. I love to use this kind of fabric as color inspiration for the entire room.


























The unique feature of these curtains is an alternative tie-back. By adding a large fabric-covered button to the back side of the curtains at the point of tie-back, the drapes can be hung with the lining exposed (see image below). I made a very small fabric loop to catch the button and hang it over the metal hook. This is a dramatic way to hang the curtains and a great shot of color. I also made more traditional tie-backs from the brown velvet so that depending on the application, I have a choice in hanging them.

I generally hang curtains above the window to help accentuate a high ceiling, or to make a low ceiling feel higher. Regardless, these curtains are long enough to pool at the hemline.
































I originally made the curtains for the foyer of a house we remodeled in Salt Lake City. The window was a southern exposure, so these heavy drapes helped to diffuse the harsh, hot sun. I found a beautiful silk sheer to hang with the drapes (10% of original cost at Anthropologie). The ivory and brown sheer had a great single-image print of some birds in tress. Unfortunately, a couple of years in this window damaged the fabric to the point that it was brittle, and our cat shredded the sheers in pursuit of an Anole Texas lizard.














Next the curtains hung in our guest bedroom.




















Now the drapes have made it to our dining room.

Buying nice fabric can be expensive. These curtains have stood up well for five years, and I expect I will have them hanging somewhere in the house until they fall apart. So buy some fabric and have some fun!

for the record

I was the battgirl project before Antonio Ballatore won Design Star!

kicky curtains I

I love to make funky drapes - tradition with a twist. Curtains can make a big impact in any space. For boldness, I like to mix fabrics, textures, color, and push scale. The first time I attended the opera, I was as mesmerized by the curtains that bejeweled the theatre as the performers on stage.

Over the next few posts I will share a couple of ideas with you. First, our bedroom curtains.

Our bedroom is in the upper half story. The attic ceiling shape has more corners, angles, and hard lines than most rooms, so I wanted something to soften the space. I was imaging a plush quilt. I had to come up with a way to hang the thick curtains over the rod. At the time we were remodeling, and shopping daily for supplies and decorating inspiration. I fell in love with some green glass knobs that I just had to incorporate somewhere. Now they hold up the curtains and add a touch of glamour. (We also used a larger version for our closet doors.)

I constructed the curtains from a heavy linen with a lining of quilted fabric. For extra volume I added a layer of canvas and a layer of batting just at the top. I continued the quilted fabric on the bottom of the front to echo the room's baseboards. We matched our paint color, including floor, to the curtain fabrics. The thick, heavy curtains do a great job of keeping out light. When they are open, full sheers gently defuse the light.












































Note the great curtain rod I found at Restoration Hardware. Unfortunately it has been discontinued, and although I have hunted I have not come across anything similar.




















The backside of a glass knobs - it is threaded through two grommets several inches apart. Before you go to all the work of putting your grommets on, make certain that the knob will fit through your grommet and the screw head will not come back through.

I bought a tool to cut circles in felt and it works magnificently to make holes for grommets - eliminating the raggedy, uneven edges from trying to use scissors.














Note that when you are working with prints, your finished project will look much better if the print matches from one piece to the next. This is true for fashion sewing as well. You will have to purchase extra fabric to do this.
































I love to find great treasures like these lily tiebacks.

tree

Our son has a small dormer room. The colors were inspired by an alphabet poster - blue, orange, and gray. We found some funky vinyl wall art on Etsy and put it up today. It was pretty easy. Thankfully the design we chose was forgiving - not all cubes are straight, but the curved corners make this less noticeable.

Tree is from
bubbaanddoodle.etsy.com

The owl and bees (caterpillar and bird are going on our cars :)
elephanie.com

Here are a few pics -

mossy tied quilt

I had been wanting to make a quilt for our bedroom, but with a toddler in the house it seemed like a desire for another day. Purl Soho and the Purl Bee to the rescue with a simple and beautiful pattern. Toddler or not, you have to love a big project simplified.

My inspiration
Molly's Sketchbook: Sunny Tied Quilt




















My mossy homage














I used mostly prints from Amy Butler and found some other great items at Purl Soho and QuiltHome.com. (QuiltHome.com has an amazing "design cart" feature that makes online shopping easy.)

I have been sewing for several decades now, and found one of the best bits of advice in the Purl Bee instructions - I have included it here (visit the site for more info)

Since none of these strips have to fit together in an precise way (except of course that they must lay flat) you don't need to use pins for this part... it's one of the reasons this this such a quick project!

To sew, lightly pinch the fabric together before it goes under the needle as shown above. Keep the bottom fabric peeking out from behind the top fabric to ensure that you are sewing through both layers. Sew with a 1/4-inch seam allowance (from the top fabric). The strips should stay together without much coaxing, but go slowly at first until you get the hang of it.
Cheers and happy (easy) quilting!!!

hello hello

I am finally joining the party . . .
so that I might share a few of my favorite things.