Spring Makeover for the Bedroom

...sans wall art, though. =(

The bedroom had a bad case of the blahs going on, and with the wonderful feeling that comes along with spring, it was time for a makeover. I didn't have to do too much beyond unpacking and moving around a few more items, but it's still a fresh look since I never used any of this stuff in the bedroom before.

Here's the room...but badly needing something on the walls still! I can't decide what to do. I like the vinyl clings, but I can't decide which one is right and in which color. I also had some ideas of hanging painted embroidery hoops (empty) on the wall. There's a restaurant around the corner from where I live that has that, and it's so simple, yet so pretty. And not to mention cheap! Then there is another part of me that wants a painting for back there. Guess I need to think about it more.

Here are the curtains. I love these curtains for so many reasons. One, I found them at Goodwill for $1.75. Two, they're actually just a king size sheet that I tore in two...not one bit of sewing was required. And three (and the best reason), this fabric was actually used as the backing to the butterfly quilt that's on my bed. What the heck are the chances of finding something like that?

Here are my Anthropologie cabinet knobs turned tie-backs. Ahh....beautiful. And the ribbon was leftover from Patty's belt. Look at me being resourceful!

I got this vase/urn as a wedding (bridal shower) gift. It used to be a golden yellow color until I started using it on my balcony at our old condo. The sun turned it green (or something did). Now it matches the greens in my room perfectly. The silk leaves were used in my wedding. And you may recognize the bunny from Stacey, the Sally the dolly from Jessica, and the owl twins from Barbara.

Here's a better picture of the quilt. My mom found this at a resale shop about 12 years ago. She bought it for me because I love butterflies and the color orange. All of the butterflies are hand-stitched. There is machine stitch over the top of the whole quilt, but the binding what done by hand. I can't believe someone would just give away something this beautiful. And I think my mom only paid about $25 for it. Plus it's huge....perfect for our king size bed.

One Baby Blanket...done!

I finished Julie's baby blanket! For this being my first blanket. I'm very happy with how it turned out. It starts from the center and works it's way out. I must admit that by the time I got to the last two colors and the border, I was ready to be done with it! It's a pretty mindless knit, but in the process of making it, I had some weird allergic reaction to something (still haven't figured out the culprit) that caused me to have hives all over my face. Pretty. They're gone now thanks to practically ODing on Benadryl, but who knows what caused the hives. Stress? The yarn? The change in weather? All of the above? Just like the number of licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop: the world may never know.



P.S. Notice that these pictures are taken outside!! Yay for spring! And I didn't have to wear my coat, hat, and mittens! Double yay for spring!

Tough Competition for Patty

Voting started on Saturday for the St. Patty's Day Irish theme competition on Ravelry, and Patty's doing OK, but she's not near the lead. As I write this, I believe she has around 80-something votes...yay! But below are some of the projects that are ahead of here (or darn close). I think the top one has the most (and well deserved since they're gorgeous!) at 120-something. Voting ends on March 27th, so if you have a Ravelry account, or know someone who does, be sure to go out and show your "love" (as in the love button) for Patty here.

The Owl Sweater

So here are the owls...all 20 of them (which means 40 eyes). I'm liking it a lot!


Oh, and my sweater has been spider approved. I found this scary guy sitting on my sweater while it was drying. RIP, Spidey. (And the color below is closer to the real color than above.)

More owls!

What feels like a million years ago, I told you I'd show you the mittens I made to go with this hat. The thing is, while they were knitted and I was wearing them, I had never actually sewn on the eyes or blocked the mittens. They were just all smooshy and weird looking...but, hey, it was cold, and I had a cute hat that needed matching mittens. I was desperate. So after sewing a whole lot of buttons on my owl sweater (pictures are coming...sooner than these mittens did!), I figured I best sew on the mitten owl eyes, too. So here they are...a little dingy and fuzzy from wear, but I'm hoping and praying that these owls get to take a LONG, LONG spring/summer nap before needing to come out again. But I live in Wisconsin...so owls, I'll be seeing you next week, I'm sure.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Cheers to you on this Irish of Irish days. Patty is all finished, complete with her green beer. I've never knit a beer before, and I did this one without a pattern. I think it turned out pretty decent. For all you Ravelry member readers, Patty is going to need your votes starting on the 19th (I'll post a link when it's available). Fingers crossed that she's as lucky for me as a four-leaf clover!


ETA: I thought the Ravelry Irish theme voting started today, but alas it starts March 19.

Hoot! Hoot!

Just a quick owl sweater update. It's KNITTED! Yay! And in record time no less. I think it took me about four days. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. It's currently drying at the moment and waiting for me to sew their hootin eyes (which I don't have yet). But here's a sneak peek.

Here it is...all puckery and just knitted. It sort of reminds me of the unicorn sweater I had when I was 7.

And here she is in the soapy drink getting a bird bath.