Category Archives: Chat
Crocheted (!) Lamp Re-Do
I’m a huge fan of lamps especially the chic and funky lamps that sport shabby chic-ness, coastal charm, southern kitch and usually at a hefty price. You know the ones I mean, mixed colors perhaps topped with a seagrass shade? Umhmm. My ‘old’ lamp had been basecoated in a flat white for quite some time and sat in her naked glory calling my name each time I passed through the room. Oh, I heard her loud and clear. As a self professed crafty girl the problem was not the crafting but the time required to do so. This week push indeed met shove. My lamp was reborn into a beauty….. with a crocheted lampshade!!! {yes, really!}
She was a tall skinny thing in her former life, rusty brown and half of a pair that formerly graced a buffet. Her shade has ‘great bones’ with an interesting shape….. it’s the fabrication that is sort of blah. The first thing I did was to paint areas of the lamp in a blue I mixed in acrylic paint a little bright Bahama Blue and a bit of Cream to mellow the tone out a bit. Then I wrapped the straight areas of the lamp in a flat tape that closely resembles raffia, just softer and more evenly toned. This ‘yarn’ was from Habu Textiles although I think you could use commercially available raffia or raffia yarn as well. I used a little dab of glue to hold the ends down into place.
Once the lamp was wrapped it was time to tackle the shade. I’d seen home dec blogs that used seagrass ropes, or taken apart placemats that had the ‘look’. You KNOW the one I mean! I had another idea. Using a Size J crochet hook and very little tension I crocheted a mile {not really, but it felt like it} of the raffia looking tape…. not even crochet per se but simple CHAIN. Using straight pins I crocheted quite a bit and pinned to the existing shade. Crocheted chain again, etc— etc., until I reached the end of the shade.
When I reached the end of the shade and it was well covered I had to decide what to do about the “exposed” part. I knew I would leave the top of the shade, it’s pleats and trim are very interesting. After a bit of experimentation I left the bottom plain as well rather liking the change in the two materials.
I like it…… and think that the money saved means new shoes! 
Linking at Savvy Southern Style, Shabby Creek Cottage, Jennifer Rizzo
Also posted in Crafty Happy
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Chilly with a Certainty of Coterie!
Absolutely CAN’T WAIT to attend The Southern Coterie Summit!!!!
I’ve been working on a deadline which other than taking the dogs for a walk or sometimes running a brush through my hair has left me with little time to contribute knitting content— or much else for that matter! Spring has been much chillier than usual which has me thinking we’ll just skip right to a good ole’ hot summer!
A Trip to the Motherland- aka when I played hooky
I’ve been working a lot lately. A lot squared, more than that. So today I got in my car and headed south. South to the Motherland, south to walk and stroll and pet and ponder. A trip to Ballard Designs of course! It was great to see everything I’ve fallen in love with in the catalog, and to find a few new favorites. Their merchandising and display is as lovely as you’d expect.
I wandered the entire store about ten times sitting in chairs here and there, fluffing pillows and scrolling through rugs and linens.
I’m going back soon with my shopping list firmly in hand…. kind of really inexplicably dig those little paper pads of placemats!
And an awesome lil’ chandelier…… and that rug in the photo above, and the wired buttons above right. And more, lots and lots more!
Also posted in Home Dec
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Historical Knitting Content
Not only KNITTING content but historical knitting content! 
This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation and it was truly a wonderful afternoon. A beautiful plantation home left as if it’s occupants just stepped out to admire the view on the marshes, the home was an incredible peek into the past.
In one of the bedrooms upstairs there is a bedspread made in the 1800′s…… I was able to TOUCH this knitted masterpiece (which totally blew my mind). Incredibly it still looks pretty good and I was in awe of the workmanship.
I’ll talk more about the plantation later……. it was too great not to share!
Prima for Pam
LOVE me some Creativebug—— and the latest project on my needles happens to be one of their FREE projects. (Content is worth paying for, really!) I’m a member of Creativebug and was actually shocked that the Prima Shrug from Maggie Pace was a freebie, check it out if you haven’t.
It’s mad birthday knitting time around here and the Prima Shrug was a perfect option. I even tried the featured yarn in the video even though I’m not normally a Redheart knitter. This yarn is Boutique Treasure in Abstract, it’s really delicious, super soft and the color variegation is wonderful. Prima is lots of fun to knit as it uses interesting shaping (it’s constructed all in one piece), using a provisional cast on as well as picking up stitches so there is no seaming at the end. Add in the fact that you just can’t wait to see what the color will become as you knit, this project keeps you going. My only gritch is that it is knit entirely in ribbing! Makes it look really great but I’m always in a hurry to finish rib on a project so I can move on. I’ve found that because the shrug is all rib and there is no next stitch to begin the process is wonderfully meditative.
My yarn is on the left, the finished project photo is on the right
You can see the sleeve on the left waiting on waste yarn, the back is in progress and knit flat
the provisional cast on is in the purple thread hanging off the back
On we go. Wish that I didn’t work through the weekend so I could have had more time for this rhythmic contemplative knitting project.
Related Creativebug content, I have 3 projects waiting for me to play with them! I’m sewing the GORGEOUS Linen Caftan from Liesl Gibson, a gorgeous tablerunner from Alabama Chanin, and some really fun image transfers from Courtney Cerruti. This is absolutely the downside to Creativebug—- too much fun to have and never enough time.
Also posted in Knitting
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New Socks Sunday
This weekend was 80% play and 20% work, not bad as far as percentages go. Sunday afternoon is always a bike ride to my favorite island coffee shop and some coffee or sweet tea and a bit of knitting or reading. I took along the new socks I cast on for, nameless yarn but probably Deborah Norville purchased for car knitting last year. Love the colorway and it’ll be a fun knit.
Here’s to a fresh new week!
Also posted in Knitting
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Beautiful Epworth
Epworth By The Sea is an absolutely GORGEOUS property, a Methodist retreat center on the banks of the Frederica River here on ‘my’ island. The gorgeous Lovely Lane Chapel is on the grounds as well as the Methodist museum, the many retreat buildings, the prayer chapel and the remarkable slave cabins. There are two remaining slave cabins on the property of what used to be the Hamilton Plantation on Gascoigne Bluff near Fort Frederica. They’re made of tabby and only open a few times a year.
On a recent bike ride as the island prepares to spring into bloom I enjoyed Epworth.
I never tire of the magnificent trees in any season
The grounds are spectacular including a fountain
I’d never been in the Museum but on this particular day took the time to wander through. It was wonderful and very well collated. I did come upon something of interest as a knitter! In the back room where the collection of nativity scenes from around the world were located was a nativity completely made of KNITTED figures! Some visitors to the museum were giggling, shame on them. Knit on I say!
The One Where Things Were Built
The new office needed a new desk. And storage. What we WANTED was going to take some time to find just the RIGHT thing…. in the meantime a desk still needed to be serviceable (and soon) and storage was imperative. The gap stopping solution intervened. Sort of. Desk $129.00, Shelves $30.00. Will go to Craigslist or something when the time is right. For the moment, they will work and are not too terribly ugly. Much. They came in boxes the size that tissues would fit in, a heavy and unwieldy box and another even heavier. Boxes were opened in the street in between raindrops and the pieces carried in singly. The directions sucked, the holes were poorly pre-drilled and because we wanted to change the orientation of the angle of the desk extention there had to be enough brainspace to figure out which doohickeys needed to change places with which thingamajigs. Then when two pieces were either marked incorrectly or the directions made a bad translation from Chinese……. the directions went the way of all directions, in the trash. Good thing no men were on hand for assembly or there would be bloodshed. Clear heads prevailed.
Next problem? How to layout the space, how best to cute up, the most efficient way to make a $160.00 investment look better than okay.
Overriding irritation, why is it that if you need to assemble with an Allen wrench, said wrench can not be shaped better in order to offer happier assembly?
Up next is the fun part….. arranging furniture and a little fluff and buff. Always nice when a project checks the boxes for the best of all worlds, temporary needs filled on a shoestring without sacrificing too much in the way of looks. It will be fabulous when just the right piece is found….. until then, I can live with this.
Also posted in Home Dec
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Vintage Sewing Cabinet Re-Do
I’ve had this particular piece of furniture for a VERY long time, hauling it with me through every move. It’s sentimental. It was the cabinet for the first sewing machine I ever purchased myself, a very used Kenmore that while clunky saved me from late hours in the sewing lab at college. The machine is long gone, it died years ago before the days of chic vintage machines and it never occured to me to save it. But the cabinet has trekked on despite scratches, wrinkles and showing it’s age. (No fair making comparisons!) I’ve always meant to give her a facelift but just haven’t—- until now. Remembering that paint IS only paint and loving painted furniture I jumped in and made her lovely, actually quite lovelier than she ever had been! While I love the white painted furniture craze and seem to covet each and every piece I see, this piece was to go another route. She’s spunky and much loved, vintage and classy yet full of life so I wanted her to have COLOR!
I’d decided she would fit beautifully into the awkward little space in the master bedroom, tucked in beneath a dormer window. The bedroom has a decidedly Santa Fe feeling and I wanted this little table to be like a piece of native jewelry in turquoise, earthy hues. After selecting the turquoise color “6946 Surfer “ from Sherwin Williams I didn’t want the whole piece to be that bright blue. The legs were spray painted in a custom mossy green that sets off the brilliance of the turquoise. The entire piece got a good sanding, then on a lovely sunny day the legs were sprayed outside and left to dry completely.
Then I brought her inside to finish painting the sides and the top. The top got three coats ad the front and sides each received two. I’m happy to say that the paint covered well and the finish is quite smooth with very few brush strokes.
I love her and think she looks perfect in the space!
I’ve left off the top finish coat for now. I’m mulling over whether or not I want to distress her or add in some high and low lights with paint to mimic some gentle aging. For the moment, I’m just enjoying her!
Linking up at Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesdays , The Shabby Creek Cottage , Jennifer Rizzo and Miss Mustard Seed
Also posted in Crafty Happy, Home Dec
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No Storm Just Calm
All extraneous personnel has departed the fix, that is to say nobody home but me and the dogs! Boy dog is as close to being back to himself as possible since before Thanksgiving and I’m deeply grateful.
After my desk has cleared for the most part I’m back to daily bike rides, beach walks and enjoying this hard fought peace. Today I rode to my favorite little cafe with a rocker on the porch and my peace looked like this:
The tea is non-sweet (but sweetened by Splenda), the cake is Lemon Italian Cream Cake (and delicious). The knitting is a very long forgotten second sock, almost to the toes. It will be the first gift on the gift shelf for 2013.
Sure hope you’re making your own peace!
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