~ Bedskirt Tutorial ~

I have lived in my home still less than one year, and yet my bed ... and it's dressing ... have been a revolving door of change. Part of the problem is that I made the decisions (and bought new bed linens) before I had actually moved into my house. In fact it was in the summer of 2010 that I purchased the above bed skirt (which was plain white and relatively cheap) and painstakingly sewed the stripes on it (with a "satin" stitch) to match the nautical striped sheets I had previously purchased.

Over the course of the last year I have felt the need for frou frou ... or at least something more feminine in my room. Out with the nautical and in with the pastels. Oh yes, and I also found that the cheap bedskirt was cheap for a reason ... it's about 3 inches too short. One day I was musing on what would make a perfect bedskirt and I decided that a pale blue and white stripe was the ticket. Then I remembered that I had hauled my old (king sized) pale blue and white striped sheets across state lines ... and I was good to go.

I won't go into the details about the measurement and the cutting. What is important here is how the heck do you create a ruffle in something over 150 inches long without breaking a few basting stitches in the process? The answer is ... string. Thin string. You apply it to the (wrong side of the) fabric with a zig-zag stitch (hint: make that zig-zag stitch fairly long and wide to make your life easier), making sure to leave 3 or 4 inches of string on either end to give you something to pull on. You can see that I put a hem at the top of the skirt (I am making the 3 sides of the skirt separately) and that I did not attempt to pull the ruffle through the 3 layers of the hem, placing the string right below that. I used my Bernina #23 foot, but any zig-zag foot will do.

Just for fun I will tell you that several years ago, I picked up this lovely bird tin at an antique's store. It came with that little hole in the top which I figured out was just perfect for my string. I use this string-ruffle technique often on home dec items. I used it in spades when I chose to put ruffles on my white, denim slipcovers.

Back to the bedskirt. I have made bedskirts in the past which I have sewn to a piece of fabric (usually ... the old bedskirt) which lays under the mattress and requires removing the mattress to lay out the skirt and is a rather large pain. The anticipation of dealing with that pain sometimes prevents me from washing said bedskirt as often as I should. (Oh ... you know what I'm talking about.) So this time I chose to attach each side of the skirt separately (hence, the hem at the top) and I chose to do so with good, old-fashioned safety pins. I just moved the mattress to the side a few inches, and when I was done pinning (I used 5 or 6 pins which I attached each piece to the old skirt and not to the box-springs) ...

I moved the mattress back in place ...

... and then attached the other side. At that point I picked up my sewing machine and took it to be repaired/cleaned/oiled ... something that had been on my agenda for weeks.

Unfortunately, I had not yet completed the bottom skirt before I had to do that ... but I will. I promise. I am so in love with my bed and all of it's frills and ruffly feminity. I had everything on hand except the large safety pins so ...

My new bedskirt cost me a grand total of $1.44.

Linking to:

The Girl Creative

Made by You Monday

Sew Happy Geek

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
White Wednesday

~ Color Day: BLUE ~

Over Christmas I had so much fun documenting all of the red in my house (at the time) that I decided to see what I had in store in other colors. I naturally had to first go with blue, and at that I've separated it into several different groupings. Way too much blue for one post, trust me.

I start off with the vases ... with some blue flowers (and frames) as well.

Next up: Plates. And these aren't even the ones I eat off of.

Next: Fabrics. Blue curtains, placemats slipcovers, pillows and a wee bit o'blue on a needlepoint-backed chair.

More blue on some furniture and of course we can not forget ... quilts.

Last ... but not really last: (Oh, who are we kidding ... the blue is endless at my house!) A tassle.

I hope you enjoyed the Blue Tour because, as you can see, I really ... really ... enjoy the Blue.

Linking to:
Open House Party
Inspiration Fridays
Common Ground

~ Bluebirds of Gratitude ~

Here is the quilt I have hanging on the guest room wall. I designed it and began the applique process in 2008 and finished it in 2009. I call it Bluebirds of Gratitude. I am grateful that the birds are flying home.

The birds themselves are hand-appliqued. The rest was pieced/quilted by my trusty machine.

The colors, of course, are part of the charm. I can NOT have enough green and blue in my life.

The only fabric I went out and purchased was for the borders. Every other blue, green ... and brown was just sitting around on my shelves begging to be part of this quilt.

Believe me ... fabric is loud.

I loved making this quilt.

I love birds.

And you?

Linking to
Sew Happy Geek
 Creative ME
Made by you Mondays
 Tuesday's Treasures
Coastal Charm
White Wednesdays

~ San Franciso Treats ~

As promised (a few posts ago) here are my pictures of some the homes my daughter and I strolled by a week ago. We drove into the city on a misty, cold day and snapped some pictures (all I had with me was my iphone) of these scrumptious abodes. I loved the upward view on this first one and the scroll work in the gate. And the arched wooden door. And pretty much everything about it.

Take a gander at the detailed work on this one. Although the color is neutral, I love how it contrasts with the white relief.

The simplicity of the architecture and color of this one caught my eye. And my heart.

I fell in love with this pastel trio inspite of the overhead lines obstructing my view.

Naturally this blue one was my favorite. Why does that not surprise me? We didn't make it to the famous row across from the park, but I was thrilled nonetheless by the variety of these lovely ladies that never made their way into the opening credits of Full House.

Which one is your favorite?

Linking to Open House Thursdays
Linking to Inspiration Fridays
Linking to Common Ground

~ Just Breezy ~

I apologize in advance to those who live on the East Coast or anywhere else where it's frigid cold today, but here in southern California it has been in the mid- 80's. Farenheit. Delicious.

I came straight home from work and removed the sweater I had no business wearing in the first place. I opened my windows and let in the sun and the sweet fresh air.

And then I put away the rest of my Christmas decorations.

I can not begin to tell you what a surreal experience this was. Everytime I picked up another Santa to wrap and put in the bin, I said to myself, "Ho, Ho Hold it right there ... what on earth is this guy doing out in the middle of ..."

And then I remembered it was January. Weird.

However, I am so, so happy to have my home back to normal ... and my flip-flops on. I'm happy to see my carpet again, because the bins have been there since before my trip.

Even though I know this won't last until Spring, I'm glad I got a sneak preview.

Do tell. What crazy weather are you dealing with?

Linking to Turquoise Lovin'
Linking to Wow Us Wednesdays
Linking to Open House Thursdays

~ SoCal to NoCal ~

Yes ... I have been MIA for several days. And, truth be told, I did not have my regular camera with me. Just my phone. But, let's just say a good time was had by all. I travelled from the Southland to the Northland with Daughter #1. We crossed several bridges.

We didn't let a gloomy day ruin our view of The Presidio.

We saw the last remnants of Christmas eked out on the trees in Berkley.

We weren't exactly sure what season we should be celebrating what with all the fall colors

We saw a very interesting Christmas tree at a local mall.

Celebrating what all malls celebrate this time of year.

We had this guy along which upped the fun factor immensely.

I am so OVER Christmas and I promise that this is the last post with references to it for at least ... ummmm .... ten months or so.

Stay tuned for some pictures of some Victorian Homes. Absolutely scrumptious colors.

Linking to The Girl Creative