Ramblings and Pillows (Deployment Projects #171-176)

Did you know that we are almost…ALMOST in the single digits for our countdown for Handsome Hubby to come home for his two weeks of R&R?  I am so excited I can hardly stand it!  Am I ready?  YES! and NO :(  I am so ready to have him home, so ready to have him next to me, to see him interacting with our kiddos, to cook and bake for him, to just sit and look at him!  I am not ready to send him back after those two weeks.  I’m trying not to focus on that, but it is in the back of my mind.

I am also not ready with all my projects.  Seven months 175+ projects and I am still not ready?  Yeah, I know, underachiever!  Actually - - my number one project since he left is to do our bedroom.   I have not decorated or hung pictures, I’ve hung about 5 different sets of curtains but no permanent ones, I just cannot focus on that room!  But, time is running out - - ALMOST single digits here - - I gotta get me some motivation!!!

Don’t hear me wrong here, Handsome Hubby is really not going to care what the bedroom looks like.   It’s just something I really want done before he gets home.  So, knowing that I have an entire bedroom to design and decorate, what have I been doing?

Making pillows!!  I have some more pillows to put in my etsy shop.  These ones are really fun!  They have vintage images “printed” on them.  They really aren’t printed, it’s a process called sublimation.   Here’s how Wikipedia defines it:    A dye-sublimation printer (or dye-sub printer) is a computer printer which employs a printing process that uses heat to transfer dye onto a medium such as a plastic card, paper, or fabric. The sublimation name is applied because the dye transitions between the solid and gas states without going through a liquid stage.

So anyway, my aunt has one of those fancy printers (and her own blog!) and she printed these images from Graphics Fairy onto my fabric and they turned out fantastic!  I just love how the fabric absorbs the color instead of it sitting on top or having the sheen of an iron on transfer.  And these can be washed!!

 

I also made an embroidered number pillow.  Four is our number - - four of us in our family.  I’m going to offer custom embroidered number pillows in my etsy shop, so if you have a favorite number and you’ve always wanted a pillow to go with it, I’m your girl!

And, last but not least - - I should have posted this last Sunday.  I just wanted you to know that I was patriotic on the 4th.  I made this dress on Saturday, when I wore it on Sunday, I kinda felt like I should be singing and dancing everything - - I felt like I was in the musical “Oklahoma” - - I’m still not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing!

Well, that was a lot of rambling about nothing, but I have successfully put off working on that bedroom for yet another hour!  Gotta get motivated!! 

I am not Wonder Woman, Super Woman, or even Super Mom (Deployment Projects #122- #133)

I have come to the sobering conclusion this week that I am not Wonder Woman, or Super Woman and I’m pretty sure I’m not even making the cut for Super Mom this week!!  Don’t get me wrong, we are all still surviving - - we have even had some balanced meals this week (they were at a restaurant, not homemade!), the kids are clean (once we may have counted pool time as bath time), the house is still standing (lets just leave it at that and not go into whether it is clean or not).  But it has just been one of those weeks.  You know the kind where you are supposed to be in ten different places all at the same time, and every time you try running out the door, you are forgetting something essential for the day.  I feel like I have made a thousand U-turns at the entrance to our subdivision this week, because I keep forgetting things.  At least I haven’t forgotten either of the children….yet!  The biggest gut-kicker of the week has been my sewing machine breaking down…yet again…the DAY AFTER my warranty ran out.  Now, don’t think of me as shallow - - the world does not revolve around my sewing machine - - but it was just the straw that broke this poor, I-have-no-sanity-left, could-anything-else-go-wrong, sleep-deprived, is-the-school-year-over-yet-because-I’m-not-sure-I-can-teach-another-day, deployed-momma’s back!!

I have actually refrained from posting for a week because I have been so MAD at the sewing machine company and the poor customer service, that I knew if I got on here I was not going to be nice!  So I will just say that I will not be buying another sewing machine from this company and if you are in the market for a sewing machine you may email me and I will suggest some brands that seem to have better customer service and a better track record for not breaking down!!   Even Ethel decided that she didn’t want to work this week!

But, I can show you what I was able to make before all the sewing machines in my house decided to take their summer break!

First up - - remember the Miss America to Hello Beautiful re-upholstery project from last week?  Well, this week I re-upholstered the ottoman that goes with it.

Before

After

I also made two pillows for the bed in the room that the chair and ottoman are going into.  I love the little knife edge pleat around these pillows.  Such a custom, tailored look and a nice break from cording!!

I also made two more “Always” and “Forever” pillows for this room.  If you want to make your own - - you can check out my tutorial on that here.  These two pillows are similar to the last two that I made, except that the pleats are smaller/tighter.  That is the joy of the ruffler attachment, just by adjusting your stitch length and the number of stitched you want between ruffles, you can change the look.

These two little mini pillows will go in the room also!

Look at these fabulous fabrics I got to work with this week.  I made cushion covers for outdoor wicker furniture - - two chairs and one long couch cushion.  These are just the covers without the foam in them yet, so you just have to use your imagination until my friend sends me a picture of it all put together!!

 

Oh, and one custom Father’s Day pillow!!

“Dear Jesus, Please make the time go by quickly.” Breaking 100 in the Deployement Project #’s!!

Along with their other requests and praises, my kids pray this every night before they go to bed.  They want the time until Daddy comes back home to go quickly.  I couldn’t agree more, but I do have to say that I believe God is answering their prayers!  I tell you what, the time is flying - - and that is a good thing, but I’m not sure if I can keep up!!  I did not even realize that my last post was two weeks ago!  Yikes!!

Thank goodness you all are patient, kind and loving readers!!  It is not for a lack of projects for me to post about, that is for sure!!  I have been sooooooooooo busy with projects, I feel like I have about a 100 to post (ok, maybe not 100 that might be an exaggeration) but actually finding the time to post seems to be the problem!!  Of course, tonight I am taking a project break while I  sit here writing a  post and  watching the Survivor Finale at the same time!!  Multi-tasking at it’s best.

So, here’s a Deployment Project Update:  (sorry, I didn’t take pictures of it all - - it’s that whole time management thing!!)

Since I last posted, I have made 14 pillows

 

Embroidered 4 more sheets

My mantra for now!  Keep calm and carry on!

Sewed 3 dresses and 1 shirt

Painted 2 more Station Signs

Re-upholstered 2 couch cushions

Sewed 3 camera straps

and Re-upholstered this sweet bench.

 

And - - through all of that I have taught school ( we are almost finished for the year - - wooohooooo!!!), kept the house fairly well maintained,  made it to they gym (although not as much as I would have like to!)  mowed the lawn (until the mower died, then I just gave up on that one!), chauffeured the kids back and forth to swimming, fencing, art lessons, guitar lessons,Awana,  and birthday parties, had my Mom and Dad visit for a long weekend to celebrate my birthday and Mother’s Day, had a great friend come this weekend and give me some “Design Intervention,”  picked up some sweet deals on craigslist (can’t wait to share those with you!) - - oh, and I even fed the kids a few well-rounded healthy meals! 

Whew!  See why there hasn’t been any posts lately?  That takes my Deployment count to 111!!!

I could sit and beat myself up about not posting as often as I would like, but I had a sweet new blogger friend, Linda, remind me in an email this week, “Looking forward to your next blog, but remember that your kids come first and your blog groupies understand that so we wait patiently.”    Thanks Linda!

Hopefully there will be more posts, more often, but I can’t promise that.   I can promise you that I do have some fabulous projects that I am currently working on and eventually I will post about them!! 

Embroideries (Deployment Projects #67 - #75)

Seems it’s time to update you on some of the projects that have been going on around here in the Deployment Count.  Things seem to be going crazy around here.  With spring in the air, it seems new projects are popping up every day!!

So my embroidery machine has been working overtime lately!  I have had a ton of work embroidering things for friends and even some for myself.

I’ve done blankets,

and onsies,

sheets,

and pillowcases,

napkins,

and a custom pillow.

Let me tell you about this pillow!!  My friend Michelle is getting ready to PCS (that’s army for permanently move Permanent Change of Station) to Germany.  Being the organized person that she is, she is making sure that she has all her decorating ducks in a row!  So my machine has been busy making stuff for her!  When they move, she is going to have her two little boys share a room and she is completely re-doing their room - - going with a vintage transportation theme.  It is going to be adorable.  The sheets that I personalized above are for her sons.   My favorite part is this pillow that I surprised her that will go on her chair that I am finishing up the re-upholstery job on tonight.

 

Isn’t it adorable?  I took this old graphic of 4 vintage airplanes found on the Graphics Fairy (one of my favorite go to sites!) cropped in on just one airplane.

Then I created a “company sign” for her boys own Transportation Company and added their names as pilots.  Next I had my embroidery program convert the graphic into an embroidery design and then embroidered it on a very thick weave textural fabric.  I am so pleased with how well it turned out.  I have never wanted a video camera more than when I showed my friend!  You would have thought I had just told her that she had won a million dollars!!  It was priceless!

 

 

And, just a little aside, here is another project I’ve been working on - - one of my favorite projects.  I’ve been teaching Charise how to sew.  Isn’t she just adorable?

 

She wants so badly to sew with me and be my little helper.  Right now we are just sticking to straight lines, but I have no doubt that someday, she will pass me up in her sewing skills!!

Pillows, Pillows, and More Pillows!!

Wow!  What a week last week was!!  I guess I didn’t realize how much I relied on my sewing machine and when it breaks down, we all break down!!  I have finally gotten a loaner machine that works – long story there!  So….what have I been busy with? 

Pillows!!

Remember my post about my version of the Pottery Barn Nest Pillow? 

Big news… they are available on Etsy!!!

There are actually three different options for customers to choose from:

The whole shebang:  100% cotton canvas pillow cover with the definition of nest embroidered in your choice of thread color, with self-cording trim and a collection of vintage buttons closing up the back.   $25

Happy Medium:  100% cotton canvas pillow cover with the definition of nest embroidered in your choice of thread color, with an envelope closure back.  $18

Make it Yourself:  100% cotton canvas fabric with the definition of nest embroidered in your choice of thread color.  You also get a piece of cotton fabric for the back, but you make this pillow yourself, or use the embroidery for some other creative project you think up!!  $10

I also have some other pillow covers available, just jump on the etsy shop and check them out!! 

I’m working on some other designs and some really exciting printed pillows, but before I go into this whole hog, I thought I would do a little trial run and see how it goes!!

  

Are you as excited as I am?!!!