i'm impressed

this west elm parsons mini desk showed up on the front porch today. well, it didn't just show up... i ordered it. to use as my sewing table. in a corner of my office.
and i have to say, i'm terribly impressed with it. i guess i kinda had low expectations. not sure why. but it's gorgeous! it's sturdy. and heavy. and white. and shiny. with a drawer that slides smoothly. best yet, it's $199 right now.

sunday in the suburbs

my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were in town yesterday. she brought this. i love it.

it's alexander henry. merry main street. i think i'll make some christmas napkins out of it. now that i can sew. i've had one lesson. from her. yesterday. oh yea, and home ec classes many, many years ago.

this is now sitting on my dining room table.
i bought it in april. it was brand new in the box upstairs in the spare bedroom. you know, the bedroom that becomes a graveyard for everything you have no space for elsewhere. she got it out of the box, carried it downstairs, and got everything ready for my sewing lesson. and before you think, wow, pam's really lazy....stop. i was at the same time cleaning up the dishes from our grazing lunch. pumpkin bread, butternut squash soup, cheese and crackers and fig spread, homemade chocolate chip cookies. we had a small feast.

anywho, we threaded the machine. we filled bobbins. we threaded the machine again. and again. so i wouldn't forget when she wasn't here looking over my shoulder. we did straight stitches. then we tried out the decorative stitches. you can probably guess my favorite.... the greek key.
thanks for the lesson, julie! i can't wait to post my first finished project!

now i've done it

i've bitten off more than i can chew. way more.

remember this fabric? well, i want to make it in to a roman shade. and i have more fabric coming to make euro shams for our bed. and another fabric to make another roman shade. and company coming in 4 weeks.

i haven't sewn since 8th grade home ec. i won't bring up how many years ago that was. it'll depress me. i bought a sewing machine earlier this year. i have yet to take it out of the box. soon. very soon.

i went to my local joann fabrics, with list in hand of everything i'd need. my first stop was the thread aisle. isn't it pretty? pretty, yet daunting. did i need the 30m, 100m, 250m, cotton, polyester?
i looked around. no clerks to help me. in fact, in the almost 2 hours (yes 2 hours) i was there, there was not one clerk to help me. and i needed help. thanks julie! my sister-in-law who was a phone call away came to my rescue. several times. sorry julie.

then it was on to bobbins. class 15? class 66? get both and return one.

needles. universal? heavy? what #? get a little heavier than middle of the road. i guess.

scissors. little easier to choose.

pinker shears. simple. although why have i always thought they were called pinkING shears.

roman shade rings? cord lock? cord condenser? i fell apart in this aisle. they didn't have what i needed.

i'm now home with my new supplies. now if i can just muster up the courage to take the sewing machine out of the box.

farmhouse table

steve and i are in the market for a new dining room table. we're reconverting the dining room back to a dining room. it was my office for the last 2 years. i envision an enormous farmhouse table and mismatched chairs. grey walls. very informal. french doors that lead to the patio. we're (and by "we", i mean steve) installing french doors as phase 3 of our first floor facelift). the kitchen facelift was phase 1 (which i still must post photos... just having trouble getting good photos), phase 2 is moving my office to the formal living room (which opens up the dining room to become a dining room again).

we've been searching online for the table. here are our top runners. in 2nd place, this from crate and barrel. simple lines. european white oak.

this is my first choice, from restoration hardware. similar lines. more rustic, which i like. and extendable.
notice the tolix chairs in the first photo. i'd love to scatter a few of those around the table. they don't look too comfortable, so i was thinking about skinny pads for them. a la this photo, from photographer helen norman.
and, now that this has arrived, i could sew them myself! that is, after i dredge up all that i learned in 7th grade home ec.