Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A few befores and afters

Well the sewing is still in progress, but I've finished working on several pieces of furniture and decorative items at our new apartment. I thought I'd share a few befores and afters.

4-drawer chest found at a used furniture sale


after painting
wicker chest found at furniture sale

after painting (needs second coat)

another wicker chest

painted and ready to use

one of a pair of table lamps found at a thrift store


second lamp after painting. I spray-painted with blue,
then sponged on an ivory to add interest


pair of tables my sister found at a yard sale

after painting, used as coffee tables

I forgot to take a before of this 60s sewing machine cabinet,
but the after adds a bright spot of color to the living room


Sunday, May 8, 2011

The case of the missing quilter

I know, it's been more than a month since my last post. Where have I been? At the beach. Well, kind of...

At the beginning of April we got an apartment near our business on Tybee Island, GA. So I've spent most of the past month furnishing and beginning to decorate it. It's amazing how much "stuff" you need to furnish an apartment from scratch. Of course there's some stuff I've been able to bring from my house, some quilts, a few decorative items and of course some sewing stuff. But like most people I don't have duplicates of all the everyday stuff you need.

Now that the basic stuff, dishes, pots and pans, sofas! have been taken care of, I'm working on decorating. Through a combination of used furniture sales, thrift stores, estate sales and so on, I found most of our furniture. Several pieces were in good shape, but needed a new finish, so I've been painting furniture - in fun, beachy colors, of course. So far I've finished two small tables, a small chest of drawers and a couple of small wicker trunks. An old sewing machine table, to be used as an end table, is in progress, and another chest of drawers waiting for paint.

I'm also sewing, of course. I've finished a shower curtain and the curtains for the living room. I have fabric for curtains for the other rooms, bed skirts, cushions, quilts and so on, which will keep me busy for quite a  while. I've set up the guest bedroom with a Singer 15-30 treadle, so I can work on all the decorating projects while I'm there.

One of my finds at a furniture sale was an old sewing chair, which opens to provide storage. This one is not getting painted, but it is getting used.

Unfortunately, all this activity means I haven't done much with my art quilts over the past month. But I've been working on them almost exclusively since the beginning of the year, so a break is okay.


I'll post some before and after pictures of my projects soon. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still around.