Sewing Room Update Part 5

I'm almost done with the updates to my sewing room. I'm ready to stop working on it, and work in it!

We found this awesome, frame-less bulletin board at Hobby Lobby. It's perfect for over my ironing board. I love how it doesn't have that cheap looking wooden frame around the edge.

I plan to eventually cover it with fabric...whenever I come across the perfect print. That will add color and interest to the otherwise plain wall. For now, a garland of roses makes a nice decoration.

Yes, those are sweet baby bibs on the ironing board. I still need to put snaps or Velcro on them. I'm not sure snaps will go through the nubby chenille fabric of the lighter one, so I probably will use Velcro on that one. They are reversible.

Behind my machines, I put up 3 cork board strips, end to end. They were really cheap at Office Max, and the wall behind my machines is perfect for them. I really like being able to tack up my pattern directions behind my machines--it keeps them getting misplaced or lost under piles of other stuff. Plus, the directions are right there as I need them!

Just in time for Valentine's Day....I LOVE my new heart garlands. I saw the idea (originally done with fabric) in a BHG magazine. To make them, I cut out hearts in two sizes from pretty scrapbook papers. I glued the smaller hearts on top of the larger ones, punched holes in the sided, and tied then together with pretty ribbons. Very simple, and so pretty to look at! I also have one over my living room window, but couldn't get a good picture.

hugs,
Jessica

Update

I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've posted...life has been crazy, and to tell the truth, I just haven't felt like posting because haven't and still don't have good news about my eye situation.

Basically, the Uveitis inflammation in the front part of my eye is almost gone, so that's really good that we finally got that under control. That bad news is that I'm still not seeing any better, and my blurry vision seems to be caused by new inflammation in the middle part of my eye (the vitreous), and also by swelling on my retina at the back of my eye. The doctor gave me some new drops to hopefully take care of the problem with my retina. I may be going to see a retinal specialist if things are still not improving in a week.

I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I'm feeling a lot better, so that's making this easier to deal with. I'm ready to be done, but obviously God is not ready to be done with me yet. =)

Thankfully I still have one good eye...I can still sew and e-mail!

Here's a couple pictures of a knitting roll case that I made for my husband's grandma, for her birthday.

These are so fun to make. Almost makes me want to become a knitter just so I can collect lots of needles and have a fun case to put them all in!

Love,
Jessica

For B's Baby

Twelve Little Diapers All In A Row....

Update and More

Isn't this the sweetest baby quilt ever? I have had so much fun making these...one for a friend's new baby girl, and the other for you! Actually, the second one is in my etsy shop now. Trust me, if I had a baby girl, it would be staying right here with me!


My eye is improving. I so appreciate all your prayers and kind comments. Thank you! I know God is at work with my eye, and at work in my life. Last week was really hard, but things are getting better, and I am learning more about waiting and trusting in the Lord. So it's been good in that way.

Yesterday I saw the doctor and he was very pleased with how things are progressing. He said that almost all of the debris and cloudiness is gone from the lens on my eye. I am still experiencing blurriness in my vision, but some of that is due to the medication I'm on. Tomorrow I stop using the dilation drops, and he said that my vision will improve once those stop. I will be on steroid eye drops though the end of the month though to prevent this from re-occurring.

I love all the pink in this quilt. I don't think you could get more pink then this. It's so soft and cuddly too. I wish I was a baby sometimes...they get the cutest stuff!

hugs,
Jessica

Eye Update

Well it turns out that I don't have pink eye after all...

On Wednesday, the day after my pink eye diagnosis, my eye pain and inflammation continued to worsen, and my vision began to blur. Thursday morning I could hardly see out of that eye and we headed to the doctor again. He re-diagnosed it as Anterior Uveitis, an inflammation inside my eye, with unknown causes. It's pretty serious and can lead to blindness if not treated quickly.

Needless to say, I'm on a strong round of drugs, both oral and topical. This morning the pain and swelling is much, much better, but the doctor is concerned that my vision is not showing signs of improving; it's actually gotten worse since yesterday. There is clouding on my cornea and on my lens. The doctor says both should improve as the inflammation continues to go down, but he is most concerned about the clouding on the lens. We see him again tomorrow.

I really appreciate your kind comments and prayers. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Specifically pray that the clouding on the lens of my eye would clear. I know that I am in God's hands and all that He is doing in my life is good, but it's still scary, and I need more of His peace.

Love,
Jessica

Sewing Room Makeover Part 4

Pressing Accessories Organization

My mother-in law gave me this J. P. Coats tin for Christmas. It's perfect for holding all my ironing accessories like my starch, ham, lint brush, hemming guide, and the iron water pitcher. I love how it even goes with the colors and look of my newly decorated room.

My sewing table is at a right angle to my ironing board, so I can set the tin on the table and have everything within reach.

I haven't had time to do much else in my room yet. I still want to reorganize the closet and stash, buy and decorate a large bulletin to put over my ironing board, and make machine covers for my serger and sewing machine.

One thing I want to do this year is to keep better track of the projects I've sewn. Christina at Assorted Notions blogged about how she plans to keep track of her yardage purchased and sewn in a fun vintage style notebook. I have a similar notebook that Katie gave me last year that I haven't done anything with yet. I'm not going to track my yardage in and out, because I simply don't buy that much unless I have a specific project in mind, but I am going to keep track of each project I sew, write a description, pattern, etc and glue in a swatch of the fabric used. I've started my first page for the new year...my new curtains!


On another night, my pink eye is not improving, and I need your prayers. I'm especially worried about Elliot getting it, because viral pink eye is supposed to be highly contagious, and I know that he will be miserable and hard to handle if he gets it. I'm pretty miserable the way it is, and I'm an adult who can cope...well most of the time. I've had a few crying spells today. The extra lubrication feels good on my eyes anyway! =)

Love,
Jessica

Sewing Room Makeover Part 3

Pictures on the walls

I am home from Church this morning, sick with Pinkeye. It's really nasty. My eye is red and puffy, and feels like I have sand between the lids. Yuck.

I'm really simplifying on the amount of clutter I have hanging on my walls in my sewing room. The items I hung up are special and pretty to me. I packed up all the extras for now.

In the picture below you can see one main corner of my room. Justin's keyboard is just to the right of the closet (no pictures yet...still needs organized!), and the frame you see on the right is the doorway. The small black dresser holds various notions, craft supplies, ribbons, trim, rick-rack, and sheet music (for Justin). The corner between the dresser and wall is perfect for my cardboard cutting mat, and various rolls of paper and interfacing.

This is a watercolor pencil picture I did as a teenager. It's the scene that I could see out of my bedroom window in when we first moved here. The frame was made and given to me by our first friend in Oklahoma, our neighbor who had cattle on our land.

The pink flowers are one of the silk flower cake toppers I made for our wedding cakes...almost 2 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long.

This picture was made by a sweet lady from my in-law's church. I have never met her, but when Justin and I were getting married she asked my Mother-in-law for an invitation and a description of my colors, and made this beautiful collage for us as a memento.

Love, Jessica

Sewing Room Makeover Part 2

New Curtains!

For my sewing room curtains, I was able to save some money by using the leftover length of fabric from my bedroom curtains, and I was able to still do a style and color that I wanted. This valence is extremely simple-- no pattern required! I simply hemmed all 4 sides of my panel of fabric, and folded the top half over to create the casing for the curtain rod. The buttons tack the casing down and that was it! I used 10 shiny mother-of-pearl type buttons. Total cost was $5 for the buttons (and those were even 1/2 off!).

Decorating pictures next time!
Jessica

Knitting in the New Year

Wa-la! My first finished knitting project for 2008: Mittens!




I started these on December 26, 2007 and finished them on January 2, 2008---by far my quickest knitting project yet. I'm pleased with the finished mittens, but they are a little big for my hands. Maybe they'll shrink. If any one of my daughters claims them, she can have them. (Now we'll see if any of my darling daughters read this blog. Or if they even want the mittens).

For the mittens, I used the "Warmest Mitten" pattern, and the yarn is Paton's Soy Stripes. I used leftover yarn from the Chullo hat I knit for Heather last year, but I didn't have quite enough of the same colorway to finish the mittens completely. That's why the mittens don't quite match, but I rather like it this way--I can pretend that I planned them this way. :-)

Also finished last month is a pair of fingerless gloves that were intended for me, but were claimed by Ellen when they turned out too small for me. I think maybe I'd better learn more about that thing called "gauge"--the nemesis of beginning knitters like me. :0



My next knitting project: More Mittens! These were fun! Then, I must finished the sweater for Katie that I started in August. Also planned is a shawl of some sort for me. I guess since I'm now a grandma, I should start wearing a shawl. Actually, I've always secretly admired shawls and the women who wear them. I decided that I would like to wear a shawl, even if it makes me look like an old(er) lady. Any suggestions for a simple but interesting shawl pattern?

Ruth, the grandma

Happy New Year!

I've been enjoying reading everyone's sewing goals for the New Year. I don't have many... simply sew more, find a way to fit more fabric into the budget, and work on getting my Etsy store going. So far I've only sold pincushions, and while I love cute pincushions, I'd like to make and sell other stuff too. My main goal this year to too keep better track of my projects. I want to keep a project journal or calendar, take pictures of and blog the stuff I make more, and write more pattern reviews as I sew up patterns.

I did start a flickr for my sewing project stuff. There you can see a couple pictures of Christmas gifts that never got posted here.

Soft Tree Ornaments

Knitting Roll that I gave to Mom

Big news! I'm learning to knit! Mom started my sister Heather and me on a scarf over Christmas, and it's fun, but hard! I think it might be addicting, but I'm so slow that I don't know if it's going to be my thing or not. I've done a tiny bit of crochet before, but this is my first venture into the world of knitting. It's big. It's really scary. Will I become a knitter or not? Only time will tell.

Jessica

Sewing Room Makeover Part 1

My sewing room is getting a makeover this new year. Over our Christmas break, Justin and I painted the room a light buttery yellow color. Then Justin re-painted one of the walls white for me because I decided it was too much yellow. =) He's really sweet.

Now I'm in the process of re-organizing and decorating. Today I hung pictures, and the new curtains are almost done. I just need to sew the buttons on...more pictures later!

Cheers!
Jessica