Fabric Sadness

Last night I was cutting out fabric pieces for a patchwork project and I discover something. Vintage fabrics that are in pristine, never cut condition make me sad. Fabric that was obviously bought to be made into something that was never used is just sad, especially when there is a lot of it. I was delighted to find the vintage mushroom fabric (the top piece on the right), it was a genuine scrap with jagged edges and random shapes of fabric left behind, someone made something fabulous from this fabric, yay!
 And then it hits me, I have a closet full of fabric that has been bought for various uncompleted projects. I am not leaving fabric behind as a legacy for my children!!! I need to get sewing and no more fabric purchases until I work through some of this horde.

I have some interesting rules for this project: all fabrics used must be part of my scrap collection, every fabric must have a pattern of some kind, and no more than two pieces of the same print. I can't decide if this will be the most awesome patchwork ever or if it's going to be absolutely hideous (place your bets here on my Facebook page). I need 91 pieces for this project, 60 are cut. Honestly, I can't even tell that I have taken anything out of my scrap bins.

Oh, and this is what happens when I turn my back for a minute and why everything is covered in cat hair. I would also like to add the three hand made kitty beds go unused.

...and I just wandered off

I had every intention of telling everyone how I transformed that dresser I found on the curb. First a week passed and I was just too busy, suddenly it had be a month, then a few months, and now well over a year. At first I did feel a little guilty, but really I was relieved. I had been "forcing" blog posts and new projects for a long time, often only completing enough of a project to get what looked like a finished photo and then abandoning it for the next new project. It did not feel fun and I did not even like what I was making. I was unhappy in a lot of ways in my personal life and trying to keep some frantic crafting pace to avoid dealing with all of the stuff that was going on. I finally reached a point where I decided that the reason I was unhappy was because I was unhappy with myself and I started working on fixing that. It took time (and I am still actively working on it), I also began to realize that there was more to my unhappiness and that had to be dealt with too. 2013 was an amazing year for me, it was also a very difficult year. I can even begin to explain all that has happened and all that I have learned this year.

The three most important things that I will always remember about 2013 are:

• I had more friends than I realized and they did more for me than I could have ever hoped for or imagined all I had to do was ask for and accept their help. 
• What I thought was the worst thing that could ever happen wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and ended up making me stronger and more grateful for all of the wonderful things I have that cannot be taken away.
• Exercise helps me deal with my anxiety and depression better than anything else, my gym membership is my mental health prescription.

My Family 2013

Here's to 2014! I know it's going to be the best year ever!!!

From Trashed to Fabulous

I rescued this dresser from the curb last Friday and have been busy working on is all week. I have a super busy day today, but I wanted to share the before and after photo.This is Little Miss’s new closet, can you believe how cute it turned out?!? I’ll add more details and photos later, I was just so excited to share :)

Lucky Find

Last weekends yard sales yielded this lucky find, two unassembled wooden tool boxes (and a still unassembled sail boat) for a dollar! They are the perfect size to hold three small terra cotta pots. Say hello to my new kitchen herb boxes.I used a nail set to sink the nail heads, patched the holes and imperfections, and gave everything a good sanding before painting a bright turquoise. Not sure if I’ll leave them like this or distress/paint them more. All that’s left is to get the pots and decide which herbs to plant.