Spring Sewing Projects

Please join me at TPP Blue & White Bash!

Hello Spring!

(at least in our minds, if not reflected in the weather)

Every spring I draw up a list of home projects to complete and hope to get as much accomplished as possible and this year, having designed and printed through Spoonflower, a grouping of my fabric designs, I am hoping to sew up some slip covers!

I love the look of linen slips on furniture - it has such a summery feel.

And now that I have designed over 106 Swedish Gustavian-inspired blue & white fabrics, I am ready to begin the make over.

Eventually I will have wallpaper printed too

and redo my dining room.

But, one thing at a time!

I've also become obsessed with designing tea towels and they can be found in my Spoonflower shop

LilyOake on Spoonflower as raw, unfinished fat quarters for you to bind off as you please, or as finished (prewashed, ironed and edges bound) in my ETSY shop, LilyOake on ETSY

I add more every day.

I design more every day!!

 I am so happy to be joining an amazing group on The Pink Pagoda with her Blue & White Monday linking party!

I wait for each one she hosts so I can see what my fellow blue & white lovers are doing!  I've also got my eye on a couple of her blue & white vases and am deciding which ones to purchase for my cottage!

Check out her online shops and indulge yourself in her art or china - its a look that will never go out of style!!

And do check out the other links to fabulous blogs...I guarantee you will be inspired by their great ideas!

Slip Covering Some Dining Chairs

Hi!

   I acquired these four dining room chairs through a small shop in Seattle for a killer price (on clearance for around $20/each) and I have to say they are very comfortable to sit on!

   BUT, they are peach and cream, friends, and anyone who knows me, knows my entire cottage is blue & white!

    So the stage was/is set for a transformation to fit them into the decor at Elinor Cottage.

I decided to start with a slip cover for each.  I will use my own fabric designs I have for sale on Spoonflower under my designer name, "Lilyoake", and each chair will be different as far as fabric.  But the same as far as design.

Spoonflower

I ordered my design on 2 yards of Spoonflowers linen-cotton blend.  Its BEAUTIFUL.  Honestly - what a soft but tight weave. Its the perfect weight for slip covers and I might even have some printed up for curtains!

I chose my Jane's Rose Bouquet in blueberry blue for my first chair.  Its a big bouquet of roses in blueberry blues, on a lighter baby blue background.  The blues tend towards the red side as that is what I decorate Elinor Cottage with.

First step was to make a paper pattern I can than use on all four chairs as I go along.  Easy enough.  I taped together printer paper and traced the chair top and back. Trim it out and tweak from there.

Once that was done, I cut out my fabric pieces (I was nervous now too - cutting into this precious two yards!!  Were my measurements right? Was this going to work!?)

Once I managed to get it cut out and started sewing, it just came together.  I decided to add a small drop around the seat and then attach white piping and a more tailored, pleated ruffle (more to my taste).

The back was more of a challenge as I had not planned it as well and I wanted to make sure I was able to remove it easily enough for washing.  Since the chair frames will also get a make over with white and light blue chalk paint with details in gold leaf, I wanted parts of the frame to show through the slip cover so I planned accordingly.  (stay tuned for another posting of how I paint & gild the frame)

The result at the end of my weekend was a very pretty slip covered chair that now fits into my blue & white color scheme - and best of all, I got to use my own fabric design and the slip cover is machine washable!  (I pre-washed the fabric already too, to avoid excess shrinkage later.)

Now I will decide which of my other fabric designs to use next and order the next few yards.  (left over fabrics are becoming napkins and tea pot cozies or pillows!!)

I am very happy with the results!

Flowers to Lighten the Mood of Winter

Right about now I start to get spring fever. I start to look through the seed catalogs and dream of squeezing one more lilac or hydrangea somewhere in the yard! I also begin to buy flowers for each room - sometimes I will carry a favorite bouquet with me through the house so I can look at them constantly - maybe I should rig a jar on a rope to carry over my neck like the Bill Murray's character Bob did with his gold fish in "What About Bob"! LOL I went to the flower market Tuesday when I took the day off. The Met Market on top of Queen Anne hill has the best flower selection in town. The day was wet, cold and gray-dreary so the flowers on the outside stands glowed with color. I chose red and white roses for my friend Cathy, red tulips for my friend Scott and for me I chose pale blue and white hydrangeas which ended up on the coffee table in the living room (so the kitties could easily reach them to drink out of - can't stop them from doing it so I might as well make it easier to reach so they don't tip them over!) and a small bunch of pink tea roses which stayed on the table so I can look at them as I eat breakfast and dinner each day. So lovely!! I'm really feeling the need for spring now - luckily we're in for warmer and sunnier weather for the next 5 days.

I just love them and they make me smile each time I pass them by.

"Beauty Will Save the World"

...a famous quote by author Fyodor Dostoevsky...has become my new motto.
It does not really mean that a person with beautiful features or figure will save the world (although we know physical love has been the cause of many a war!)

But rather, it means that through our beautiful acts of kindness and attention to how we conduct ourselves as we journey through our life, we promote peace, beauty and harmony with our fellow passengers. Living better, as a kinder person, will save the world if we all do it.

Stay tuned for a new series of miniature pop-up books I am designing, coming soon to my Etsy shop at (www.lilyoake.etsy.com)
Here is a teaser of what you'll soon find there...
(all the designs are of course, copyright LilyOake)

Welcome, sister spring!