Summery Stripes in Blue and White

With the in-home art studio tour over with and a small craft fair this weekend, I have had little time for home projects, other then cleaning and getting art ready!
But Memorial Day afternoon I took some time for myself to sew the slipcover for an ottoman I had found at Goodwill in Edmonds for $5!
It was in like-new condition but was an awful color (that 1970's burnt orange velveteen look).

That had to change!
Luckily I have been teaching myself how to sew slipcovers so that ended up being an easier solution then reupholstering it.

So after considering my many designs in my Spoonflower shop, LilyOake, I decided to go with blue and white stripes.
There's a strong possibility this ottoman (and the chair I'm pairing it with) will be floaters in the house and it needed to fit in each room.
I use the same light blue and white in each room but in different floral patterns so stripes seemed to be the perfect fabric.

I designed Signe Stripe in blueberry and white, to use as wallpaper, originally.  But it also makes a fabulous linen cotton canvas slipcover.

After studying various designs of slipcovers online, I decided I wanted something airy, summery and easy.
So I chose a simple, slightly gathered skirt that dropped to the floor.  I did add light blue piping which picks up one of the blues in the stripes (there are 3 subtly different shades).

As soon as my yardage arrives for the chair, I will sew a cover from the same stripe to make a matching set! (even though that fabulous wide-seat chair was found on Craigslist for $35).

I provided a "before" photo so you could see what I am starting with, both chair and ottoman.

Here's a link to Signe Stripe in blueberry, in my Spoonflower shop, LilyOake Signe Stripe

Slipcover is made with a linen cotton canvas

A simply gathered skirt and piping - perfect summery look!

On the sewing machine. Piping and skirt is on, now for the hem!

Sewing on piping is not my favorite thing to do but I love the look. My new Bernina's piping foot is difficult to use. I sure miss my old Singer's piping foot, but not the machine!

BEFORE - the ottoman and chair I am trying to match up!  The unifier will be Signe Stripe slipcovers.

Experimenting with Pillows

Pillows seem to be the perfect way to change out the look of a room instantly without spending too much money or too much effort.

You can use the same filler but change out the covers by season (or not - mine are year-round!).

Its also a great way to live with a new look for awhile before plunging headlong into a decor flip.

For instance, I am experimenting adding some pale pink to my all pale blue and white interiors, to add color and warmth.
So far its working really well and I achieved the look just by using pink floral pillows from my own line of fabrics,available on Spoonflower:  LilyOake on Spoonflower

With the studio tour a few weeks away, I have had to make some realistically-based decisions on which projects I can get done and which will have to be in the fall tour.
I'm not going to kill myself to get most of the painted furniture done - if I was at home everyday, that wouldn't be a problem.  But I work outside my home for someone else, 40 hours a week, which leaves creative time limited, on top of housework, kitty care, a large yard, significant other care, laundry, cooking....and freelance design work too, besides sewing.

One thing I will try to get done is the dollhouse donated to me by a neighborhood family who were cleaning out their garage and decided it needed to go!  It sat for years, unloved and ignored and I seemed the best person who could bring it to life again.
Its getting a new paint job on the outside, with blue and pink WP inside, in every room!
(I'll blog about that later)

Meantime, pillows have dominated my world these past 2 weeks.  I completed the six heart-shaped pillows and do they look CUTE!
With Mother's Day the weekend after my art studio tour, I do hope they sell out (what a spectacular gift for Mom!!).
But I also did some larger throw pillows for sofas and chairs.
I added two more 20" square pillows and three 16" x 26" rectangle pillows.
All in cotton linen canvas, which is my favorite Spoonflower fabric!

So here they are, in all their glory!
I have more yardage on order so I can take commissioned orders and also to stock my ETSY shop.

Rosewitha Stripe on aqua linen cotton canvas

May Day Summer Roses on basil stripe linen cotton canvas

Rosewitha on peony stripe linen cotton canvas

16" x 26" linen cotton canvas pillows

Picnic at St Hubert Priory Gardens in sorbet pink

Cathleen's Heart in blueberry blue, on linen cotton canvas 20" pillow

Picnic at St Hubert Priory Gardens and Cathleen's Heart

Gift Cones

   The old fashioned holiday craft fair season is upon us!
I have always looked forward to hitting up church bazaars and community center fairs for hand made, home made and one of a kind for gifts for family and friends.
In particular, I love the baked goods!

   I decided to enter a few craft fairs as a seller this year to help further my introduction of fabrics and wallpaper designs to the public.
I look forward to meeting all those folks and talking shop (decorating with fabrics and wallpapers)!

   To compliment my linen cotton tea towels, cotton pillows and lavender sachets, I am adding decoupaged gift cones and serving trays to my assortment of goodies on my sales table!

   The trays aren't completed yet but the cones were mostly completed last weekend (except for the four tartan ones).
Not a big fan of a lot of drippy, faux-Victorian ornament, I wanted to keep these simple yet festive, with the possibility they could be used to give a gift other then just at Christmas time too!

   I used inexpensive pastel colored hem tape as ribbon (something I have done for 20-odd years), along with thin silk embroidery ribbons and some special sparkly lace trims, pompom ribbons and velvets.
  The interiors of the cones are painted with chalk paints and the bases are paper mache so these cones are made to last!
   The outsides are covered in paper gift wrap from my fabric and wallpaper lines.

Romance in the Dining Room

Please join me over at  The Pink Pagoda for her fun and fabulous Blue & White Bash, and share in everyone's mutual love for blue & white! And check out all the participants.  Its so much fun to see what everyone is doing with their love of blue.


I worked for Laura Ashley, years ago, when the company still had shops in the US!

I was and still am, heavily influenced by the florals and romantic fabrics I was surrounded with day after day in that wee Seattle shop.

So when I finally bought my own cottage and had a chance to decorate it, I already knew just how I wanted it to look.

Soft blues and whites and romantic florals.

Influenced by Laura Ashley and Swedish Gustavian design!

So, budget allowing, I am working my way through each room.

Right now I am working on the dining room.

I love being able to design my own fabrics and wallpapers via Spoonflower.

My shop name is Lilyoake.

I chose my "Jane's Rose Stripe" for my curtains ( to be paired later with a matching wallpaper called "Jane's Rose Bouquet".)

I took some time out this past weekend to finish sewing the first curtain panel, printed on linen cotton canvas.

I edged it with a matching blue gingham I bought at a fabric shop.  I intend to line them too, with white cotton sheets, so they look more finished from the outside.

But in the mean time, I can get them up, because we need the privacy now that its dark early!

Flowers for the Soul

This quote by Hans Christian Anderson, says it all:

"Just living is not enough...

one must have sunshine,

freedom,

and a little flower"

That's how I feel about interior design as well.

I adore floral prints, especially in soft shades of blue and white.

And I believe a home looks magical and romantic when adorned in flowers.

I have designed over 160 so far, and each new design becomes my new favorite!

I started out designing just for myself, to decorate my little Cape Cod cottage in colors and patterns I wanted, but couldnt find on the open market.

Now its become an obsession!

Here are a few photos I took recently of some of my fabrics I have had printed on the linen-cotton canvas, quilting cotton or heavy cotton canvas, available at Spoonflower.

I plan on sewing them up into soft furnishings for the home this fall/winter, and offering them up for sale through my ETSY shop, Lilyoake.

So, stay tuned!

Dressing the Dining Chairs for Summer

Hi Everyone!
Join me over at PINK PAGODA for the Blue & White Monday bash!
Check out everyone's blue and white inspirations, and hopefully you'll find something to inspire you too.
(or just get your blue ad white fix)

I'm back at it!  Now that it's spring and I have spring fever,
it's time to begin where I left off before the holidays began, last year.
Time to finish sewing up the casual linen/cotton slip covers
for my dining room chairs.  

There are four.  I made the third this past weekend while
watching episodes of "Time Team" on youTube!
(the fourth chair's fabric has not been ordered yet, but I
am having fun narrowing down which one to have printed)

I design all my own fabric and sell it in my shop, Lilyoake,
on Spoonflower.
Here's a link to it:
Lilyoake on Spoonflower
Let me know what you think!  I have pink designs coming soon...

I chose to slip cover each chair in a different pattern.
This works for me because I used the same shade of blue in all
the fabric designs so they really do go together well, without
looking so mixed as to be weary on the eye!
This pattern I used on the third chair, I call "Seaside Garden Stripe".  It's a soft Swedish Gustavian blue and white stripe with a smattering of blue and white roses over it.
(I actually designed the fabric with a horizontal stripe but to fit my patterns on the piece I had printed, to maximize use, I used the pattern in a vertical format. It works well either way!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my latest project!