all you need is love

So in the process of avoiding the quilt I am working on due to a large mistake I don't want to rip out, I've been coming up with smaller things to make that I can finish in just a few hours. Items like rice heating packs, little decorative pillows and a cute recipe card holder have been on my list recently, and I have to say it's nice to be able to get something done and feel accomplished. I've also taken on a few alteration projects for friends in an attempt to improve my clothes sewing skills. Right now on the WIP list I have 3 dress shirts that need to have their sleeves shortened, 2 pairs of pants that need to be hemmed, two sound board covers to sew elastic into so they don't rip being stretched over the boards and two denim laundry bags to sew together. I'm actually not the biggest fan of that kind of sewing, but it's a good skill for me to practice, and it's a nice thing to do to help out some friends.


Last night when I came home, I looked around and realized that our house was a disaster. But I could not fathom getting the whole house tidy in one night, so I decided to focus on one room at a time, and move on as I felt I had the energy. I started with the bedroom which has basically been in a constant state of messiness since we moved in (7 months ago!) but I can't figure out what to do with all the odds and ends that are being stored in there. I think this weekend calls for a major overhaul of the room and all the junk in it.



In the meantime, I was able to get ALL 3 loads of laundry done, remake the bed, clear off the dresser and my side table (Joel doesn't keep anything on his), and take a few pictures of my new decorative pillow on the bed. For a rental, our bedroom doesn't look half bad. The walls are a neutral (somewhat grimy) beige, with white trim, and there is a huge window on the front wall with a smaller one on the side. For now, I will just show you my side of the room which looks very clean and put together.



The little stuffed horse on the bed is my buddy Bruce. No matter how old I get or how "sophisticated" my style may become, he will always be on the bed. Period.



There's the pillow! It's my first attempt at embroidery, and I have to say, I think it turned out pretty well! I didn't have a hoop, so it got a little wonky near the end, and the pillow is a little lumpy because the stuffing isn't great quality, but I'm very happy with my Love Pillow, and am definitely going to try out some more embroidery. I also picked up a book on contemporary crewel work, so that should be a lot of fun.

Later this week I'll post some more pictures of the other little things I've been making. Plus, maybe I'll make a decision about the quilt. Let me ask...if you were quilting a relatively large lap quilt, and realized that the size of the quilting wasn't even, would you rip it ALL out or would you live with it? I don't know if anyone other an my family reads this blog, so if you do, speak up and let me know what you think! I'd appreciate some wisdom on this one.