This is the pattern for my fall tablecloth. My original plan was to embroider it, but that will be a lot of stitching and my fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be. I'm thinking maybe fabric paint.  We'll see.

Recipe of the week

This sounds super yummy. I can't wait to try it.

http://foodraf.com/philly-cheese-steak-sloppy-joes/

Pinterest Hits and Misses

I thought I would share some of the pins from Pinterest that I have tried along with the results.  The first few will be text only, after that hopefully I will remember to take pics.

Most recent attempt:  I don’t know whether to call it a hit or a miss.  Tie-dye type T-shirts made with sharpies and rubbing alcohol. This was a project for when Angel (my granddaughter) was here for her summer visit.

It seemed simple enough.   Necessary items:   Sharpies (we chose neon colored), rubbing alcohol, and a silo cup with a rubber band (we opted for an embroidery hoop).

Thankfully we did a test shirt.  Made a nickel size spot in one color, moved a bit away and made another nickel sized spot.  We did this for the entire hoop area.  Then we added alcohol.  It bled (as was expected), but the original spots were still there and obvious as spots no matter how many times we diluted them with the alcohol.   There were several attempts with less marker in the spot. Same result or very little bleeding.  MISS

Since this was a project that was supposed to result in gifts for her friends, we decided to try another approach.  Ang had free range to put any design she wanted on the shirts and we would use the alcohol to bleed them and then wash them.  Another test shirt came out satisfactory.
5 finished One Direction shirts later I call it a HIT.   

I don’t know if they will continue to bleed as they are washed.  I have advised they be washed separately. 

My Favorite Read of the Summer: The Chaperone

This was actually last summers's book as it was released in June 2012, but I didn't read it until this past summer.
This book show's how one woman's perspective of life and society changes throughout her lifetime.
The story is based on 1920's  film star Louise Brooks and her traveling companion Alice Mills' summer together in 1922  in  New York City, but it is a work of historical fiction. Ms. Moriarty has elected to make the traveling companion, who she named Cora Carlisle, into the main character.
We are introduced to Cora just before she becomes Louise's companion and we get to know her through her experiences of the summer and flashbacks of her childhood. Cora's story continues on  after the summer as we see how her life unfolds.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/15/books/the-chaperone-by-laura-moriarty.html

I finally know what I want to do.

After 7 months of living with paint chip samples on almost every wall, I have finally decided on paint colors for the house.
The master bedroom and living room have to be professionally painted because of the high ceilings, so those will have to wait, but I can do the rest myself.
The kitchen, guest bedroom, office, craft studio and master bath will get done in a hodge podge style depending on time and money available. I've decided to keep the kitchen the same colors but re stain the cabinets and put in a back-splash (maybe) and new counter-tops.
I've decided on exterior colors too, but that's gonna take some saving.  I  also have to replace the railings on the front porch.
I know its going to take time, but now that I have it figured out of course I want to do it all at once.  I'm going for the biggest impact for the least amount of money, but what I really want to do is the living room and the kitchen and they're going to take the most output of cash.  Oh well.

Sometimes I find it hard to live in the moment. It is mid-August and I am thinking about fall crafts because they take time. I am thinking about Halloween and Birthanksmas. (Granted, it will be the last Birthanksmas that we will share for awhile and that adds pressure). I'm thinking of transitions because I am going through some. In general, I love my house ((Ok, its not mine, but kinda. I am grateful to Chris and Jeannette for this gift. (Don't start. I pay rent.)).  Most of all LIKE my life. Sometimes. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes I hate it, but most of the time I'm ok. .