Chest, Chair and Change

There's a little shop nearby that I love.  It's called, "Cottage Charm".  They sell antiques and vintage things.  Their prices are usually really good and they're constantly bringing in new things.  So, I try to go often to see if they have any thing I might "need".  I've found quite a few great things there over the past few years.  I stopped in a few weeks ago but didn't find anything.  A week later, on Halloween, I stopped in again to see if there was anything new.  As soon as I walked in the door, I saw a black chest of drawers and it was love at first sight!  Yup...it came home with me!

Here it is in my entry when I first brought it home.  It's painted black, distressed, and waxed...it's all done and ready to be loved and used.  I thought it would be perfect to hold my fabric stash.

I love the wood knobs.  It's solid wood with dove tailed drawers.  And, the drawers are nice and clean and don't seem to have a weird smell like old chests often do.

I thought it would work well in the upstairs hall area.  It's just outside of my craft studio for easy access to the fabric inside.  It's a little hard to get a good photo in there though.  I have some decorating to do to the top of the chest.  And, I need to decide what to do with the art that was already in there and is now hanging above it.

It's a wonderful, very detailed cross stitch that my mom did years ago.  My dad made the frame for it.  All together, it's very special because it's been made by both of my parents.  Plus, the cross stitch is pretty spectacular.  The hall is a bit dark and will keep it from being faded.  I'm not in love with the color of the frame and mat though.  I've thought about changing it but feel that would take away from the creativity my parents put into it.  Maybe I can find some things for the top of the chest to tie it in and make it look better.  My mom made a little boy to match and gave it to my brother.

Here's a close up...

I've been on a cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of spree lately.  This chest of drawers took that to a higher level.  Even though I'd already gone through fabric bins, gotten rid of some stuff, and consolidated it to just four bins....buying the chest inspired me to go through again and this time I was ruthless!  I got rid of every piece of fabric that I wasn't in love with.  I only kept what I loved and had enough fabric to do something with.  That brought the amount of fabric down from four bins to one drawer and half of a second.  Wow!  That feels so good!

While I was going through the fabric, I ran across this scrap of fabric...again.  But, this time, I was about to get rid of it because I've had it for years, hadn't used it, and didn't know what to use it for.  I love it though.  It's beautiful!  And, I have a lot of red in my home.  Then...it hit me...all of a sudden...something I'd never thought of before...

I could use it to recover this chair...

I had just enough and it looks so much better!

I think Salsa even likes it!

It sits in our kitchen at the built in desk.  The fabric looks great with the flowers in the tin tray and with the curtains on the other side of the room.  Yay!  I'm so happy to have found a great use for it!  I have one more piece that I'm planning to use to re-cover a sewing bench cushion.

Going through the fabric was such a success and I was feeling so great from it that I decided to go through my yarn stash again.  And, I was ruthless with that too!  I got rid of almost all the leftovers from finished projects and I have a bunch of full skeins that I don't love and hope to find homes for or donate.  I'm using some of the drawer space for my cotton yarn.

While I was going through the yarn, I decided to try using a ball winder my mom had gotten at her church rummage sale a few years back and given to me.  I'd never tried it because I have another one that she'd given to me that had also been found at one of the church rummage sales.  It has a bigger spool to wind more yarn.  But, I thought it was time I gave this one a whirl.

It's heavy duty and made out of wood and metal.  Pretty cool!  I didn't realize until I went to use it that it sets up and works a lot different than most.  It worked great though and made a little ball from leftover yarn.  That's as big as it can make though.

I won't use it much because of the small amount it can wind but I'll definitely keep it.  I like how it's metal, has a bolt shaped like a heart, and how often do you find anything that says, "made in Liechtenstein"?!  Very cool and very unique!

It's interesting how buying that chest has made my cleaning out and ridding of things so much more successful.  And, I'm not done yet!  I still have more things I want to go through or go through again!

Thoughtful Thursday

I'm still here! In fact, I check my blog everyday and read blogs that I like to follow. I even have things I want to blog about. But, I've just been too busy to plan out the posts, take pictures, and spend the time putting it all together. What have I been up to? Well...

I'm taking a ceramics class with my daughter at the local college. That's taking up a couple nights a week along with a little homework time. My daughter took this class last semester and had a lot of fun. She wanted me to take it with her this semester. In fact, she practically begged me to do it. How cool is that? I couldn't pass that up. Not many kids want their moms to take a class with them. It's a great opportunity to spend time with her, have fun, and make memories. Some of my first projects are starting to come out of the kiln and I plan to post some pictures soon.

I've been deep into Spring cleaning. Actually, my husband and daughter have been too. We've been getting rid of stuff that we just don't use, need or want. We've been filling the trash can and taking loads of stuff to donate. It's surprising to have so much going out because we thought we were keeping up on this kind of thing. We take stuff to donate every couple of months or so. Simplifying and cleaning even more feels great! Hubby built some storage into my daughter's walk-in closet and we're making plans for some other home improvement projects too.

The tendonitis in my elbows is doing soooo much better. The physical therapy and time have made a world of difference and I'm doing things I haven't been able to do in a couple of years! It's so exciting! I've been riding my mountain bike again and not just on dirt roads but on rocky, technical trails! Yeeha! All the time off my bike and not being able to do it make it even more fun now that ever. I also went skiing last week! Pretty cool because last winter I couldn't even hold a ski pole! I forgot how much I love to ski! It was one of my best ski days ever! We're planning to go again very soon! I can't wait!

I've been doing very little in the way of knitting, crochet or any other crafty pursuits. It's not for lack of trying. I've tried several patterns that just don't seem to work. And, I've spent a lot of time lately trying to match patterns to stash yarn. That often feels like an impossible task! I did find a pattern and yarn match late one evening that I really liked but didn't have the right size of circular needle to start it. Ugh! The next day I decided I really needed to start on a baby gift instead. So, I'm working on a little sleep sack and hat set now. I'm not sure if I'll get it done in time though...the baby shower is this Saturday! Oh...and I did get out that problem vest project and I've worked on it a little. I really need more hours in the day!

Well, I'd better end this and get started with my day. I have a dog to walk, a load of stuff to donate and a baby gift to knit, among other things. Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend! :-)