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Showing posts from 2010

Beautiful Silk Draperies

This client, Cheryl, selected a " most beautiful " embroidered silk fabric for her living room.  Each bank of windows flanked the fireplace.  The brick went to the ceiling and so did the swags and side panels.  The panels were 246" long and the swag was 10 feet wide.  That is one jumbo swag. Or in this case--two swags.  It is on its way up.  Two men, two ladders and one beautiful swag.  Fits perfect.  Now for the side panel. As I took some of these photos I found breathing difficult.  Didn't think I had a fear of heights. Keep in mind,  I never left the ground or set one foot on the ladder.  I was "overdone" for the installers that climbed half way to heaven to install this job.  Thank you so much to my terrific installers.  They never even flinched.  I guess I was "flinching" for them.   Is that not B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L?  Personally, swags are my all time favorite.  And with luxurious fabric.  It is a win-win situation.  The right side of the r

Nursery Treasures and Pleasures

Once in awhile, I am asked to create custom baby bedding.  There is no greater pleasure found.  One of my weaknesses is brand new babies.  There is so much anticipation, so much to prepare for and so much that we think we know and so much that is unknown. This baby was going to be born to a couple that would cherish her forever.  It was evident as we began to design and embellish her future living quarters.  My client, Lindsay D. (mom-to-be) was a delight to work with.  She had great color sense and was so anticipating the birth of their little one.  We began our journey at the fabric store.  We actually met each other at Anatol's Fabrics.  Their fabric selections can be viewed at  www.housefabrics.com/defaultproduct.asp   She showed me her fabric choices and  I began the design process.  Lindsay loves personalized work.  One of the first things this baby may learn are her initials.  All of the trim, woodwork, drapery rods, finials, and ball fringe were soft white.  The walls w

Bunches of Buttons

While on a recent trip to Minnesota, I visited this quaint little shop in Stillwater and found this beautiful batch of buttons. These are not just ordinary buttons, they are all hand made ceramic buttons. Loving to collect things, I couldn't resist at least a photo. Colorful, playful, and waiting to be sewn to something were all the things I thought about as I ran my fingers through this assortment. To learn more about them and their uniqueness visit her web site at  www.pushingmybuttons.etsy.com . Julie Kinney is the creator--I am just an admirer, the photographer and a lover of buttons.

Some "Boo" hooing in the Sewing Room

The colors are right for this time of year. Sewing is my favorite thing to do.  Look what Lorraine B., a client of mine, asked me to do for her children.  She celebrates and decorates at Halloween with her extended family like most do at Christmas.  The family gathers at this time of year to be together.  She goes all out.  This is a photo of what one of the child's bedding looks like.  The BOO on the pillow was my way of getting to use my embroidery machine once again.  I am addicted to that thing.

From a Fishbowl to a Fabulous Master Bedroom

When a new client comes my way, I listen to them talk about the room that is being considered for custom work.  The beauty of my job is to create a design that addresses their needs and concerns.  I enjoy getting to know them, their likes and their dislikes.  It all plays into the design. Two arched windows--one on each side of the bed. Twelve feet wide and facing west. Two more windows-each 6 feet wide. This beautiful home is filled with beautiful windows.  The master bedroom is large, grand and well proportioned.  The windows are in abundance.  The homeowners want to have the luxury of "sleeping in" on Saturday morning, if possible.   So my work begins.  Total coverage is the bottom line.  Now that is a lot of fabric and a lot of draperies.   They selected fabrics for a complete bedding ensemble.  From there we selected fabrics for the draperies and for a touch of interest--I created a valance with lots of detail.  Placing the slightly undersized valance around t

Start with Art in the Kitchen

This client brought me into her kitchen and said, "I just love this oil painting and want to make the window treatments simple but expressive of the colors in the artwork."  I-- acting as if I do this type of thing every day --you know-- work with art, said, "Let's begin with finding fabrics that are full of those colors and that are going to reflect the fun found in this painting.  So--the hunt began.  I searched the fabric collection in my sewing room and found a line of fabrics that really did have all the colors found in this oil painting.  The picture below is how we managed to use the color and the triangle shapes were copied from the window in the back door.  She had her walls painted and stenciled and I installed the small treatment above the sink, on the back door and window next to the door.  It was a nice splash of color and reflected the intense color found in the painting.  The painting had a whole story unto itself.  I just listened and found a way

Headbands to Headboards

It has been a few months since I have written something on my blog.  Please forgive me.  My intention is to write and post something new and exciting each month.  I have had this title in my head since the first of the year. Collecting the photos and finding time to write this have been my shortcomings.  I tend to be long on creativity and short on technological ability.  I guess practice may bring perfection. This is Sarah D's adorable bedroom.  She is the daughter to one of my long time f avorite sewing clients.  We started the makeover with a tall white headboard for Sarah's very pink room.  Ralph Lauren PINK.   The sheer fabric panels are white dotted Swiss, an old fashioned favorite of mine used in a strong contemporary way. It seemed just the fabric to add a light and airy feel to the room. The corner computer desk, a great find at a garage sale, was enhanced with gathered white skirting that fell off the front edge covering up the computer cords and things underneat