At 1a.m....when I can't sleep.....

So last night I fell asleep while putting Ellie to bed. I woke up from my nap at 9:45ish. And I was wide awake. I knitted. I cleaned. I knitted more. I surfed. I hated myself a bit. Then at 12:45am, I thought I heard Ellie waking to nurse. So I went to bed. Turns out she wasn't awake. But I still was. Grrr. I started thinking about Christmas decorations. I've done the same centerpiece in the dining room for years now. I need a change and for cheap as usual.

Did I mention a while back that I found a second candle holder that matched one I'd purchased months ago at Salvation Army? And there's no way the second one was there for months. I would have seen it. I'd painted the first one black when I got it. I've been using it in the living room. I am going to paint them both red and use them in my centerpiece. These things are what make me happy at 1a.m. when I can't sleep. This morning I bought two hurricanes at Dollar Tree. Here's what I have so far:


I actually like the idea of them white, but the white one is all scratched up and the white itself is sort of a peachy white. Not my style. So, fingers crossed, it will be warm enough in the garage tomorrow to paint them red. Left candle holder: 50 cents, right one 25 cents. Hurricanes were a dollar each. The candles are from my fall centerpiece. I had the tray. I'll add some ornaments in with the pine cones. And maybe add something to the hurricanes.

After I saw this in my head, all red and cheery, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

(almost) finished tree skirt

Just before the sun started going down (you know--at 4:30pm. errrr) I snapped a couple pictures of my tree skirt. 

The binding has little white dots on it which are a bit hard to see in the pictures. I am so glad I didn't go with solid red as planned. None of the plain reds in the store looked good, so I went with this. The back is a slightly marbled blue. I love it. The pattern called for fabric ties, but I found them too fussy to make. I am going to get some wide red ribbon and sew it on instead.

It certainly isn't perfect, but for my second ever free motion quilting project, I am happy with it.

The tree goes up Thursday night!

I'm in full on Christmas mode

Mom's runner is done! I'm pretty proud of it. Picture to come after she gets it next Saturday. I'm making a couple other little gifts for her too.

John's Mom's gift is almost half way done. I need to get back to it soon. Mary told me today she wants a scarf for Christmas. So I guess I need to squeeze that in too. And the girls main gifts too. I am feeling the crunch for sure.

Of course, then I go and start a project for me!

This is my tree skirt. The red panel goes towards the front. It will be free motion quilted and trimmed out in red bias tape. I've been dreaming of making this skirt since I saw it in late June/early July! It is going to look awesome in the blue dining room. I am so ready to put the tree up.

I thought I was done with Ellie's furniture, but the "lint free" cloth I used for the poly coat wasn't lint free at all. The dresser and the bookshelf look awful. I'll be sanding them down, repainting, and then getting a better cloth to apply the darn poly. They are going to have to wait a couple weeks. John did get all the supplies to work on her room. So we just need to find time to work on it.

I have a feeling I am going to fall asleep with Ellie tonight in her toddler bed at 8:30pm.

Elllie's bed and dresser

I took this picture tonight after dark with the drop light turned on down in the basement. The dresser was free from Grandma. I didn't even take a before picture. It was wood with some sad veneer. I tried to fix (glued down and then filled in with wood putty) the veneer the best I could before I painted. What can I say? It was free. It will work. Don't kids destroy furniture anyway? (I loved to sit on my dresser when I was a kid. It had a huge sag in it where I sat. I am sure my parents were mad about it.) I need to touch up the bed and dresser just a bit. Those spindles are impossible to paint. I thought I had it all, but then saw a place I missed so I am sure there are more. Then I will give both pieces a coat of poly to protect them a bit.

I transformed two free (to me) lamps from Grandma Mary. They came out very nice for yard sale lamps. I like them. They have a vintage feel. Pics to come!

I'm working on revamping a GW bookshelf for Ellie's room too. It was white when I bought it. I painted it black back then (maybe 2004? 03?). It had glass doors on it, but I took them off and painted it to match the dresser. I lined the shelves with scrapbook paper. I can't decide if I like it or not. The paper is a bit lumpy. I might take it out and just paint the inside yellow. Or white. I need to sleep on it.

I have the quilt top done for Mom's Christmas table runner. I probably won't work on that again until next week.

I am sure there are other things. And more to come. John's building me a little storage unit for some of the girls' toys. Mom called me tonight from SA to say she'd found a cute headboard for Mary. I was unsure about buying it without seeing it first, but it was FIVE dollars. I told her to buy it. If I hate it, I'll donate it back to the SA here and call it a five dollar donation.

Sick

I think the subject pretty much says it all. All four of us have colds. We are miserable. Actually I feel a little better today. I'm hoping we are on the upswing. I'm hoping we might be able to get some things done this weekend.

I did manage to start my Christmas knitting last Saturday. I'm about a quarter done with the first gift. I ordered, received, and cut the fabric for a table runner that I am making for Mom. I'm hoping to have it done by Thanksgiving so I can give it to her early. That way she'll be able to use it this season. It's going to be red and white which are her Christmas colors this year.

I've primed Ellie's bed and dresser. The bed was in worse shape than I thought, but still a great deal for ten dollars. The paint was chipped in many places, and I spent a long time sanding it down before I primed. I'm hoping to paint the dresser tonight. It will be gray. The walls will be yellow with white trim. I'm heavily leaning towards yellow for the bed. I want to get the dresser painted first and then think about it some more. All I know is that I want her room done SOON. At least enough for her to move in. She's getting too big for her toddler bed. Well maybe not too big, but she's a floppy sleeper. She needs more room than she has in her toddler bed.

That makes it sound like I've done a lot this week. But I feel like I am moving in slow motion.