Clean Sweep

I love my swiffer. Let's face it two cats make it a necessity. What I don't love is buying swiffer cloths and throwing them away so I decided to make my own.

A quick internet search shows I'm hardly the first person to have this idea. After sifting through many different versions I landed on this tutorial which converts a ballband dishcloth into a swiffer cover (instructions for the ballband dishcloth can be found here). It was fast and easy to knit up and a good way to use up scrap yarn. And I'm happy to report it works just as well as the disposable cloths on cat hair.

Let's Go to the Movies

I've been hesitant to post this project because I haven't been able to get a decent picture. I guess these will just have to do.




My cinephile husband has turned our extra bedroom into his very own movie theater complete with blackout shades, a giant screen framed by red velvet curtains and a popcorn machine. He lovingly refers to it as "Cinema Zyberdiso." In celebration of his movie palace I made this pillow for his captain's chair.

It features vintage movie monster fabric I found on Etsy. I created a logo and embroidered it using glow in the dark thread I ordered from here. Although I wasn't able to get a good photograph of it, I love the glow in the dark thread. It was easy to work with and the effect is just what I was looking for.

Not a fan of competition, Max shows he can glow in the dark too.

Jewelry Box Redux

I came across this lovely tutorial a few weeks ago and was inspired to give my jewelry box a facelift.






While I'm fairly handy with a needle and thread I'm certainly no expert when it comes to spray paint. Fortunately for me I know someone who is. Thanks to her expert guidance (and touch up skills!) it looks exactly how I envisioned it.

The only problem is my new Tiffany blue jewelry box is now fancier than most of the jewelry in it.

Happiness Is...

A good read about knitting and obsession,

Chocolate mint tea!

and the They Might be Giants station on Pandora.

Drab to Fab

I picked up a classic folding knitting basket at a yard sale a few years ago and had been using it to store my embroidery notions and pattern books. Sadly, one too many books and the thin cotton fabric gave out.

I pulled apart the somewhat dated original fabric and used it to make a pattern.

Now my knitting basket is sporting a new look with my favorite echino print and a sturdy canvas lining.

Quilting Inspiration

I went to the Thimble Pleasures quilt show a couple of weeks ago and came home inspired. Here are just a few of my favorites. For more inspiration visit the guild's website or Kathleen, Kathy or June's blogs.

New car smell

My car needed a little pick me up so I was excited to find this tutorial on DesignSponge.

This was a quick project and I had most of the raw materials at home. The only trouble I ran into was trying to find dried lavender. After being told by the salesclerk that they did not carry it, I took a look around and finally found some in the soapmaking aisle of a major craft store chain. A small package was less than $5 and was enough to make 2 sachets with plenty left over to make one, possibly two, more.