I've been slowly and surely settling into my new place. The goal has been to make it a comfortable, beautiful, and creative space--without spending a ton of money. One of my favorite recent finds was this beautiful and long Kuba applique textile from Congo:
I've been admiring these kinds of textiles for years, so I was thrilled to find such a nice one at an African market--and luckily the seller was more than happy to bargain with me. I mounted it on the wall using the same velcro technique that I described in this post.
I also made a second button tufted headboard! Most of the supplies were leftover from the first headboard, so that certainly helped. I decided to go for a bright turquoise-blue for the guest room. It matches the binding on the quilt I made a few years ago. I also made the blue & white throw pillow using fabric from a dress I had made while studying abroad in Cameroon. I had always loved that fabric, but the dress was not a great fit--I'm so happy now that I can enjoy the print on a regular basis.
Perhaps my most ambitious--and intimidating--project was reupholstering a wingback chair. I received this pair of nice, older chairs from my mom when she moved to a new house. Although flame stitch patterns have definitely come back into style in recent years, I don't think the peachy pastel color scheme could pass for contemporary. I got a lot of comments from visitors on my interesting choice in furniture! The chairs were in great condition, very comfortable, and had hardly been used in their ~50 years of existence. I ended up only keeping and reupholstering one of them, due to space constraints. I also simplified the back cushion so I didn't drive myself totally crazy.
The final result was just about as good as I could have hoped for my first real upholstery job! People and animals alike seem to favor this chair now that it's looking more modern. I also found the perfect throw pillow, another African textile, at a nearby yard sale. I don't always have a lot of confidence in myself in the interior design department, so it's always such a nice feeling when everything finally settles into place! I guess it's true that if you just surround yourself with things you like--regardless of whether they are trendy, or what everyone else is doing--you'll end up with a space you love.
Before our last guests arrived, I went on a picture-hanging spree. This is one of my favorite vignettes: a couple wonderful paintings I scored for a song at the local antique malls, a little painting I made, and some antique spools from my Aunt.
My knitting has been very sporadic over the past couple years--though I'm sure there are a few projects I've neglected to post here! Here's a recent favorite for my new niece or nephew, who will be arriving any day. It's the Sunnyside Baby Sweater in a variegated emerald green color that is sure to look gorgeous on any of my little relatives! I chose a larger size so the little one could grow into it.
