Monday, October 10, 2011

Crafting and Redecorating

We have recently decided to do our boys' room in an all-out sports theme. They have sports-themed comforters for their beds but I want to do the whole room in a sports theme. At the beginning of October, we had a birthday party for which I made some beanbags for a game that we played. I used sports fabric to make the bean bags and I bought more than I needed for the bean bags so I had some left over.

Today, I decided to go to a craft store to pick up an embroidery hoop to put the extra fabric on and use it as a simple yet cute wall hanging. But then, in the same aisle as the hoops were printed cross stitch patterns. I love those things! I also like counted cross stitch but at this point in my life, the less I have to keep track of, the better. And of course, they had some with a sports theme. There were 12 panels in the package, which you then embroider by hand and then sew together with other fabrics to make a quilt, right? Yeah, I had to get it. I mean, seriously, there are so many options. I can do up all 12 panels and use four apiece for each of the boys and use LOTS of sports theme fabrics. I can buy two more sets of them and make the quilt as directed. I can make throw pillows out of them for the boys' beds, I can create more wall art for them, the possibilities are just astounding to me! I cannot wait to get these twelve panels all finished up so that I can decide what to do with them!!!

I also got a set of 12 butterfly panels for Oralee's room. Since she is the only one in her room and her room is on the smaller side (and currently decorated in fairies and princesses) I have time to work on her panels. No big rush on hers. I'd like to get some more wall stickers from the dollar store for her room though. I saw that they have long blades of grass and flowers that I think would be absolutely adorable around the bottom half of her room. We could move the fairies down so that they could hide in the grass too, with the princesses and other stickers above them. I have great visions, I tell ya!

I am so enjoying the hand embroidery though! It is so relaxing! I learned how to do the stamped cross stitch when I was six. My grandmother taught me. I remember spending many nights at her house, working on embroidery squares while watching television with her. A lot of my handiwork, I learned from her actually. She taught me to sew on a machine (I'm still not good at it!), sew by hand (THAT I can handle - pun intended), embroider, crochet...the list goes on. She was talented, no doubt about it.

My goal for this week (in addition to my normal daily stuff that I won't bore you with - at least, not at this point) is to finish the panels for the boys' room. Maybe this time next week, I will have even decided what to do with them and can share some pictures of finished items with you. That would be fun!

I had to share that with you real quick but I'm off to finish up some basketballs on quilt blocks. Talk to you soon!