Slipcovering a Chair...#2



I have this little side chair that

went from the living room to the the basement

several months ago.

At that time I decided to "lighten" my decor a bit

and it just didn't work in the living room any longer.

It's a perfectly nice little chair,

but I have too much brown

in my house.

My plan was to slipcover it and

move it to my bedroom.

I purchased this white, embossed

fabric a few months ago,

with the chair in mind.

The first step was to wash and dry the fabric.

No point in making a slipcover if

it doesn't clean easily.

I have made one other chair slipcover in the past

using a commercial pattern.

This time I decided to wing it without a pattern.

Measuring, cutting and labeling all my pieces

started the process.

And of course, I made lots of notes for myself.

My approach was to "build" the slipcover,

piece by piece.

It took three separate sessions

to assemble all the pieces.

The trickiest part of the whole process

was the side area where the back, seat and bottom

all come together.

This was the same area that gave me

problems on the chair I had done previously.

Try as I might, I could not get that area

to come together nicely.

Finally, after venting to Nancy,

non-sewer that she is, 

her idea was to cover it up with a sash. 

Brilliant!

This turned out to be a bit of detailing

I had not planned on,

but it totally "makes" the chair!

Assessing the final results,

it's not perfect.

But it's a learning process.

And until I want to attempt it again,

I can at least use my little chair.

This week I'm partying at
Etsy Cottage Style.

In Search of the Elusive ... & Perfect White Shirt



In my closet right now,

are seven white shirts.

(This doesn't include the ones presently

residing in the basement because

they're out of season.)

There are cotton,

cotton blend, silk, and linen

white shirts.

There are short sleeves,

long sleeve,

and 3/4 length sleeves.

(There are no sleeveless,

because sadly to say,

I don't really do sleeveless anymore.)

We won't even get into the

white tees, white sweaters and

white jackets I also have.

Yet I find I'm always checking out

the white shirts when I shop.

What is going on with me?

I'm looking for that

Perfect White Shirt,
which none of those seven
in my closet quite achieve.

I want that white shirt I can

wear with a pair of jeans

and feel "put together."

I want a white shirt that looks good

and feels good.
I want a "crisp" look but
not a starched feel.

It would be even nicer

if that same white shirt

could be dressed up on occasion too.

It's probably impossible to have

only one white shirt to fill all

my wardrobe desires.

But I keep looking for it,

 shopping for it,

and hoping for it.

Just this week I ordered this shirt from

Soft Surroundings.

Maybe this will be my

Perfect White Shirt.

Do you have one?

Note:  Since writing this post,
the above shirt arrived.
It's now repackaged and
ready to be sent back...

Honeybell Oranges



Have you heard of Honeybells?

Have you been lucky enough to taste them?

A nice neighbor recently sent some over to Buttermilk Cottage.

She was gifted with too many to eat herself,

so we got the excess!

Lucky us!

Can you see why they're named "honeybells?"

Honeybells are a cross between tangerines and grapefruit.

They reach their peak only during January and February.

They are incredibly easy to peel.

When was the last time you peeled an orange

and the rind came off all in one piece?

This fruit only grows along the

Indian River in Florida.

They are especially sweet and juicy.

They also make a really nice

spinach and fruit salad.

I made a base of torn spinach leaves,

put the peeled fruit on top,

and sprinkled everything with roasted, sliced almonds.

For the dressing I mixed the following in a blender,

and blended for 20 to 30 seconds:

1/2 c. sugar

1T. sesame seeds

1T. poppy seeds

1 1/2 t. minced onion

1 1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 t. paprika

1/4 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

I usually make this dressing for

a strawberry spinach salad.

(Canned Mandarin oranges work well if

you're not lucky enough to have Honeybells!)

My Creative Process



What gets your creative juices flowing?

I recently bought these two balls of yarn

at a discount store.

I'm always on the prowl for yarn to add to my stash.

What usually gets my attention is

something that sparkles or

has an interesting texture.

Both of the yarns above qualify

and the extra bonus was they are

both in the same colorway.

I decided to make one of my reversible cowls

to be lined with the scarf above.

So out come the yarns,

anything and everything that coordinates

with the colors in the scarf.

Then the really fun part,

knitting!

It's so exciting to see the

interaction of the colors as

I knit them, row upon row.

Here's the knitted cowl,

all ready to be lined with the scarf.

The finished cowl.

This colorway, which I'm calling,

"Raspberries & Blueberries,"

is the perfect pop of color

to get us through

the final days of this winter

and into spring!

I decided to knit a slouchy hat too!

FUSION Yarn, colorway "Raspberries & Blueberries"

That's how my creative process works!

How about yours?

What's in a Name?



I'm sometimes asked,

"Why Buttermilk Cottage?"

"Where did that come from?"

The house I lived in before moving here

was the polar opposite of where I live today.

It was a large contemporary house

perched on the side of a hill.

It was a wonderful house

with an even more wonderful view.

My then-husband and I had worked with

an architect to design it.

We had it built, doing a lot of the work ourselves.

That house was situated in the country on "Buttermilk Road."

During that time, more than 20 years ago,

 I started my wholesale bag business,

and since it was a home-based business,

it became,

"Designs from the House on Buttermilk Road."

Over the years the business grew and

as is often the case, my life situation changed.

When it was time for me to downsize and move,

I was by no means ready to end my business.

My customers all knew me by the Buttermilk Road name.

So, when I moved here, I needed to keep a bit of

my business's name recognition.

Therefore its name had a small change and it became

"Buttermilk Cottage."

Since the house seemed to need a name too,

it happily became Buttermilk Cottage as well.

Because Nancy and I do several events during the year,

(i.e. the Bistro on the Porch and the Holiday Show),

the house's name has almost taken on a life of it's own.

I'm giving you this lengthy explanation because

I have several new followers as a result of

the "Grow Your Blog" Party hosted by

Vickie at Two Bags Full.

Several blogs taking part in that event

are hosting giveaways today.

Me included!

This morning, the names of all those

who left comments for me

on the party post were put in the pot...

err...basket.

Every name was assigned a number or letter and

Number 16 is the winner...

Evalina at "This and That."

Congratulations... I'll be in touch.

To everyone who participated,

visited, left comments and joined as new followers,

and especially Vickie for organizing the whole thing,

Thank You!

A note about the cataract surgery yesterday,

my vision is still a bit blurry today.

I go back this morning for a follow up,

but I anticipate a good report!

Thanks for all your nice thoughts!

Happiest of weekends!

Giveaway Reminder!

Just a reminder,

today is the last day

to make yourself eligible for

tomorrow's giveaway.

I'll be giving away one of my

"Tag Along" Bags

 like or similar

to the one pictured above.

I have several fabric choices

from which the winner will

select her bag.



This giveaway is being held in conjunction with

the "Grow Your Blog Party"

hosted by Vickie at "Two Bags Full".

Many of the participants of Vickie's party

are hosting giveaways on February 1.

The only thing you need to do

is visit and leave

a comment at this post.

One other reminder,

the "After Christmas Sale"

at my Etsy Shop

ends tomorrow too.

I still have great items left,

(like the knitted tote pictured above).

So don't miss out!

Keep me in your thoughts today.

I'm having cataract surgery on one eye

this morning.

The other eye was done about

a year and a half ago,

so I totally know what to expect...

good vision!

Housekeeping 101

I crave order in my house.

I am not  extreme about it though.

My goal is to keep my house in

good enough order that

if someone drops by unexpectedly,

I'm not in a panic about how 

the house looks.

Housework is always there

and you never get done with it.

There are endless duties.

Finding a way to manage these duties

without becoming overwhelmed by them

is the secret.

For me, the trick is to divide and conquer.

That means dividing these duties

into small daily tasks.

I refuse to spend more that an hour a 

day with housekeeping.

I have neither the interest,

the energy nor the inclination 

to spend a whole day cleaning

First, there are those daily chores.

Making the bed is one of the things

that always gets done at my house.

Walking into a room with an unmade bed

is unsettling to me.

Loading/unloading the dishwasher,

is another daily job.

I cannot abide a sink full of dirty dishes.

Keeping clutter controlled on a daily 

basis is helpful too.

Living alone helps since

I'm the only one responsible if there is clutter.

Then there are the weekly chores.

Laundry, vacuuming and dusting

are all jobs that need to be done 

every week.

Happily, my house is small enough that

if I only do a room or two per day,

the whole house gets a "going over"

each week with minimal time spent

each day.

Finally, there are those jobs 

that need to be done seasonally.

These are the jobs to "work" into

your daily routine as time allows.

I find if I don't pressure myself to

get the whole job done at once,

it goes much easier.

For example washing a couple

of windows a day,

rather than taking the whole day

to do them all,

seems to work for me.

I know, I'm probably just playing

mind games with myself.

But, whatever gets the job done, right?

What are some of the routines 

that work for you?

My All Time Favorite -- Stage Play

 The first time I saw LES MISERABLES on stage was in 

San Francisco, perhaps 25 years ago.

I was there on vacation and just happened upon

the theater where it was being performed.

A spur of the moment decision resulted in

excellent seats for that day's matinee.

Chatting with a stranger sitting beside me,

I learned he had seen the show many times 

and he assured me, it would be "life changing."

He was right.

I have seen lots and lots of stage shows.

They are a passion of mine.

But, I have never been touched by a show

in the same way I have been by LES MISERABLES.

I've had the pleasure of seeing it performed

three times over the years.

So, you can imagine my excitement about

this holiday season's  movie.

The movie did not disappoint.

(I have seen it twice, 

so you know I'm serious about Les Mis.)

I love the music and lyrics of this show.
It's my favorite thing about the show.
One difference between seeing the stage show

and the movie is that  

the lyrics are much more easily 

understood in the movie.

The songs performed in the movie do not have

the refinement you hear from the stage.

But it's much more intimate.

You are right there with the characters.

Songs in the movie were performed 

while filmed, rather than dubbed in later.

This made them much more emotional for me.

There are lines in this show  

that truly touch my soul.

"...days of endless wonder..."

"I know a place where no one's lost..."

"I was borned to be with you..."

"...there's a grief that can't be spoken,

there's a pain that goes on and on..."

and

"...to love another person,

is to see the face of God..."

LES MIS is several stories.

First is the  story of redemption.

It is a touching love story.

It is the story of a student rebellion.

Seeing the student's barricade

 on stage that first time,

with the smoke, the lighting and that red flag waving,

I realized what the "magic" of theater is.

There's also plenty of comic relief in 

Monsieur and Madam Thenardier.

I have never been a fan of Sacha Baron Cohen,

but he is perfect here.

So, I won't say this is my all time favorite movie,

although I liked it a lot.

But, it surely is a wonderful production of 

my all time favorite stage show.