Sweet Swoon Success: I Found the Zipper

Woohoo, I found my navy zipper and finished my Swoon pillow! The last time we chatted, my sewing room (and life) was in a state of chaos, so a finished project is worthy of celebration. Briefly, the pattern and fabric line is by Camille Roskelly of Thimble Blossoms: Swoon Sixteen and Nantucket Summer. The background fabric is indigo chambray by Moda Fabrics. Aurifil thread 1248 dark grey blue blends nicely for piecing and quilting.

Green Star
Navy Star
One pillow with two Swoon blocks

The Swoon pillow is resting on the window seat in my sewing room. However, I have plans for at least two coordinating quilts, so it will probably move from room to room with the quilts. By the way, the pillow is about 18.5 inches square and contains a 20-inch IKEA feather cushion.

swoon quilted pillow on window seat

Swooning Over Wally

I’m happy to report that Wally is a wonderful addition to our home. It may seem odd to some of you, but a dog makes our home feel complete. We are happy; we are exhausted.

puppy in play pen
Wally enjoys playing and napping in his playpen.

My friend Libby sent me a handmade card and book to commemorate Chester and celebrate Wally. The gifts brought tears to our eyes. Thank you! This book was sweet serendipity because I wanted to read more of Mary Oliver’s poetry.

Dog Songs: a book

Summer Chaos Continues

Last week I told you that my daughter needed to make a temporary move while her apartment underwent some major repairs. While she settled in, we moved out. Long story short: our dishwasher very slowly leaked onto our wood floors. It was such a slow leak that we didn’t detect it until a portion of our floor buckled seemingly overnight. So this week we moved our furniture into the garage and the contents of our walk-in pantry into a guest bedroom. Here’s a photo of our empty first floor, ready for refinishing.

modern farmhouse
We live in a modern farmhouse with an open floor plan. There’s a staircase and powder room on the right.

Have you read about our kitchen makeover? The photo below is what our kitchen looked like when we moved in almost two years ago. Since then we painted the walls and kitchen island. Then we replaced the dishwasher, range and vent hood, two faucets, and the library lights. Now we can check off refinishing the floor.

Dark Green Farmhouse Kitchen

It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn

This disruption has been hard, though minor compared to most homes that experience water damage. In the meantime, we’ve been camping out in our basement. I’m sleeping in the recliner and my husband is on an air mattress. Here’s our breakfast station. It kind of messes with my idea of a tidy sewing space!

Tomorrow we can walk on the floors so we’ll wipe away any dust and move everything back into the pantry. Hopefully, we’ll move the furniture back in place by Sunday evening. Then I’ll breathe a sigh of relief and hope for a peaceful autumn.

Joyfully,

Tracie