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Friday, March 6, 2009

Hooked On ... House Blessing, Open House, Crunch Time!

It's "Hooked On Friday" over at Julia's great eye candy blog for house junkies, Hooked On Houses. Click here to find more fun! Thank you, Julia, for hosting and for your amazing blog!

Meanwhile -- I am Hooked On Our House Blessing Party --
And Curtains and Fabrics, and TOO MUCH TO DO!

Tic-toc, tic-toc, tic-toc . . .

It's Friday, and I'm making up a "to-do" list for the weekend that is just a tad more ambitious than usual, because I am hopelessly hooked on getting ready for a House Blessing party.

The clock is ticking!

Our House Blessing and Open House are on Saturday, March 14th. And there's miles to go before we sleep.

That Old House won't be "all done" by then, as it will never be "all done," but there are things I really want to accomplish before our friends and family and neighbors come, and the clock is ticking faster and faster and faster!

It's a good thing I work best under pressure.
Lots of pressure.
Giles Corey pressure.


So this weekend... I plan to (deep breath here) . . .


Paint the vanity in this bathroom,


... replace the medicine chest with this big mirror:

And... curtains. Maybe. Can't promise.
But I can promise "After" shots on Monday!

To hang the mirror I need to lure my sister and her husband here with offers of good food and wine. When they arrive, and it's pizza and Ripple, they will be too well-mannered to leave without helping. That's my plan.

Then, so's I won't get bored... I plan to finish curtains in the following rooms, with the following fabrics:

In the yellow guest room, a Greeff cotton. . .




Can you see the sweet dotted background?


All the colors I want are in this print -- the pale yellow,
the coral pink, the touches of blue, the soft green. I love fabric.


In the master bedroom (click here for more), a G.P. & J. Baker toile. . .


Not what I think of as "toile" but that's what the manufacturer calls it,
so who am I to say it's not? It's neat, though.
Rather looks like something from long ago, don't you think?


Look closely -- see the little dude?
He cracks me up.


In the pink guest room, a rose-print cotton from Braemore, originally bought for the dining room where it just did not belong. (Note to self: from now on, listen to the house, not the daughter.)


Look at the detail in this fabric.

Look closely -- there are shadow stripes of ecru in the background.



And in our dining room, a gold faux silk, a half-price drapery fabric from Joanne's. . .


You might think it's already done, but no ... that's just lengths of fabric and lining clipped up onto rings. Not really draperies, you know? Sort of a desperation measure.
It looks like the windows are wearing clown pants.

(More on the dining room and draperies here.)

For the parlor, period-style half-swags in a red (same fabric as dining room, but in red to match dining room walls and tie the rooms together). . .

So, this fabric:


In this room:

I love the woodwork in this old room, so I am not going to cover it up with massive draperies;
just modest swags that behave themselves and stay within the sash.


And of course... the red powder room, and its $1.00 a yard toile.
"After" pictures of that on Monday, too.

To see the "Before" of this room, and it's a doozy, click here.
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Whew, that's a lot to do. I don't think I'll be much at the computer! I've got a pretty sweet "Honey-Do" list for Howard, and not surprisingly it involves drills and screwdrivers and drapery rods. Lucky man.

Wish me luck.

Meanwhile, down in the cellar are boxes of the old curtains from That Old House; they've been washed or cleaned, and are going to a secondhand charity shop, as is the medicine chest from the blue bathroom. We hope they will all have a second chance.

Have a wonderful weekend.

P.S. If you are interested in home dec fabrics, my go-to source is www.fabricguru.com -- and until mid-March they've got a 20-percent off promotion. Contact me for the coupon code! They don't pay me for mentioning them, I am just a very satisfied customer. They are inexpensive, ship fast, and you can get swatches in 2 or 3 days.

30 comments:

  1. Oh, I love fabrics, too....and yours are gorgeous...and $1 a yard toile????? Wherever did you find that buy???
    Good luck.

    Suzanne

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  2. You have some very beautiful fabrics! I can't wait to come back and see your after pictures!! Good luck this weekend!!
    ~angela @ peonypatch
    www.mccalled.com/peonypatch

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  3. You'd better get sewing! :) Love all the fabrics. It will look so good when it's done.

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  4. Oh, thanks so much for sharing your sources!!! Now get to sewing, so you can sleep, too between now and then!!! Wish I could come over and help!

    Suzanne

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  5. Cass,

    I am sure you will be ready for your house blessing, sometimes things have a way of magically falling in to place. However, that won't include the draperies!

    I applaud you for making your own. I so wish I had learned to sew. I took a class a long time ago and reading a pattern just made me dislike the whole thing. Now, I would just be happy to make curtains, pillows, tablecloths...simple things that cost sky high.

    I love all your fabrics and can't wait to see the afters on Monday. Take some pics at the party too!

    xoxo
    Jane

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  6. What gorgeous fabrics! I can't wait to see all your window treatments!! You're pretty amazing to do all of these projects!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  7. So glad to hear you're not going to cover up all that gorgeous woodwork! And you weren't kidding about the powder room "before" being a doozy. Whoa! Hard to believe that's the same room.

    Fun post! Love to see what you're up to. Thanks for joining my blog party! :-)

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  8. Those fabrics are GORGEOUS and if you get ALL those curtains made in ONE weekend I'll eat my weight in chocolate, so be sure to let us know, 'cause I've really been wanting to eat my weight in chocolate.

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  9. I already FOUND and ANSWERED your comment on my blog.

    Dove, Milk C - - - come to mama, baby!!!

    BTW - - - - If I could imagine and have my dream house, it would be YOURS. That woodwork - - - the wall colors THE HARDWOOD FLOORS!!!! I'm DYIN' over here in my little "burb" no-one-ever-lived-in-this-house-so-it-has-no-real-history house!!!!

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  10. Keetha -- Game on! See the comment I left on your Thursday post. . .
    Cass

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  11. I love all your fabric choices, but girlfriend, you have no time to be in blogland when there is a party looming. Good luck on the finish, I have had those all nighters in our old house too!!!!

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  12. Girl you have a long list of to do stuff...now I love the fabric fro DR/bedroom now that is beautiful..I hope you get it all done and have a great hose warming party...good luck!! hugs and smiles...Gl♥ria

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  13. Cass,
    I got tired just reading this! I love all your beautiful fabrics and I can't wait to see it all turned into drapes! Good Luck on all these projects, Cindy

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  14. Hey you - - - stop sewing and come back to blogging!!! Isn't your computer calling you????

    ;-) (That's all I can do to "hedge" my bet a little)

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  15. I'm leaving home before I see the honey do list.

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  16. I can't wait to see it when it' finished! I love your fabrics! Don't forget to take a break and drink a cup of tea!

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  17. Your house is gorgeous! I love all the fabrics you've picked. The powder transformation is amazing! Good luck, and I can't wait to see more "after" pictures!

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  18. Your home and the way you have decorated it is jaw-droppingly beautiful! Wow!

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  19. My goodness you described the situation so vividly that I feel like I have all that work to do. I love your house and I'm sure it will be perfect for the big day.
    Charlotte

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  20. I could get lost in the fabric department of any store in the world ... I love everything you shared with us today.

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  21. Have thread can travel. Wowzers!
    I think I better get you an espresso machine shipped ASAP to tackle your list. Oh, that's right, you've got a SUPERWOMAN t-shirt on underneath your top...that's right! Silly me. Anxioulsy awaiting your Monday report. Can't wait to see the "after" pictures. You put Martha Stewart to shame girl!

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  22. Oh I adore all of your fabrics. They are scrumptious!

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  23. I love your blog! The fabrics are beautiful. Looking forward to the after pictures.

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  24. My goodness you are a busy woman! I can't wait to see all the after pictures!

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  25. Note to self... make sure you come back and visit Cass on Monday... must see the after shots.
    ENJOY your weekend putting it all together!
    Fifi

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  26. That fabric - delicious!
    I look forward to seeing the finished projects.
    Fabricguru was a great site, but they don't ship outside the continental USA. When I need something special we get on the ferry and head down to Washington, where we find the closest Calico Corners. Nothing at all like that exists north of the 49th parallel.

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  27. Oh, I can't wait to see it all! Your fabrics are gorgeous, and I am definitely going to look at that site! Thanks for sharing it. I also have to be under pressure to get something accomplished. Unfortunately, my dh doesn't feel the same pressure, so when I'm under pressure, I'm having to pressure him too! Don't work so hard that you can't enjoy your open house. Have fun. laurie

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  28. Gorgeous fabrics! Can't wait to see!!...Debbie

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