Work'in on it Wednesday - Spring Cleaning

Well, it's that time of year to clean all the dust bunnies out from every nook and cranny of the house. I will never understand where all the dust and dirt comes from! David and I are total neat freaks, we don't wear shoes in our house, we don't smoke and the bunnies live up in Bunnyville. So where does it come from???? Oye!

Anyway, as I was deep cleaning my bedroom, I was smiling big over my "New Country" style. I've always liked country decorating, but I don't like too much clutter. Yes, I like clean, but I don't like to clean. I would rather be stitching or petting the bunnies!

I've decided I'm going to warm up my black and white color scheme with some green and tan.

Needless to say, I've started designing a quilt to lay at the end of the bed. I love sleeping under the stars so let's just say that the quilt will have some stars on it. That's about as close to camping as I get. hee,hee,hee.   ;)

I'm also going to design some wool applique and stitchery pieces to put on these blank walls. I like to hang things on the walls as the dust doesn't seem to sit on them as much. Plus, blank walls are like a blank canvas! Fun!

Our bathroom needs a bit of warming up too. David just painted the mirrors black. I love how they pop off the wall now. Gonna work on those light fixtures. Maybe some new globes will do the trick. Hmmm...

I finally finished the ticking valance for above my shower. Had that fabric since October!

My friend, Judy Clark, is having a big sale this Saturday in her Etsy Shop. I spotted this vintage stitchery pillow. LOVE IT! Oh and it's going to be mine! hee,hee,hee. Hop over and visit Judy's shop on Saturday. She has lots of great pillows to give your home a Spring spruce up.

Ok, back to designing some new patterns for my Shop.

So what are you work'in on this Wednesday?

xx, Michelle

Inspiration and coming full circle

If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know I have changed my interior decor a bunch of times in the ten years I have lived in my home. The years I spent building new homes, added fuel to my decorating frenzy. I've had everything from Shabby Chic, to Victorian, to all white. What was always a conflict for me was the way I drew and designed my patterns and the way I decorated.

In November, I finally came full circle with all my decorating and soul searching. I found a dining room set that truly felt like me and was a perfect match to my quilts, stitchery and Folk Art Fusion. In my normal fashion, I sold my other dining set, saved some more pennies and purchased my new table. I decided to ignore trends, styles, friends opinions, HGTV and just go with what felt like home to me.

Here is my prior dining room set. Nice, but still a little frou frou.

Here is my new dining room set. It has a more warm, welcome and country feel. The ends slide out and I can fit 12 people around it. I love how my Folk Art Fusion "Peter and Peter the Pumkin Eaters" piece looks with it. I'm also proud to say it was made in America, not China.

I also found this old pie safe in an antique mall. I just knew it would be perfect in the corner and it is.

While visiting a friend before Christmas, I went into a country shop and found a bench. I knew it would be perfect for my mudroom.

                    Mudroom before.

                          Mudroom now.

My home and my design style are now a perfect compliment to each other and to me, a simple blue jeans and cowgirl boot kinda gal. I've been truly inspired to create and will have new patterns coming soon.  I need a table runner, some pillows for the bench a new Folk Art Fusion piece, some stitcheries and mini quilts for the wall and a penny rug for the top of the pie safe. Of course, they will have bunnies. After all, I will always be the crazy bunny lady. hee,hee,hee.

So, I've come full circle with my decorating and returned to the warm, welcoming and relaxed style of Country decor. A perfect style for quilts, stitchery and wool projects to reside in. A perfect place for friends to feel at home. A perfect place for things made by hand.

I'm looking forward to sharing my new designs with you! Have a fun day!

xx, Michelle

Inspiration on a Monday. I'm loving this!

It's still so cold outside and rainy, which makes it more cold. On days like this I like to have lots of tea or coffee, my cozy quilt and spend some time getting inspired. My favorite way to do that is to "window shop" with the computer and take little decorating quizzes. Even though I pretty much know my style, it's fun to see how it evolves over the years. Doing this gives me lots of inspiration for creating new quilting and stitchery designs.

So on Saturday, I hopped over to Ethan Allen and took their "what's my style" quiz. It said I liked the Loft style and particularly the Hayloft Style. "The Hayloft style is modern country, down-to-earth but smart and stylish. It is practical yet chic, black and white blanced with earth tones. It's perfect for a rustic space or city apartment. Fabulous without pretense.

Then I saw this bed!!!! Helloooooooooo fabulous without pretense!! Love the curves, love the color and love the quilt! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner on the inspiration chart!

So then I got to thinking about the 12 of Hearts stitchery we are working on (hop over and get the free pattern from my Shop) and how the colors will tie in perfectly to this look! Love it!

Then, after I stopped laughing from all your fantastic comments from Friday's post, I decided to add some fabric strips around Charlie's (I've now named him that) neck. Then I found this willow berry wreath thing and I put that in the bucket for him to sit on. I like all the texture, pattern and contrast with the black bucket. (again, I call all containers buckets) I think Charlie looks like he is sitting in a briar patch. Love it!

I will be doing follow up posts on Charlie based on some of the hilarious comments ya'll left for me. That was so much fun! Until then, I'm going up to Bunnyville to design a new pattern to debut on Valentines Day. I'm so inspired!

Have a fun and magical week and find something to inspire you! Oh and if you take that style quiz, I would love to know what your style is!
xx, shell, sugie and harrington