Fresh!

There is something terribly rewarding about finding an item and giving it a new lease on life.  Even when it's as simple as a fresh coat of paint.  After much internal debate on whether to go with colors that are predictably me or strike out into new color territory, my heart finally landed on a color for the new-to-me dressers that will be part of my guest room craft storage.  Although I was open to fate leading me down her path via the oops paint, I didn't find anything inspiring so I went to the paint chips and chose a color called Pink Grapefruit.  I must admit that I am intrigued by how many gallons of black or almost black paint that had been returned to the store.  Don't you wonder what colors those DIY'ers ended up with instead?  Oh, if a gallon of paint could talk.  But ... I digress.

To me this is a rich coral and will add a lovely, almost bold pop of color to the white room.  Its not bold in the sense that designers use the term these days (its not orange!) but its bold for me since I normally choose pale shades.  Here we have the tall dresser with two coats of fresh paint as it waits patiently for some new drawer pulls.  Shucks - I must go shopping!

As I painted the second coat this morning, I was listening to An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon - the latest in the Outlander series.  I have loved it from the beginning, and its very easy to get lost in the story.  She does a wonderful job of describing everything from the signs of the times to some serious character development and Davinia Porter brings the characters to life with her narration.  I can't recommend the series enough to everyone I meet!  Ms. Gabaldon must do an incredible amount of research - I feel like I have learned so much about life in the late 1700's as she takes us from Scotland to France to the Caribbean and finally to America.  No spoilers here, but I will tell you I'm listening to the events of mid-1777 and oh, how intriguing they are!

Unfortunately I was enjoying the rhythym of painting and listening to the audiobook so much that I ended up an hour late to work.  Oops!  More to come.

Crafty Cabinets - before

I love my new little house, but since I don't have all of my furniture with me yet I went out in search of some cabinets or bookcases to use in the meantime.  I'm going from a 3 bedroom plus office home into a 2 bedroom plus sunroom home so there is obviously going to be some downsizing and consolidating.  Another big challenge is that my bedroom storage is reduced closet space - horrors!  Instead of whining, I'm off to the races with this adorable set of dressers that I found at a local consignment shop for peanuts. 

Since I'm renting, I'm not going to paint the walls in the guest room so I will need to add some fun color through my 'stuff' - the comforter, artwork and furniture!  My old guest room was in a soft peach with a gorgeous floral comforter and a general sea shell theme to the room and guest bath.   I've chosen a pink flamingo theme for the guest bathroom, but I really think one room of that is sufficient, don't you?  (And yes, I realize most people would say one pink flamingo room is one room too many!)

I'm thinking a brighter peach, or perhaps coral?  Coral would be girly but a little more tropical.  If I want to use the space as my studio for HotPinkPeonies, then I might want to go with a sky blue with hot pink accents.  That would be cute, but not a very good 'welcome to the beach' color scheme.  Decisions, decisions.  I've thumbed through some photos of beautiful craft rooms online and on Ravelry (because of course one must go there first), but mostly I see where people have added color to their craft rooms or studios on the walls, and used or created white furniture.  I'm sure sure which direction I'll take, but its fun to have a new project!

Anyway, here's the "before" photos :

 

 

I stress, therefore I knit.

First and foremost, I am grateful that I live in beautiful, peaceful place and that my family is healthy and mostly happy.  My heart goes out to the parts of our country that have had such catastrophic weather lately.   I haven't had any monstrous issues myself, but a series of little stresses piled on top of one another and very little time away from my business has resulted in craving to knit.  I NEED to knit.  I NEED to make something pretty (or at least functional) that is all about me.  I NEED to do something that is totally under my control. 

So I've taken up the remainder of the hat I started for my dad back during the February blizzards.  Technically, a hat for my father is not all about me, but I'm willing to sacrifice that little aspect of the 'all about me' project.  It is a pewter grey from KnitPicks and will coordinate with the Prismatic Scarf I made for him out of Brooks Farms Solo.  The scarf took forever, but is so soft and warm and lovely, and most importantly he likes it!  The hat is a simple cable pattern from Knit Simple Winter 2006 / 2007.   I just spent an hour on it, and I can't tell you how good that 60 minutes of moving needles and yarn was, for my soul.  I feel like my batteries are slowly recharging, and maybe, just maybe, I can handle the curve balls that have been thrown at me lately!

I also decided to submit an idea for the Cooperative Press's new series, Fresh Designs.  I saw a twitter about the call for submissions and I thought of something really cute that I've wanted to do for a while, and I just went right ahead and filled out the form.  I've never designed a project like this, and I think I'd like to get into creating my own patterns and self-publishing.  Having a professional deadline would give me just the kick in the butt I need to get my feet wet.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!