A NEW THING

By Rachel

 Whew! Talk about a long time. Here is an update:
1.) Looking for full time attorney job
2.) Doing some contract attorney work
3.) Being unemployed sure does change your perspective in so many ways
4.) Patchwork saved me

Being unemployed can kill your sense of self worth. It will kill alot of you inside and outside. I desperately needed something. Something where I could see fast results but still a challenge and creative in some way. Something that would not hurt my back. Something cheap. Something colorful. Something I could do each day. And just by chance when googling "patchwork curtains" because I had seen these beauties:

Muriel Brandolini

I was led to these:

By Rachel Stitched in Color

And then I started following Rachel and her BLOG and then other quilting blogs, tutorials, etc etc. You know how it goes....

 

Rachel Quilt

One day when I was so very low,  I saw that Rachel was offering an on-line class and I signed up immediately. A project or more each week! A deadline! Color! Design! Learning something new! An accomplishment! and I got a sewing machine! and I LOVE fabric!

And TOOLS! A whole new bunch of very cool tools:

And Quilting is not what it use to be. IT is HOT< HOT< HOT and the Modern Quilting movement is HUGE which is my favorite:

From Quilt Con 2013

Anyways, starting with the fun fundamentals :

And someday:

I need to get the artists for these

So that's it for now. I love my decor work but right now I need to accomplish something small each day. I am so very grateful that I was led to this:

paper piecing

Cat
XXOO

Navy Blue

Been a REALLY LONG time. In fact I cannot believe I am posting but if I don't do something the least bit creative I will go crazy.  Not only do I work like a dog at my new job but it is also so intense. I am pretty much exhausted all the time and I ain't got any mojo left for anything. ANYWAYS I have a hankering to redo my entry hall which presently looks like this:

This is the way it use to look, now it has white wainscot and a white lacquered low cabinet

I want something different and am so loving navy blue:

Pablo Paniaqua

but I think it will be too dark so maybe a color closer to cobalt in a wash:

The above are all by Porter's Paints. I have their fan deck and alot of these colors are a bit off but you get the idea. I am leaning towards the one in the center. And I cannot leave it just a solid color. I am thinking of using one of these stencils in a grid pattern:

All stencils via the stencil-library

I want some humor in the entryway. The flying pigs are hilarious. I also need alot more love in my life and I adore the heart tattoo. Not sure what colors I would use for that. What do you think?

Cat

As most of you may know I am crazy for fabrics. I am constantly looking at fine fabric websites for their latest collections which not only inspires me but fills me with color. Been waiting for this one...the John Robshaw collection for Duralee is out. There are four books of various colors and a 5th book that is a collection from the four. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Duralee is "to the trade" but there are many websites now that sell Duralee fabrics and others. One of my favorites is Decorators Best. They have a ton of fabrics with prices right on their site and you can order immediately instead of waiting for a quote etc etc.  They offer about a 25% discount from retail.

My bet is the JR cottons will run about 75.00 a yard or more....

Thanks for stopping by

Cat

Yellow Inside for the Gmail Inbox

My entire life, including keeping my home, is pretty much in the hands of my Gmail inbox. I set up a Gmail address to apply for jobs, network with colleagues, contact head hunters and temp agencies and anything else that has to do with obtaining some income. I look at that inbox 50 times a day, at least. It is always empty except for the occasional note from a colleague or spam. It is very depressing. Sometimes I send an email to myself to make sure the darn thing is working.  So...... in the continuing effort to "color my insides" (see post below) this is now my "insides" before I look at that inbox:

What can possibly go wrong when you are filled with yellow? Or rather how can you possibly feel unwanted, un-hireable, too old, etc etc when your insides are yellow? Is there any color more hopeful then yellow? The stencil above is a close up from here:

That is the wall behind my bed. The bed itself is not finished or the linens or the special throw etc etc. But I ain't got time to get that all done before I have that yellow on my insides...

Screw you Gmail inbox....here I come,  all yellowed up!

Thanks for visiting

Cat

Color My Insides...

Wow, I cannot believe anyone even stops by her it has been so long since I posted. To make a long story short, I got laid off. I have not found a new job. It is terrifying in this day and age of no jobs. I am quite certain I will have to sell my home. But anyways I decided I am going to use this forum for design/art/ to remind my insides that even though the outside sucks the inside can be OK. Starting with DB. This is one of my favorite rooms ever. It is an early Diamond Baratta design. (The firm is now known as "Anthony Baratta LLC" since Diamond has retired).

DB is famous for their outrageous use of color and bold statements. They can do conservative to ultra modern:

Now they design their own fabrics, carpet and furniture which they use in many of their interiors:

They are so big now they design entire houses:

And pool houses:

You can always recognize a DB interior. They were famous (and still are) for using huge custom rag rugs in earlier designs:

I can look at DB rooms over and over:

Don't you love looking at every surface and detail to discover what makes up the fabulous whole:

And still another favorite, an early bedroom:

Looking at DB makes me see possibilities. It makes me want to break my self-imposed boundaries. It makes me think that I could get there (happy) if I was not so scared. It makes me feel that I can try anything. And I want to start with coloring my insides. What does that mean? We have so little control of our outside world. Of course we make the best decisions we can but it can all be gone in a snap of your fingers. Big things are changing and I have so little control, choices are limited BUT I want my INSIDES FULL OF COLOR! I WANT MY INSIDES TO BE THAT DB RED ROOM. And that is something I can do!
Thanks so much for listening!
Cat