Quilt number three

The day after Christmas, daughter dearest and her family came to see us.  Her youngest got his quilt first and he seemed genuinely excited about it.  But when we turned it over so he could see the back he got really happy.  You see, this little guy loves anything John Deere and the back of his quilt is John Deere plaid flannel. 

I think we hit a home run with this one, don't you?  Double click on the photos to see more detail.

Debbie

Quilt number two or "Moose, hares and bears... Oh, MY!"

This quilt was made for our third grandchild whose daddy loves the mountains and the outdoors.  So, when I saw this fabric with a real "lodge" feel I knew it had to go in his quilt.  And this little guy says that blue and red are his favorite colors.  So we have a blue, red and green Christmas quilt!  Click on the quilt to see more details....did you notice the words on the horizontal panels?

Aren't the moose, hare, fox and polar bears cute?  More tomorrow,

Debbie

Final products.....4 months in the making

I thought I'd fill the lull between Christmas and New Year's by showing you the quilts I made for our four grandkids.   The idea came to me last summer that one way to build memories for my grandkids was to make them Christmas quilts that mom could put on their beds each year the day after Thanksgiving.   That way, they would be able to use them at least 6 weeks each year and (hopefully) they will look forward to using them each Christmas holiday.

Awwwwwww......I think he likes his quilt.  This is our youngest grandbaby snuggling in...for at least 4 seconds before he was off to check out whatever lurks behind the love seat.   Just warms my heart seeing that fuzzy blonde hair peeking out from under the quilt.

Here's a close up of the border and the trees.   Doesn't everyone like limey Christmas trees?   I really like the white and black fabrics for the background.  And the red fabric border has bells on it.

And the back of the quilt is "wrapped" like a package.  I hope the kids enjoy the quilts as much as I enjoyed making them. 

Tomorrow I'll show you another one,

Debbie

Turkey Roulade or....It's just a Turkey, you Turkey!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year.  I had a great day, I just got off to a little bit of a late start.   Note the pink "Santa Baby" pajamas....at 9:30 Christmas morning in the photo above.   I had planned on waking up around 7 or 8am, sipping my first cappuccino while I worked on a new recipe for the main dish of the day, turkey roulade.  Well, it was cozy under the covers in our bed, especially since the house was a bit chilly.   When I finally looked at the clock, it was 9:30.  Yikes!   The bird was supposed to be in the oven at 9:30 and I was just getting up!

I jumped out of bed and raced around the kitchen prepping the stuffing for the roulade.   Now, I've never done a roulade before....talk about brave(or really, really stupid).   My family is used to being the taste testers for my culinary attempts.   I had had the butcher at Publix debone an entire turkey for me the day before and prep the turkey breast as had been called for in the recipe.   I was able to knock out an hour of prep in under 40 minutes.....chopping dried figs and soaking them with dried cranberries in brandy on the stove.  Joel was put to work sauteing onions and celery and pork sausage to add to the cornbread stuffing.   Yummy!  Then came the part I was unsure of...how to roll the turkey breast around the layer of stuffing and tie the whole thing together.   It actually went better than I thought it would have.

 

As you can see, it came out of the oven looking pretty.....nice and brown and done to the correct temperature according to the thermometer.  But how was it going to taste?   After letting it rest for 15 minutes under a tent of foil I transferred it to the platter and held my breath as I sliced it open. 

What a surprise!   It worked!   And we actually ate right on rime.  My sweet daughter-in-law even pronounced that it was the juiciest turkey she had ever eaten.   Ahhhh, success.  Oh, and by the way, I did take the time to actually get dressed before everyone arrived.

I wonder what I should try to make for our next holiday get together?   Hmmmmmm.....I'll let you know.

Back in my jammies,

Debbie

#56

How is that possible? Today is my birthday and while I feel like I should be in my late 30's, my brain does a quick mental calculation and reminds me that would be impossible since I have children who are in their late 30's. Hmmmmmm, very distressing.

Julie called me with birthday wishes....I'll see her Saturday. She sent me an adorable necklace that I can't wait to wear. Jarrad dropped by to wish me well in person and brought Pioneer Woman's new cookbook from he and Dawn. Love it! I've already read some and browsed through the rest. If you don't know her, you need to check her out on her blog....www.pioneerwoman.com

Teresa spent the day with me yesterday as I pushed forward trying to finish up last minute Christmas gifts. She made the most adorable tote bag for me that I just know I'm going to love using. It is pink, has flip-flops all over and loads of practical pockets. And the colors are just so me! Thanks, Teresa, for such a happy surprise gift!

I'm already on my second cappuccino. Hey! It's my birthday and I'm allowed to indulge myself! And, I'm spending the day doing what I love bestest of all....sewing. So, as the Christmas music fills the air and my iron hisses, I'd like to say thank you to all of you for the well wishes coming my way. It is indeed a very happy birthday.

It's just a number, it's just a number(chanting #56 isn't working for me),
Debbie

The Mack-Daddy

Oh, yeah! M. and I both think this room is most definitely the Mack-Daddy room of all. There's just something about the soothing tealy-blue walls and the beachy vintage feel of the homeowners furniture mixed in with family heirloom quilts that keeps drawing us into the room.

And of course, this room has it's own tree as well.

Don't you just love Hoosier cabinets? M. and I both have one and we just really like to use them in our homes. This one has been repurposed to hold luxurious towels and local postcards so it can be a writing desk for guests who want to send cards home to brag about their Florida vacation. The velvet teal chair in the corner was the inspiration for this room. Good choice, M.!

Just a little thoughtful gesture on M.'s part.....your own private water pitcher in case guests get thirsty while in their room. Ahhhhhhh, makes you want to book a stay at M.'s house, doesn't it?

Ha! Get in line!

Debbie

Just had to update you

Thursday M. and I did some tweaking in the Young Man's room and added another piece of art and a fishing pole! Ok, now we're feeling mighty good about ourselves. Just too stinkin' cute!

And, I really wanted you to get a better look at this awesome platform bed. There are two very large storage baskets in each of the 3 exposed sides of the bed. Great use of space if you ask me. I am still sewing a pillow as the finishing touch in this bedroom, but since my sewing elves(me!) were getting a little behind it will be delivered in the near future.

See....now aren't you glad I updated these pics?

Deb

Details, Details

For me, the hallmark of a job well done is shown in the final details you put into a body of work. This week is all about the details for M. and I as we scurry down the finish line. The carpet installers did a beautiful job putting in the berber carpet that is the color of the sand on Treasure Island where it now resides. We arranged the furniture in two of the three bedrooms Tuesday and today I'll show you peeks of the young man's room. The Guy Harvey painting above was the inspiration for the entire room. M. won it at a silent auction after some feverish bidding with another buyer. She was giddy for days after bringing home her trophy...er, the painting.

And using the colors from the painting, we painted the walls a soothing color from Benjamin Moore called Linen. Pottery Barn delivered the rich brown platform bed in the afternoon and we quickly dressed the bed with 450 count linens in a coppery hue. The bed comforter is a luxurious deep green velvet quilted in a diamond pattern and has matching shams. In between the sheets and comforter is a soft-as-a-cloud microfiber blanket that will make this young man never want to leave his bed. And, don't you just love the twig lamps?

Now I think every room should have a surprise element, and for this room, it's a surfboard resting in the corner. Also, doesn't everyone have a Christmas tree with ornaments that coordinate with their design in their bedroom? That was M.'s idea and she couldn't resist doing one for all three bedrooms. See, it's the details that make it all work.

Check back with me tomorrow as I'll unveil another room with a totally different flavor.

Debbie

His bathroom

Aren't these glass mosaic tiles beautiful? I just love the colors mixed in with the limestone tiles.

This mirror is the masterpiece. It took some doing to layout the tiles, but we love the results. The bird painting on the wall is done on cement wallboard so it can withstand the elements outdoors or the humidity in a bathroom. Cool idea, huh?

And how about this use for an oar? Pretty cool way to hang up your towel, don't you think?

If you haven't been reading the blog lately, the bathroom pics from the other day and today belong to my friend, M. and her husband. Their children will be coming home from college this weekend to find their old 1950's era bathrooms and bedrooms have been completely updated. Tomorrow, I'll start showing you the bedrooms.

Stay tuned,

Decorator Debbie

Unveiling the Young Lady's Bath

Check out this super countertop. It has flecks of silvery-lavendery mica in it....the better to show off the light lavender walls, which helps to compliment the purple walls in the bedroom.

And, I wish you could see these small glass tiles in person. They pick up tones of lavender, mother-of-pearl and soft grey. I think I could get used to having this bath for myself! How about you? The walls of the shower are subway tiles laid horizontally and we put white octagonal tiles on the floor of the shower and the bathroom itself.

Did you notice the silvery mirror frame on the medicine cabinet? Remember the silver leaf dresser from yesterday's blog? It'll be in the bedroom next door to this sumptuous bath. Yup! It's all starting to make sense now, isn't it?

More tomorrow,

Debbie

The Latest Project

Ok, so where is it written that I can only show you sewing projects? Check out the leg above....covered in silver leaf....isn't it awesome? It's just one of the quirky delights M.and I have been working on these last few weeks. You're looking at the leg of an antique dresser that we're repurposing for one of the bedrooms. We got the hang of "leafing" pretty fast. Nothing like trial by fire, I say! We both ended the day covered in floating bits of silver everywhere....stuck to our cheeks, meshed in our hair and adhered to our fingertips. You know how much I love glitz.

More pics will follow over the next 5 days as we finish up our mammoth undertaking. You won't believe all that we've accomplished.

Covered in pixie dust,
Debbie

Snow in Florida

Ok, so, it's not exactly snow. But, it's as close as we're going to get. This photo was taken at 9am this morning. It was so dark out that the Christmas lights hanging from the street lamps were on. We've had 2 days of incredibly thick sea fog rolling in from the Gulf and this is what it looks like. Just thought you should know.

Willy the Weather Girl,
Debbie

I'ts Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This is our Florida Christmas front door and entry. Doesn't everyone have a "woody wagon" flag for their home? Love it, love it!

It's difficult to express how much this past two weeks have warmed my heart. Our whole family was together, healthy and happy, for a relaxed Thanksgiving at our house. We celebrated Nathan's first birthday after gorging ourselves on turkey, stuffing and pumpkin and apple pies. Grandma and Grandpa drove up from Bradenton to share the day with us, too.

The next day, our two oldest grandkids even decorated my Christmas tree for me, officially giving me a jumpstart on getting ready for Christmas. I was so motivated that after they left, I finished putting out our decorations in the rest of the house. Believe it or not, we even lit our palm tree trunks outside and set up the sleigh and reindeer. Phew! Done!

Jeremy had his 20th birthday on December 1st......wow! No more teenagers in our house! He is just excited this semester is almost over and he can relax for a few weeks until the next one starts.

I've been busy helping my sweet friend, Melissa, to do a bit of remodeling before the holidays hit. What fun! I think I could do this for a living because I enjoy it so much. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms, now, that's a lot! And, a few other projects thrown into the mix, too, just for good measure. It's all turning out so well, and I can hardly wait to see what we accomplish this coming week. Furniture will be in place (hopefully) and the rooms arranged by weeks' end. Maybe I'll show you some pics when we're all done.

And, I've been sewing some for another girlfriend.......several days a week. So, I apologize for not blogging for quite a while, but, I've been BUSY!!!

Getting back to what I was saying earlier, it just warms my heart to look outside at dusk and see the lights all twinkling on the palms and trees. That just says Christmas at home to me. So, I think I'll go light my pine scented candle and put on the Christmas carols while I sew on this rainy, cool, blustery day. I wish you all warm hugs, unhurried moments of quiet joy, and blessings during this most special holiday season.

Happy decorating,

Debbie

Woo-hoo!

I think that says it all, don't you? After months of oppressive heat and humidity, look what the mercury finally did this morning. It's actually brisk out there! And I'm lovin' it. Happy Sunday y'all.
Deb

Big Green Egg...the newest addition to my cooking arsenal

Isn't he hunky? And you should see how he performs....girls, it'll make you break out in a sweat... Uh, I forgot, we ladies "dew", not sweat. In case you've never seen one before, this grill does it all. He smokes, he grills, and you can even bake in him. How's that for multitasking? And, you use REAL charcoal....not the petroleum soaked stuff you buy at the grocery store, but real honest to goodness charcoal. The aroma when the charcoal is burning is pure heaven. The good thing is that you can reuse the charcoal over and over until it is completely burned up! And, no nasty chemicals go into your food. I'm all about the natural stuff, don't you know? I don't believe God meant for us to ingest all these chemicals.

Ummmmm....doesn't that pork butt look yummy. Wait'll it comes off the grill tonight at dinnertime and falls apart on the plate. Pure lusciousness.......does it get any better than this? I don't think so.

Smokin' hot,

Debbie

Practice Makes Perfect (well, almost!)

So, what am I looking at, you ask? It's a quilt made up of t-shirts collected from Broadway plays by a client's niece. They have black sashing in between the blocks and this top photo shows how I preplanned and freehand machine stitched the names of some famous Broadway theatres into the horizontal sashing.

If you double click on the picture you should be able to read some of the writing. Now, that was fun! I'm glad I practiced quite a bit before attempting to do this on the real thing.

Can you believe this border print? It's actually a full orchestra tuning up their instruments. Cool!

And, here is a glimpse of the finished quilt. The client who ordered this quilt was so happy with it that she has decided to have one made for her nephew from his college sports t-shirts. I love making people happy.......

Debbie

"This is why I Live in Florida"

Remember when we had to write a short essay about what we did during our summer vacation? I'm sure all of you have had that experience at least once in your lifetime. It was usually one of the first assignments we had to complete our first week of school. Well, here's my take on that memory: This is why I live in Florida. As I walked outside early this morning, I was assaulted by the heavy scent of some kind of jasmine blooming. Our backfence neighbors have this huge 15' bush that towers over our fence and it is in its second blooming of the summer. And, oh, the sweet scent that it sends over the whole yard is amazing.

So, I wandered around checking out all our plants....barefooted....still in my jammies....with my camera in hand. And then I discovered this incredible new bloom on one of our white bird-of-paradise plants. We had 2 heavy, soaking rains last night and everything in sight is drenched with water. Oh, my plants are happy, happy!

And, just think, I can do this....barefooted....still in my jammies....ANY DAY OF THE YEAR THAT I FEEL LIKE IT!!!!!!!! You must understand that I grew up in a cold climate and those memories are quite distinct in my mind. So, I really appreciate being able to putter around my yard without a hat, gloves, and heavy boots on my body 6 months a year. Before you get all defensive about "up north", I didn't say it wasn't pretty up there or that living up there doesn't have it's own merits. I'm just saying this is my essay and I'm tellin' you why I love living here. Hey, it's my blog......so, I'm gonna "own it". Tee-hee.

I hope my teacher gives me an "A".

Deb

Slipcovers, Etc.

Yippee! This week my friend, Jeanne, from Slipcovers, Etc. dropped off our couch and loveseat that she so expertly upholstered for us. I'm thrilled with the way they have turned out and how they lend themselves to our new, more relaxed "Coastal" look in our house. I just love it when ideas you've had swimming around in your head turn into reality.

If you'd like Jeanne to work her magic for your furniture, she can be contacted at 727-587-7900 or just visit her in Antique Alley, 596 Indian Rocks Road, Belleair Bluffs, Florida.

Thanks, Jeanne!
Deb

No more grit

Well, the landscapers have moved on to their next victim....er, next project. Ha! I'm only kidding. They did a great job and we're really pleased that we actually have grass now where the whole yard used to be weeds. I was determined to cut down on maintenance at this house, so, instead of mulch that needs to be replaced, we've used seashells! Now, that really rocks my world!

I just spent the last 2 days cleaning the grit out of our house. That fine silt/sand was everywhere! At least now I can get back to sewing without any guilt that I should be doing something else in the house. I hear my cappuccino calling me, so, I'm off to the kitchen.

Happy sewing day,

Debbie

Funky fire engine

Poor grandchild #4.....it has taken Grammy 9 months to finally make him a quilt. Last night when I put it on the floor for him to examine, he crawled over it, and backed up and grinned at me. Guess he likes it! His mommy said she's going to tell everyone it's hers. Guess she likes it, too! I just love the bright combination of colors. Teresa gave me the fire engine design on a floppy and it was loads of fun to stitch out.

Ok, on to the next quilt,

Debbie

I'm in love

You betcha.......I'm in love, again....with this plant. It's called Curcuma ginger and I have it in both the tall variety and this shorter one. Isn't it scrumptious? I first saw this in one of my favorite gardening books as a beautiful potted plant all in a row in an awesome rectangular copper planter. I decided right then and there that I had to have some for my very own. Well, it has taken me 2 years to find it. And, guess what? It's not all that exotic after all. I bought this one at Lowe's! Who knew?

Just polishing up my green thumb,

Debbie

Just had to show you.....

Aren't these fun? I had the best time making them. Gather up some old clay pots and a couple of bags of seashells and tile mastic(sp?) and........ it's playtime for adults. Too much fun! I'm thinking of doing our entire mailbox next. Don't laugh, I'm seriously considering it. Just wait and see.......

Have notched trowel, will shell,

Debbie

Whew! Just a little light lifting...........

Yup! At our house,we don't know how to do anything on a small scale, we just jump in with both feet when it comes to doing household projects. The yard at our new digs was a little overcrowded with plant material. And, I love to putter around in the yard, but this was ridiculous. After donating plants to our son and his wife to do their front yard, and to a friend's daughter to do hers, we still had an overwhelming amount of plant life.

Enter: our intrepid landscaper. He and his crew moved 6 palms, removed several nuisance plants, and generally shuffled every single thing in our yard around. All I had to do was point and draw in the dirt where the designated plant was to land, and, Poof! He had it planted! It's been a long, hot, humid dirty week, but we're almost finished. The remaining sod goes in place tomorrow morning, and the sprinkler guys will finish up their work, too. The new fence went in without a hitch and looks great. All it will require is some minor tweaking over the next year and our new low-maintenance yard will be realized.

I think I'll go soak my aching muscles now.......

Debbie, the Happy Gardener

I'm not a slacker

Honest, I'm not! If you've been coming to this blog and wondering why it has been so long since I've last posted......I guess you might consider me a slacker for not having posted in so many days. But, I've been busy......really I have!!!

For example: Our roof developed a fairly major leak, so, I've been meeting with roofers and signing away our life's savings to have the roof replaced; Then, I got to meet with pool guys because our filter died......more of our life's savings gone; Our house is a really bold shade of gold(channel El Toro and you get the picture) so, I've had estimates on painting the house a more pleasing color(for those of you who know me well, you know how much color affects my life!!!!); and since our house sat empty for a year before we bought it, all the sod died and we have a yard that looks like something out of "Desperate Landscapes, Etc."

So, I've been driving around taking pictures of homes whose landscaping I might want to emulate. Hence, the photo above. As soon as I pulled up to this house, I gasped because it was everything I've been trying to articulate about the "feeling" I'd like to evoke in our yard. Ha! Now, I just have to pull it all together.

First, I've been offering the plants in our yard that we won't use to everyone and anyone who will come and dig them up. Next, we have a guy lined up to scrape up the nasty dried up weeds and sod roots so we have a fresh start. He's also going to move around the existing palms that we will reuse. Then, the fun can begin.

So, see, I'm really not a slacker. I just haven't been working on my blog. Truth be told, I hadn't anticipated how much I would need an adjustment period after closing the shop. It was sad and a bit painful for me to give up on the physical location of PFT. I'm not certain how much I will be doing with PFT this fall, but if you have some friends who want to have me teach you something specific, by all means I'd love to teach you. At this time, I just don't have the emotional energy required to initiate setting up classes, tracking down ladies to fill up the classes and arrange all the details. Don't fret, though, because I can't sit still for long and I'm sure a class schedule will come along again some time in the future.

In the meantime, keep on sewing and stay in touch. I love to hear how all of you are doing.

Time to go back outside and plan.....

Debbie