Isn't this Cute?

Stopped by one of my favorite coffee shops today.  They've remodeled, including the bathroom.  Isn't this a cute idea for a light fixture?

I'm doing better-got on a more compatible blood pressure medication.  Found out I shouldn't have been taking the one I was.  Very dangerous for people with asthma!  I couldn't figure out why my asthma was getting worse and it was so hard to breathe-now I know!  I'm already breathing better and am walking all over the place!  The pharmacist asked if I had tapered off the old pill.  "No," I said, "They told me I could just quit."  No, I should have tapered-I've had a few problems, but nothing dangerous, and I'm almost to the other side.  I truly believe that if I stick to the new pill and the supplements for the heart I will be totally well in no time!  No more emergency rooms for me!

Anyway, if you want a light like that, buy some jars and pebbles and get a drill.  They really are cute!

And We Have Rugs

Way last winter I decided that my bathroom rugs were on their last legs, so I decided to crochet some rag rugs. I've been wanting to do that for years and figured it was time to get off my duff and just do it! The best thing to use, I discovered after cruising the Net, is old sheets. Heck, I have tons of old sheets! I'm sleeping on old sheets. Not really, I just upgraded the sheets for our bed thanks to an unbelievable clearance sale at Kmart.

The center was not made from sheets, but a very large piece of very cheap navy fabric from my stash that I was anxious to get rid of. Then I started culling sheets out of my closets.

The lighter green is from a queen size set from our bed, and the darker green is a twin sheet someone gave me. It was fitted so I had to cut off the elastic and square it up. All of my strips were made with a rotary cutter, and I cut them all 1". Then I went scrounging again and found a twin set the boys used to sleep on in a light blue print. I thought that would be enough but one of the things I learned doing rugs is more is not only better but essential! Now what?

I kind of dropped the project for a couple of months, but the other day I decided to give the bathroom rugs their last wash. No dryer, just a gentle cycle and lay flat to dry. I put them in and left for a few hours. When I got home my hubby showed me the rugs-nothing but a big pile of fuzz! They weren't even that old! I had to get busy again.

Hubs and I hit a couple of garage sales and I thought I was in business. But when I got home I realized the "new" sheets were in better shape than the ones I had on the daybed in the guest room, so I washed them and dug out my sheets. I filled an old laundry basket with sheets for future rug projects. I found, in the back, a queen set that isn't deep pocket and is fairly worn-kind of a blue/green/burgundy plaid. I didn't know how it would work but I think it's just fine. I discovered that I finished the center on the oval rug wrong and it's lopsided, but I decided I didn't have to be that fussy for my own bathroom. They sure look different with the different strips, don't they?

I did a single crochet, but I only made the stitches into the back loop of the previous row to give it dimension without making it too thick.

You probably notice a pattern here-blue/green/rose or burgundy. I love the color combination and can't make myself change it. My wardrobe yes, but my house is mostly these colors.

Time For a Change

I've been eyeballing my bedroom window for some time now. Several years back, I decided to make a window quilt to insulate the bedroom from our cold, cold winters. I made an Irish chain quilt and backed it with drapery lining, put batting inside along with a space blanket, then quilted it a bit. (A space blanket is the thin metallic blanket that firefighters carry in forest fires to insulate themselves in case the fire backs up and they can't escape. They also work to keep you warm in very cold weather.)

Only one problem, though. The quilt insulated so well that too much moisture built up on the windows. We have too much humidity in our house anyway, and this compounded the problem. I had to keep a towel rolled up in the window track and even then the moisture invaded everything.

Not pretty, eh? I could only handwash the quilt and couldn't do that very often because the space blanket couldn't take too much agitation.

Well, yesterday was THE DAY! I rooted through my stash and came up with some fabrics that I thought would be in keeping with my theme. I made a set of curtains, underlined, and put tabs at the top to hang them by. I wanted the openness to let the moisture escape. I like the finished product-it's a bit busy but I think we'll get used to it.

Kind of a log cabin, fisherman-outdoorsy theme. I'm not the typical woman-I don't care for flowery chintzy frou-frou decor. I like the serenity of the greens and blues and the feeling of being by a lovely lake.

The curtains join other things I've made for the room, like the hooped birds above my bed, made about twenty years ago:


And the loon quilt I made about ten years ago:


The colors of the curtains are a bit more brown-and-tan than I really wanted, so I added panels at the top and bottom that are a teals and greens fish pattern. It's fine-we just sleep there, but it is nice to wake up to such a serene scene. And I can throw it in the washer!