Author Archives: Margaret Muirhead

In Which I Hereby Resolve to Make a Quilt

Posted in Sewing, Stuff to make by

These days everyone seems to be scripting a bucket list, a personal to-do tally of what they hope to accomplish before expiration date. You know, climb Kiliminjaro, run a marathon, plummet from a bridge via bungee cord.

Not me. No thanks. I hope never to plummet. My bucket list is safer & closer to home, and contains only one item: Make a g–ddam quilt! I blame Brigit for the inspiration.

(Photo reprinted with permission)

So . . . I bought the Ollalieberry Ice Cream Quilt pattern (pictured above) in downloadable pdf form from Alicia Paulson’s blog, Posie Gets Cozy. Am I deluded in thinking the rows of squares make it look kind of easy-ish? Here’s to the ever-hopeful. And if you’re not scaling mountains or marathon training, be sure to check out Posie Gets Cozy. Alicia’s photos and projects are beautiful.

Keep posted for the next installment of what I’m sure will be a death-defying adventure in quilting . . .

Minor Renovations

Posted in Kids, Stuff to make by

House renovations on the large scale take time, money, and decision-making skills. But renovations in the miniature don’t really involve a lot of commitment on any level.

Zeke & I have been sprucing up the ole dollhouse–repainting, wallpapering (with scrapbook paper), and yes, we “caned” these chairs using thin ribbon and Original Tacky Glue (great stuff). Zeke says we’re going to do this every year but I think this may actually be the last (bittersweet) time.

 

Coffee Can Art Caddy

Posted in Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

I couldn’t throw out these coffee cans. They have the silver bullet look of a vintage Airstream–and you know how I feel about gleaming old campers.

So I attached ribbon handles to make art caddies. Which sounds sweet but was actually a little violent–I pierced holes (vertically) in the sides by pounding on the end of a iron file with a hammer. Noisy and satisfying.

Threading and knotting the ribbon was the trickiest part. I folded the ribbon to thread through a 1/2 inch slot and used a lot of ribbon length to make a knot inside the can, trimming the extra after I made the knot. They work great for our art supplies, but I could picture them filled with plastic spoons and forks or napkins for outdoor summer meals & parties.

Alphabetical Bookcase

Posted in Home Design, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

Embrace your inner librarian! Wear cat glasses and a lot of wool cardigans! Above all, alphabetize!

I painted this bookcase for a school library to (loosely) organize paperback picture books, but I think it would be fun to have in a kid’s room. I used precut cardboard stencils and leftover paint from other projects. The bookcase was leftover, too, and languishing in the basement. I set the bookcase on the ground for browsing, but I think the stencils would work well vertically, too.

  

A Cat Bed for Wonderpaws

Posted in Home Design, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

Welcome, Captain Wonderpaws! This is our 3-month-old kitten, and no, I didn’t name him. (That would be my comic-loving, crimefighting kids.)

But I did make him some new digs! My husband jigsawed a piece out of a wine crate, and I painted the inside orange and sewed a little cushion (with fab fabric from Jessica Jone’s Outside Oslo collection). Despite his superhero name, Wonderpaw’s a shy guy, so this photo was the best I could do.

A red zipper! And a side view of the crate.