non-guilt

as i mentioned before, anything not related to home improvement fills me with guilt lately. it's hard to do anything else and/or relax, because there's still just so much to be done around here. fortunately there is a nice intersection between sewing/crafty things and home improvement: home dec!

i made a drape/curtain for the kitchen slider and immediately remembered why i detest said home dec projects. it was supposed to just be a simple pleated curtain that would attach to the vertical blinds (and therefore mask them). i hate vertical blinds but brian loves them so this was my compromise. we keep the convenience of the blinds but i don't have to look at them. six days, two raw knees, and much swearing later, it was finished and i hung it up, only to discover that there was not enough fabric (??? i could have sworn i measured properly) and that it's off-grain. not completely - the top and bottom are okay, but the middle of the pleats curves out. how does that happen? oh, forget it.

i also made a pocket/cover/organizer thingy for this bucket, to carry around my gardening things. i love this. if i did it again, i think i would make the outside pockets fuller and shallower, and i would put another tool loop or two on:



the nice thing about a great batch or two of soap is that you get to enjoy it for a good long time. here is the lavender chamomile and pumpkin pie bars i made last fall:


the downside of a great batch of soap is that everyone else wants to enjoy it too, and after your sister wheedles yet another bar out of you, you only have two left to enjoy yourself. guess i'll just have to go make more.