Sweet Fabric [Search results for the pool room] 

We all know I'm a huge fan of just about anything "on wood" but I had no idea just how much I was going to love the crochet table cloth hacked & tacked to a couple of pieces of thrifted furniture.

Things are coming together quite nicely in the new house. If you've had a peek inside my place you'd notice that there was only a tiny patch of our bedroom photographed. We've been looking for something nice & skinny for the TV to sit on. It's in an awkward place because it's very close to the ensuite door.

I'd picked up this glass fronted cabinet at the Op Shop (for $5) intending for it to be hidden in The Date's office & reserved for his "straight to the pool room" golf trophies & such. It looked ridiculous & he pitched it out into the hallway earlier in the week. I seconded it for this maybe temporary maybe permanent fixture in the bedroom.

I'm not a huge wrap for the basket shelves (which came out of this unit) I've fashioned below & prefer a more open look. I've got another idea for that (which will hopefully still hide the power cords). I'll keep you updated.

While I had the glue gun out I worked a bit of crochet magic on this sweet chair (also Opped for the princely sum of $5).

Beautiful floaty images by Bricolagelife.

So I think I've managed a pretty nice bedroom makeover for under $20! Unbeatable value & my very favourite ... reused, repurposed, recrafted, upcycled.

If you fancy having a go at this yourself it's just super-easy-thrown-together fun.

You'll need...
double sided tape, spray adhesive, hot glue gun, a thrifted crochet table cloth ($2-$8).

For the cabinet...
Using double sided tape create a frame on the inside of the door (as close to the glass as possible).

Then...
Rough cut the table cloth to size. Keep all the motifs intact at this stage.

Now...
Expose the double sided tape & position your crochet piece.

And...
Use your hot glue gun to more permanently adhere the crochet piece.

Finally...
Trim away excess fabric so that everything looks nice & neat.

Repeat for the other door.

For the chair...
Rough cut the table cloth to size. Keep all the motifs intact at this stage.

Then...
Spray the wrong side of the tablecloth piece with spray adhesive.

Now...
Position on the chair.

And...
Use your hot glue gun to more permanently adhere the crochet piece.

Finally...
Trim away excess fabric so that everything looks nice & neat.

You might remember ages ago I got all inspired by this lovely girl & layed out my PJ quilt on the carpet.

I had the very best intentions of actually stitching it up BUT all the pieces got in the way & I had to pile them up again. Once that was done I lost all enthusiasm & they have sat in a nice neat pile ever since.

I've been slowly working on my granny square quilt/blanket & everytime I go to make up a new square I lay all the blocks out to see what I've got & what I need (or don't).

Then I stack them all up again.

So yesterday I made this piecing "quiver". I'm quite pleased. I've just safety pinned them on & then rolled the whole affair up & stowed it under the table in the pool room.

Be lazy with me...

I just used an old double bed doona cover & a couple of broomsticks from the hardware.

I layed the stick on top of the doona & "measured" the casing for each side. Pin & machine stitch into place.

& for the ties along the centre fold (wrong side of doona cover). Pin & machine stitch into place.

Then I marked lines for a cot sized quilt & a single bed quilt

& just ran lines of stitching. The doona cover I used had lines already printed on it ... a stroke of accidental genius.

Once all the machining was complete I fed the broomsticks into their casings & then I pinned my blocks to the doona cover.

Note: there's overhang at the top which I just folded down when ready to roll.

I folded in half so that the sticks met

& then rolled the sticks toward the mid line.

I tied the ribbon loosely & stored.

Disclaimer: This method would not be recommended by serious quilters I am quite sure...but it works for me.

Also: if you know of anything similar to this please let me know - I'd like to check it out.

It's what it's all about isn't it?

overlooking the water bottle on the bedhead,
saying nothing about the teabag in the sink,
not minding about the running shoes left in the middle of the bathroom floor,
keeping silent about the sugar bowl being left on the bench,
understanding that shoes should be left beside the footstool,
admiring the collection of sporting trophies,
supporting the house-to-home-junk-collection,
reluctantly framing the team photos,

& for Len and his wife the "pool room" laundry where he was allowed the poster of some 70s (Essendon) AFL hero in her perfectly pink sanctuary.

That's a marriage folks.

Noticed elsewhere:
birthday month at draw pilgrim

Yesterday while I was waiting for all the muffins to cook I spent some more time in the pool room trying to sort everything out.

I love to fold. The pillowcase collection looks magnificent but the other set of shelves is looking a bit sad.

I've seen a bit of sorting & folding going on around the place & this morning I popped in here. It made me want to rush out & buy lots & lots of lovely new fabric. (contradiction?) Then I remembered...I don't do that.

So, I got to work with the vintage sheeting. This little exercise required the use of my maths brain as well as my very rusty dramatic skills...OK so I totally got stage fright & the video is pretty awful but I had fun with the logistics. I set myself up a ghetto rig for the flip & away I went.

How to fold a fat quarter...the video.

This may or may not be an original way to fold squares of fabric. I was trying to hunt down a folding technique last year as I seemed to remember this sort of thing from Patchwork House when I learnt to quilt (about a million years ago). But Mr Google turned up nothing. I combined my memory of nappy folding (which I also loved) with my idea of how I remembered the fat quarters at Patchwork House.

Formula: width of shelf (w) x 4 is the size to cut your squares.

So...if you're a collector of fabric & your shelves are six inches wide you need to be buying 24 inches of fabric to make them fit snuggly on your shelf.

Amy likes to fold too...check her tute out here.

The pool table was picked up on Wednesday night.

This space is going to be all mine until the new ranch gets built. Hopefully sometime before I turn 40! (I'm only just on the slippery slope from 35)

BUT... I've got perfomance anxiety, I can only get as far as the doorway. It's tragic.

I need coffee...and then I've got to work...and then I've got to cook & make stuff & chat & drink pretty drinks. Maybe tomorrow.

I'm pretty excited about being able to say that all my Op Shop treasures are going "straight to the pool room". Just quietly I think the date is too.

I think I might cover the door in green felt...tomorrow.

OK - we have a start date for the house! We're beginning on January 21.

This was just the kick in the pants I needed. I've done a huge job on the pool room & it's positively gleaming.

I've taken 4 huge bags to the Op Shop.

By now you probably all know just how much I love to play games. I've devised a way to pass on the thrifty love to you guys.

I'm playing deal or no deal. I've got a few things to offer (just as an indication I photographed more than 5 things today). Some of the things are quite large & as such will only be open to Melbourne folk.

I want it - what do I do?
Comment DEAL on this post & the winner will be announced when I post the next "deal" offering.

Once you've won you won't be able to "deal" with me again.

What's the catch?
The gravy train has got to end sometime & you never know when that will be. Wait too long & you might just miss out.

Sheep are worldwide.

to the pool room. I had a couple of pretty drinks to help combat my stage fright & just got stuck in.

Vinnies in Kew turned the pool table up for me this morning!

Still a bit to do & the office/tip looks like a war zone.

I know I should have gone to the paint shop, but I was just a little keen for anything so laborious.

I'm enjoying being in the pool room . It's the best spot to keep an eye on the tradies next door & it's usually nice & bright.

Not today...it's raining!!! I'm so happy about that.

Music box work on the left.
The fabric covered notebook full of menu planners that I'm giving away here.
Email.
Baby Bosch - never far from reach.
My treasured box of buttons. This was how it was given to me & how I like it...there will be no sorting of this lot. I LOVE riffling through the box.

Pop in & add your link if you're playing this week.

Today is a perfect Autumn day. The light in the pool room is fabulous & I'm looking forward to the day...post coffee.

In myspace:
-the good scissors
-the paper scissors (almost too blunt for paper now)
-printing stuff waiting for me to re-work the "boy" stamp
-discarded mouse wire
-beginnings of something I'm pretty excited about
-more op shopped serviettes & hankies
-really good tin filled with pins & safety pins & paper clips - opped

Pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

I'm attempting to tidy up the bombsite that was once my lovely pool room. It's amazing how quickly things turn ugly.

I'm an all or nothing girl & today is going to be about the all. All about cleaning & tidying & sorting (maybe a bit about the opping too).

on my desk today:

• a little glimpse of mike's storybook wallet


• the new issue of mixtape zine - yep that's my page


• op shopped fabric (with selvedge!)


• op shopped clover carbon paper


• couple of op shopped patterns


• op shopped coffee maker. I really didn't need this but too cute to leave behind.


• a stack of op shopped pillowcases


• cute as a button squirrel tile. It's backed with MDF but I'm betting it's stamped "JAPAN".


• empty yoghurt container which is destined for greater things - I hope!


• op shopped cotton lycra to make more undies.

On my desk...the guaranteed update list.

To be sure to be included on this list you need to link back here in the body of your post. This is not a cheap trick to ensure linkage (I don't care if you never link). BUT it is the only way I know for sure that you're still playing along & I'm trying really hard to get around to everyone on this list. Thanks.

Just some eye candy really.

I should be making stuff but all I'm doing is granny squaring. Today, I'm jumping into some serious making & devoting the day to the pool room.

So, in the space:

glimpse of vintage flash cards
embroidery floss at the ready
beautiful piece of vintage fabric
vintage fairy tale jigsaw puzzles

Did you notice that I've added a new "my creative space" feature? Over there in the sidebar is a link to "this week's fave". The link is currently to last week's favourite and once I've popped around to visit I'll update that link.

Pop in and add your link if you're playing along this week.

Creative spacing in the family room. This is due to:

-it being nice & cosy
-the family being there too
-the fact that the pool/craft room is such a tip I can't actually get in there.

There is something very special about this picture. Do you see the tiny little heart? It's a bit of a hunt... You'll need to click the pic to enlarge.

Got it?

Finding the heart & thinking of this found heart loving girl made me smile. So, I'm issuing a bit of a challenge, just to keep myspace interesting. When you take your space photo next week do you think you could hide a little heart in the picture? Make it subtle...we want this to be a challenge.

Have you visited last week's favourite yet? I update the sidebar link on a Friday OR just click here.

Thrifted Tuesday on Flickr

I left my camera at Brown Owls last night.

I drove past 4 Op Shops on the way to & fro. I may have stopped in at a couple.

I'm thrilled with my little sugar bowl. Green apples are popping up everywhere lately.

BUT...the find of the day has to go to this:

How fabulous is our new door prize barrel? Straight to the pool room club house for this little baby.

I reckon the barrel girl will LOVE it.

- Swizzle sticks & pretty drink coasters from here. Found via this post.
- So much Paintergirl goodness from here.
- a soppy, girly movie on the portable DVD.

Ah...so much to love about the pool room.

Today it looks more like a bar!

We know all about my love of the pretty drink & my bar is my pride & joy. So it's not a giant leap that I'd be interested in a swizzle stick too.

I've been spending a lot of time looking at swizzle sticks. Last week I was trying to make a base for a fabric application from a swizzle stick. It didn't really work the way I wanted it too. I did end up making a pretty good ring though.

On my desk...the players

Fresh new desk this week.

I'm loving the pool room. It's utterly fabulous. It's lovely & neat at the moment, but I know it won't last.

On my desk this week:

more granny squares just waiting for the girls.
my hand pieced pincushion
lovely wooden apple (it's all about apples at the moment).

On my desk...the players

also found in the top of the wardrobe.

This one's going to "straight to the (new) pool room".

I'm now allowing bits & pieces in blue through the Op Shopping ban. The ban seems to be getting looser by the day. The best laid plans & all that...oh dear.

Working hard in the pool room again today & it's all about grey. My choice of thread for the sewing machine has pretty much limited me to grey, red, black & brown ... it's an interesting challenge.

Lou gave me a little nudge & so I'm going to be at Yarraville Market tomorrow.

I'll have a lot of somethings made of nothings & the crochet will be there too. If you happen to be in the area pop in & say "Hi".

Our 1960s ranch has one of those zoned bathrooms. Instead of being one big bathroom there's a tiled area with a bathroom (with bath, shower & basin), a separate toilet, a shaving area & then there is another shower. It's back to back with the bathroom shower!

I can't imagine ever using it & my grandparents never did. For as long as I can remember it's been a cupboard for crap. I now refer to it as the utilities cupboard.

The utilities cupboard was full to overflowing so I had to give it a bit of a clean out. I found these - super kitsch & super 1960s gold. These are going straight to the pool room new house!

Who calls their toilet "Ooh la la"? - hilarious.
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with the big girl.

We've spent most of the day in the pool room together.

She drew up the design & then prepared her stamp & printed her t-shirt. She loves it!

We've pottered around cutting & gluing & scoring & sorting. It's been lovely.