An Abundance of Potholders

As a demonstration project for a quilting group which has recently begun, I constructed 26 potholders to dress up our kitchen.  It's not as if we didn't need a few replacements; if your kitchen is like mine, there are always stained and heat-damaged potholders to replace -- and they rarely match (except in the level of wear), which is only a consideration when one has company or is sharing a hot item with a neighbor!

These simple potholders were made of 2 1/2-inch squares of green and white cotton solids and prints, sometimes enhanced by the addition of 4 1/2" squares that I had on hand from a different project.  For padding, I used four layers of Warm and White cotton batting and the backings are apple green cotton canvas, purchased on sale this week.  Nothing was pre-washed, which made all the layers nice and smooth for the quilting; the green backing of the pad pictured at the lower right shows what happens during laundering, with more than 5% shrinkage!  The greens range from yellow-green through blue-green; most of the fabrics are reproductions of Depression-era prints.  They don't "match," exactly; but they look harmonious and will help pull together multiple shades of green, so I don't have to make everything I like "match exactly," either.

Who cares about new potholders?  My supportive husband has admired them, saying they are too pretty to use, but they were made to be used and worn out -- and they get even better with washing!

What's This Week's Addition?

I have long held the notion that excellence in home decor begins with a beautiful room.  For the past several years, our family has been remodeling the roomy home we bought with this end in mind.  We have replaced the doors and windows; re-textured the walls and added upgraded floor trim, casing, and crown molding; light fixtures and knobs have been changed, too.  The kitchen and master bathroom have been remodeled, including the installation of hardwood flooring in the kitchen.  Sunshine has been painted onto the walls and softly elegant carpeting warms the rooms, visually and tactilely.  The house is comfortable and lovely -- but it is a bit spartan in its furnishings.

This week I went shopping for furniture for the front room.  Due to the layout of the room, it is going to be a challenge to find comfortable seating that does not overwhelm the space; we use the front room daily, so it needs to appropriately accommodate at least nine people.  For about $15,000, I found some great options.  The problem is, if I had that wad of money budgeted for front room furnishings, I would certainly spend it on something else (one reason the room looks the way it does).  I need a different kind of plan -- one that fits with all my priorities.

I have realized that our basement houses some beautiful fabrics which have been collected to make curtains, dust ruffles, quilts, and other items for our home.  Maps, collected on family vacations, await framing and hanging.  No family portraits have been printed or hung yet in this house -- and it's about time to print some off and get daring enough to put the necessary holes in the walls!  In considering this, I realized that the problem isn't really money (it would take some time to save up, of course) or (inherently) not having the right furniture, it is (at least in part) a problem of priorities.  I already have the tools to make improvements myself, if I choose to.

This is a chronicling of the challenge to improve my home:  one project at a time, one week at a time.  I do not imagine that I shall spend anything like the aforementioned 15K -- on everything put together -- in all the rooms of the house (unless we count the bathrooms that still need to be gutted and redone).  I already have some ideas that will be "free," since they involve materials that are on hand.  In this quest to deliberately and meaningfully beautify our living areas, additional ideas or suggestions are welcome!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was this week, so any addition might have been considered a gift to myself.  My fifth-grade son remembered my admiring these dishes and he took my husband back to the store to get them.  They also came back with the fresh flowers, a perfect addition to any beautification project.  Such a luxury!