In Style Magazine / Ravelry Design Match Up

http://gypsyfusion.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/instyle-magazine-to-ravelry-matchmaker-vol-2-capes-and-plaid/

So! I guess capes are the thing now according to InStyle ! I received the following message on Ravelry today which made me smile:

"blog post picture permission request
Sent at 11:04 PM Yesterday

Hello,

I wanted to ask if it was okay to post a picture of your project in my blog. I am matching up Ravelry patterns to pictures of knits I found in September’s InStyle magazine. Your project picture and design is a great match for an element in one of the InStyle spreads.

Here is the post as it is now, on my blog:

http://gypsyfusion.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/instyle-magaz...

I’m doing 3 posts about knits in InStyle, and your project is listed in post 2."

How cool is that!?! My cape pattern has been selling very well this past month. :-)

Beautiful Bogs!

We are blessed to have two very unique natural wonders nearby; the Triangle Lake Bog Nature Preserve near Ravenna and the Cooperrider Bog in Kent.  We armed ourselves with cameras and bug spray and visited yesterday with my Brother and Sister-in-Law.  The day was filled with intermitant thunderstorms which we managed to miss while visiting each bog (it got revenge though when we went to Bar145 - a wonderful restuarant in Kent, Ohio!).  Here are some of the better pictures from the day!  Enjoy!

Little Gray Bicycle Purse !

I had fun designing this sweet little purse!  It was a fun, quick project with gratifying results!  I find it to be just the right size to hold the few essentials I need when shopping where a bigger purse just weighs you down and gets in the way.  I just finished writing up the pattern and it is now posted on Ravelry!

Master Bathroom Redo and Craft Room Reorganization!

We are nearly finished updating our Master Bathroom which is located off from our Bedroom.  Here is an "old" picture.  This picture doesn't show the peeling paint and missing tiles around the shower.....

Here is our new bathroom!  Love it!!!!

Newly remodeled craft room!!!!  Super love it!  This is a very tiny room so it was quite a challenge fitting everything in.  I read somewhere that to organize well, everything needs to have a "home".  This is what I tried to do in my craft room.  I got the fabric red and green bins and the white shelving unit at Big Lots and the white glass front cabinet at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $25!  The table top mannikins were purchased by my mother from a store going out of business for $5 each.  I made the jointed Teddy Bear and Rocking Horse years ago.  I've sold several like these in the past. The cape is my first original design.  The pattern is on sale on Ravelry (Cabled Fall Celebration Cape).

Powerpoint of our kitchen remodeling process!

If you would like to see the process and progress on our kitchen so far you are invited to view the Powerpoint found at the link below.  You will need to click on “download media” (this will take a few minutes - lots of pictures!) and then click on “slide show” and “from beginning”.  After that the slides advance automatically 

Enjoy!

Willa

schrlauws@hiram.edu has invited you to view content on Screencast.com: http://www.screencast.com/t/gJafvrh3gY Title: Kitchen 2013 ! Description: The process of remodeling our kitchen from old kitchen to almost finished new kitchen!

Transformation! A brand new kitchen!

We still need to chose and install a backsplash, finish varnishing some trim and installing trim, but the kitchen is fully operational otherwise!  I love it!  The cabinets are natural maple Kraft-maid with soft close hinges, the appliances are all LG, the faucet is a motion sensitive Moen and the countertops are Cambria Bradshaw.  I love the LG appliances!  They sing little songs to you!  The oven is a gas convection and standard oven.  I now have 5 working burners!!!  The middle one can be a griddle.  I haven't had a dishwasher for over 30 years!

The knobs are double oak leaves in rubbed bronze from Anne at Home.  I did the glazing on the cabinet doors myself (it would have cost an additional $800 if the factory did them).

We cut out part of the dining room wall which helped add counterspace.

A closeup of the Bradshaw Cambria quartz countertop.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  It has glittery copper specks.

Remodeling Fever!

It all began with replacing our large picture window with a brand new bay window just before Thanksgiving. We installed a movie screen under the valence and purchased a digital projector for our own little movie theater.   We love it! The cats love it!  George was then inspired to paint the door red.  This got the ball rolling, so to speak.

Remodeling our kitchen was a project long overdue, and the success with the bay window and door inspired us to tackle this next.  My fifties-era kitchen with painted plywood cabinets, a stove with only two working burners, a tiny, tiny oven and no dishwasher had served its purpose.  We finally decided the time had come. Of course, we couldn't just simply work on the kitchen, that wouldn't make enough of a mess!  A leak had sprung in a pipe last Fall and the ultimately successful attempt to find the leak and fix it resulted in the destruction of a bathroom ceiling and laundry room ceiling on one floor and a bathroom wall and floor in another level.  This destruction also needed repair and so a contractor friend of George's was hired to repair the ceiling damage.  The beautifully accomplished repair led to the need for painting the bathroom, laundry room and adjacent hallway (which had suffered much abuse from teenage children moving in and out).  Of course, the bathroom upstairs also needed updating and repairing so we ended up tackling ALLLLLLL THE PROJECTS AT ONCE!!!!!  Why not?! 

So far I've completed painting the bathroom, laundry room and hallway just about, the kitchen has been mostly gutted, a new ceiling, light fixtures and electrical outlets are installed and a brand spanking new stainless steel gas stove and french door, bottom freezer refrigerator has been installed.  The cabinets have arrived (although one is not what we ordered and will be replaced).  I decided to save $800+ and glaze the natural maple cabinet Kraftmaid doors myself.

Medieval Feast 2013