AND THE WINNER IS...

Debby from Romancing the Bling!

And do yourself a favor and go visit Deb's blog.  She makes the most amazingly beautiful jewelry.  As I've said many times, I am not a jewelry person, but her stuff could almost convert me!  It's that lovely!

Congratulations, Deb!

This giveaway is the last I'll have for a while.  At least that's what I'm thinking today.  Next week, who knows?  Thanks to everyone who left a comment.  I wish I could have sent something to all who entered!

SEWING CLASS

 This past Saturday I taught a How To Make a Slipcover for a Dining Chair class at a local fabric store.

 There were two of these chairs and as the class was scheduled for just two hours, I made this one at home on Friday.

 I knew I couldn't do this short, ruffled skirt at the store since the thickness of the fabric (a kind of bark cloth-type weight,) the time factor and the fact that I needed to sew it on with my industrial machine made that impossible.  

 I also wanted to show two different styles for the same chair.  I had everything cut out and ready to go.  I thought the tailored skirt would be a more practical one to demonstrate and I figured I would be able to sew the skirt on with my regular Bernina.  I thought wrong.  In the end, I had to bring it home to sew the back corners with the industrial.  Still, I was able to show how it is done and even put it on the chair so that everyone could see the finished slipcover.

 The finished chair with its long, tailored skirt.

And the same chair with its short, frilly skirt (my favorite.)  The manager of the store liked them so much that he is now going to design the new bedroom display around these slipcovers chairs.  Not bad, if I do say so myself!

And just a reminder:  You have just one more day to enter my Christmas Tree Skirt giveaway.  I know that blue and white toile may not be everyone's cup of tea, but you can always give it as a gift.  The pictures don't really do it justice.  It is very pretty and will look great under YOUR tree, so leave me a comment on the post from 7 December.  I'll be drawing tomorrow morning.

THE OTHER VELVET SLIPCOVER (FINALLY)

 I'm kind of embarrassed to say how long it took me to get this delivered.  I finished it the week BEFORE Thanksgiving and just took it yesterday to my client.  I forgot about it because I put it in the guest room and, for me, out of sight tends to mean out of mind.  Plus, when I finish something, in my own mind, it's done and delivered, even if it's sitting in my guest room.

 This velvet was no easier than the other one.  At least, though, there wasn't a skirt, so I didn't have to worry about lining.  I did a 1 1/2" ruffle at the bottom instead.  If you click on the picture, you can see the detail better.

 I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to button it (like the other one I had to fix) that I made it slightly looser than I wanted to.  Still, it doesn't look bad.

My client was happy and that's all that matters!

DON'T FORGET MY TREE SKIRT GIVEAWAY.  YOU ANOTHER WEEK TO ENTER THE DRAWING.

A NEW MOTTO TO LIVE BY

 I got this wonderful tile at Artisan's Alley this last Saturday in Coronado.  The artist's name is Carla Stephenson-Funk.  I've decided it is the way I am going to live my life from now on.  And, really, if I am living Happily Ever Now, doesn't that included Ever After, as well?  

Seems to me it does!

You may remember a while back I posted this:

When I first made them up, I did them in several different colors and only the top one made the blog.  This time I thought I'd include the pink variation, too.  I still haven't decided how to use the particular mantra or motto.  Pillows?  T-shirts?  On canvas?  Still contemplating this.  In any case, between this motto and my latest, I think I'm set.  What motto do you live by?  

I'd love to hear.

Tomorrow I will do the tree skirt giveaway.

WE HAVE FOUR WINNERS!!!

The winners of my sea star necklaces are:

Karin from Creative Chaos

Karyn from French Charming

Teresa from Cozy Cottage Slipcovers 

Sandra from Quilt Art Star

Congratulations to all the winners.

I told you I am in a giving mood and my next giveaway will be a blue and white toile tree skirt.  Stay tuned for all the details.

THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENTER

You still have time to enter my sea star necklace giveaway.  I will be drawing 4 names tomorrow morning. To see the other 3 I'm giving away, check out the original post from Sunday, 21 November.  All are different but equally lovely.

To be entered, just leave me a comment on the original post, here on this post or on my Facebook page.  Be sure that your contact info is included so I know how to let you know if you've won.

Good luck!!!

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEW SHOP IN TOWN

 Okay, you might have guessed a few of things I did for Cotier.  I made these pillows.

 And the pillows and cushions on this spool chair.  Not the ottoman, though.  It is upholstered.

 The curtains in the 'kitchen' are in lieu of doors and block the view of the things stored inside.

 The red and white definitely add zip to the mainly blue and white color scheme of the store.

 I did the cushions and pillow on this rattan chair.  I probably should have either taken the throw pillow off or turned it sideways.  This picture just looks likes a big blob of blue and white!

More throw pillows.

I also did some behind-the-scenes stuff.  I skirted Pat's desk (again to hide what's stored underneath) and made another skirt for a table that holds the fax machine and other assorted office 'junk'.  I'm not showing you those pictures because the office was still kind of a mess in the rush to get the store looking good and opened.  So if you are in the area, please stop by and check out all the great stuff for yourself.  Cotier is another great addition to Coronado!

THERE'S A NEW HOME STORE IN TOWN!!!

 Cotier

1053 B Avenue

Coronado, CA  92118

619.435.0791

I did several of the items in these pictures, but since there is so much to see, I'll do a separate post in a couple of days and show you those particular things.

YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY.  I WILL DRAW ON FRIDAY MORNING, SO PLEASE LEAVE ME A COMMENT IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE ENTERED IN THE DRAWING.

FABULOUS WING CHAIRS

 I think these may be the BEST slipcovers I have ever done!  They certainly were not the easiest, but they sure did turn out amazingly well.  And, most importantly, my client was beyond thrilled!

 It is hard to tell in the photos, but the main fabric is a hot pink (fake) ultra suede.  Suede isn't exactly hard to work with and it sews nicely.  It is just hard to pin.  I have some very sore fingers.  This is when the leather thimble is a necessary notion.

 This is the same client I did the green slipcovers for a while back and there wasn't enough of that fabric, so I used white on one side of the cushions.  Well, the white on these slipcovers is the same white from that job.  It works well for large pieces, but making the small pleated ruffle around the top was very challenging.

 It sure does look good though.  I'd say it was worth all the difficulty.

My favorite part - the backs.  I especially love the pink buttons on the white skirt.

 And these two pictures show the original chairs.

And don't forget to enter my sea star necklace giveaway!

TURKEY DAY

Wishing everyone the Happiest of Thanksgivings!!!