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Sewing

Decorating

guest room curtains…check

I tend to get a little bit aimless around the holidays. Those aimless times are when it’s hard to be your own boss. I have long lists of things I want and need to do, but I don’t have anything pressing. (Actually, I need to finish my Christmas shopping and that’s getting pretty pressing…) When I start to feel aimless, I usually do one of two things. One – I’ll give myself a break and have an easy day. Or two – I’ll start knocking stuff out. I chose the latter today. Knowing that I had lots to do, but wasn’t sure what I was going to do, I went upstairs and unclipped the fabric at the guest room window and threw it in the car to finally sew them into real curtains. I started right into pinning and pressing when I got to the studio. When Kriste showed up, she

December 16, 2014 26 Comments

Living Room

ottoman slipcover tutorial

My blog was eerily quiet for a couple of days until I realized there was an error with the comments plugin! Well, it’s back up a running, so you can talk to me again. Before the Chapel Market, I made a slipcover for an ottoman I found at a second-hand shop and promised a tutorial. The pictures were soon buried and I forgot all about it! I was digging through the depths of my Lightroom library and was reminded of my promise. So, here we go! For this project, I used a couple of vintage textiles I’d been saving in my stash for just the right project. One was a piece of an old blue & white quilt with amazing stitching and the other was about a yard of antique cream homespun linen. The quilt piece wasn’t large enough to cover the top of the ottoman, so I needed to use pieces

December 15, 2014 23 Comments

Holiday

grain sack tree skirt

I intended to make a tutorial on how to make the grain sack tree skirt under our family room tree and it started out that way, but things went south about 1/3 of the way through. It may surprise you (or not) to know that I don’t usually have a plan when I make something. Not a detailed plan, anyway. I know what I want to make and I have a general idea how to make it and then I trust in my ability to wing-it. I tend to be an optimist when it comes to DIY, which often works in my favor, but can sometimes get me in trouble. It’s hard to get into too much trouble with a tree skirt, so I decided to fly by the seat of my pants and started cutting fabric. I knew I didn’t have enough of the the antique hemp toweling I wanted to use,

December 4, 2014 22 Comments

Living Room

a slip turned into a slip

I found a pretty antique petticoat a few months ago at an antique store and decided it would make a pretty pillow cover. I would turn a slip into a pillow slip! Two, actually. Since the ruffle was only on one side, I made it like a slip-on pillow case instead of a traditional decorative bolster cover. It worked out perfectly, since the ruffle hangs over the sofa and it’s tailored on the back side. It always pains me a little to cut up antique linens, but the detail on this piece was too pretty to not use. You can see a peek of the pillow form under the pillow case, but it’s white, so it’s not distracting. I might make a simple muslin cover for it at some point, but maybe not. I’ve even thought about putting blue and white ticking on the end that shows as a fun little detail.

November 12, 2014 17 Comments

Before and Afters

slipcovered ottoman

Last Friday I was working in the studio on some last minute pieces for the Chapel Market. I usually leave the sewing projects until everything else is done, mainly because it’s not my favorite thing to do. I’m just dragging my feet. I finally pulled out the old ottoman that was waiting for a slipcover and started working on it. I decided to use a piece from a cutter quilt I’ve been holding onto for a while It wasn’t quite large enough, so I supplemented with a piece of antique homespun linen I bought for $5.00 at an antique store. I also used the homespun to make the piping, sides and skirt. It wasn’t a big piece, but I was able to make it go a long way by sewing pieces together. The patch-worked nature of the piece just seemed to work…mostly I think because I used a quilt and

October 24, 2014 20 Comments

Decorating

3 minute, no-sew bolster pillow cover

I was working this weekend on my guest room, getting it ready for a photo shoot. I was in a bit of a crunch, because of some unexpected delays, so I wasn’t able to put this room together in a leisurely way. The mattress was delivered and I had to put the room together in two days. I didn’t have time to shop, so it had to come together with what I had. It was like old times and I think it brought out the best in me. For years, I had to make my home look the way I wanted it to without buying a lot of new stuff. That’s how I learned to thrift, sew, paint and refinish in the first place! Now that I buy and sell things, have a home decor business and this blog, I’m able to constantly shop my own inventory to get what I

August 25, 2014 20 Comments

Living Room

repurposed petticoat, mini whisks & an apron

I moved around the furniture in my living room on Monday when the piano was moved out. Of course, moving the furniture in one room usually impacts another room as I borrow and steal from other rooms. Fortunately, all of my furniture is on felt sliders, so I just scoot things around until I like them and then scoot them back if something isn’t working. I have learned that I need to live with new arrangements for a few days to see how it works…aesthetically, functionally. Sometimes things that seem crazy end up working. Sometimes when I first move something, I start to question myself, but I think that’s because it’s change. It just looks different and I have to get used to it before I can look at it objectively. The living room is feeling larger, more open and inviting now, but I’m still playing around with it. I’ll share more

August 13, 2014 11 Comments

Family Room

My upholstery machine & “the sofa”

With all of the slipcover and upholstery posts I’ve been sharing lately, I’ve received a lot of questions about the sewing machines I use. I have two. One is $150 Kenmore machine that I’ve been using for about six years. I have used and abused that poor little machine and it has done an amazing job and is still going. I have never oiled it, never had it cleaned and have asked it to do way more than it was made to do. One night, though, I was working on the channel back chair and the machine was choking on the layers of thick, antique hemp fabric. I was working with grain sack and hemp more and more, so it was time to upgrade to an upholstery machine that was made for what I was doing. Enter machine number two – the Sailrite LS-1. It’s on sale for $654 right now,

December 11, 2013 No Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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Sewing

guest room curtains…check

ottoman slipcover tutorial

grain sack tree skirt

a slip turned into a slip

slipcovered ottoman

3 minute, no-sew bolster pillow cover

repurposed petticoat, mini whisks & an apron

My upholstery machine & “the sofa”

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

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