Featured Etsy Seller: Knittles

Knittles is a super-cute Etsy store with unique kitted and crocheted items for men, women, and children.  Recently, their first runway collection debuted at Alberta Fashion week!  Not only that, look at their sweet model above, I love her.

 This color is called pumpkin, and we know how much I enjoy pumpkin.

 

This lovely hat covers the back of your neck and your ears, which is perfect, because my ears are always the coldest. brrr....

 Now this I love, for real, it's a  scarf and opens into a shawl.  love love love.

 

There are so many other things, I can't possibly list all the pictures.  See scarfs for men, hat/scarf combos, patterns, and the super-hip armor collection on their Etsy site here.

DIY Grommet and Coat Hook Curtains

Whew! I feel like I have just climbed a mountain with the completion of this project.  I purchased these curtains over a year ago, matched paint to them, and decorated with them in mind...while they sat un-opened.  I really couldn't decide what I wanted, so I did nothing.

I also had these grommets, which I bought because I loved, but never had a purpose for.  After I decided on the grommet and coat hook idea,  I found that hooks are too expensive!  Then I was at the Habitat for Humanity Restore- there they were, in all their glory, for $1 each.  And we're off...




The grommets come with a handy template, so I made a circle on each end, then folded the curtain in half to get the middle aligned correctly.

I got 1.5 yards of fabric and crafted a few cute tiebacks.  I broke out the sewing machine for this one, but you could use iron-on tape too.





For those who have waited for pictures of Polly, here she is, loving her new decor.  I love it too.

(fireplace art here)

This has been linked up to Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special!
and DIY Day with Kimba. 

Who or what is Jacquard?

Joseph Marie Jacquard worked in the French mill industry as a silk weaver.  France was well-known in the late 1700's and 1800's for its fine silks in rich, vibrant colors of the period, exporting them worldwide.  In 1801 Jacquard devised a way to improve the punch-card method of producing textiles.  Using these cards, he was able to easily weave a pattern with raised or lowered warp threads.  The threads were attached to a harness and raised and lowered to let the appropriate number of weft yarns go over or under.  It's complicated, but doesn't a picture just tell a thousand words...

 

The loom took FOREVER to set up, but ran like a dream.  The outcome was a wonderful raised pattern that is still popular today in all sorts of decor, clothing and accessories.  Oh Jacquard...you did a good thing.
And now you know...

(images from Designers Guild,  Victorian Web, and Wikipedia)

Funky Junk Curtains with a Hanger

 First of all, I love this girl.  We have become email friends, and I have had the privilege of being featured on her fun blog. You can see those here.  I simply LOVE her curtain idea she posted today. Curtains out of a hanger and a sheet...who knew?

You can check out all the pictures on Donna's Funky Junk Blog right here.

Latte Living: Coloring your dinning room after your coffee.

 For those of you who loved my post about 3 color decorating, I have a new installment for you.  If you can't even decide what 3 colors to put together, take a nod from a favorite object.  Maybe it's the cold weather, or my sore throat, but all I can think of is a latte.  Check out how it translates to a room below.

 

Most of the room is nice coffee brown with just enough cream on top, and a dash of darker brown (or cinnamon).  How yummy.

(dinning room from decor pad)