Purple Blankie

I struggled for years trying to come up with a use for this dark purple yarn, it's been crocheted and pulled out several times. I think I finally got it with this pattern though! It's about a yard square, with dark purple in the center and outside, and a lighter purple stripe running the middle of the square, with a white row between the two different purples.

We bought a house!

We bought a house and there has been a lot to do- mostly cleaning. And trying to rearrange our stuff in a new/different space. And trying to feel homey again in a totally different setting. But, amidst all that, I have completed some crafty home improvement projects.

The upstairs bathroom needed a curtain for a little privacy from the neighbors. This half curtain still lets in some light during the day, and come next summer we can shift it upwards when we open the window a crack. I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this curtain- the walls in this room are SO BLUE I've been trying to go all white with the trimmings to tame them down (I picked up a white shower curtain at Target, I repainted the vanity white). I wasn't even sure I was going to use this fabric in the bathroom, I didn't know if the dark color would match well- but I saw it and I loved the elegant aquatic pattern, and I bought three yards because if I didn't use it in the bathroom, I was going to use it for something. Only bummer: I should have lined this curtain, in the middle of the day it's hard to see the pattern when the sun is shining on the back of it.

I mentioned I repainted the vanity- it was a dark wood veneer (the vanity is particleboard), which was making the bathroom smaller and darker and dirtier looking. The white makes the bathroom brighter, and it helps to tame the overwhelming blue of the walls (which we will eventually paint, but there are bigger projects first).

Kitty loves these flat-top radiators. She lays on top of them in positions that can only possibly be comfortable for a cat to soak up the heat. I was uncomfortable looking at her, so I watched a youtube video and taught myself to make a cushion for her. She still occasionally lays on the metal in the living room, but uses her cushion pretty consistently here in the dining room.

All of the pillows we had amassed for the couch in our old apartment didn't match- there were patterns he liked in his solo apartment, patterns I had liked with a previous couch in a previous decorating phase, patterns of fabric I just had to make something out of... I put away (most) of the old pillowcases, and bought fabric in a more cohesive theme to re-cover all of our existing pillows. All of the pillowcases have zippers, and the two large ones and the bolster have plain khaki on one side and a big yellow flower print on the other. They all match pretty well with the curtains I bought at Target (this pattern, the yellow color: https://www.target.com/p/natalie-global-fretwork-curtain-panel-orange-42-x95/-/A-16864343#lnk=sametab)

The bathroom in the basement needed curtains. The windows are at ground level, and if someone is standing in the back yard, they'll have a pretty clear view straight into the bathroom. It's also cold down there! There isn't a lot of room to play around with still letting some light in, and definitely not without compromising privacy (and there's a shower down there), so I went ahead and covered them up entirely for maximum privacy and a little extra insulation at the windows. Kitty is not a fan of these curtains, because these windows (especially the one pictured, above the sink) are one of her favorite places in the house, giving her a ground-level view of the outside world, but she gets a little feisty when she's in the basement windows, so it might not be a bad thing.