Dan got to work [...]]]> Our poor bedroom floors. Pine was never meant to work so hard! We think that the floors are original to the house, which would make them 75 years old or so, but we’re not sure. At any rate, they needed a little TLC if we weren’t going to cover them with carpet.

Dan got to work sanding them lightly this week, just to take the orange-y, scuffy finish off. What we found underneath was a really, um, distressed, unevenly colored floor. Too uneven just to cover with polyurethane and call it a day. Beautiful in its own way, though!

We decided to stain the floor “Burnished Walnut”, a decidedly un-reddish brown, hoping- praying- that we were actually making an improvement.

Even with our un-red stain, the reddish color of the floor still comes through. We kind of like it…

Can’t decide whether or not to leave well enough alone, or add a second coat of stain. What do you think? Good the way it is? Or better if it were darker?

When I was younger, some of my cousins lived abroad. Peru, Guatemala… they collected the coolest stuff. One of the pieces that they brought back from Peru (or which we purchased when we went to visit, I’m not sure) was a textile from the Shipibo Indian tribe. I always loved it, and threatened to steal it from my mom [...]]]>

When I was younger, some of my cousins lived abroad. Peru, Guatemala… they collected the coolest stuff. One of the pieces that they brought back from Peru (or which we purchased when we went to visit, I’m not sure) was a textile from the Shipibo Indian tribe. I always loved it, and threatened to steal it from my mom if she didn’t hang it up properly… you have since then, right Mom?

Shipibo designs are printed on pottery, jewelry and textiles. I’ve heard that they’re inspired by visions, and represent a story- each print is unique. The prints are often created communally too, with two or more women working on a piece. I love the intricate nature of the prints, with bold lines filled in with finer, delicate patterns. Sometimes, the patterns repeat, as shown above, but they’re often irregular too.

You can see more shipibo prints here and here.

The basement studio, as a project, is largely my husband’s domain, because the products and processes involved in its overhaul are unfriendly to the belly. Coming along nicely isn’t it? The basement was 75 years old, just like the rest of the [...]]]> Clockwise from left: the basement studio, the un-upholstered chair, the belly, the baby quilt

The basement studio, as a project, is largely my husband’s domain, because the products and processes involved in its overhaul are unfriendly to the belly. Coming along nicely isn’t it? The basement was 75 years old, just like the rest of the house, but hasn’t benefited from the same care and upkeep… I’ll post all the before and after pics once the basement is done, but trust me- it’s come a long way! I chose white for the walls and floors to help lighten it up down there, and because my prints will give the space a lot of color. I couldn’t resist a really bright green for the steps and window trim though. We hope to be moved in by the end of the month!

Reupholstering the chair for the nursery has been really interesting so far. It took a healthy amount of time to un-upholster the chair in the first place. More than I anticipated. I took lots of notes and kept the fabric pieces that I pulled off to use as a pattern for the new upholstery. Underneath the fabric I pulled off, I found this patchwork-y alternative to muslin. Groovy! This chair was also really really dirty. Seriously ick. I pulled off the bottom cushioning to replace with something fresh.

As you can see, the belly is coming along nicely too. This picture was taken before breakfast. I tend to look more pregnant after I’ve had a good meal!

Finally, the baby quilt.  Even though the nursery will be done last out of all of the bedrooms, I started the baby quilt and the reupholstering of the nursery chair first because I figured that those would be the most time-consuming projects. It’s good not to procrastinate, for a change!

Bad blogger! Bad! …I feel ashamed.

But only slightly so. It’s summer after all! The days are longer! We’ve been going to the beach. To the park. To [...]]]> This post is long overdue. For a while there, I was blogging pretty regularly. Then, once a week. Now- oh hell- it’s been a month since my last post.

Bad blogger! Bad! …I feel ashamed.

But only slightly so. It’s summer after all! The days are longer! We’ve been going to the beach. To the park. To the playground. To the library. We’ve had a birthday party and a family visit. We’ve been having fun with all the unfamiliar veggies from our local organic farm. Much of our activity wouldn’t have been possible- with my participation anyway- if I’d been working on Home Sweet as hard as I should be.  At least if I’m trying to establish Home Sweet as a viable business to supplant my current full time job.

And that’s probably the real reason why I haven’t written in a month. I know- I always knew- that it’s tough to start a business when you work full time, even when you don’t have kids. When you do have kids… well, there’s only so many hours in the day. Something has to give. I always looked at it this way: If Home Sweet isn’t going to ever get to a point where it makes enough income to let me stay home, then it’s essentially a waste of time. That sounds really harsh, and I don’t universally apply that philosophy to every hopeful crafter out there! But for me, time that I spend printing is time away from my kids. More chores that my husband has to do. It’s an investment.

But what’s the purpose here? I don’t have an innate drive to craft for a living, any more than I need to be an environmental scientist. I just want to do right by my family…

So while we figure out the next steps where Home Sweet is concerned, we’ll take a summer hiatus while we move the studio into the basement. Not that there isn’t plenty to write about! We’re setting up a new studio, redecorating three bedrooms, and have a loooong list of projects to work on. Here are a few that I’ll be tackling in the near future:

• Attempt to reupholster a chair
• Make roman shades out of wicked cool vintage wallpaper
• Baby quilt, mobile & crib sheets and various goodies for the baby’s room
• Turning a coffee table into a padded bench
• Creating a Big Brother room for Eli

And so on… By the way- the pregnancy is already halfway over. It’s a boy!! If anyone has an opinion about which of my patterns would go best in a little boy’s room, I’m all ears!

Plus, this past weekend I brought my home goods to the Delaware By Hand Members’ Show in Lewes, and was totally rejuvenated by all the wonderful folks [...]]]> Sixteen weeks into my pregnancy- ahhhh! It’s 10 PM, and I’m not asleep yet! I’m getting plenty of veggies and trying out new recipes thanks to our CSA share.

Plus, this past weekend I brought my home goods to the Delaware By Hand Members’ Show in Lewes, and was totally rejuvenated by all the wonderful folks that I met and talked to!

So now, with all this second trimester energy, part of my focus is on setting up an ecofriendly, budget-friendly nursery. One detail in particular- flooring. Our downstairs floors are beautiful (if well worn) oak planks. Love ‘em. Our flooring upstairs? Pine subfloor. Also well worn, but not in such a good way. Gouged by furniture, settled unevenly over supporting beams, with a coating that has ambered over time into an odd orange color…

Like a good environmentalist, I outfitted ours and Eli’s bedroom with sisal and jute rugs. After living with them for a few years now, I have a confession. I am not a fan of jute, or maybe more accurately, my feet are not fans of jute. Instead, perhaps fueled by our rough, cushionless floor coverings, I dream of plush wall-to-wall carpeting. Scary, I know.

Because the floors upstairs slump over their supporting beams, some really appealing choices- like cork- aren’t very practical. As far as I can tell, we’re left with carpet or paint. Carpet would be good for softness and soundproofing, but is hard to justify from an environmental standpoint. Even those carpets that are made from recycled plastic bottles, like Greenfloors and Everstrand have some VOC offgassing- and I need to do further research on Green Label Plus Certification developed by the Carpet and Rug Institute. There are Flor tiles too, which everybody seems to love. My husband really likes the idea of being able to remove a tile and wash it off, especially for the kids’ rooms.

Nothing beats “nothing” for ecofriendly choices though. And painting the floors is as close to nothing as we can get. I’ve seen pics of colorful floors with white walls that I really do love…

So! Listen to my feet and buy the carpet? Or buy a really comfy pair of slippers instead and stick with the wood floors? Any thoughts?

Our CSA started up today! I’ve been looking forward to this since I wrote the check for our share this past winter. This year being as busy as it is, I didn’t even want to pretend that I would have the time to garden. Between you and me, I’m not even sure how much I [...]]]>

Our CSA started up today! I’ve been looking forward to this since I wrote the check for our share this past winter. This year being as busy as it is, I didn’t even want to pretend that I would have the time to garden. Between you and me, I’m not even sure how much I like gardening. It’s one of those things that I want to like (like running or yoga) and when I worked on a little organic farm in Maryland I even enjoyed it. But I’ve never really gotten into having my own garden, except for the sunflowers that I grew for Eli last year.

Anyway, I met Tim Bell of Community Organics at last years’ Dover Farmers’ Market. His farm, based right in my own little town of Greenwood, Delaware, reminds me very much of the farm I used to work on. And yay! They run a CSA, which is basically a farm subscription- you pay a fee at the beginning of the season, and every week you get a box with your share of produce. What are the odds that in a town of less than 1,000 people, we’d have decent pizza and an organic farm?

I love a CSA because it incorporates several good food values- locally grown, organic, seasonal food. I’m almost certain to eat more veggies, which is good for a pregnant me! The fact that we’re picking our share up at the farm itself (they also have pickups in Dover, Milford and the beaches) means that Eli will get to visit the farm every week, and get to know the farmers and their chickens and goats. Community Organics also still has room for more subscribers!

Our first share included:

• white kale
• red mustard greens
• mizuna
• tatsoi
• greens & more greens
• sweet potatoes
• radishes
• chard
• baby garlic (used like scallions)

Our first dinner included a killer salad with blue cheese, radishes and grilled chicken breast. The tatsoi and mizuna had a nice subtle, spicy bite. We grilled potatoes with the garlic and sweet potatoes with jerk seasoning. I’m looking for more ideas on what to do with the rest of this share- anyone have ideas for the kale? Mustard greens?

Mmm. I have a feeling that this blog will become a lot more food-centric over the next few months!