I’ll have to give them a look. Lowe’s was a bust, but after looking I went and took actual measurements, so maybe there are some I was missing.
In real period homes, there’s a lot of fake stuff too - wood painted like marble and the like. Everything that glitters isn’t gold, not even in 16th century country homes.
What I dislike about most of the well-known affordable stores in my country is that most things look so alike. There are basically two styles available now in the affordable price range, one is Beige Ibiza style and the other is Dubai Hotel style. Plus the super basic generic bachelor apartment line. I like colour and prints, and more detailed designs. You can eventually find them without breaking the bank, it just takes a lot more time. We found really nice affordable tiles that are basically a Tonalite dupe, for example. But we’ve decided we’re not going to compromise on style. We’ve always lived with furniture we were given, we spend most of our time at home, we only want stuff that sparks joy now. Doesn’t have to be new, or expensive, but we don’t want ugly things or things that are going to break quickly.
2 Likes
Yeah, it’s the extra time and effort that can be such a bummer. And then living in a place with a low population density and a low median income, in-person options are even more limited.
3 Likes
I decided to put up some stuff up in the guest room. The “guest room” is a small loft space in the attic, accessible from my room. People stay there sometimes but it’s also my cosy reading nook. The biggest one is by @AIMR and was already there, the other ones were added today. The top left one in the hoop was finished 10 years ago before I discovered Posca markers. I think I’ll colour that one some time.
4 Likes
Awww…I am pleased that you are still enjoying that hoop! It is one of my favorites that I have ever stitched. Is that crochet around the fox, bunny and bird? I love those scallop edges!
Beautiful collection! You will have that wall filled up with your stitching quickly!
I haven’t put up any of my hoops yet…running out of wall space in my craft room! But, I think I can put quite a few up above the windows.
1 Like
Of course I kept it! It’s one of my favourites as well! I think I’ve kept every embroidery/cross stitch swap item, and they’re either on permanent or seasonal display. I’ve had to discard some other swap items that were simply worn out, but that doesn’t happen to stitching.
The other ones are glued in a felt frame, very simple finish. I hadn’t really started putting up things again, yours used to be the only one there because I got it after the renovation. I think I’m only going to put animals here, let’s see how long it takes me to fill this wall up. My space has lots of weird angles and hidden nooks and crannies so plenty of weird-shaped wall space to fill up.
1 Like
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but we really hate the color the previous owners painted 6 rooms in the house. A sickly grey, not far off from cinder blocks. They painted the formal living room (my studio), the dining room, kitchen, powder room, the upstairs bathroom, and giant bonus room in the same shade. They obviously disliked the 1980’s kitchen, which has ivory and country goose blue tile floors, so they painted the upper cabinets grey-white, and the lowers a greyer version of country-goose-blue. Trying to push the color scheme towards Millennial Grey. It’s so depressing. So today I made a little dent. We can’t paint quite yet, so I hung up the beautiful placemats that @marionberries made me. We can’t bear to eat off them, so instead they are a little gallery of art quilts!
10 Likes
They definitely look way more like art than placemats! And, they do add that needed pop of color on that huge neutral wall! Wow…looks great!
3 Likes
I am so glad the millennial gray fad is fading, though I still see a lot of it.
Those placemats look wonderful on the wall. Little windows into a colorful land. They look even better than I remember.
3 Likes
Those look so, so beautiful there. Art gallery-worthy.
My living room and dining room are what I call “we don’t care eggshell.” Maybe it looked crisp and clean when they first did it, but it is worn and sad now. I’ve been hoping to paint for aaaages and things kept jumping in the way demanding the time and budget. So, for Fall I am not (wink) planning to get some paint and wall spackle and absolutely not (wink) looking to paint the rooms finally. I mean, we only bought it in 2017.
2 Likes
Yeah, I don’t know what you were thinking my dear. Expecting a fellow quilter to spill food on them?!?! Not gonna happen. 
4 Likes
Last year I reduced the garden, changing the layout and moving/enlarging the beds. We have list the south side due to a neighbor over planting trees on their north side. I moved the compost and re-grassed a strip of old garden. It’s a beautiful shaded area now. Recently I grabbed these lawn chairs from a yard sale. They were dirty and not really a color I would pick, but they cleaned up nicely and look awesome here. Nice spot on a hot gardening day.
And the planters on the new boardwalk to the newly moved kitchen door and porch door are looking awesome too.
Lastly I used some leftover decking to extend the cement slab I poured last spring. Seeded with clover and grass.
8 Likes
Looks lovely! Gives a lot more space for outdoor living!
2 Likes
What a lovely retreat you’ve created!
My husband put this rocking chair together for me this morning. It is replacing the wicker chair I repainted over a year ago (and was falling apart back then). This one is faux wicker, and should stand up to years of weather. Plus it’s comfortable to sit in while Ada goes bonkers, running around the yard. And behind it, you can see the bench he put together a few weeks ago too. I bought both on sale in May, as an anniversary gift to ourselves, but they’ve been sitting in the garage in boxes all summer. Since Jim was working on the chair, I took the chance to swap out the hanging flowers, the wreath, and other decor to fall ones. It might be a tad early, but at least I’m not scrambling to catch up 2 months late. 
5 Likes
Beautiful and cozy. I am feeling the fall vibe too. We’ve been having cool nights. Bad for the tomatoes, great for sleeping.
2 Likes
In the ongoing effort to cheer up the kitchen, and include as much art made by friends as possible, I framed this Christmas card painted by @Abbeeroad. I found the frame brand new at Goodwill, but the image was a pinch smaller than I thought. I couldn’t find a mat to fit, so instead I used scraps of black fabric and a decorative stitch on my sewing machine.
Oh, and I added faux stained glass to the new bread box!
8 Likes
Quilters always have black fabric around! 
Great job…it looks fabulous in your kitchen!
The bread box turned out nicely as well.
1 Like
I’m so honored that you found the piece frame worthy! And your matting solution is genius and works so well with the image. 
3 Likes
That’s a great solution for making a mat for such a frame-worthy gift!
2 Likes