LBD and The Big List

Two things going on here:

One, I’m finally sewing in the lining on the Little Black Dress I made with my Fall Wardrobe e-course class back in…what, September?  October?  It was my favorite garment that we made with that class, and I haven’t been able to either show it off or wear it, because I hadn’t stitched the darn lining in.  But my husband has made reservations for tomorrow night for supper at a Persian restaurant, and I’ll be steppin’ out pretty.  So, some sewing.

Two, I have begun The Big List of sewing that needs to be done in our new house.  Sick of hearing me talk about the mid-century ranch we bought that needs all kinds of fixing up and will be benefiting from my sewing machine more greatly in the coming months than my closet ever will?  Tough cookies, Cookie, because that’s what we do here now.

To Be Sewn For the New/Old House.  In No Particular Order.

• curtains for the den from the bolt of Lizzy House’s Hello, Pilgrim that I ordered just for me
• bed skirt for the master bedroom, from near-white linen with little embellishments at the hemline
• bed skirt for our 5yo’s bed, not from white linen
• bed skirt for the teen’s bed, from white linen, but maybe without the embellishments
• convert the second curtain from our boy’s set of two into a Roman shade for that funny window that’s up high over his bed
• Roman shade for the powder room–or maybe just a simple shade that uses dowels
• skiiiiiiiny boxed pillows for the back of the sofa in the living room, after it’s recovered in ikat
• accent pillows for the den, of which there will be only three
• postage stampmatching quilts for the girls’ shared room, which have already been cut and begun but are really much too small for their beds
• slip covers for the bar stools in the kitchen, out of something that will coordinate with the den curtains but is solid, textured and punchy
• fabric insets for where the louvers are in the plantation shutters in the kids’ jack-and-jill bathroom
• comforter with hot ruffled accent a la Pinterest, for the teen’s room
• some sort of fabric deer head for the wall of the Mantuary, because the sweater deer I saw has me palpitating
• recover the cushion on the wicker chair in the playroom/sunroom with the Ikea fabric I brought home that just happens to match the rugs my mother got for the kids just perfectly
• some kind of window covering for the master, maybe white tab-top curtains like I made before? some kind of textured fabric?
• a delicious pinch-pleat drape for the teen’s room, to emphasize the drama of her honeysuckle pink four-poster, peacock blue walls, and white ruffly comforter
• new set of everyday table settings–placemats and napkins–for the breakfast room, plus one set of nicer (maybe linen?) table settings for the dining room, which we will be using to eat dinner every single day once we get a dining room table.  And some chairs.
• throw pillows for the teen’s bed, because you’re only sixteen once (she can have wayyy more than three)
• new knitted dishcloths, which aren’t really sewing, but they come to mind

Serious list.  Fortunately, I’ve been thinking about these things for many months, and for the most part, have already chosen fabric.  I’ll be documenting in absurd detail much of the construction, to use as samples as I teach my Sewing for Your Home e-course in the spring–I do so love to be efficient!  The bed skirts especially have been a loooong time coming–it’s so funny how there are just some things you put off doing, and you KNOW they’ll make a major difference, and every day you don’t do them they get under your skin, and then you finally DO them and it’s such a relief, but STILL!  It takes forever to just DO them.

Speaking of which!  Still about 36 hours left to pre-register for 2012 e-courses at a raging discount.  Find the button here and see you there!

The dawning of a New Year always seems to inspire lists, of all kinds, especially for those of us predisposed to List Making.  Hoping you’re making only the best of lists, and excited to see you in 2012!