where did july go?

i didn't mean to take a little two week leave of absence from writing... we've had a bit of a busy spell here in the middle of the summer. for one, we've been hard at work with some projects around the house... my other half has bravely taken on some of the fix-it challenges of owning a 20plus year old house. we've really done so much work on this house in the almost three years we've been married that it was practically a flip! here is my fixer hard at work replacing hardy plank on the side of the house (while i sat on the deck reading a magazine article about refinishing flea market furniture... shh don't tell!)now all he has to do is caulk, prime, and paint those two boards and it's good as new! i'm always amazed at what can be fixed around here. on a limited budget like we are, it's incredible that even when something is so dirty or messed up that you want to just scrap it and buy a new one, usually it looks brand new just from a little repair or a super thorough cleaning.

here are some pictures of the finally-finished placemat bags, as promised earlier, and i'm liking how they turned out (you can click directly on the picture to see a big version).

my favorite especially is the teal one with the flower embroidery. it's got a flower print lining that is really cute and is visible from the outside on the rickrack-ed side seams. if i can get some more pictures taken tomorrow, i hope to have them listed in the shop sometime this week. my little inventory keeps growing and expanding, and i've got some fun new things in the works that i'm really excited about!

i have a few other projects in mind for the house as well, starting with our guest bathroom shower curtain. it's been hanging like a blank white page on an easel for at least a year now, just taunting me. i think i'll start by tea-dying and see what comes from there...