The pink chair

Alex and I have been on an Ikea bender lately. Our latest trip was for curtains to cover the double French doors that lead from our bedroom to the large screened-in back porch, which has quickly become our favorite place in the house.

We don’t have it set up the way we want yet, but we’re still out there whenever possible. We love that our indoor cats can enjoy the outdoors. When it’s not too hot, usually in the evenings, we just open the French doors and let them wander in and out as they please. They are truly happy kitties.

While we were at Ikea, we decided to check the “as-is” section, and I found this hot pink chair for $3.

I’d been eyeing it up as a desk chair for my new craft studio anyway, so when I found it in the as-is section with just a few minor smudgey scratches on it from being the display model, I grabbed it. Seriously, three dollars? Yes please!

My studio is still a complete mess, but I can already tell that the chair is going to look awesome sitting in front of my sewing machine. I can’t wait to get in there and organize everything and start sewing again.

Oh, and today’s lesson? Always — ALWAYS — check the as-is section at Ikea.

My bag is a drunk

I’m taking a break from my regularly scheduled program (a.k.a. “The Move”) to share some travel pictures with you.

I absolutely love love love it when people who have purchased something from Fat Orange Cat send me photos of themselves using, wearing, holding their apron, tote bag, whatever. For some reason, it makes me giddy to get actual photographic proof that my stuff is being used and loved.

My friend bought a market tote from me and took it on vacation with her as she and her boyfriend (a very good friend of mine) traveled from New York up to Maine. And the bag had many wonderful adventures, starting at a winery.

Apparently, the bag is a bit of an alcoholic. Er….wine connoisseur.

That’s him passed out in the background.

He also took in some gorgeous New England scenery.

I heard a rumor that he may have taken a couple of pint glasses too, but it’s hearsay, there’s no evidence, and I don’t like to gossip.

Thanks for the photos, E & M! You guys are the best!

Poodle and paint

This bag is another one of the totes I made for last year’s Atomic Holiday Bazaar, and then forgot about. 

I haven’t made anything with an animal on it for a while, so once my craft room — which I have decided to call my studio because it sounds so much cooler — is all set up in the new house, I’ll make a couple of new antelope and poodle bags and aprons.

In the meantime, this one is available here.

We spent this past weekend painting a couple of rooms in the new place, which included removing the hideous, 1990s country wallpaper from the guest bathroom so we could paint it as well. Our two good friends helped us and got a really good start on the bathroom on Saturday, but Alex and I were on our own Sunday, and we spent about eight hours spackling, taping, priming and painting.

To give you an idea, this is what it looked like when we got there Sunday morning. You can see the old wallpaper in the medicine cabinet nook.

We finished painting the bathroom but still have to rehang the mirror and medicine cabinet and pull the tape. I’ll post more pictures once we’ve moved in, because right now it just looks like a big aqua (“Adriatic Mist”) box.

We haven’t moved in yet, and we already feel like this home is ours. Even though we’re renting, our new landlord is very laid-back and has encouraged us to do things like paint to make the house our own. This weekend is the big move. Which means….back to packing.

Forgotten

I made a couple of bags for last year’s Atomic Holiday Bazaar (in December) that – I just realized this evening – I never took photos of or posted to The Boutique. I guess I just forgot. For seven months.

This is one of the bags, which I’ve listed here (edit: SOLD!). I love this bag! I can’t believe I forgot about it.

Lined in Alexander Henry.

Alex and I got the keys to our new house last night, and, after getting official approval from our landlord on our paint choices, immediately purchased paint, brushes, rollers, etc. We’re getting in there tomorrow to paint a couple of rooms.

We have two friends helping us, who we’ve bribed with pizza and beer (the traditional “help a friend move or paint” bribe), so it should go pretty quickly. I’m hoping to post before and after pictures once we’re settled and decorated.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Shimmer

Nola had a moment with a lizard today.

It’s all the way over to the right, perched on the edge of the deck. She’s eyeing it up, but she’s too fat and slow to ever catch it.

I finished a new market tote, which I’ve posted to The Boutique.

I usually work with bold, contrasting colors, and I wanted to try something more monochromatic and subtle (at least on the outside). 

I stacked three appliqued circles and finished each one off with a single stitch of shimmery gold thread.

I decided not to go subtle on the inside, mostly because I love how well red, black and white work together.

Check it out here.