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Something old, something new, something borrowed, and I’m not blue — Part I

thegreensheep 8 Comments

This post is not about wool, not about sheep, not about sewing. But it IS about recycling. Specifically, it’s about recycling our kitchen and its original-to-1984 cabinets.

Here are the BEFORE photos, taken on a snowy February day:

I actually tackled these cabinets once before, about 10 years ago — I stripped and refinished them, repairing a couple chipped panels, and sealed them with polyurethane. They have held up great, seeing our family from grade school through college.

But a few factors got me started thinking about change again:

1. Our almond-colored laminate countertops were showing their age.

2.My husband gave me beautiful white dishes (Crate and Barrel’s Aspen) for Christmas.

3. A Craigslist search produced the island in these photos, filling our previously bare middle space and inspiring me with its butcher block top.

4. I read about Rustoleum’s Cabinet and Countertop Transformation kits.

–

Hmmm, it doesn’t look all that bad from far away — but I was ready for something different and eager to take advantage of the wonderful light of these south- and west-facing windows. I’ll share our kitchen’s change(s) with you guys bit by bit, the same way that I undertake them: as ideas come and as time permits!  So stay tuned for Part II…

“Ginkgo Leaves”

thegreensheep 6 Comments

I have a little obsession with design from the Arts and Crafts era of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It’s the mix of wood, fabric and pottery, the nature themes, the importance of hearth, home, and handmade-ness that all appeal to me.

So, in making this fall blanket, I decided to use ginkgo leaves. It was the influence of Asia that brought the leaf into a little prominence during the Arts and Crafts period.

The ginkgo biloba tree (“biloba” = bi-lobed: the two halves of the leaf) has a reputation in Chinese and Japanese culture as a symbol of resilience, longevity, and hope.

My bit of internet research says that it’s one of the oldest living trees still on the earth. Apparently there are ginkgo leaf fossils over 270 million years old. Plus the sap has fire-retardant qualities that allow ginkgos to survive fires which destroy other trees.

And there it is: the resilience that leads to longevity that leads to hope.

These are great qualities!  But mostly I just like how graceful the leaf is.

And the fact that I got my daughter to model it :)

Ginkgo Leaves, 60″ wide x 84″ long

[This blanket has gone to a Craftsman home in California and is no longer available.]

“Love in Your Heart”

thegreensheep 11 Comments

I met Molly a few weeks ago through Kathy, owner of some Green Sheep blankets (see here). While we were talking, it came up that Molly’s mom’s 80th birthday is around the corner.  What a milestone!  Molly put on her thinking cap and recalled a sweater of her late dad’s, and….ahhh!….another blanket started brewing.

Molly’s mom is Irish through and through. She has devoted her life to her family and still loves taking care of them.  She also loves to read, and has a comfy brown chair in which to do exactly that. Molly wondered if I could make a throw to keep her warm in that comfy brown chair.

I hope I have. As usual, it was a delight to see what sweaters and colors would come together with the “seed” of the first one.  (In the photo below, the ribbed piece over the arm of the rocker is from Molly’s dad’s sweater.)

As Molly talked about her, it wasn’t hard to see how much her family loves her. So, for Molly’s mom on a very special birthday, here is “Love in Your Heart.” The name comes from this simple and lovely Irish blessing:

“May you be blessed with warmth in your home,

love in your heart, peace in your soul,

and joy in your life.”

It sounds as if those blessings have already been bestowed :) .

“Love in Your Heart” (Size: 50″ x 60″)

This throw was a custom order.

“His and Hers”

thegreensheep 6 Comments

Recently I hinted about a wedding blanket under construction and gave a sneak peek. The wedding was at the end of August and I can now give you the full reveal :).  But most especially, congratulations to Matt and Cassady!

This gift was from the parents of the groom, so it was important that the blanket have a masculine sensibility to it but at the same time be welcoming to a very feminine bride.

So, for him: subdued, masculine colors. For her, a foliage print and the black Gap sweater with ribbon embroidery. For both, a cashmere binding to cuddle up to. (On a meaningful note, the binding is made from a sweater the groom’s dad contributed.)

May your marriage be a blessing to you both, Matt and Cassady.

“His and Hers” ( 64″ x 82″)

This blanket has already gone to a good home.


“It’s Getting Cooler”

thegreensheep 5 Comments

Last week, Lauren, one of my daughter’s college friends, asked if she could come see my stash of blankets.  She was looking for a birthday present for herself with money from her 18th birthday and had her heart set on taking a blanket back to school.  I pulled out my inventory, and she found this graduated-color experiment I did over a year ago.

It was plain when Lauren saw it, no flowers.  “I like this one, Mrs. O–.”  (I believe all of our kids’ friends still charmingly call us Mr. and Mrs.  It warms my heart, even as I use my first name with them so they might feel comfortable making the switch.)  “Can you put some flowers on it, like the one with the marigolds?”  And then she pointed out what color she’d like the flowers to be (actually more green than these photos show).

When I originally made this blanket, I named it “Getting Warmer,” for obvious reasons, I think.  Not only do the colors go from cool to warm, but also the phrase reminds me of that childhood hide-n-seek game (“You’re getting warmer…warmer…now you’re BURNING UP!”).  I seem to recall playing that game a lot as a kid.  So there was that.

But as I sewed the flowers this week — by open windows with cool breezes, listening to honking geese, and watching college kids leave home again — I realized “getting warmer” was no longer appropriate.  And so it became “It’s Getting Cooler” — a fall theme that still respects the graduated color pattern.  And Lauren’s flowers are like autumn’s chrysanthemums, just with reversed colors.

Lauren: I had fun working on this for you ♥.  May it bring you lots of joy at school and beyond, and may it also remind you of the people at home who love you.  (And, of course, you can call it whatever you want!)

“It’s Getting Cooler,” aka “Getting Warmer” ;) —  Size: 62″ x 75″

This blanket has already gone to a good home.

I have not fallen off the earth

thegreensheep 1 Comment

It’s been so long since I made a post that I can barely remember how to do it.

I finally caught my breath after our daughter and son-in-law’s May wedding and then the extraordinary quality of summertime itself — so little is routine and mundane! — including having our second daughter home from college for the summer.  It was difficult to keep up on The Green Sheep things, both designing and blogging, but I’m finding my footing again.

I’ve been helped along by some delightful blanket orders, which to me are sort of like an invitation to an amusement park: PURE FUN.  I’ve been working away on those over the past couple of months and am here today to give a sneak peek…

First, for a lake-lover:

And second, for a wedding gift:

Can’t wait until I can do the “reveal” on each one.  In the meantime, I’m off to finish designing a blanket for a friend’s dorm room and after that, baby blankets for my mom-of-two friend who is expecting sweet twin girls in the fall :).