Design*Sponge post

I love the blog: Design*Sponge and find this recent post inspiring! It's just a matter of picking the prints and picking the wall!

Dorm Room

We've officially listed our guest/dorm room on AirBnB as an affordable place for people to stay when traveling to Nashville.

Check out our listing!

High thread count

So here's the thing - for bedding - Josh and I typically only use the fitted sheet and pillow cases from a bedding pack and don't really mess with the straight sheets. They always get tangled and end up at the foot of the bed because we have down comforters inside duvet covers that work as the sheet (because it's easy to take off and wash) and blanket (because it's super warm).

But, unfortunately, we only have 2 duvet covers for the 2 down comforters that we use in the winter and are lacking a cover for the guest room comforter. All the high thread duvets I've seen that aren't super ugly are like $70 or more.

Well, despite not really using straight sheets, we actually own several from the bedding packs I bought when we first moved to Nashville (in 2005!). I went through this phase where I loved snagging super high thread count bedding packs from TJ Maxx or Marshalls at a fraction of the department store price. Unfortunately, we've only really utlized half of each pack...until now...

So, tonight, instead of spending $70 on another duvet cover, I finally sewed two of these awesome sheets together to make a duvet cover for the guest room. It took about 20 minutes.

What a sweet victory. I mean, really... I've been meaning to do this for over a year. In fact, the idea of it was one of the main motivations for me in learning how to use a sewing machine. I always knew that the under utilized straight sheets would serve a beautiful purpose in becoming the all incredible duvet, but just kept putting it off.

I highly recommend this as an option for anyone that sews and likes duvet covers/down comforters. Even if you don't have extra straight sheets, it's often cheaper to buy two high thread count straight sheets (from Marshalls or TJ Maxx or even Goodwill) then sew them together than to buy a duvet in the same thread count.

Quick & Simple: "Draft Dodgers"

Ok - today's project was making "draft dodgers" for the thresholds in our 100 year old house where the floors don't exactly match up and heat is lost.

These things are great even for doors that are set a bit high or windows that aren't super efficient. Seems like most houses could use these helpful draft dodgers somewhere.

Basically, it's like making a bean bag - but, much longer and more narrow. And instead of using beans it's great to use rice as it makes for a smoother surface on the final product.

Here's the quick how to:

1. Cut your fabric.
2. Fold so that the "inside" is out.
3. Trim as necessary:
4. Sew it into a cylinder along the length.
5. Peel it "right side" out.
6. Fold in and sew one end shut.
7. Fill with rice, but not completely full. (It's nice it it has some room for molding it as needed.)
8. Fold in and sew up the other end.
9. Place in doorway or window seal or wherever there are drafts in your house.

Baby Crews updates

For updates on Baby Crews, please visit our new baby site!

Etsy shop!

Lots of baby onesies have been posted in my Etsy Store!

Cloth Diapers

Last week, I spent a LOT of time making cloth diaper covers out of 100% wool sweaters that I bought at goodwill (all @ 50% off, so $3 each) as well as inserts to set inside the diaper covers for soaking/etc. I definitely learned a lot over the course of the week - especially once I discovered two big things.

First - it's not a great idea to make an "all in one" diaper with a wool cover. You can do it, but the wool won't be cared for as well if it's hitting the wash every time you use it and have to wash the inside. You also won't be able to wash on hot & with diapers you really should be able to wash on hot. It also deteriorates the Velcro tabs quicker. It's much better to have a separate wool cover so that you only wash the inserts each time and only wash the cover every few weeks (after lots and lots of uses).

Second - even small babies are rounder than they seem. Basically, after the production of about 10-12 diaper covers (made for 9lbs and under) I discovered that I needed to make the tabs/velro section wider in proportion to the bum part because the diapers were fitting everywhere except the latching/catching part.

So, after lots of trial and error, trying the diapers on a few actual babies, and a bit of examining of a few manufactured "one size" diaper covers, I've made serious progress on the diaper cover front and have made several covers that I believe are more appropriate sizes AND will grow with a child much better as a result of pattern size/proportion adjustments and velcro placement improvements.

Diaper open:

Diaper closed to fit larger baby:

Diaper closed to fit smaller baby:

First Eggs

Ok - so last Monday, I FINALLY wrapped up stage 2 of the chicken coops which meant a larger "run" and a place for laying eggs. I was very excited and anticipated eggs to begin arriving any day. After all, my friend Flo has had lots of eggs popping up lately and we got our chicks at the same time.

Well, on Thursday (just three days after finishing the coop/laying box) our dog had a play date with his best friend Luther. Forgetting that they sometimes get into way more mischief together than apart I neglected to close the gate to the backyard. Needless to say, an hour into their fun we were informed by our neighbor that the dogs had broken into the chicken coop/run and all the chickens were dead.

I was certainly a bit frustrated that after having put so much work into the chickens and the coops, etc. over the last 4-5 months (while pregnant, no less!) I had no eggs and six dead chickens to show for it. It made me want to give up on the notion of having chickens at all - at least for a while. But my friend Christen called yesterday & she said could get a few that were already laying from the farm where she gets her raw milk in Kentucky so I decided to give it a shot with three new hens.

Well - they were dropped off yesterday and seemed to have settled in just fine since I have already found 2 eggs in the nesting box! One was discovered this morning and one this afternoon. It has absolutely made my day. It's amazing how new eggs just appear (seemingly from thin air!) throughout the day. It's like magic.

I am SO glad that I've given having chickens another shot. So, thank you, Christen Paige, for being persistent in asking if I wanted more chickens and for getting them for me. I appreciate you!