I put a dress on my dishwasher

And it's oh so cute!

It started out as a valance for my kitchen window until I realized I made it way too small and it would offer me zero privacy (I turn heads in my bathrobe). So it sat in a drawer in my craft room. 

The valance I wound up using for the window was mounted on the same kind of magnetic curtain rod so when I'd take it off to let light in, I'd stick it on the fridge. It looked kinda cute there but every night I'd yank it off and put it back. Then I remembered this cute little scrap of a curtain I'd made way back when and wondered if it would look dorky on my dishwasher. And it didn't!

I've been loving the process of decorating my kitchen especially since I can coordinate all of the fabrics I've been using to make stuff. It's been a homemakers dream :) And since this is one if the few bare spaces I have left I figured it could use a makeover. What do you think?

Light bulb moment!

So I have been on the lookout for a modern kitchen mat since I first started using the one I picked up from Costco. That one is not modern. It is functional. But it is oh so functional and I cannot part with it. It stretches from the coffee maker to the breakfast bar (where I spend most of my day feeding my kid's tapeworms) and is right in front of the sink. When I don't have this squishy little mat under my feet, my back hurts. And my feet hurt. I've decided that I cannot live without one.

Problem it - it's as ugly as sin. It's a painting of apples with faux antique lettering and colors. Blech. It is so unlike my "style" that one of my friends pointed it out and said, "Wow. Never would have figured I'd see something like that in your house." I kinda took that as a compliment. But the truth is that it really doesn't belong and I'd love something just like it with pretty, regular colors. But it does not exist! (Ok, seriously - I dare you to google kitchen mat and come up with anything but roosters, coffee cups and crappy still lifes)

My light bulb moment came last night while I was weighing the pros and cons of painting mine. It's not that it would be hard but would it be worth it?? It's hard enough for me to use the bathroom by myself let alone bust out a can of spray paint in a well ventilated area undisturbed. Then I remembered that I already have something similar that I use for a totally different purpose. My beloved yoga mat!

I only do yoga sporadically so no, I am not lithe and flexible, but I do love this thing because not only do I use it every few months for stretching I pull it out when Amelia has a sleep over. It's the perfect layer of padding to go under a sleeping bag which means it works equally well for camping. This thing has come in handy more times than I can count...

So why not... in the kitchen? Do yoga mats come in modern colors and patterns? Are the thick ones affordable? The answer to all of those questions is YES. (mind blown)

So instead of shelling out $40 for the ONLY modern kitchen mat I could find - 
I decided that I have dozens of more affordable options :)

Like this -

and this -

and this -

Do you have a favorite?

Oh you fancy, huh?

I added some embroidered detailing to a tote bag I made. And am wondering why I don't do this more often. I love Tula Pinks quilting fabrics and this ones called meteor. It would probably be harder with her other ones since this ones one of the least complicated but I think I'm onto something. Noticeable enough or do I need to embellish a couple more circles?

Cloth napkin in progress

Found a fun tutorial at sewamasew.com and finally got around to it. It's a great way to use scraps (which I have plenty of) and I rarely utilize my solids to highlight prints. It's pretty striking and I'm thinking of making a second set to sell.

Any takers?