Search

Home » Family » Sewing needles, a kitchen table, a walking baby…and input needed!

Sewing needles, a kitchen table, a walking baby…and input needed!

Does today’s post title sound like a hot mess?  Yeah, that’s my brain lately.  Jumping from one thing to another….and can’t focus on one thing longer than 2 seconds! Ha! ;)

But, I can’t help it.  I have been on a Halloween costume roll (and yes, all Halloween Costume Tutorials can be found HERE)…..but I have been sewing with spandex for a costume that I got really excited about, but dang it, my machine was being so stubborn and would NOT stitch correctly.  And believe me, I tried EVERYTHING.  I cleaned it, oiled it, adjusted settings, tried different stitches, etc. Grrrr!  I know some of you can relate….right?!?!?!  I finally found a solution, after hours of aggravation. Ack!  But I’ll tell you what I figured out when I share the costume —- and it’s a much easier solution than you might think!

 

You’d think that since my machine was making me cranky, that this would be true:

Haha!  Sometimes that’s true.  But not not lately.  Because who wants to clean house when your favorite hobby is giving you fits?! Ha!

Instead, I had to switch creative gears so that I didn’t toss something out the window.  So, Steve and I tackled a project in the bathroom.  And another in the front coat closet.  And are working on a big new kitchen table for our dining room. Haha! Nothing like piling on the projects!! ;)  Oh wait, do you remember me saying we bought this house in Oklahoma last spring (that was brand new) so that it wouldn’t need any new projects?  And so we could take a break after completely overhauling our last house??  Yeah, we thought we didn’t want so many projects to work on. (Here’s a list of projects and links of projects from the last house:  We painted the outside of the house, painted the inside walls and ceilings, replaced the fireplace, ripped out all the existing flooring on the main floor and installed hardwood, installed new exterior lights (I had no idea how easy this was until I installed these), re-painted some of the interior chandeliers, installed board and batten in the dining room, overhauled our entire kitchen (wow, that was a dramatic story that turned out SO WELL!), trimmed out every single window on the main and upper level (holy smokes, that took some time!), layed tile (in the powder bathroom, fireplace, and kitchen back splash) painted stripes on Connor’s bedroom wall, transformed a coat closet into a mudroom, painted and stained our oak banister, stained our oak bathroom cabinets, and a whole lot of other home decor projects that made this house our home-sweet-home! ) <—–Wow, that is quite a list!

 

However, once you start living in a space, you realize there are things you’d like to change to make it a little more perfect for you.  So, we’ve been sawing, painting, and drilling lately.  And we’ve realized that even if there’s nothing crucial that needs to be fixed, Steve and I just like making things.  It’s kind of our thing that we have really grown to love doing together.

Even if things break while doing them (just like my cranky sewing machine…).

***This picture was taken from my INSTAGRAM account here

And yes, that’s a broken screw.  And the other end of it is in the wall,

right where I needed to attach that towel hook. Boo.

Just a few days ago, we finally finished the base of our new kitchen table that we’ve been building.  We decided the rectangle table that we have now (which only fits 6 chairs), has seen better days.  But have you priced real wood kitchen tables lately??  Especially ones that seat 8 or more?  Wow!  We couldn’t find something that we really wanted for less than $1500.  In fact, the ones we REALLY wanted, were more like $3000.  I mean, come on.  Doesn’t that sound like a bit much?

So, after spending a fraction of that, we got to work making our own table!  And finally finished the base a few days ago.  (Well, except for the diagonal support beams….that will make it look a little more farm-style.)

***This image was also taken from my Instagram account.

We decided we wanted an octagon shaped table this time because, for one, it fits the space better, but it also makes dinner conversation so much easier.  I love actually seeing everyone at the table.  (Round works great for that too…but octagon edges are easier to DIY, than round.)  We just finished the table top over the weekend as well (which is strips of wood glued and screwed together), and woweeee, it’s looking so pretty!!!

Here’s the dilemma.  We keep going back and forth between staining the whole thing…..or only staining the top and painting the legs.  We have dark hardwood floors and kinda wanted to break up the dark feel of the room, so we decided to paint the base/legs.  And keep the stain on the table top kinda lighter.  And more of a grey brown barn-wood color.  I know you woodworking purists would say that we should absolutely stain the entire thing…..what a waste of beautiful wood!  But, our original plan was to stain the top and paint the base, so the top is poplar and the base is pine (because pine is cheaper…and since we were just going to paint it, no need to spend extra on nicer wood).  However, those two woods will stain differently.  But, we could still make it work, I guess, by mixing stains.

But here are a few pictures of inspiration.  Kind of.  The table top won’t be rough at all…..because I don’t want any sort of cracks for food, since this will be our one and only table.  And it will be clear coated about 10 trillion times, so it will still be nice and kid friendly.  Also, we probably won’t rough up the legs at all or add stain to the edges for detail…..we’re thinking we’ll just keep it pure white.  (But who knows….plans change all the time around here!)

But then, I see pictures like these monochromatic stained tables…..and fall in love with the simplicity of it all.

Or hey, maybe since we have 2 wood types, maybe we can do 2 different stain types…..that would be kinda cool too.

Oh gee, it may take until next year to make these decisions because I obviously haven’t nailed down what I want……and my brain needs a nap!

But what do you think?  What would you do?  And what are you into…..and loving lately?  Do you have any new dining table must-haves?

. . . . .

Anyway, besides all of these hardly-important table decisions, life is still busy around us.  And Oliver, who is almost 15 months, finally decided it’s time to let the callouses on his knees heal (because this kid has been a crawling maniac) and finally started putting those feet to work.  And yes, it’s still exciting when your baby takes his first few consecutive steps, even when it’s baby #4! (So excuse my squeal-y baby-talking voice in the video. Ha!)

***This video was also posted to my instagram account.  Head over there to view it.

Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow, with a fun little something I’ve been sewing.  It’s not the spandex fabric that has been giving me fits (because that’s not done yet)….but something pretty hysterical for babies!

Oh, and when we finish the table, I’ll definitely share how we made it.  And all the tricks we figured out while putting the table top and base together.  Can’t wait!!! :)

Talk to you soon!

-Ashley

Ashley Johnston

Administrator at Make It & Love It
Ashley Johnston is a professional DIY costume maker, sewist, crafter, and owner of Make It & Love It. She is a mom of 5 and a wife to a very patient (with the craft clutter) husband. In case you’re wondering, she always chooses crafting/sewing/designing over mopping/dusting/wiping base boards……but bathrooms/laundry/full bellies are always attended to. Whew!

  • Save

Hi, I'm Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!

Back to Top
12 Shares
Share via
Copy link