cozying up the master bedroom: winter décor

It has been such a cold and dreary January so far,

 I felt the need to cozy up our bedroom.

I used some of our Christmas décor in the bedroom,

 and made 4 mini quilts out of 2 panels of print from Zen Chic (chill collection):

I just cut the 4 prints (many left), layered on batting and leftover fabric

for the back, and bound them in gold and black.

I just removed the triptych I made last year with Van Goh's Almond Blossom

and removed a lot of blue accents,

at least temporary,

like the lampshade and the vase,

but got a new blue and white comforter:

I added more cream and white, with white and linen pillow cases

and a velvet snow flak pillow.

It feels very cozy and relaxing.

Of course the best part is Bosco still goes with the décor!

He seems quite pleased with the new duvet cover:

Happy day!

a last minute Halloween pennant

Are you ready for Halloween?

I wasn't until a few days ago...

I had set up the front porch with pumpkins

and this cool pillow,

but nothing inside...

But with the addition of these pennants,

I feel ready!

I followed this tutorial from Diary of a Quilter

and sewed the pennants pretty fast,

using left over fabric from my Halloween pillow:

a mix of orange and Halloween prints (recent and quite old, I am a collector!)

and some black bias binding.

The brick fireplace seemed like the perfect corner to set up

a little Halloween vignette:

It seemed a little too early to start a fire,

so instead I light some candles.

I am more of battery candles for safety reason,

but I feel quite comfortable lighting really candles in the fireplace!

Of course a little scary literature, a hot drink in a caldron mug

and a warm blanket make for the perfect evening!

Unless you lose your spot to the dog!

Bosco is a big fan of my Tartan blanket.....

Happy Halloween!

fall front porch

Today is the first day of fall!And with how cold it has been for the past few days,it is hard to believe it is not October already....But it is the perfect time to enjoy our new front porch,and I had fun adding some seasonal touches:

with pretty colorful mums,

pillows, trow blanket and pumpkins.

And for the first time, we have a doormat!

When I bought that one at Michaels, I did not think about size,

just how pretty it was...

and now I know why people layer doormats,

they are too small for the doorways!

I am still searching a few extra pumpkins,

the colorful pepper plant is a fun and different addition,

which gave the opportunity to get a new pot/planter,

my latest addiction.

For the pillows, I just borrowed them from inside,

I am still quite a fan of my fox pillow.

I did get something quite fun from Scotland to keep me warm:

a blanket from the Tartan Blanket Company.

I purchased it from Amazon but it came from there:

The colors are perfect for my fall decor,

and I already tried it,

it is quite warm.

My ultimate fall accessory?Bosco of course!I will not recount the amount of effortsto get to that pic....It was totally worth it,such a good dog!

Happy Fall!

a little apres ski vignette

This weekend we had our first real snow of the season,  a good 10 to 12 inches! I love looking at the snow, sledding and playing in it, but not so much skiing!

But I had fun setting up this cute skiing vignette, with a sweet embroidery, some small wooden skis and of course a cup of tea with cookies.

The embroidery pattern is again from Les Brodeuses Parisiennes

(they now have an etsy shop, so easier to get their patterns!),

the same serie that I used for my little Amsterdam houses.

Nothing like drinking hot tea under a blanket

and looking outside to a snowy backyard:

Everything looks prettier covered in snow....

Happy sewing!

a dog in a sweater pillow and a little fall decor

I finally started decorating the house for fall,

it had been so warm until now,

I was not in the mood.

So for us, it is just a big mum, a couple of pumpkins, a horse blanket

 (you cannot take this French girl out of the Southwest, even in DC!)

and this sweet little dog pillow!

When I saw the pattern from Elizabeth Hartman: dogs in sweaters,

I could not resist, it totally reminded me of our new puppy Bosco,

even he is not really a Wiener dog.

He has similar traits like his face and longer body,

but regular size legs.

Does one really need an excuse to sew a cute pillow?

I sewed this patchwork (no paper piecing on this one) in linen, Liberty of London

and solid cotton.

Mixing weights of the fabric is probably responsible for the puckering on the face,

but it kinds of reminds me of Bosco's face, so it is all good!

Don't they look good together?

After seeing that, Miss C. suggested I made him a sweater, but I figure he is not that kind of dog, he is more formal than that so now he wears a bowtie! (it does not seem to bother him at all)

After more internet search, I think he might be a Redbone Coonhound,

or something like that as he is on the smaller size for that breed.

Rescue dogs are always interesting to figure out!

Happy sewing!