I’m curled up on the sofa with my coffee and a manuscript for a book I’m working on the cover for. The story is told from a dog’s point of view, which sounds really awful, but it’s actually quite smart and well-written. I’m still trying to figure out what the protagonist looks like and what kind of dog he is, but that information can really only come from the dialogue of other characters in the book (I do know he has one black ear and one white ear). Dogs, apparently, don’t spend a lot of time looking in the mirror or worrying about their fur color.

I made Bruno a new bed on Sunday (big enough for two!), and he’s enjoying it more than I expected he would. I just sewed an oversized envelope-style pillowcase out of linen, and put a really soft down pillow inside. I was thinking about sewing on a circle of boiled wool in the center, but now that the weather is slowly, slowly getting a little bit warmer (I still need a scarf, though), I think I’ll just leave it as is.

p.s. The plumber is coming today! By this afternoon, all of the roughing in should be done.

As I’ve mentioned before (more than once), some of the things IKEA does best are their textiles! I’ve been waiting impatiently for the 2008 lines to hit the stores, and hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to stock up. That triangle-bunting print is killing me with its adorableness.

I love triangles!

Between the Fialena (designed by Anna Svanfeldt) and Petronella lines, there are 10 new prints to choose from.

The office/studio has been such a disaster for so long that it’s a huge relief to just have my fabrics folded and put away on a shelf instead of being stuffed into plastic bags. This room is going to be a big project for the weekend! I need a good, functional table to work on, and a way to make the white leather sofa (yes, we’re picking it up tomorrow morning!) fit nicely in there so it can be a comfortable room to lounge around in. Up until now, the room really has become a dumping ground for boxes, books, extra furniture, etc., but the waste of space is killing me. Over the last two weekends we cleared everything out, and now it’s time to make it functional!

I picked up a couple of yards of the Patricia fabric from IKEA I mentioned the other day. It’s very nice in person; the size of the print is much larger than I expected it to be. It’s a medium-weight canvas, and definitely suitable for lightweight upholstery.

++ Today I came across Et lille Hus, a blog chronicling the creation of a “perfect summerhouse” in Denmark. There are some great inspirational photos and moodboards posted right now, as well as photos of what looks like a very cute house with what will soon be a lovely view of the sea. Ahhh…

Project completed! Checkbook cover with a purely decorative button. Yay!

I have two lovely new books to encourage me to sew:
1. Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter
2. Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol

I have so many projects around the house to work on, but not until I make at least one little bag with a fancy button that’s just for show.