It's My Birthday and I'll Work If I Want To

You would work too, if it happened to you . . . . (Sing the title and first line to the tune of Leslie Gore's "It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To.")

I woke at 5 am today and at 5:38 decided to can the idea of more sleep even though it is Sunday and it is my birthday. I decided to get up and work. The New York Sheep and Wool Festival is less than one week away and my head is full of ideas and my studio is full of stuff that needs to be finished. Today I am revving up the sewing machine to prepare the binding for three rugs that need it, and to put together a slew of pillows I have made tops for. I've been working away on my new dog rug that will be the centerpiece of our booth this year. It is hooking up quickly, so I can afford to put it aside today.

On another front: Pete and I did a quick tour of tag sales yesterday to see if we could scrounge up enough chairs for the dining room without spending huge amounts of money. Remember, we bought a table last month at Brimfield and it has been sitting chairless in the dining room since then. Well, luck was with us yesterday. A restaurant in Southold went of of business and we bought a bunch of chairs at a bargain price -- cheaper than Ikea! We are very pleased with our purchase. So pleased, in fact, that Pete went back and bought four more for the kitchen.


The icing on the cake, however, was the delivery of my newly reupholstered hand-me-down couch. I LOVE my couch. It is at least 25 years old, has a hardwood frame, and had two owners before me. It was covered in a horrible shiny fabric that smelled musty. I kept it in my studio for naps on rainy Sunday afternoons. I've wanted to recover it for years, but never got around to it. Now that we have a family room that needs a sofa, I convinced Pete to let me get it redone.


I am a ninny when it comes to decorating. I tend to keep things on the quiet side. I've never owned a sofa with a print fabric on it. But this fabric just sang to me when I first saw it on my friend Paula's love seat. She was kind enough to give me a piece of the fabric, and the name of her upholsterer and voila! I now have the most beautiful couch I've ever owned. It looks a little stark against the white wall in the picture, so try to imagine it with the walls painted the color of the elephants in the fabric, and a long leather ottoman with a wooden tray on top of it for a coffee table, and an attractive rug on the floor. I can't wait to spend time in there once the Sheep and Wool Festival is over . . .

Now I really have to get back to work . . .