Knit Pillow

Now that Fall is definitely here, I have the knitting bug again. It's funny how that works. I have no desire to really knit anything in the summer. But come fall, I'm all over it. My first project of the season - a knit pillow cover! I first saw this idea on my trip to West Elm a month or so ago. I loved it, but I didn't want to pay for it. I think it was around $34 for the pillow cover alone!

So of course, I decided to make my own! I recently became reacquainted with the website Ravelry. Have you heard of it? It's an online community for knitters and crocheters (my username is meganykane if you want to find me!). There are a ton of free patterns and that's where I found the pattern for my pillow.

I used this pattern - the Simple Stitch Pillow by Meg Roke Knits. I have to say, it's one of the easiest knitting projects I've done so far! I used thick yarn and thick needles so it went pretty fast, and since it is a pillow cover, I just put it on a pillow I already had lying around.

Needles - Size US 15 (10mm)
Yarn - Bernat Brand Bulky 80% Acrylic/20% Wool in Low Tide
(I bought three skeens on sale for $4.11/each, but only ended up using two for this project)

I followed the pattern pretty much spot on and it was so easy. No complex parts to it at all until you get to the button holes, which was only one row.

The other great thing about the pillow is I got to use some vintage wood buttons that my Mom gave me. She said the my great grandfather made them! How cool is that?!

OK, here she is. She is super soft and cuddly. Now I just need to keep it away from the puppies! I love how it turned out!

The best part is I can take off the pillow cover when it gets hot in the summer. I love it!

What knitting projects are you working on these days? I'm thinking of trying to tackle a scarf like this one if I can find a similar pattern. I got the teal version and it's so cozy warm!

Have a Happy Weekend!

A quick note on Spin Class - I joined a gym last week and tried Spin Class for the first time in my life. It kicked. my. ass. Big time. But... I actually kind of like it! The only bad part is how much your sit bones hurt afterwards! I'm hoping the more I do it, the more I get used to it. 

So what are you up to this weekend? We are busy busy - date night, catching up with friends, CRAFT DAY, then Seahawks on Sunday (Ka-Ka!). I'm super excited for craft day with Kim and Shan! We started having craft days a few years ago, but it's been a while since we've had one. It should be a lot of fun!

Have a great weekend!

Photo found via

Custom Framing - The Easy (and Cheap!) Way

Way back in the day I bought this poster of all the Seattle neighborhoods. I love it, but it took me over a year to put it in a frame so I could enjoy it on the wall. Mostly, because of the price of custom framing! It's ridiculous! 

I finally got with it and decided to figure something else out. The picture was 32x16 so I got a standard poster frame that was 24x36 - the closest I could find. From there I just went to the framing section and asked for help. I wanted a green mat that matched the green on the poster and picked the closest color. Then the lady measured the picture and we ordered the mat. 

I love how it turned out! As for cost, we probably saved at the very least, half of what it would cost to get it custom framed. 

Frame - $20

Mat - $35

Total - $55 

Only $55 for a custom frame! That's pretty sweet in my book. It did take some time to order the mat, but all in all it was a super easy way to frame an awkward sized print. 

Have you ever gotten anything framed professionally? Expensive, right? 

PS Can you believe it's November already?!?!?!

Oops... I Did It Again

I played with your heart... I bought some more fabric. Oh yeah yeah. That's as close to Britney as I'll get. :) 

Sunday I went down to PDX with my mom to see my grandparents (and my brother was there too - hi dude!). Apparently my Grandma wants to get on the Facebook. She's 87 and barely knows how to turn on her computer. But I fully support it! Go Grandma Go!

After our visit, we stopped by Fabric Depot, one of my favorite places to get fabric. Great discounts and tons and tons of fabric. I love it. I grabbed a ton of samples and had a hard time deciding! I knew I wanted navy or charcoal gray, so I started there. So many choices...

I really want this chair to be classic. I love the unique shape of it and think the shape alone is enough to make it stand out. Since this is technically Zach's chair, he wanted a manly fabric with some texture and a solid color. I was in agreement too, especially since I already have my wing back lady I reupholstered back in May with a bright fun pattern. 

So what did we settle on? We got the one on the far right! It has great texture, is pretty thick and the color is amazing. Here's another close up and then below is the fabric from afar. It looks a lot lighter in the bottom picture, but it's definitely a deep rich charcoal and I love it (and so does Zach)!

See how there's just enough texture to keep it interesting, but hopefully still solid enough to let the shape of the chair and the tufting stand out? I think we made a good choice. 

As for cost... I got six yards at $21.99/yard, plus 35% off with my Mom's coupon (thanks, Mom!), plus no sales tax(!). Total cost - $85.76. Not too bad. A lot cheaper the other wing back chair fabric, but I ended up getting an extra yard of fabric for this one since there's a lot of piping and we'll need to cover the tufted buttons. 

I love it. I got home late Sunday night and Zach already wanted to get started taking the chair apart. I was like, Whoa there buddy. Calm down. But I did like his enthusiasm. Hopefully we'll find a free weekend to take this guy apart soon. Right now he looks like a lady chair, but I can guarantee he'll be a masculine hunk of curvy tuftedness by the time we are done with him. 

Back to it

Well hello there! I've been a little MIA this week, but for good reason! My husband is home! We've been catching up and getting reacquainted. He will be home for a couple months until his January rotation in either Shelton or Pendleton (again). I'm a happy girl once again. :) 

Zagapalooza was awesome! We had so much fun reliving our college days and catching up. My favorite part was "Kraziness in the Kennel" which was the first time since I graduated that I've been back in the arena to watch some basketball. It was awesome watching the scrimmage and now I'm super excited for basketball season to start! GO ZAGS!

Well, I just wanted to check in and say hi! I'm hoping to catch up on some projects this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to share with you next week!

What are you up to this weekend?

Photo found here

ZAGAPALOOZA!

I'm headed to Gonzaga today for alumni weekend (aka ZAGAPALOOZA!). I'm going with my girlfriends, Blair, Lynn, Kelly and we are meeting Kristy in Spokane (she lives there). I'm so excited to spend time with some of my favorites! In fact, I thought I'd take a little trip down memory lane... so here's a little flashback of the five of us over the years...

2007

2008

2011

Birthdays, Weddings, Friendsgiving, and now... Babies (Lynn, not me. Sorry, Mom)! I've loved the adventures that we've had throughout the years and I'm so glad we've stayed close. I'm so thankful for you guys! Here's to another great weekend!

What are you up to this weekend? Hope it's great!

Finally... Geez!

Usually I'm a little behind the times. I will admit I'm no trendsetter, but I like to be on trend. Does that make sense? Well anyways, I finally hopped on two bandwagons this week. One: Colored Denim. Two: Hunter Boots. 

I got two pairs of colored skinny jeans (and I almost got some colored cords... still thinking on them) - one mustard yellow and one bright blue. I LOVE them! I literally did not want to take them off to pay they were so comfy! I got these ones and these ones from The Limited (one of my favs). Best part - they were buy one/get one 50% off! Woot! 

And the Hunters. I've always loved my rain boots. I've gone through a few pairs through the years (from Target) in fun colors and patterns, but after a season the heels usually blow out and the rubber gets weak.  Now I'm excited to check out these supposedly awesome boots and see if they really are as tough as people say they are (all 1,500+ positive reviews!). I ordered them yesterday so we'll see how I like them! 

Just thought I'd share! What are your favorite pieces for Fall?