Making a house a home

After a month in the new place, all the furniture is finally where it should be and the unpacking is winding down.  There are a still couple of boxes of lagniappe items, which I either didn't have the heart to donate, or have been too lazy to put away.  But there's nothing like the impending visit of an old friend and a dinner party to spur some action, so those boxes will be dispatched before the weekend.

Now that the dust has settled, I'm ready to devote some time to the decor.  In its former life, the house was a farm when it was built in the 1920's, so I'm trying to throw a little farmhouse chic into the mix.  Doesn't this early Christmas/housewarming gift from Mom fit right in?

Suddenly I feel the need for a little Urban Cowgirl in my life to make a quilt for the sofa.  I'm also on the hunt for more yardage of Garden Party for curtains- I'm thinking the Waltz print in any color would look nice.  I have a few Drawing Room prints which were originally intended to make sofa pillows and a tablecloth.  But the thought of spilling food or drink on such beautiful fabric horrifies me, and it would be sinful to cut up the large-scale Trellis print for a pillow, so I'm considering using them as backing for a quilt and to reupholster a chair. But first things first.

Our expected guest will be staying in Antonio's room, so the Urban Chic quilt is top priority by default.  The back will be pieced from these two flannel prints:

They're washed and pressed, so I'm hoping to piece and baste this evening.  We actually have a formal dining room now, so I'll be able to use my dining room table for basting. I didn't have the luxury of using the leaves to extend the table at our old place, so basting was always done on the floor.  Now I can just pop the leaves in and away I go!  It's the little things that make life good, isn't it? 

I'm also going to try to squeeze in a couple of pillow covers (I may cave and cut up Trellis, after all) and a few more Vintage Holiday blocks before the weekend.  It would be nice to actually finish the Christmas quilt before Christmas!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.