Making the Sofa Slipcover

Good Monday Mornin'!

I finally tried my hand at making a slipcover for our old sofa. I have been covering our sofa for some time now. Honestly, from the time we moved from our old home to this home. When I bought this sofa I was really into a red, white and blue kind of theme and it also went well with the other house but this home's interior. Our present home has several rooms with and old gold-in-tone wallpaper. I do love the paper but it has definitely made for some changes in my color choices and sometimes it's been downright hard to match.I have also had a whole brew of kids that have piled onto the sofa along with a few dogs along the way. 

I have lusted and longed for a new sofa on different occasions but something has always come up or got in the way about the time I would have went through with a purchase of a new one. Many years, I have used a fairly inexpensive one I had bought from a big-box store and it served it's purpose but with wear and tear has gave out.

So, I have found myself joining the slipcover craze!

I truly like the look of slipcovers and find it to be a great option for me. I started out slip-covering the dining table chairs, then my husbands recliner...yes, it was worn out too. Now I've ventured to the big girl, the sofa.

For a first go of it I'm pretty pleased.

The sofa pattern before.

I have been fortunate in finding a large quantity of this beige fabric. It isn't burlap or linen but it has a very natural feel and a pretty hardy texture. I'm thinking it's going to hold up real well. It's also super cozy for sitting and t.v. watching.

I took a cheating way with these pillows. My pillows always seem to take a beating so I opted to not spend to much time on theme. I simple covered them with fabric a little larger than the pillow itself and tied knots all the way around to secure it. I can easily change them to something else when I wish.

The sofa pictured here looks a bit frumpy. I gave my self some wiggle room when I patterned out my pieces. The thing I had noticed with whatever slipcover I had used in the past was that if it was too fitted it would basically wiggle itself off  or the ones that weren't fitted ended up looking like an unmade bed.

When it was all sewn and done I'm quite satisfied with the way it turned out.

Thanks for dropping by. I wish you could sit a spell.

My best hopes for you on your projects as well.

Be Blessed!

Take It Outside Sunday

I have been so glad to see the sunshine on a regular basis. Sunshine on a Sunday afternoon just screams, "cook out doors!" And for the second Sunday in a row that's what we've done. 

The Ole Man had been jonesing for barbecue ribs for at least the most of last month.

I'm not really talking about putting on a big put-on; I'm just talking about some real casual laid back family togetherness.

The right deal on a mess of ribs 

and 

some charcoal,

We were on our way!

Sometimes it's not about the fancy recipes and outstanding exterior decor it's really just about getting  out there and doing it.

Barbecued Ribs, buttery corn-on-the cob, garlic buttered onion, basic cole slaw, Sunbeam dinner rolls, and wash it all down with a big glass of sweet tea.

It will get the good times rolling!

Feeling Blessed on a Southern Sunday!

  

Happy Face

Country kids loving Country Cookin'!
Turkey Dumplin' Casserole

Oh yes...enjoying the day with the kids and just kickin' back!
The weather channel is predicting cold and snowy days as the week rolls on.
The kids haven't truly been on regular schedule, yet!
We're making the best of our time.
How 'bout you?

BE BLESSED!

Good Neighbor Finale

Just a quick little post to Thanks Everyone who participated in 

the Good Neighbor Hop.

I had a lot of fun with this and I met several great people. 

<center> <a href="http://southerndirection.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Southern Direction" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7i6Kh4OOgNfHYIn1sGO45I-mdxdL7IABhGoYxoI6HnsiN1L-ovSzQDFWRJAfgg0NV20nRKt8NlhFbTju4HO5cwOoo7J9nO838u0QnhFKsVZnRGNkRLRIVkDUC0aquSRWOUVycunHDwc-w/s1600/FotoFlexer_Photo+late+bloomer.jpg" /></a></center>
Our Late Bloom Feature goes to

Country Road Abode~Thankfulness in my Living Room
It was a very thankful and sweet post.

<center> <a href="http://southerndirection.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Southern Direction" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EGfDev8UAt8h7wON4DmPF5NTmSBLcgxewD-Eo-6a6qPXWzZj4Tgbx-QbLMiEbDHmQ6jwvAkiId93wU4D4kXzlbnUMBuXiVlSeyyw7uxFkXiDzYtCHnEwxkHJbUHjy4h_poNtqbmMCD6W/s1600/FotoFlexer_PhotoFeatured+button.jpg" /></a></center>
My favorite post and choice for feature spot goes to

Cheese Acre Farm for their Southern Pecan Pie
Anyone who knows me know I Love a Pecan Pie.

Thanks again for all who joined us!
The Christmas Countdown is on!
BE BLESSED!

Death of the Refrigerator

Well it happened. Yesterday our refrigerator died. This is a bitter sweet turn of events for me. We went through this tragedy about two years ago and if you've every had it happen to you; you know you have a mess on your hands.

 

This picture will probably make you wonder why the thing hadn't quit working before now. The refridgerator we had before was a Frigidaire. We had bought it new but it must have been the dud. That's when this old Montgomery Ward model became our stand in. We were glad when my brother offered it because we were really caught off guard. But oh...was it ugly. I don't think Montgomery Ward has been in business for at least 20 years. It was beige and rust color but it did work and should have been a temporary fix. But I had a hard time looking at it. So I painted it. I bought a can of chalkboard paint and went to work on it.

 

My husband thought it I was nuts but it became one of my best conversation pieces and all the kids loved it no matter if they were a toddler of a teen. If you needed to leave a message it was perfect. Montgomery was host to the most amazing artwork. It was hard for almost anybody to walk past and not jot something down. I think I became the favorite aunt just because the children liked to write on that refrigerator. It was so well used that I repainted the doors twice but now and era has ended. Yes, Montgomery died. He's also been replaced with a new, sleek, black Frigidaire.

Oh well, out with the old......in with the new.

 

I wonder how many of you call a refrigerator a frigidaire? My grandpa did. It didn't matter what brand name it was. Somtimes I still do. What about you? Is it just southern slang? 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by Southern Direction!

Have a Blessed Day.

 

 



Old Home Love

Our present home

Our prior home

I am so glad to received my latest issue of Folk magazine. One article that I really connected with was Old House Love by Anne Lorys. In the article she is basically taking the reader on a tour of her quaint Victorian cottage. She goes on to explain how she and her husband came to live in this little fixer upper. She also describes her love for old imperfect homes. It was as if she was describing me!

I grew up in a small country home. My first home after leaving the house of my youth was a brand new mobile home; which is very typical for our area. Most folks start out in a mobile home of sorts and later build a house on their piece of land. Regardless I thought I had really made it. I had new appliances, new carpet, a heat pump.

 After my first marriage ended. I moved back to the house my grandmother had lived in. At one time the house was acclaimed as the Scales-Ellington plantation but by the time I had come to live there it had been through quite a bit of changes. The era of when you covered the wood floors and panelled over the old bead board had taken it's toll. The house had also been vacant for a few years before I began renting it. Thankfully the rent was cheap and I also think I received some healing for my heart being back in the house that was full of so many memories. Living in the old house was quite a chore. The plumbing was horrible, the floors were ratty, winter would work you to death just keeping heat. If snow fell it was very common for it to blow through the cracks in some of the back rooms. The old house had also become home to a variety of creature. Oh, but what a treasure on a hot summer day the big double doors open, gentle breeze that cooled the house. The huge winding stairs, the nine foot ceilings and that wonderful smell that only that house had. Not a old bad smell but the sweet smell of home. I thought I would buy it. I thought I would live there until I died.

After the owner refused to sell and realizing that we had to truly find a place of our own; we purchased the home we live in now. It too is a older home, built in the 1950's but we could already visualize  the transformation. Ten years of ups and a few downs hasn't left opportunity for too much remodeling. It's more like you fix it as it comes along. I'm sure my husband think a newer home would be great and I think the kids might wish for a more modern home. The still share this place we call home and all in all we're a blessed family in a blessed little home.

I'm inspire that there are other that share old home love just as I do but whatever home you live in I wish you well and pray that all the hearts that dwell within your walls are blessed too.

p.s. //americanfolklife.blogspot.com I love this blog and the magazine is beautiful.

Doors Wide Open

What kind of person are you? Are you a doors wide open person? Or are you a door shut tightly person? This can be a question of personal style or it can also be they way an individual relates to the world.

I am a doors wide open person. Even with tempertures reaching nearly 100 degrees the past week, I want the doors open. I want to hear what is going on wether it's the birds singing or the dog barking or even the neighbor who chooses to mow on Sunday morning. When I am in the house for a little, it doesn't take me long before I'm right back outside looking for a chore or a project. I apologize to people who visit and are use to being closed up in there homes and there cars with the AC on but before long they seem to prefer the atmosphere that we have around our home. My children have all been lovers of the out doors and with the doors open they have the freedom but I can still hear them even if I'm doing chores on the inside. (they have to be done too..)

I think I'm a doors wide open person in most all perspectives but this can leave my condition the same as my poor beat up screen door. I wish I could remember how many times my poor screen door has been replace or patched. Constantly being used and slammed, kicked, pawed, nightly returning of spiders webs leaves my poor door in a quite abused state. Maybe I should change and close the doors. I could enjoy constant controlled enviroment I could shut out the sounds of the world........Naaww....leave that door open.

If you have the opportunity, leave the door open. You might like it. As always thanks for stopping by Southern Direction and by all means don't let the screen door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

Simply Southern

Our home

Pic from the Porch

Front pic of the house

Zinnia

One more posie pic

I've posted a few pictures from around my home. I want to give you an idea of the style of life we live. Our home sits at the bottom of Carter Mountain. This isn't a particularly known mountain and the only access is basic dirt road that turns into more of a path the further up the mountain you go. The house has three bedrooms and one bath. The yard is not quite a full acre.

My style of living is simple country. I prefer things to have a purpose. I enjoy gardening whether it is roses, pansies, tomatoes, or okra. I have tendency to plant in small patches due to the soil being rather poor on the property. I do complost to build the quality but that is a slow process. I would love to bring in truck loads of soil but that is a costly endeavor. I usually work with what I've got.

I've seen alot of beautiful places in this United States but nothing makes me feel like home as when I start to see that Blue Ridge Mountain range come into view and the sweet smell of honeysuckles and the sent of tobacco cured in the barn.

I've enjoyed other bloggers views of their homes and their ways of living so I thought making sort of a diary of my own would be a great way of sharing the blessings bestowed on me. I wish to inspire you to count your own blessings, love your life, and to work with what you've got.

As always thanks for stopping by Southern Direction.