Ulrika's Profile

I used to live in a large apartment complex near Microsoft -- perfectly good furniture and general STUFF got left at the dumpsters on a regular basis.

I think I'll just second everything said in comments so far. A friend taught me the basics (knitting, purling, picking up dropped stitches) and much of the rest I've managed to pick up from YouTube, library books, and fearlessly blundering on and trying stuff. Unlike sewing, it's dead easy to undo mistakes, and it's way handy to have something to do whenever you're on the bus, waiting for a plane, or stuck in a dull meeting.

What a great idea! I love it.

oh, dear, now i reallyreallyreallyreallyreally want that moomin pillow, and it looks like finlayson no longer makes it. oh, dear.

Last Christmas we spent with family in Mariposa, CA and I had promised to provide the Swedish meatballs, but ran out of time to make them up before we flew down. I knew it would be tricky to get all of my basic ingredients in town -- I mix equal parts of ground beef, pork, and lamb -- but I thought I would be able to improvise something. I was right, but it was farther out than I expected: I guessed it might be tricky to get ground lamb on short notice, but what I hadn't imagined was that the market didn't have any kind of ground pork either. I could have worked with just plain hamburger, but instead I was able to find ground venison, and pork sausage and used those to good effect instead. But yes, definitely look before you leap -- there's no telling what will not be to hand in an unfamiliar market.

And, contra to another poster, Asian markets are certainly NOT everywhere. Mariposa does not have one, nor do any of the nearby towns.

Looks like 'great minds think alike' again -- I was also going to suggest that either a magnetic strip on the side of the fridge, or an in-drawer knife block, would get the knife block off the counter. I found a drawer knife block at Target and I just love it.

A three-tiered hanging basket hung from the ceiling over in the weird corner might also help get the pantry items off the top of the fridge and more accessible.

To be honest, it does look like a first-time reupholstering effort -- the weird bumps in some of the seams, the way the seat cushion looks warped, and the wrinkling around the arm rests are among the clues -- BUT the choice of a busy, contrasty fabric makes those details far less noticeable than they might have been. A valiant first attempt, and certainly more appealing to sit on than the original.

Don't blame poor 1981, that kitchen was already ugly by then. But yeah, amazing transformation, for sure. Kudos to the owners.

No. Really, most sincerely, no. It's bad enough being poor and living in ugly buildings without being made victim of cute design projects inflicted by people who don't actually have to live with the result.

Good tips, all. I've had especially good luck with thrifting since I started commuting by train -- there is a good thrift store on my walk home from the station, so that I often drop in for a quick browse on my walk home. Frequent stops really pay off!

The other editing tip I would add is this: be realistic about your ambitions when buying "projects" -- if the item is not perfect as it is, will you actually get around to the painting/refinishing/recovering that will make it perfect. If you're already swimming in unfinished projects, maybe take a pass.