Big, big, big!

I'm so predictable.  This is the second summer in a row that I've finished up my work projects in the spring, thinking, "Now I'll take the summer to knit some patterns I didn't write!"  And then something comes up that I just can't say no to.  Last summer it was being asked if I wanted to write patterns for two new types of yarn that were being introduced to yarn shops.  I thought "They're new yarns, my patterns will be among the first to use these as recommended yarn...it might be a good way to get my work in front of people who haven't noticed me before."  And so I wrote the Herriot Hat and Hepatica.

This summer, it's self-imposed, although the spark of the idea came from a request from my LYS owner.  And it has turned into something big.  BIG.  By far, the biggest thing I've done yet.  I'm so exited to talk about it and so happy with the way this project is shaping up, but I'm going to be a secret squirrel about it for just a couple months longer.  I can say this: it's a collection, and it has a quality that I believe will please just about any knitter.  I am having a lot of fun working on it, and I'm not the least bit sorry that I'm using my summer for this rather than knitting other people's patterns.  There's always time for that after Christmas!

Anyway, since I'm going to stay mum on what I'm knitting right now, I thought I'd put up a different crafty sort of post.  I'm still working on redecorating my living room.  I'm going with a blue/beige/muted teal sort of color pallet, and I needed an end table to go next to a dusty-blue couch.  I was out at Gordman's one day and found these two little tables.  The paint was a little too bold to really fit in with what I already had going on, but I thought that it might look nice whitewashed.  You'd still see the teal through the white paint, but it would tone it down enough to sit next to the lighter blue couch and not look crazy-bright.

I went with the table on the right because I thought it would also provide some space to stash my knitting equipment.  The blue couch is what I refer to as "my office", it's where I most often work on my knitting and writing projects, so I needed to have some storage in my end table.

I wasn't a big fan of the basket drawers included with the table - they were very rustic and I thought they would scrape the paint off the table over time.  So I stopped by the lumberyard on the way home and asked them to cut me two rectangles of wood that would fit into the basket spaces so the table could have shelves instead.  I think the wood was like $10, and gave it a "cleaner" look that I was happy with.

I also stopped by the paint store and brought the drawer in with me.  I asked hem to color match the drawer so I could get a little jar of paint to use on the shelves.  I bought one of those little sample size containers for a couple bucks.

Once I brought it home, the girl cat had to inspect it.  It passed.








I used wood glue to secure the shelves into place, then painted them with the teal paint.  I was impressed that the match was so close.

Then I took white paint and watered it down, and brushed that over all the outside surfaces of the table.  I left the inside surfaces of the shelves the darker teal, just for a little contrast.  Each coat was very thin, so I did it 3 times before it was toned down to the degree that I liked.













Here's a view of the top surface where the whitewashing is easiest to see:

And here's a view of the finished table sitting in place in the living room.  I'm still working on finishing up the room decor, so I don't have any cute little containers for my knitting paraphernalia yet, but you get the idea!