Billet-Doux

A little billet-doux to everyone reading from Chez Ville de Porc. Thank you so very much for reading Pigtown*Design. We love that you take the time from your busy day to read what I am chattering on about. It pleases me greatly when you leave thoughtful and funny comments, and add to the general discussion.

It’s quiet here today and we’re gearing up for another few inches of snow tomorrow. When will it ever end? I’ve had time to really play with my sewing machine, which, for those who asked, is a Singer Simple.

For a Valentine’s present for my mother, I went over to DeBois and sourced some fabrics. I found Daisy Daisy, a David Hicks fabric from 1970, which has been edited by Ashley Hicks for Groundworks. I also found a linen with some birds on it. Since the colours were similar, I decided to add the bird print over the Hicks pattern. I went to Ikea and bought some down pillow forms, and I used the 20x20 one for this pillow. Since the cover was a little too big for the insert, I ran a row of stitching around the edge to make a bit of a border. I don’t know how to sew at all and didn’t have a pattern, so this was all trial and error. What do you think?

I also made another pig-adillo. It is even stranger than the first one. I think that I need to find another pattern. He’s got funny blue eyes from my button collection. When I lived in Wales, I used to haunt the charity shops there to add to my collection of French-Ivory handled cutlery and I would always find wonderful buttons that the volunteers would cut off clothes and sew onto a card. I have dozens of them. Connor and I wish all of you a lovely and happy Valentine’s Day! We love you!!!

Two New Places to Visit

One of the best things about blogging is finding like-minded people who get the same thrill as you do when you hear about a new line of fabrics, or that chandeliers in bathrooms are indeed quite gorgeous.

You know of my deep adoration of my supremely talented friend, David Wiesand , as I have written about his gorgeous shop numerous times. He’s now started his own blog. Here’s what he has to say about what his blog will be:

Things I'd like to explore on this blog are: Creativity, where does it come from; starting and growing a business; an intimate look into the world of my company, the people who occupy it and keep it moving forward, the humor that makes our small business work for us all there, the camaraderie that keeps people together, makes them enjoy what they do.  Secrets of the trade: why read a blog if you're not going to get the inside scoop on how the magic happens (how DO they make paint imitate wood, marble, shagreen, ivory...) 

There are only two posts up so far, but he’s planning on making some little videos on the techniques they use, including gilding, casting and more. I think it’s going to be a fascinating blog.

Another new blog, which was just officially launched this week is called Trail of Inspiration, written by the talented Lulu deKwiatkowski. Lulu also talks about how she gets her inspiration. Please take a look and you will be inspired, too.

Snow Updates

It’s been a strange week, and almost everyone whom I’ve spoken to today has said that they are clueless as to which day of the week it is! The snowstorms started on Friday, February 5th, and since then, we’ve had about 50 inches of snow, which is unheard of around these parts! We are at almost 80 inches for the season, and with another storm due in at the beginning of the week, we are all at our wits end! It was great to get my car out today, unburied for the second time in a week (total: 5 men, $70), and take a spin. Of course, I wanted to head right to the fabric store, but wiser thoughts prevailed and I went to get dog food instead. (Check out the zebra Dansko clogs in the background.) Just so you would have an idea of what it was like here during the storm yesterday, I made a little video of me walking with Connor around the neighbourhood. In the video, you can hear the wind howling and see all of the snow blowing. When I was out, the temperatures were hovering around the 20F mark. I am so bundled up, I look like one of those cartoons of a child in a snowsuit, arms sticking out.

I haven’t attempted to make another pig-adillo, but have been playing around with some of the fabrics I got during the break in the storms. I am piecing a lot of patterns together to make a blanket-y thing, and I will back it with some fleece. It will probably be for Connor, since it’s so imperfect.

Flip’s Details

It’s sunny and 32F out today, but still windy. All around, you can hear the sounds of people shoveling and scraping. The snow is layers of snow, ice, and more snow.

I received more pictures from Flip this morning and she’s included some details.

First picture shows a close-up of the glass door knobs from Anthropologie.

The doors we found at Second Chance were two separate panels which we hinged together (to operate in the same fashion as pocket shutters - folding in on themselves). This also shows a better view of the closet that was created. Here is a close-up of the medallion from Felber Ornamental Plaster in Pennsylvania and the mirror detail. Also details of the tile.... and the entire basin with Flip’s darling Notorious Biggie Boy...... I know that this is a space that any of us would love to have in our house!

Blizz-icane!

Yes, I know you’re sick of me posting about snow, it’s really a major event here. According to the National Weather Service, the winds hit Category I Hurricane force today during our blizzard. Additionally, the barometer readings were extremely low, like they are during hurricanes.As you might have noticed, I am very interested in weather. I was on my college sailing team, and one of my courses was, and don’t laugh too hard, “Wind & Weather for the Serious Yachtsman”. It was basically a meteorology class and I found it fascinating.

Totals from the last 24 hours of snow are about 18-20 inches, and on top of the nearly 30 we had over the weekend, none of us are sure we can take any more of this! Nothing is open on Thursday, and there’s basically no hope of getting out of Pigtown until the weekend. All in all, we’ve had 72 inches of snow since December, which is about 10 times what we usually get!

I made a little video earlier today and once I finish editing it and upload it, I will link it here.

Also, Flip is going to send over some pictures of the tile on the wall of her gorgeous bathroom, as well as some of the sink.

Flip’s Bathroom

About a year ago, I did a series of posts (here and here) on my friend Flip’s gorgeous house. She and her husband have taken an elegant old townhouse and brought it back to life. One of the most recent project was resurrecting an original bathroom that had been converted into a kitchen.

Here’s Flip to tell you the story.

When we bought our house, it had been an apartment building and rooming house (more like brothel) for 80 years, so, as one might imagine, there were all sorts of cosmetic problems, like miles of telephone wires along passages, horrible warping vinyl replacement windows in some of the rooms, Home Depot doors and disgusting dirty bathrooms (none of which were original, sadly) and all those apartment kitchens.

Luckily, the house did have some gorgeous gilded mirrors and cornice details so not all was despair and gloom! The main kitchen downstairs would turn into a total gut-job, and we knew it would take a year or so…. (top image) So we had to use a miniature galley New York-style kitchen upstairs. Little did we know it would be the main kitchen for two-and-a-half years! It all began with those hideous brown cabinets.... which I painted white to tide us over.

When the downstairs kitchen was finally complete.... we launched into demolition mode as the galley would be transformed into the original bathroom that it once was. The only redeeming feature was a beautiful huge white mirror which hinted at a more gracious era of single-family home. (right image above)

By the way….. we still have tenants on the upper floors, which certainly helps defray renovation costs….. and anyway I would need to have another 14 children to occupy the ENTIRE house…. And THAT isn’t going to happen!!!!

We began ripping up the linoleum, but the wooden floors beneath were beyond salvage. The entire room had to be re-wired and re-plumbed (and we had our fair share of mini-floods and a plumber who claimed that he had 'the shits and the runs” and so would never show up!!!!! Lovely.)

I chose to have a large cast-iron kitchen sink because I grow orchids and needed a large sink for the watering process. The large sink, which literally cost a dime, looked rather odd once it was erected to the wall…. And the exposed plumbing looked wrong. So my original vision (with regard to the sink area) had failed somewhat. So the answer (inspired by Eddie Ross) was to sew a skirt for it…. I sourced some charcoal fabric from Guss Woolen LLC, and added some white grosgrain ribbon onto the base to make it a little more formal (also box-pleated the corners). It did the trick. I must add that my 6 foot 7 carpenter who recreated the entire bathroom… also sewed the skirt for the sink….. got to love that. He used to work for Center Stage and hemmed all the curtains for the theater as well as building all the sets…. He is a gem.

The loo turned out to be a problem... the main pipe on that side of the house was too narrow and installing a larger one would have meant opening the masonry all the way down and digging up the street, too. A no-go as it would have blown the budget ten times over. I don’t really like loos anyway…

So, as unpractical as it is… this bathroom was going focus on bath, sink and mirror! My husband did not approve and wiped his hands of the project… I shrugged and decided it would be MY place of refuge from the real world anyway!!!

A dear friend offered us a spectacular pedestal bath, which we collected. They said it would need re-finishing and re-enameling…. but in fact, it was in perfect nick. I am also obsessed with tile… and we found the most amazing intricate marble tile for the wall at an auction (it is a small interwoven rectangular convex tile) and the hexagonal floor tile was shipped from Atlanta for a very reasonable price.

We also created a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, employing salvaged doors from Second Chance (storage is at a premium in our house, and I despise seeing the Clorox wipes etc. as it is). The chandelier was a steal at Housewerks... The large mirror was always there (just in dire need of a fresh lick of paint). I chose Sherwin Williams flat "knitting needles" (pale grey) as the wall color, and the remainder of the trim was painted in a high gloss white.

So it is finally ‘done’…. It just needs a chrome free-standing towel rail (think old colonial railway passage), and another mirror above the sink (can’t find the right one yet). I love it, and almost can’t bear to use it…………..

Thanks for sharing your bathroom, Flip! This is gorgeous!

Salvation!

This evening, some small salvation came in the form of a massive front-end loader. They can’t fit a regulation size plough down our narrow road, so a front-end loader came and took the snow out of the center lane, scoop by scoop. Since the forecast is calling for 10-20 inches of additional snow on Tuesday and Wednesday, the pressure is on the city crews to get as many roads cleared as they can. Just shoot me now.

Enveloped, Again

I usually don’t pay much attention to the press releases that I get because so many of them don’t pertain to me and what I write about. But today, I got one that really interested me.

A few months ago, I wrote about making envelopes lined with tea or joss paper. I also mentioned a post that Style Court had written about some beautiful hand-crafted lined envelopes that Mary McDonald had made for a baby shower.

The press release I received was from Dempsey & Carroll, who have taken Mrs. John L. Strong’s place as the stationer of choice. They have just come out with a range of envelopes lined with some of the design world’s favourite fabrics from Schumacher.

Schumacher's ChenonceauSchumacher's Imperial Trellis Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon Now that I am a total fabric nut, I would have a hard time deciding which of these lovelies to get!  They are all available at Dempsey & Carroll.

Shelter-in-Place

Day 3. I tried to go to work today, but after waiting for the bus for a while in the 21F cold, I came back home. Of course, the semi-trailer sprawled across the main road may have had to do something with the bus not arriving. Nevertheless, I tried.For someone like me, who is used to being busy, this enforced confinement is making me nuts. I can only walk Connor around Pigtown so many times. The snow is above his shoulders, and now that it melted a little bit in the sun, it’s refrozen and it is very hard to walk on.

In Baltimore, there’s a tradition of leaving lawn furniture in the space where you’ve dug out your car. After all, if you’ve spent the time (or money) to free your car, you don’t expect someone to come and swoop in and take it. In a neighbourhood as small as ours, everyone knows each other’s car, so you’re in for it if you take someone’s space.

Or, if you’re my friend David at McLainWiesand, you can showcase your wares as you save your parking spot!I bought a sewing machine last week, and I am sure glad I did! I’ve been wanting to learn how to sew for a while now, and this enforced sheltering-in-place seemed like the perfect opportunity to teach myself. My first project was to make a little stuffed pig. I got the directions from Martha’s website, but she seems to have left out a couple of key steps, so I ended up with something that looked more like an armadillo than a pig. I used a paisley from DeBois Textiles and worked to use the paisley pattern to its advantage. Perhaps I should have started with something a little less ambitious!

Who Dat?

I am not a huge football fan, but like most Americans, I will be watching SuperBowl XLIV this evening. I am unable to root for the Colts, because as you may know, they were formerly the Baltimore Colts, until they snuck out of town one snowy March evening.

When I think of the Colts, I don’t think of that what’s-his-name quarterback that’s playing, I think of No. 19, Johnny Unitas, the Golden Arm. I think of the Colts Marching Band who practiced, performed and marched for 11 years until the Baltimore Ravens came to town.

So this evening, I will be rooting for the New Orleans Saints to win! I think that a big win and a new mayor, as well as this week’s Mardi Gras celebrations are just what the city needs to give them a boost.

When you hear a New Orleans accent, sometimes you think it sounds like Brooklyn. I remember friends talking about Yatty girls, and deese and dem, an’ all. So Who Dat is right on the money for a true New Orleans accent. Check out this 1983 video of Neville Brother, Aaron and some vintage football players singing “Who Dat” to the tune of “The Saints Go Marching In”.

Who Dat Gonna Beat the Saints?

Hopefully, not the Colts.