As I mentioned before, at the end of the summer Emily requested her own room. She said she was old enough to move downstairs and have her own space. Well we were a little leery about doing this because she has always been afraid to go downstairs at night. Finally Russell and I agreed that she could have the guest room downstairs so we went to work getting it ready for her.
The first thing Emily and Russell did was repaint the walls. This fresh coat of paint really brightened the room up. Emily learned a lot from Russell about painting and working for what you want.
Next we needed to decide how to decorate the room. We went to Hobby Lobby and browsed all of their displays until Emily found the one she liked the best. We took some pictures so that we would remember. She decided on pink flowers. These flowers are really in style right now. Some of the decor was expensive. We told her she could pick a few and then work toward and save her money to get them later.
The next thing every new room needs is a quilt for the bed. I decided this would be the perfect time to teach Emily how to sew and quilt. We went to JoAnn's and found the perfect fabric to match the decor she had chosen at Hobby Lobby. Then we went to work sewing the quilt.
Emily did all of the sewing herself. We got this pattern from Becca. She was teaching a 4-H class on quilting and was using this pattern. The original pattern was for a twin-sized quilt so we extended it to fit a queen bed. The top turned out really good and Emily was so proud of her accomplishment. Now it was time to quilt it.
When we went down to St. George in September, we took the quilt to my mom's quilter. We were hoping she would have it done by the time we went back down for the marathon. Unfortunately she did not have it done so we had to wait another month until I went down for the half marathon. When we got the quilt back, we absolutely loved how it turned out! The backing is made of a soft minky fabric so it is super soft and warm. Emily loves it!
While we waited for the quilt, we continued to put together Emily's new room. She rearranged the bed to where she wanted it and it gave her more floor space. Then we hung all of her pictures and her mirror. For her birthday she received some of the decor she picked out as well as some other pictures and things that matched her room. Emily and I also made pillow shams, a bench cushion, and curtains to match her quilt and room. The quilt added the final touch and the room was finished.
Emily really liked how it turned out. She has really loved having her own room and her own space. I don't think she has been scared down there at all. She knows that this is still the guest room though and will have to give it up when grandparents come to visit but she is okay with that.
The hardest part of getting the room ready was finding places for all of the stuff in the closet. The closet in this room has really become the catch all so it was good to clean it out. We got rid of a bunch of stuff but also disbursed the other things to other closets. There are still a few things on the top shelves that stayed in there. For the most part, though, the closet is now Emily's.
While we were making Emily's blanket, I decided to make a new blanket for my bed as well. The comforter on our bed was starting to get worn out. It is 13 years old and you could tell. I found this simple pattern and decided to give it a try. When I had it quilted, I had the lady use our old comforter as the batting for this new quilt. Because of this, the new quilt is so heavy! It is so great though especially now in the winter. It really feels like a weighted blanket which make sleeping really good. I absolutely love how it turned out! Even Russell loves it.
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