At last it's March

There have been lots of workers here over the last few weeks. Trees have been cut down, bad ones, like Hackberry which stains everything, and weed trees and bent over the house trees which could come crashing down on my roof. They are gone now, including all that wood.  My yard had been a dumping ground of just junk and the landscaper also cleared all that away too, which made me so happy.

 

And even more happy making, the plumbers moved the water and electric lines to the back wall of the garage and now I can blissfully park without crashing into anything. My washer and dryer are where they belong, and my stairs have been painted, as well as the two doors. They brought in a brand new water heater too, and if a water heater can make anyone happy, it is making me thrilled. I can now have hot water much quicker in the back bathroom and what's not to like about that? 

You would not believe that the original dryer vent just vented no where, just into the garage itself. Stupid. Now it has an appropriate outlet. 

 The water lines had to be updated and so did the electric. so now I have state of the art fixtures.  It's not sexy but it is a relief to have this awful job finished and so workable. 

Tomorrow my blinds get installed and on Wednesday my previous house goes on the market. Yay!

Now that it is March, garden thoughts are springing up. Whoa! Way too early, but still one can dream. My landscaper is bringing in earth moving equipment, to level out my back yard, which is like the surface of the moon, only with weeds. With many of the messy trees gone, I can hope for grass to grow, and can expect top soil and grass seed soon. Two huge shade trees remain, so it will not be a completely sunny back yard, just sunny enough. The weather has been lovely and I can lounge on the deck with a cocktail now and then. 

While all this is happening, have I been creative? Nope. I spent at least two days doing nothing. Well, unless you count reading novels on my laptop from Libby the library app. I know lots of people who count reading as doing something. I am considering joining them.

And then my sister and I spent a few hours at the big new America's Thrift store in town. And Goodwill opened a new store in the vacant Food City building which is huge! I found some stuff to buy but the line to pay was too long, so I left it all there. But at America's Thrift I found some great shirts and since it is closer to home, I will be making that a regular stop. That caused me to go through my closet for donations and I got rid of three coats which took up quite a lot of space. Yay!

But the best thing is that I have become a Great Aunt! 

Freya Stralka, age one day, daughter of Marianna and Michael Stralka, of New Jersey. Michael (my nephew) is the son of Dave's sister Carol and her husband Dan. Freya is long, plump and perfect, weighing in at 8lbs 4oz. Everyone is thrilled. 

It's Curtains

 Making curtains is like the most boring sewing there is, and I am so glad to be done with it. 

I was able to order two 8 yard bolts of this Waverly duck from the famous Walmart,

and then I set about carefully cutting the lengths to fit these windows. The print includes teal, chartreuse and pink, so I felt one more pattern in the room at least coordinated with the colors and being a smaller scale, I hoped it would work. 

 You may notice that the pattern lines up across these windows more or less. Strictly by accident. O I know all about repeats and careful measuring so that the pattern is matched, but did I put that into practice making these? NOOOOOOO. So two windows of the three line up, but the third does not. Duh. The house across the street always has the shades closed since it faces southwest and even tho it is winter and not blasting heat into their rooms, it is just a habit to keep them closed. I don't really need heat protection or privacy and I will keep mine open.

 It is more obvious when the curtains are drawn, and yet there is a fourth window in the dining area which matches the one set of unmatched panels. Not that it matters because they won't be next to each other. Grrrr. When they are all closed the room is quite dark since it faces northeast, and I prefer as much light as possible, so I'm leaving the curtains pulled aside and hopefully my mistake will be less noticeable. 

Subject to Change

 The living/dining room and hall are painted and the cushions, new ottoman and new rug, plus floral arrangements are in, so hanging the art is the project for today. My dear brother in law John did all the 'heavy lifting' and what you cannot see are all the interior doors he replaced, painted and installed expertly so they close effortlessly. Miracle!!! 

The colors of the wall are shocking at first, because they are so bright, but I am already used to them and enjoying having real color for the first time in xxx years. I've always wanted white walls because they made the place look clean (in my mind) and the artwork would stand out, I thought. But geesh. Color supports the art IMHO. This quilt is Technique Rebellion II from 1998.

The fabric for the cushions and ottoman came from Walmart and even this quilt below is all Waverly cottons from Walmart. I think they should pay me for this plug. 😄 I got the rug from At Home, which is a big store near my house, which occasionally has good stuff. I really lucked out on this because the green and teal are a perfect compliment to the walls. And it was 25% off. Yay!

 On the Lime wall is Bosna #2 which I have never hung before. I have a lot more room to fill in on this wall and as the title of this post suggest, everything is subject to change. And easily, if I have the energy to get up and down the ladder. No nails are used and no Command Hooks! I kid you not. I cannot imagine nailing into this paint and then changing my mind, which is the one constant of my life. Instead I have had John installed slotted shelf standards at the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling. Then S hooks are inserted into the slots at the right spot and fishing line is tied to the ends of the curtain rods which are inserted into the rod pocket of the quilts. The fishing line is hooked onto the S hooks and I can easily adjust the straightness of the piece by tugging lightly. 

 The dining room area is really hot pink but it just doesn't show in the photo accurately because it is daytime and that light fights with the ceiling lights. This quilt is Matchstick Moons 3 and is one of my faves from years gone by. 

 The hanging standard is visible in this photo, and the quilt is Dueces are Wild from 2001. This is the hallway between the kitchen and living room. 

 On the opposite wall is Foursquare Circles from 2002. All the work I am hanging is leftover from my big family giveaway last summer. My sister got first dibs and then Dave's sister and brother in law flew in from Chicago with big suitcases to take home what they liked and/or what my niece and nephew chose, leaving me the rest. At that time I thought I was done moving houses, 😂 and didn't want to keep all that work jammed in a closet,  but...that too was subject to change. 

I have moved two chairs and the ottoman that I curbside picked into the breakfast nook area. The kitchen has yet to be painted and I am holding off until I can make a decision. John the wonderful brother in law, installed a new door to the garage and a new side door in the garage which make a huge difference in keeping this space from being freezing cold. Those two previous doors were horrendous and didn't fit the openings in which they were hung.

 Another cushion and curtains to match my chair got made and hung in my bedroom too, and curtains for the living room are made but awaiting hems... eight panels that all have to be even at the bottom. Obviously I am procrastinating.

More Girly Sewing

This shows my previous room with my fave knitting, reading, tv watching chair, in red gingham, and now it is time to change that cover and sew a new one. I found some pretty floral fabric at Walmart and it was in two yard packs. I got three, just in case. Now I'm thinking I need a couple more, since this new fabric will make nice curtains too.

These cushions were orignally covered about 12 years ago. So uncovering them was almost archaeological .

The previous insert was uneven and lumpy, so I also added new batting and filled in some gaps with loose stuffing. Then another cover of batting was added to smooth out the whole thing. 

The finished back cushion and then the seat cushion followed, both with zippers so that the covers can be washed.

And here is the finished look. Sleeve caps were just added this morning. 

I will add a pillow or two to match the chair and curtains can't be far behind. But in the meantime I am having blinds installed, because this room is just not dark enough for my taste. Curtains don't cut it. The street lights are really bright. 

I'm planning on pink paint for the walls. As girly as I can make it!

Garbage to Gorgeous

   

 I saw this ottoman put out to the curb (or kerb as they say in GB) and I thought, I like that size and can use a freebie. So I went around the block and checked it out. One of the legs was wobbly because it was missing a wood screw. I knew I could remedy that, and the rest of it, though hideous, could be revamped.  My sewing room is all ready for a project, and so I went to Walmart where I had seen some tropical fabrics and got myself just what I needed. That was my first or second stroke of luck (or blessing!) as getting someone to wait on me was like a mini-miracle. 

 Then came the deconstruction phase. Armed with a flat head screwdriver and a small pliers, I proceeded to remove the skirt and the ten zillion staples. This is an ugly but necessary task, and I wondered if the original upholsterer was paid by the amount of staples he used. There were some so brittle that they broke as I was pulling, and I still managed to wiggle them free, since leaving even the tiniest bit in would somehow jab holes in the new cover and I would be sorry. 

 Here's a closeup of the staple overkill.

I was able to reuse the welting in the original cover and it worked out just fine, without the use of any staples. It just slips snuggly over the previous cover. I had some thicker poly batting, which just appeared ready for my use to cover the top and make it extra soft (spooky?) and the first sewing machine foot I found in my drawer was the cording foot. No struggling to find anything. Hmmm. 

 And here it is, ready for me to prop up my feet and relax. I have enough fabric left to cover that pillow to match. 

 And some of the tropical fabric I found at my local Walmart sewing dept. 

Watermelon=tropical? Well, it's a stretch, but it is the right color. 

 Ahhhhh. A new ottoman for around $16.00.

Design Wall installed

Today is the day to get my studio set up completed. The essential items, the pin up panels, were still at my old house and my brother in law John picked them up for me (they didn't fit in my car) and then I began to install them in the new studio. I had some Command Hooks but not enough so I went to Walmart and stocked up on various kinds, as it is good to have a selection for all the diy stuff I do.

Here is the largest one, with practically invisible hooks holding it in place.

  

I had to dig out some old patchwork to make it look like the way I might use these in the future. 

 All my fused fabric is rolled and shelved, and while it looks like such a small amount, each roll is packed tightly and contains lots of yardage, all backed with Wonder-Under of course. I ordered four of these shelving units, under the heading "easy to assemble and move without trouble" and I have one more in my closet for sheets and quilts. My linen closet has art supplies in it instead of linens. 

A new item is the pencil, pen and paint-pen holder on the top there. I tossed out all the cardboard boxes these all used to live in. Now everything is at my fingertips instead of digging through their former arrangement. 

I am so much happier seeing where things are, since my mantra had been "I know I have it, I just can't remember where I put it" . No memory needed when it is all clearly visible.

 I do have my 90% of my yarn in another room but the overflow is here. Finished work (knitting) is stored here too, and my taboret for painting is tucked in there too. Behind the door is a large square folding table for use when I have to pull out lots of different fabrics for quilts.

I have a western facing window, so while it is winter, it is not too hot, but I will be getting blinds for the warmer days when it may become too hot to work comfortably without window coverings.  I put the bird feeder outside the other window so I could enjoy the wildlife.

So I am now ready to begin something, and kinda thrilled at the prospect of working without guilt. Dave always used to say "Are you gonna ignore me all day" whenever I was deep in design mode. He was joking, sorta. But when I am in the zone, which I haven't been yet this year, it will be just what I need to keep me positive and happy. 

My fave priest* Fr. Jeremy just called to see if I will be alright in case it snows this weekend. I laughed the whole time. If a flake appears here in Chattanooga, they close the schools. I am prepared. Lots of food and drink, plenty of knits and quilts to keep me warm, and this guy to keep me company. Meow meow meow.

*Anglican priest