What Would You Do?

If your kitchen looked like this:

Kitchen 12/1/17

Right now I'm blessing Bonnie Hunter for providing a diversion!

While the kitchen was unavailable (and pretty much still is), I retreated to the basement and cut a big stack of geese and a smaller stack of sky.  Since I made my 9Ps "coordinated," I am making the geese in groups of 4, anticipating that they could be used in one of these combos.  I am really loving the Southwest look of these colors!

Before I rant, please know that we are very pleased with the painters -- actually, all the small contractors we've had -- but the upheaval is starting to get to me.  When the painters left yesterday, all they were going to do in the kitchen was work on the cabinets.  No, we didn't need to clean them; no, we didn't need to move furniture.  However, this morning they decided to just go ahead and do the whole kitchen -- ceiling, walls, and woodwork.

Once I got over the stress of having to move the furniture (which exposed 9 years of an embarrassing accumulation of dust), I decided having it completely done would allow us to have at least one room back to normal.  But it won't be finished until Tuesday so guess who's eating out tonight?

The guest bedroom and bathroom are finished.  We'll restage that furniture tomorrow and start clearing out the other upstairs bedroom.  The new exterior door for the former Queen Mother Suite is here and should be installed on Monday/Tuesday when we are expecting a couple of warm days (except I just heard it's supposed to rain) 😒

The good news is the kitchen is now usable -- not that I want to.

At least the coffee maker is back in its normal position, all set for the morning.

Mid-Week Progress

Monday - The painters returned after the holiday and finished painting the exterior trim.

Meanwhile, I returned flooring samples to the store.  We ultimately decided to leave the carpet in the little hall and just have it professionally cleaned because the transition to the kitchen floor was going to be too difficult with the LVT (luxury vinyl tile) I had chosen for the hall and powder room.

At that point we realized we had enough of the LVT left over from the kitchen (the previous owners thoughtfully left for us) to do the powder room!

All that thinking left me good for not much the rest of the day, but I did manage to make a few more turquoise 9-patches while watching The Voice Monday night.

Tuesday - The painters began the morning scraping paint smears off the windows outside.  Then they washed them all!  These guys are great; maybe they'll wash the windows inside after they paint the interior trim ... I can hope, can't I?  They spent the remainder of the day staining the pickets and rails on the decks.

At this point we thought that the interior painting would begin on the top floor, so I spent ALL of Tuesday deep cleaning the guest bathroom, removing paintings and chatskies from the bedroom, and stripping the beds.  The painters said they would clean surfaces; I just don't trust that they will clean to my standards.

DH emptied his closet -- one bag going to Goodwill and a big box going to our church's closet for our weekly homeless guests.

Wednesday - After the weekly trip to the grocery, I was all set to attack the second bedroom upstairs, the one we've been using as the master BR for 9+ years.  Frankly, I was weak just THINKING about that task when the boss painter showed up and told us that after they finish staining the upper deck they wanted to remove the cabinet doors and drawers in the kitchen to take to the shop for painting.  What!!?  At least we now have the whole weekend to sort through our bedroom!

So, Wednesday was devoted to emptying kitchen drawers.  I'm feeling kinda smug right now because I took pictures of each drawer before I emptied it.

I also washed all the little dividers and eliminated a few items that will go to Goodwill.  I've started a box for things I want to move to the new kitchen but we won't need in the next few months.

Wednesday night was handbell practice; no sewing. 😞

That's my midweek report.

Long Time

No Hear

I hope all my virtual friends had a 

restful and pleasant Thanksgiving weekend!

We had a mixed week -- first, painters power washed every exterior surface, including the retaining walls, walkway, and driveway.

Upper retaining wall

Of course, they picked the two coldest mornings of the season to do this and had to wait until temperatures got above freezing.

Lower retaining wall and driveway

The machinery is loud and we discovered how drafty our windows and doors are, judging from the water on the floor and window sills!  They also powered the old paint off the decks and began caulking and painting windows.  We're starting to sparkle here on the hill.

Sadly, as to sewing progress, this will be the "new normal" for the next month -- painters in and out, us relocating furniture and possessions room-by-room.  I'd like to think I could retire to the studio and avoid the madness, but I get a bit catatonic just thinking about what happens next.

I have snuck down to the studio a couple of times and put the finishing touches on the first of two picnic quilts made for the grandsons from their shirts.

Linking up with other scrappy happenings at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Just Call Me Charlie Brown

'Cause I'm Wishy-Washy

After several unsuccessful attempts at Bonnie Hunter's annual mysteries, I swore I'd NEVER do another one.

But, then, I saw the colors for this year and thought, "that's right in my wheelhouse."

I even went to the trouble of checking my stash but couldn't find anything that really excited me so, relieved, I reaffirmed my affirmation -- Never Again!

UNTIL ... Jo Kramer at Jo's Country Junction mentioned that she was going to use batiks this year.  Hmm, that reminded me that several years ago I had accumulated a collection of brown and turquoise batiks for a quilt that I started as a class sample.

Spinning Rails

And I probably had quite a few coral-to-orange scraps from a quilt made several years earlier ...

Gumballs

Yes, you guessed it!

Radnor Lake

Named for our neighborhood lake that I've only been to once in my life,

with an old church camp flame, 

whom I called by another boyfriend's name, 

and whom I never saw again.  

I'm being conservative and just making half the number called for.  Also being less scrappy, using a single neutral.  We'll see where this goes.  If nothing else, I can combine these 9Ps with the Spinning Rails blocks and make something.

Tips for Thursday ... and a question

Working with shirts

You may remember that I came home from the "Great Yard Sale" (tongue firmly implanted in cheek) with a pile of my grandsons' shirts.

They were name brand, 100% cotton, very clean and in great shape.  But many of the fabrics feel like a well-laundered sheet, which probably felt great on the wearer, but not anywhere close to "quilt shop quality."  I really wish I had starched the large chunks I salvaged in the deconstruction process before cutting strips and squares.

To further complicate the construction of the picnic quilts I am making for the boys, I am pairing the shirt fabric with a dress-weight chambray that is loosely woven.  I'm having a terrible time keeping seams anywhere close to straight.

Sew, my tip(s) for you:

1.  If you want to work with old shirts, use starch or Best Press to stabilize the fabric before cutting.

2.  If crooked plaids and stripes bother you, think of another project.

This is my progress so far:

Picnic quilt #1

I had originally planned to do another 2" round on the blocks which would make them 14" finished.  However, it occurred to me that 70" x 70" would not fit on my 5' quilting frame!  As is, it will finish at 50" x 50".  Do you think that is big enough to sit on for a picnic or outdoor concert?  I don't really want to pay someone to quilt these, plus I want them done by Christmas.

Wildlife Wednesday

Mystery Visitor

Earlier this week we noticed a resident squirrel on the upper deck, head stuck between the posts, staring toward the neighbor's house and squawking its little head off.

After a while it moved to the top rail, body unmoving, 

still staring intently in the same direction.

This is what was upsetting him:

Bobcat - photo from Wikipedia

I had heard reports of bobcats in the area, but this was a total surprise to me.  

Of course, my camera was downstairs in the studio so I have to rely on a stock photo.  

But, believe me, it looked just like this.  

Or maybe this:

Bobcat - Wikipedia photo

Bigger than a housecat, smaller than many dogs, black tips on the ears, short tail -- 

all the indicators were there.  

It strolled casually down our driveway but when it saw me watching from the deck, 

it trotted across the street and into the woods.

We don't have pets, so I'm not worried, but I did put a notice on the neighborhood web page.

Life is always exciting here on the hill.

What was she thinking?

I'll tell you

A couple of weeks ago I got the bug to try some freestyle stack-n-slash Christmas trees like those made by The Polka Dot Chicken. 

Within a few days I had a small cache of these lovelies.

In a search for more variety in my "Christmas" drawer, I came across some more elegant fabrics in creams and golds.  I thought it might be fun to make an "elegant" throw.

Not particularly impressed at this point, but still needing variety in my trees, I continued to make them, thinking I'd just make one larger quilt with whatever I could make with the materials at hand.

But the combination of white backgrounds with cream and the juxtaposition of elegance with cute Christmas schtick bothered me.

My ultimate decision was to separate the creams from the whites and make two quilts.

Elegant Trees

Still debating about a border.  It's currently 35" wide which would be OK for a wheelchair or a crib.

And that is what I was thinking.

Hop over to Quilting is more fun than housework to see what scrappy projects other quilters are working on.