turkey feathers

Fill Her Up

The sewing studio is coming together.  The paint is dry and the furniture is being moved back in.  I admit there's been a weensy bit of procrastination during this process as I was rather enjoying the 'blank slate' look a little too much.  After all, an empty room is full of dreamy possibilities!  It makes my knees weak and my mind wanders.  During this think-time though, a few changes were made and I'm quite happy with the results.  I'll do a more in-depth show-and-tell when everything is finally done.  I know.  I said that a few years ago--but I really mean it this time!

Now I am endeavoring to find homes for all the bits and bobs, buttons and bobbins, and the rest of my kit and caboodle.  This is currently scattered about the house and filling a downstairs bath tub.  Which is mildly embarrassing, but I am thoroughly purging every box, bin and bag and reorganizing things for maximum efficiency.  Maximum efficiency rocks in my world.  It saves time searching and sometimes saves my sanity.  I like knowing where things are; having a place for everything and everything in it's place.  That sort of thing.  I'm funny that way.

Oh, that reminds me of a cool discovery I made while wandering around the bath section at Target the other day.  Check out this handy table-top "scissor stand".  I love it.  It's metal and weighted on the bottom with a rubber grip so it's not tipsy.  I suppose one could use it for pens and pencils too, or even toothbrushes--but only if one had no imagination.  

I made a new valance cut from old curtains in the spirit of "Use What You Have" and in keeping my cost factor in check, for it took no less than five panels.  Both windows are side-by-side and enormous.  The cove ceiling is also high making the overall scale of the room large, so I kept the same 5-inch rod with an 18-inch drop.  The old valance was cute, but a bit heavy and dark.  This one, I know, is not terribly exciting in contrast, but I wanted the background of the room neutral and this suits the purpose of hiding mini-blinds when they're drawn up and helps to soften hard edges at the same time.  The fabric is tufted cotton, so it does have that small detail of textural interest anyway.  It works well enough. 

So that's it for today.  All is well and good.  I'm motivated and working on getting everything done.  But, inevitably life gets busy and pulls me in a dozen different directions.  A family reunion out of town.  Trips to the coast.  Last week it was horse camp.  Fun for sure, but I lose my momentum. 

And then I looked out the kitchen window this morning and saw all this loveliness.

A reminder that summer is here! 

And I'm off and running again.  No deadlines on the room. It will get done when it gets done I guess.  Ta Ta for now.... 

Semi-Gloss

Just checking in over here. 

Making lovely progress on the sewing-studio makeover.  Most of the major stuff is done.  I'm painting old furniture and bookcases now.

And working on my "hexies" while paint dries. 

Summer Quilt

True Blue is finished (yay!) and I must say, I'm kind of sad because I really enjoyed working on this quilt.  It being my constant evening companion, as I nestled underneath it during the cool spring months; although hexie-mania is filling the gap now.  This is probably the most hand-quilting I've ever done on a quilt.  Once my needle found its rhythm it traveled swiftly along ditches, pirouetted around corners, and dashed down straight-aways leaving happy trails in its wake. 

I really like the Warm & White cotton batting.  A lot, in fact.  It quilts like a dream and makes for a nice light-weight old-fashioned looking quilt.  Very flat, yet substantial. 

The pink binding was sort of a snap decision.  Having lots of pink binding on hand nudged me in that direction anyway.  I always try and use what I have whenever possible.  And the pink works well to soften the overall effect, I think. 

OK.  Quilt tucked under arm and ready for a lazy picnic by the lake. 

Really ready.  But first things first.  The sewing room make-over is underway!  New carpet is in.  I really like the color--it's kind of a dark pewter with a touch of taupe.  Hard to describe.  The color description called it "moon stone"; just as ambiguous.  Painting the walls next.  I've decided on a neutral.  After looking at over hundred shades of white (who knew there were sooo many!),  I settled on French Canvas.  It's soft and easy on the eyes and looks great with the floor color.

Being out of my HUB, with nothing in it's rightful place makes me all twitchy.  I had to set up a sewing corner in another room.  Not doing much but mending, but I like knowing it's there if I need it.  And I do find it funny that it's taking four rooms, including a bathroom, to temporarily house all the stuff that came out of just one room.  It's crazy.  All this stitching stuff of mine.

See what I mean?  Hoping to get everything back where it belongs very, very soon. 

Homeward Bound

True Blue is in the home stretch!  With lovely pink binding.  

And I'm in a mad dash to finish because shortly, this entire room will need to be cleared out to make way for a long overdue make-over.  I've been putting it off for years now, not wanting to uproot and unplug the HUB of my existence.  I know fellow stitchers can relate. 

But the time has come at long last.

Time to say, fare-thee-well to the last of the 'Desert Rose' colored carpeting, so popular decades ago.  It's seen better days.  In fact, I thought I'd seen the last of it when we moved from our house in California in 1994 (where it had been installed), only to see it again here, wall-to-wall, up stairs, down hallways and in every room.  I have nothing against pink in my home environment; just like it better as an essay.  Not the whole story. 

So, yes.  There is much to do!  And it occurs to me that I'll need to minimize my regular schedule to concentrate on finishing this project ASAP.  That means our lovely little shops, PatternBee, Vintage Stitch Shop, and Winky (the girls shop), will all be closed after July 5th. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you have any items in your shopping cart and/or intend to purchase something within this time frame, please do so now, so that we can accommodate your needs.  Shops will re-open after the 15th.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.  If you should have any questions or concerns about your order, please don't hesitate to contact me, I'll be able to access email on my portable laptop to provide any assistance you may need. 

Will TRY and get back here to update our progress if possible.  And maybe share some photos of  my  finished  'True Blue' summer quilt.