Another Window Finally Dressed!

Greetings Blog Friends,

I'm happy to report that another room no longer has naked windows.  We have been renovating bathrooms here and have finished the second and smaller bathroom, just off the master bedroom.  I made a curtain and valance for the bathroom window, and window valances to match for the bedroom.  

I had just over 3 yards of the this blue fabric (left over from another project) and was able to make these curtains with just 3" of fabric leftover to spare!  I love these no waste projects.  The 3" leftover piece will go back into the stash with other "skinny" strips...you never know when you might need one!  I've used quite a few of those skinny strips here and there over the years.

Till next time...

Upstairs Reno is Complete!

Greetings Blog Friends,

We finished the renovation of our master bathroom.  Yes, it looks tiny because it is....no larger than a nicely sized walk in closet.  We painted the walls a light blue, added a white sink and vanity, white toilet.  We added the oil rubbed bronze accents and accessories to this bathroom also, to play off the dark vinyl plank floor.  Blue curtains and towels complete the look.

And now, with the completion of the bathrooms, we are finally done renovating the upstairs of our house.  It has been a long two years, but we like the result!

Till next time...

Row, Row, Rowing Along...

Greetings Blog Friends,

I thought I'd show you another internet quilting project, this one sponsored by The Fat Quarter Shop.  This one is called the Jolly Bar Row Along.  

This quilt uses a neutral background fabric (mine is white) and precut pieces called jolly bars, which are 5" x 10" in size.  You can purchase jolly bars from Fat Quarter Shop, but I cut my own jolly bars from the stash.  I have a large variety of small prints that were perfect for this summery quilt.  I chose mostly summer pastels, which just a few darker hues also thrown in.  

This is a seven week row-along, with new block patterns released each Monday.  We are on week 3 and here are my blocks so far:

I'll update you again in a couple of weeks.  

Till then...

Guest Room Travel Decor Finished!

Hello Blog Friends,

My guest room is ready for all comers!!

Here are my Guest Room finishes.  The bed runner, pillow shams, pillowcases underneath, three throw pillows, window valance, and dresser runner.  Bed runner measures 29" x 74" and fits on this full size bed with a 12" drop on either side.  I quilted it in a straight line, cross-hatch pattern.  Backing and binding are the dark turquoise world continents prints (same as the border).  Shams are made from the same print. The throw pillows, dresser runner and window valance are all made from left-overs and scraps and there is still enough for a quilt.  Fabrics are from the World Traveler line by Connecting Threads.

I still need to add wall decor...some I will make and some I will acquire on future travels.  I love the way the room looks so far, now I just need a guest!  Any takers?

Till next time... 

Scrapping In the North Woods

Greetings Blog Friends!

I am happy to report that I am back home safe and sound from a very relaxing and enjoyable scrapping weekend with friends at a resort near Crivitz, in northern Wisconsin.  

This is the rescheduled weekend (should have been in April) and we had a small group of 12 adventurous souls willing to break free of the isolation bubble and take a chance on life!  We employed social distancing (each person had 12 feet of table space) and sanitized our own work space, hands, etc.  Food prep was all done by my daughter, her BFF and me, and we wore masks for that.  Here we are in the kitchen...the Three Masketeers!

We had fun, laughed and shared the camaraderie of close friends all doing what they love...scrapbooking.  We enjoyed a beautiful location along the Peshtigo River and breathed in the fresh pine scent of the forest.  Everyone was productive and I was able to hit a personal best of 162 pages completed with photos and journaling!  Here is just part of the pile of finished pages  and a small sample of my favorites.  Now to get them all into albums!

My focus for the weekend was to scrap our February 2018 trip to Florida.  We spent several days in the Tallahassee area and the rest at a Disney resort to get the total Disney immersion experience.  I am happy to say that I got this trip all done!  Yay!

Florida Historical Museum in Tallahassee

Historic Old Florida Statehouse in Tallahassee

Car museum in Tallahassee

Disney portion title page

We spent 2 days at the Magic Kingdom.  This is the daily parade.

Tom Sawyer's Island, Magic Kingdom

It's a Small World, Magic Kingdom

Jungle Cruise, Magic Kingdom

Haunted Mansion, Magic Kingdom

Fun photos at Magic Kingdom

Disney After Dark, Magic Kingdom

Final page.  The photos on this page were from the pile of "rejects", or the not quite perfect shots.  The grid was cut with my Cricut machine.

Many of the pages were premade in monthly scrapping group.  Some have been waiting for years to see the light of day.  A title and a few extras, and Voilá, a perfect page!

*****

Sooo...you're probably wondering if I was afraid of going on the retreat?  Yes, I was hesitant, but I firmly believe that total health in these days of COVID19 depends not only on  physical well being, but also keeping the mind and spirit healthy as well.  We are human beings and need to be social.  Too much isolation for too long only breeds depression, paranoia and fear of everything and everybody as well as the mental and physical problems arising from that.  I feel refreshed and renewed and all those pages make me happy and give me a great sense of accomplishment.  This outing fell within my risk tolerance.  I'm glad I broke free of the bubble...I'm better for it and I'll do it again in a heartbeat!

Back to sewing again...I'll have a new project to share next time.  Til then...

A Beautiful New Bathroom!

Greetings Blog Friends,

Our Main/Hallway bathroom remodel project is Complete!  What a joy it is indeed!

Here is the Old and Ugly:

So, what did we do, exactly, you ask?  Well....

• New vanity.  Well, not new exactly, but new to us.  We bought it second hand and refurbished it!
• New sink and toilet.  Not the standard, boring white, but an cream color called Biscuit.
• New sink faucet.  From Moen in Oil Rubbed Bronze finish.  It's very striking against the sink.
• New counter top.  We chose a textured laminate that coordinated well with the neutral color scheme.
• New paint.  We painted the walls the same color (Sherwin Williams Alabaster) as the rest of the house.  It is a white base with just the slightest hint of tan.  
• New woodwork and trim.  Out with the white painted stuff and in with a beautiful golden oak.
• Medicine Cabinet Update.  Denis made new trim and a cabinet door for the in-wall medicine cabinet, again stained in Golden Oak. The interior got a new coat of paint and we replaced old wooden shelves with glass ones.
• New light fixture.  Again, in the Oil Rubbed Bronze finish.
• New mirror.  Out with the standard and boring wall mirror and In with a smaller, framed mirror, again in the Oil Rubbed Bronze finish.
• New wall storage cabinet.  This now resides where the laundry chute used to be.  Since we now have laundry on the first floor, a laundry chute to the basement is useless.  We removed it and enlarged the opening. There was a void there, 20" deep, so Denis made an in-wall cabinet, door and trim.  We use it for linen and other storage.
• New floor.  The hated ceramic tile is now a distant memory and in it's place resides a very pretty vinyl plank in a darker brown color.  
• And finally, the "pièce de résistance"...A new shower. The old shower doors and tub/shower combination was removed and a new shower only enclosure was put in it's place.  Shower trim and new fixtures are in the Oil-Rubbed Bronze finish.

Accessories are all in Oil-Rubbed Bronze and the new color scheme for linens is tans with a pop of peach.  We still need to add some decor to the back wall and we are slowly accumulating what we want for that.  

We did most of the work ourselves, from demo to finishing touches.  The only thing we hired professionally done was the shower install.  

We love it!  When I used to give house tours to guests in our home, my one remark on this bathroom was "It is't pretty, but it's functional," knowing that it would be one of the last projects to be done upstairs.  Now, when I show people my new bathroom, all I say is "Gorgeous!!" 

And now, after all that, is "The Big Reveal".  Here is New and Beautiful:

'Til next time...

  

Catching Up...and a Month's Hiatus

Greetings dear Friends,

It seems as though I have been on something of a hiatus and have been gone from blog-land for about four weeks.  It was not intentional, but just a matter of life happening!  Days seem to pass into weeks and weeks into a month!  Sometimes I'm reminded of the lyrics to "Time In a Bottle" by Jim Croce (1972):

If I could save time in a bottle

The first thing that I'd like to do,

Is to save every day

'Til eternity passes away

Just to spend them with you.

Our main focus the since the beginning of May has been our bathroom remodeling project.  Phase One (main/hallway bath) is now 100% complete.  Phase Two (master bath) is now underway and about 50% completed.  I'll devote a separate post to that! 

My Corona Quilt-Along has ended and I have a completed Corona Quilt Top.  What fun it was to participate in this event.  I love the quilt!  I still need to get it quilted and on display.  Here's a photo of the top...I'll give you more in-depth details once it is finished.   

We've ventured out of our comfort zone (the "stay-at-home bubble") several times with no ill effects.  At the beginning of June, we hosted a family get-together as a group birthday celebration: me, my son-in-law Doug, and my granddaughter Hailey.  It was a joy to visit and play with everyone that day.  It had been since Christmas since those children had "Grandma Hugs"!

Denis and I also visited a local restaurant for birthday dinners.  Although we went on my birthday, the dinner was also for him...his was in late March when no restaurants were open at all!  It was good to let someone else do the cooking (and clean-up) for a change!

I've taken a break from sewing and have done a bit of scrapbooking in the past couple of weeks, in preparation for a retreat happening next week.  I'm going with my daughter and only 10 others.  There will be twelve of us spread out in a big, big room.  We plan to practice prudent social distancing and increased sanitation practices.  My focus next week will be on Florida...our trip to Disney in 2018 and our month in February earlier this year.  I know the people in the group very well and have confidence that we will all come home both happy and well!  I'll share some of my favorite pages next week.

We had scrapping monthly group last night, for the first time since February.  We made these pages from Close to My Heart Aurora paper collection.  I love this paper and the pages we made from it!  I already know that I will use these particular pages when I scrap the South Dakota/Colorado family trip we took last August.  That project is scheduled for the September scrapping retreat. 

So, there you have my life in a nutshell for the past four weeks.  I'll post again in a couple of days to show you our beautiful new bathroom and again once I'm home from retreat.  

'Til then...