Birds and Bees RR, more home renovation

This is Debbie's block from the Birds and Bees RR I am involved in. I was the first person to work on this block, so this is the naked block, the way it
arrived to me.












This is my part finished, going out in the mail today.

I added the leaves, the lady bug buttons, the hollyhocks, and hummingbird, and those black things are supposed to be ants, which I am thinking of taking off before it goes out of here. They sort of look dumb to me.













Well after we finished my office/craft room, I figured DH would rest up awhile before he started the next thing on his list in our home renovation. We have lived in this house for almost 31 years, and there are things that need to be renovated, such as the kitchen lights.

Well instead of resting, he plowed right into the kitchen lights. We have had 3 fluorescent lights in the kitchen, that worked well for probably about 15 years, but the past 15 there have been nothing but problems, they flickered, or 1 or more didn't work at all. We decided to put in recessed lighting, so DH bought 6 lights. This involved cutting 6 holes in the ceiling to fit these in.
We went up in the attic to try to clear away insulation, but were only partially successful. I was the one doing the clearing, trying to step on the boards and not step through the ceiling. I finally told him I would clean up the mess when it fell through, which I did.

He got the lights up, he got the wallboard up with the 6 holes cut through that, so the ceiling in the kitchen will be flush now. This involved trimming of wallboard and a lot of chalk-like fine dust. (I decided to worry about all this fine dust after he finished, because it is useless of me to clean it up now). Today he is sanding the the whole works and texturing the ceiling to make it match the rest, and then I will be able to paint. I haven't really been able to cook for 4 days now, and am anxious to get everything cleaned up, especially since I am watching the 2 grandsons this Sunday.

He says his next project is the spare bathroom, replacing the floor and the toilet, to a water-sparing one.

My Art Fire Shop Opens

I put a couple of patterns in my Art Fire shop this morning here. Right now I just have a couple of patterns for sale. Eventually I will be de-stashing some of my stash.

I have a far more quilt kits than I could possibly ever make in my lifetime. These are not the typical quilt kits. They are all the fabrics to make reproduction type quilts with quilt shop-quality fabrics. I will also be selling some vintage hand-embroidered linens and whatever else I come across in my sewing room when I am sorting it out.

I joined Art Fire

I have been seeing various people touting the virtues of Art Fire, including Sharon B. here. I finally set up my own Art Fire shop this morning.

I don't haven't added anything to my shop yet, but will shortly. They still have 614 out of 5,000 memberships going at $7 a month, after that it will be $20. There are no added fees or commissions. If you refer 10 people to join, your membership is free.

If you want your own membership register here. And tell them karrinh referred you.

CQ RR, Room update

This is Susan's stocking in the CQ RR I am in with my friends
Moira, Susan, Gail, and Candi .

This is the whole stocking after I had finished.




















And this is the section I worked on. I added the Christmas tree, the holly, the feather stitch, and I decorated the white lace. I also added some green wreaths above that lace.









As far as the room redo, it is done. I have everything beautifully organized, LOL, and only have to add my art work back to the walls, and I wanted to repot my orchids before I put them back in the window. Then to cleaning up the guest room, and a major rehaul for my sewing room.
I need to make a trip to Goodwill. I also intend to make a little valance for the window. So relieved to have this behind me. Now I can have fun!

In Remembrance...

Today I am remembering my mother. This would have been her 77th birthday.

I remember her always having a lovely smile on her face. I remember how much she loved her children and grandchildren and husband. When I was little, she used to sing to me a song, I don't know what it was, but part of the words were "I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck I do". I remember how she was always ready to help others in need.

And for some reason, this year is harder. She has been gone 12 years now, but I am really missing her today.

ROOM UPDATE, MAJOR WORK DONE

I went to run some errands at lunchtime, and while I was gone DSIL came over and helped John lift the countertop up in place, and was already gone.

I came home, and John said he was just picking up some of the tools that were left in my room, and I came back and found it all done. I am really excited. What a wonderful work area I have.

As John just said, his responsibility is over with, he has done his part.

Now it is up to me to fill up the cupboards, and move all my stuff back in this room, not to mention moving the 2 fishtanks back in here. I might do the little one today, and the big one tomorrow.

Picture me crazy happy!

GIVEAWAY

Cynthia is having a wonderful giveaway here.

LOOK WHAT I WON, PIECES OF FRIENDSHIP

I recently entered Cathy's giveaway on her blog.
While I didn't win that prize, she graciously decided to chose a second person to also receive a baggie of CQ goodies, and I was that lucky second
person. Yesterday I received some lovely fabrics, hankie, lace, trims, and some silkie images, when I had been looking all over for some tiny images for the project below. Thank you so much Cathy,
you cannot know how much this made my day (receiving those tiny silkie images).







I am participating in Pat Winters Pieces of Friendship swap, and finished my first puzzle piece last night. I have some other pieces all pieced together, just need to embellish them. These are 4" pieces, and I was finding it hard to find images small enough to get on these blocks. This silkie image took most of the whole block and I didn't have much room to do much more.
So when Cathy's tiny silkie images arrived yesterday, I was delighted so now I can add those to my other blocks and have more room to embellish.


As far as the room redo goes, we got the countertop jacked up about 8 inches on one side, and 6 on the other. DH, with his iffy back does not want to bend over and lift it totally from the ground. Anyway after time spent jacking this up (by me while he held it steady), and putting blocks of wood under it, we took a break for dinner. He finally decided to call DSIL to see if he could stop by after work to help. And DSIL John said he would stay "as long as it takes". I plan to make a casserole he and Katie love, so when he gets done they will have dinner ready, and not have to worry about that tonight.

I am so blessed for my DH, and my family. They are so supportive of everything I do. I am also blessed, that in this 4 bedroom house, 2 of them are mine, for my sewing room, and then my office/craft room. I did not dream up this room redo myself, DH started commenting that we could move the big bookcase, he could build cabinets, and then get a countertop I could work on
instead of the tiny card table I worked on my card and stamping projects on. I finally took him up on the idea, and am anxious now to see it finished.

ROOM UPDATE, SQUISHIE, BIRDS AND BEES RR

My room update is nearing it's completion. John has both base cabinets finished now, the task today is to lift this 200 or so piece of countertop
up on the two base units. We did not have enough energy yesterday. We got it down the hall where it had been sitting since last week, and set in position here. He has an idea about jacking it up with a car jack. I think this is going to be tricky. I think we should ask the young guy down the street back to help, as he helped John bring it into the house the other day from the truck. By this afternoon, one way or another we will have this up. Then it will just be me getting my room back together. There are 2 fish tanks that are going to go on either end that I will have to empty, and fill back up in here. The center area will be my work space.



This is Debbie Smith's Birds and Bees RR I received the other day. It is one of the round robins I am participating on the Crazy Quilting International group. I will be the first one to work on this block, and an still deciding what I want to do.









I had another squishie in the mail last week. My friend Susan had someone give her some pinks and she shared them with friends. I ordinarily don't buy pink because I don't care for it, but I also occasionally need some. So this was a great gift. Susan has been getting more of her DSQ beautifully dyed threads into her Etsy shop here.

Tonight if I have any energy left after all the lifting activities, etc. I hope to be able to finish Susan's stocking in the RR that I am in with her.
I have 1 more finishing touch, and it will be ready for Candi.

RAOK, ROOM PROGRESS

I was the surprised and delighted recipient of a gift of Random Act of Kindness which arrived in yesterday's mail. Pat Winter gifted me with this lovely package of her hand-dyed ribbons. I love her ribbons and had actually asked to be on her list the next time she dyed them, and she sent me this wonderful package yesterday, smelling wonderfully of lavender. Thank you so much Pat, you brightened my day with your generous gift!







The room redo is coming along pretty quickly now. John got the second cabinet up, installed lights underneath the cabinets, got one of the base cabinets done, and is working on the other one now. In addition to having 3 drawers the bottom one has a pull out section too, like a cutting board.














These are a detail of the whale handles I ordered.
















I am finally getting some of my stuff back on the walls, a watercolor I painted, out in the hall you can see another watercolor. I also got my shell
box back up on the wall.










And my little trinket shelf back up. Today John and I are going over to Home Depot to purchase the counter top.

I have a couple of other packages I got yesterday to share, one the Birds and Bees RR from Debbie Smith, but I need to get back to work now, so will do that tomorrow.

Giveaway, Under the Sea RR

Cathy, is having a giveway for her 100th post here of a bunch of CQ goodies.


As mentioned previously, I joined a 2nd CQ RR. This one is DYB UTS, (Do Your Own Block, Under the Sea). This one consists of each person embellishing the complete block. These are 6 inch blocks. When they get home, I should have 1 to embellish myself. I am thinking this will be a long piece that I can hang over the doorway to my newly painted office/craft area. These will fit the color scheme perfectly.

Friday I ran up to JoAnns and got a bunch of pieces for this RR in fancy fabrics (just 1/4 yards). But then I got home and ended up getting my batiks out instead.

BIRDS & BEES CQ RR

I am starting 2 new CQ round robins this month on CQI (Crazy Quilting International). The first of these is this one, the Birds and Bees. I thought this would be a perfect one to have a little frog in.

Our youngest daughter, Katie's 30th birthday is this year, in August. She has always loved frogs.I should get this back in time to either frame it, or make it into a wall-hanging or cushion for her birthday.

Gail's RR, Update on Room

I am again working with my buddies Moira, Susan, Gail, and Candi on another round of a CQ RR.

This month I was working on Gail's table runner that is for her daughter. Her daughter is having a new color scheme for Christmas, blues, silvers and crystal with a theme of snowmen and snowflakes. I did a couple of snowflakes on this section.















Some more silver snowflakes along this seam. There is part of a snowman shown here




















This was the whole section I worked on.














This is an update on the room redo. These
cabinets are up. John has the doors for this section section ready to be polyurethaned today.

Next he will working on the base sections that the
countertop is going to sit on.

I still need to get stuff back in the bookcase by the window, but probably not today. I have a couple of round robin blocks I need to put together today to ship out by the end of the week.










This is the wall my desk faces all finished painted with my basketweave molding installed. I love it!

Happy Valentines Day!

Wishing you all a great Valentine's day.

Great Mail Days, My Favorite Etsy Shops

I have recently had a couple of great mail days, from shopping on my favorite Etsy shops.

I fell in love with this little sea fairy pin that Pat
Winter had made and was offering in her Etsy shop as soon as I saw it on her blog, and waited anxiously for her to list it in her Etsy shop. The pin is gorgeous and Pat also included some of her hand-dyed silk ribbons and a silkie.

Pat has been making some lovely CQ night light shades, lovely CQ purses, and at times has silk ribbon, and bliss kits. I always love getting her goodies. Pat also has a CQ Book that she p



Another Etsy shop I love is Susan's. I recently received more of her DSQ threads. I bought some of the Mary Ellen line which was named after my maternal grandmother, and also 1 of the Lois line that was named after Pat Winter's mother.

These threads are beautiful and lovely to work with.






The third Etsy shop I always love to shop at is at Gypsy Feather. She offers the loveliest collection of vintage laces, buttons, bits of this and that. I love getting her packages! Don't have a picture of my latest find. My sewing room is a mess.

My painting in my office/craft room is done, except for a bit of trim around the doors. Today hopefully John will be putting up the molding, and I can move my desk back where it belongs, instead of the middle of the room. Then I will be able to put the books back on the bookshelf, and gain control of my sewing room again!

Look What I Won!

I recently entered Hideko's giveaway on her blog and won one of her lovely CQ jewelry pouches.
Mine arrived yesterday and I am thrilled. What an excellent mail day!















The pouch is just beautiful on both sides!

Thank you so much Hideko I am truly thankful to have won your lovely jewelry pouch!

Slow Room Progress

I have been making slow progress on my craft room/office redo. My progress is hampered if I have a long, long day at work. But it is coming along.

This is the wall that will have cabinets and counters. I painted a base coat of Turquoise Sea, and yesterday I did a rag-faux painting glaze of Spaqua. I really like this wall, although by this photo it is not a true representation of the color.






This is more of the true color. This wall by the closet and the doorway I don't like too much and am thinking about repainting the base coat, and re-faux painting it. I couldn't get the rag roller around on these small areas, and I don't like the way it came out. So unless I change my mind by noon when I should get off work today, I am redoing this wall.

The red, white and blue switchplate don't stay. I just forgot to pick up a new brass one yesterday when I was at Lowe's.




My office section doesn't normally look like this. When I took stuff off the big bookcase, I stacked things on this other one by the window, and this stuff in front of my desk has pieces of the ceiling fan, light and my various painting things, and John brought in a light from the garage so I could see what I am doing.

Next I need to move all this stuff away from the window, and my rolltop desk on the other side of the room, so I can get the rest of the wallpaper off, and the last 1/4 area of popcorn ceiling off s I can finish up the ceiling and get light and fan put back together.

But I am antsy to get all this stuff moved. John has almost completed 1 of the cabinets that is going to go on the blank wall, and he is staining it cherry. Plus yesterday while we were at Lowe's we got the neatest molding, it is like a basketweave (one of my loves, baskets).

Valentines Print Link

Lisa has created a countdown to Valentine’s Day with a new printable image sheet each day.

In her words , "Each day from February 1st through Valentine’s Day, one numbered heart with a link to that day’s surprise will appear. "

In her words: "Please note that these images are offered as LINKWARE. Before you download images, you must post a link to this page to your web site or blog, or include the link in a post to an online art group or message board. Once you have posted the link, feel free to download to your heart’s content."