Dash Away December

Merry Christmas!

 

 

Wishing you peace, joy and the merriest Christmas.

 

 

Where'd November Go?

 
I keep taking pictures of things I want to show, or think "oh I should post that" and that's about as far as that thought goes.

So what's been going on? I went to the Pioneer Quilt Guild show...I think there were more quilts there I liked than at PIQF.

Then I went to Oregon for my Mom's birthday. My grand-niece got a new puppy, his name is Prince Charming...it should have been Prince Piddle.

Then I won a giveaway at Fons and Porter. Love the Scrap Explosion book.

Finally...FINALLY...finished quilting the Hot Pocket quilt...when did I start it? September! Still needs binding and washed.

And this past weekend I cooked my first turkey in the convection oven. OMG...it was so pretty (except I forgot to take a pictures until after we ate half), and it was done in about 2 1/2 hours.

So I guess that's where November went.  Hopeful December doesn't go as quickly because I've barely started my Christmas shopping.
 

Finally Done

I don't know why I was so fixated on the spools not becoming a UFO. I decided I didn't really like any of the fabrics I showed in my last post. After pulling out almost every piece of fabric I owned (cause I was NOT going to buy anything) I finally made a decision - why didn't I think of this sooner? I'm a scrap kinda gal...it is a scrap kinda quilt...made from scraps...so the border should be scraps...right?

RIGHT!! I didn't even have to cut the squares, I had a bin full of them. Whew, I'm so glad this top is done. FYI, it is made of 100 2 3/8 inch spools and 56 2 1/2 inch squares in the border...final size 34 inches square.

Finishing this quilt top was painful, what wasn't painful was going to the Pacific International Quilt Festival. Lots of great quilts, LOTS of great shopping, and the best part was I got to meet Loris of Luckypup Quilter. We have been trying to meet up at PIQF for years. This time she stuck around an extra day and braved shopping with Stephanie and me.

It was so nice to meet you Loris, thank you again for the snippets. I hope we can meet up again next year.

 

Still not a UFO

Barely...I decided if these spools were going to get finished I'd better chuck the idea of including the applique.

Now I need to decide on a border fabric. I had originally thought a sewing/quilting related fabric would be nice but I don't have any in my stash (how in the world did that happen I use to have tons).

So what do you think? I'm leaning toward the top left fabric in the first two pics... red roses / blue morning glories. I had hoped taking pictures would help me decide...

...didn't work.

I'm a Lucky Duck

Loris at Luckypup Quilter recently had a giveaway and I won!

Bird and butterflies - so pretty.  Thank you Loris! Nancy came over to sew yesterday. She loves butterflies. I had to check all her bags before she left to make sure she didn't steal accidently take them home.

While here Nancy finished this quilt...

 

It's called Open Your Window by Zen Chic. She is such a prolithic quilter, she was half way through a second quilt by the time she left my house.

 

I got about a third of the way through this quilt...then the bobbin ran out. I like to use prewound with the Juki but it never fails...the first bobbin and tension are perfect. The second? Not so perfect.



 

I have learned my lesson. I always check the tension on a piece of scrap fabric before going back to the quilting.

The quilt is called Hot Pocket and I posted a picture here. Notice the date...March 2010.  Oh well, at least it is getting done.

Feathers

I'm really happy with how this little table topper turned out. These are the first feathers I have ever quilted (other than the practice feathers).

These little swag feathers were pretty easy to quilt. Now I have to figure out how to quilt longer free form feathers. Since I've conquered these little swags I know I can do the more difficult feathers...I am QUILTER hear me ROAR. (hehehehe)

Isn't she a pretty girl? It's so difficult to get a good picture of her.

Since I haven't done much quilting since I finished the table topper almost two weeks ago my roar is more of a meow or a purr.
 

House and Quilting Stuff

 
Phase two of the remodel is a custom cabinet for the "entertainment" niches the builder included with the house...big waste of space.

Now the components have their own space and I have storage below. The upper cabinet has doors that slide out and close to hide the TV.

I need to do something to hide the cables hanging down. I was thinking of wrapping a couple of paper towel tubes with some of the colorful duct tape that is out now.

And since this is a quilting blog here are some pic of what I've been working on...

I finished quilting the Union Star wall hanging. Cross-hatched the body of the quilt and although you can't really see it, I did a curly-C with two "feathers" across the borders.

Check it out...I've been practicing feathers!

 

And they don't look that bad either...cross your fingers that they look this good when I add them to the border of another wall hanging.
 

The Big Reveal

I've cleaned everything except the windows and the floor - there was dust EVERYWHERE - every cabinet and drawer had to be vacuumed and wiped down . I have almost everything back in the cabinets - and have of course moved everything so it will take me months to figure out where everything is.

So this is what the kitchen looked like before:

And Ta-Da! This is what is looks like now...

 

Doesn't look very different does it? But there were lots of changes. I've already shown the new recessed LED lighting and the refinished cabinets (which now have knobs and handles).

 

New quartz counter top, a granite sink that is deeper than the Grand Canyon, and faucet. OMG, the new dishwasher is SO quiet I kept opening it to make sure it was really working.

 

In the past when I bought appliance I purchased just the basics - simple and inexpensive - not this time. I didn't get top of the line but I did upgrade a bit and got some additional features that I think I'm going to love.

Separated the combined oven and microwave. Lost a drawer under the oven to do so but it's worth it. Larger microwave with a carrousel and a convection oven (I will be studying instruction manuals for my nightly reading).

Five burner stove and new range hood - it also has LED lighting.

And lastly...a new dining area chandelier.

 

All done on time and within my budget (miracles do happen). Except now I think the white refrigerator really stands out... and the dining set doesn't quiet "go" with the new kitchen... and maybe new bar stools... and maybe new furniture in the family room...

 

Hehehehehe...maybe not.

 

Cruel Daughter

 
My mom asked for pictures before the big reveal, not of the whole kitchen just some of the new things. So here are some pictures...the new sink...

five burner stove...

happy cabinets...

and a new view...

LOL...sorry Ma I couldn't resist.
 

Cabinets - Day Two

 
I love how the cabinets turned. They were my biggest worry. I originally want to paint them but oak cabinets have a strong wood grain and it would have been cheaper to reface them with new pre-painted doors and drawers. Both painting and refacing was much more expensive than refinishing and beyond the budget I had set. I didn't want to stain them as they could only be stained darker not lighter. So the solution was to not stain only refinish. The new finish is actually lacquer, not varnish.

(Picture doesn't do the color or finish any justice.) 

They have a nice low shine finish that is really silky smooth to touch. The color is a little bit darker but not much...they almost look like a maple or cherry instead of oak (more red less orange/yellow). Best part is they should be easier to clean.

 

Countertop, appliances, handles and knobs, and new dining room chandelier are installed tomorrow, then my work begins - getting rid of the dust that is now covering the whole house and putting everything back in place. No more pictures until I do the big reveal.

 

I did get a little bit of quilting done. This mat is made of pieces and parts leftover from another quilt so I decided to use it for practice quilting.

 

I used Natalia Bonner's Beginner's Guide to Free Motion Quilting as my inspiration. Clams, swirls, triple circles, ovals, figure 8's, Christmas candy loops...and...

I don't know what mine is because it definitely doesn't look like Natalia's Open Vein.  Oh well, it was all good practice.



Now on to a non-practice wall hanging.

Cabinets - Day One

  
The painters just left. The house stinks...maybe stink isn't the right word...maybe very strong obnoxious odor would be the right words.

Looks more like a construction zone.

Most of today was spent prepping for tomorrow. Cleaned, sanded, and holds drilled for the knobs / handles. I'm leaving them the same color, just putting on a new finish (low gloss varnish).

It is currently 102 outside...the air conditioning and all the fans have been on all day.

I finally got all the pieces to the spools done today. I'm avoiding the iron, so the actual spools probably won't get made soon (need 100 of them).  These are really really REALLY boring to make. Luckily I like the finished quilt which Temecula Quilt Company revealed today otherwise these spools were at serious risk of becoming a UFO.

I did some practice free motion quilting on my new Janome...I can't get the tension right so I think I'm going to set up my Bernina. Since I'll be banned to the sewing room again I'd like to get at least one of the wall hangings quilted tomorrow.
  

The Good, the Lucky, the Bad

The good: the air conditioner is working. The circuit breakers were mismarked. The contractor thought he had turned off the breaker to the oven when actually he turned off the air conditioner.

The lucky: nobody working around or with the electrical line for the oven was hurt.

The bad: My old oven was a combined oven and microwave oven, the new appliances are individual appliances which is going to take more space...drawer space. I did have two drawers under the oven, they had to remove one.  Boo hoo.

Some more drywall repair also occurred.

Just so you don't think it is all hammers, saws and spackle...

I finished my Market Day wall hanging. I really like how it turned out. I've got it and five other wall hangings pin basted. Now I need to decide on quilting designs.

I'm off to work tomorrow. No more contractors until Monday.

Day Two

Day two started at 7 a.m. It's been in the mid to high 90's for the past week. Since the electricians would have to run wires in the attic they wanted to start early.

The big box is gone! New recessed lighting and an outlet was installed for the built-in microwave oven.

LED lights. Low wattage LOTS of light. Love it!

At the end of day two the air conditioning went out...I'm not a happy camper. I had planned on working tomorrow but now I have to hang around for a repair person...cross your fingers that it is something simple and cheap to fix.

End of Day One

This is what my kitchen looked like at the end of day one...

Oops...can't tell too much through the plastic sheeting they used to contain the dust.

All the tile, appliances and sink are gone. A little bit of drywall repair and a leaky plumbing fixture were also repaired. There were no contractors here today so I headed to work for the day.

I've also decided to add a third bathroom...