Back "Home" Again

Here's my project--unfinished, of course, but at least making progress:

I like this layout but I think I will probably be tweaking the design a bit more.

At least, all 20 of the blocks are sewn, so instead of having 40 or more pieces I'm now down to 20. It's all wrapped up in the sheet of batting, ready to work on should I ever again find myself with a spot to work at!

Came "home" to D3's house, where D4 has been camping out for the past week. We're going to go over to the house later on and see what's been done while I was away. If we can, we will figure out how we can move back in and get along there, since D3 is getting ready to play hostess to one of our CT families.

Simon has managed to get into something (probably the fireplace) and turned his white ruff grey.

Also his white tummy. He's been trying to wash it off and it just sort of looks icky.

We've told him if he doesn't "come clean" he's going to need to go to the groomer's for a bath.

He isn't impressed.

The drive home from Asilomar was uneventful--considering that I was driving a rental!

That's right, the parts for my truck didn't come in, so it's still sitting in Seaside waiting for them. That means that as soon as the truck is done, I can return north to turn in the rental and pick up the miscreant and drive it home.

I am referring to the rental as the White Whale, since it's a huge minivan. I am so not a minivan person; give me my truck any day. I'm not complaining, mind you, since at least I have wheels, and we were able to get our full array of suitcases, tubs o' fabric, four sewing machines, and a couple of (giant) boxes of tools home in one trip.

We made two stops on the trip homeward: one at the Apple Farm for afternoon "tea" and once at Buellton for a fill-up of fuel and of treats at Pea Soup Andersen's. Since we'd had lunch at Asilomar before leaving, we didn't need to stop for a meal, and traffic was quite light, so we made good time. The weather was glorious, spring has really "sprung" along Highway 101 with wildflowers blooming everywhere. The hills are golden with poppies and wild mustard and purple with lupine, and the grapevines in the many vineyards we passed have sprouted. Once we hit Ventura, the fog rolled in but it's all city driving after that, so it wasn't a problem.

There are pictures on my Flickr page of some of the other class projects--very inspiring! I can see myself making lots of quilts with the techniques we discussed in class, assuming of course that I will eventually have a place where I can sew!

Rainy Day

No pictures of the rain. Instead, here's what I spent the day working on.

Sitting by a pair of French doors, watching the deer try to stay dry and sewing away, is a good way to spend a day.

My strata is done! I'll be able to start cutting tomorrow.

The sad thing? Most of the people in the class were at this stage when they arrived, so I'm 3 days behind.

Oh well.

And the part for my truck is on its way from Salt Lake City, so there's still a chance that it will be ready for me to drive home on Friday. We'll see!


The knitters have been having as much fun knitting as quilting. Here's Lisa in her hat... the group had to trek into town today to buy more yarn.

There are m0re hat pics on my Flickr page. I have to get back to work now...

Asilomar, Dispatch #2

Finished the Taiyo scarf!

With just a wee bit of yarn left over--not enough for another row.

I will probably need to wear it this week, as there is a rainstorm moving in and we've been promised thunder, lightning, and storms. We'll just have to wait and see.


Sample of the work my fellow students are doing:


... and one of the teacher's quilts.

I love this one and I am thinking of using this one as an inspiration for mine.

Of course, that will mean that I have to sew a lot more strips together--right now, I have 10 pairs of strips sewn. Big whoop! I have over 110 strips cut--two of each--to sew before I can start cutting circles.

Hmmm, why am I over here posting instead of sewing??

Some of the quilting buddies here.
Lisa, Carol, and Sandy at lunch.


Didn't quite crack the camera lens.

Almost!

Dropped the poor camera again, and it's now having even more trouble than the last time it got dropped. The good thing is that this time I didn't fall with it!
Asilomar eye candy--windswept trees and blue blue sky.


And quilty eye candy: my strips, which are calling to me.

More later!

Dispatch from Asilomar, #1

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for the drive up north; cool but not cold, a bit windy, blue skies, wildflowers in bloom all along the way--and we got to our hotel in time for Happy Hour (popcorn and snacks, with complimentary drinks). We (quilter friend Sandy and I) met up with two more quilter friends, and we strolled across the parking lot for dinner--just a nice relaxing evening.
Sunday morning we were able to have a good hot breakfast (gotta love Embassy Suites!) then hit the quilt and yarn shops in Pacific Grove before checking in for the conference. I broke down and bought a couple of balls of lavender Calmer to make a Shedir for D2. It's cast on and the first row knit... pictures soon.

Couple of random photos, just because this place is so darn photogenic. Today the sky was as clear and as deep a blue as I've ever seen--so blue it almost looks phony.

The stairs are at Merrill Hall, the view of the trees is from the opposite direction--I just turned around and took another photo.

This is Merrill Hall. My class this year is meeting there--it's not my favorite classroom, I must admit, but it's been very convenient.


Here's a view of the top of my workspace as I get started cutting strips for my "strata." I haven't gotten very far in this picture... as of tonight, I've got 95 fabrics cut into strips, with another 16 left to go. Hopefully I'll be able to get out the ol' 1230 and start sewing in the morning.
The teacher for the class is Louisa Smith, who has energy to burn and who loves loves teaching in Merrill Hall!

This is one of my classmates showing off her completed strata. She has over 100 fabrics in this set.



Friend Sandy had already sewn her strata at home (can y ou say, eager?) so she was ready to start cutting and laying out her pieces.

Here's what it looks like so far.

Not to worry, this arrangement will probably be changed again and again before being sewn down.


Another view of my work space. I am not a tidy quilter, unfortunately, nor am I especially well organized. My excuse this year is that my whole life is rather unorganized, to put it mildly. When I was packing for this trip I realized that I had better pack clothing I like, since I may not be able to access anything else when I get back!

Yes, I left D4 to deal with the contractor and the painters and the rest of the project.

But Karma has reared her head and bitten me where I sit. Specifically, in the driver's seat--my truck is at the local Ford dealer's getting some major work done. Nothing like having vehicle trouble when you're 400 miles from home!

Okay, time for me to trek down the hill to bed. I've about exhausted my energies for tonight, and I'll need to recharge for tomorrow!

Yarn-mobile

I have mentioned a few times here, and on Ravelry, that I am currently driving around in a Yarnmobile.
This is because, in the midst of packing up my house for the Renovation Project, I sorta panicked about the current WIPs and decided that they needed to be "protected" along with all my important papers, and stashed them in the back of my truck. I knew that a day of reckoning was coming, though, and today was the day. With the help of my lovely assistant, Audrey-Vanna, I hauled all 7 of the bags out of their mobile safekeeping and piled them on the sofa. The topmost picture is the "long view" of sofa and lovely assistant. (She's sitting in a "Rainforest Jumperoo" by the way, a wonderful invention for keeping small babies amused. Every time she bounces, it makes lights and noises and music. I'm really tired of every sound it makes, but she isn't, and she's in love with the concept of cause-and-effect.)

So anyway. Closeups include some of my new yarns, like my pretty Kauni from Webs. And my STR and Yarn Pirate club yarns.

Yummies! The Wool-Ease isn't there. Don't look at it. It's gonna be hats for the granddaughters, maybe. Another year. All of this uncommitted yarn is now living in a big ol' Target bag and will go in Miss A's closet for safekeeping, along with my valuable papers. Cause everyone needs to clutter up their grandkids' closets with their personal crap!

The other bags are going to come with me. Oh, yes, did I mention (for the 400th time) that I leave for Asilomar in the morning? Yay for clean air, fresh ocean air--the conference grounds are right on the beach--and nothing to worry about but my quilting. I'm leaving the house project in the capable hands of D4--hey, she can yell at the contractor at least as loudly as I can! I know I won't have much knitting time while I'm there, but there will be times (like the evening programs) when I will want to knit a bit. And yes, I will try to post regularly from there--it's such a great experience that I really do want to share it! Go here for details!

I will close with a vignette from Easter, showing our ice cream cake.

Hey, it's a yellow "peanut" m & m, but ice cream--all the way through, except for a couple of layers of fudge. With mini m&m candies inside.

And a knife in its middle.

What can I say, we are a sick family.

Well, how else do you cut a cake? Huh?

Actual Fiber Content!

Yes, I know, you thought it would never happen. Well, here it is...
First, my scarf-in-progress in Noro Taiyo.
This is the yarn my fellow OOPsers and I scored at NeedHay one fine Monday. I'm doing a 4 x 4 basketweave sort of thing, which seems to look good in this kind of variegated yarn. 32 stitches across. I'm semi-tempted to frog and go down to 24, but then sanity reasserts itself and I realize that I would then have to reknit the whole freakin' thing. And, I am really not lovin' on the yarn, so it's going to stay. We'll see how it feels once it's gotten done and been given a bath. My skein did have the obligatory knot, between colors, but luckily it came between a grey and a black so it's not very obvious.

Then there's a progress pic on the Very Warm Hat for Audrey's daddy.

Because, of course, everyone needs a Very Warm Hat when the temps are in the 90's.

Gotta love Spring in SoCal. One day it's 90+ and the next it's barely 45. No wonder everyone goes around sniffling!

Here's the crown of the blue side of the hat. The decreases make a nice spiral. Plain but "manly" right?
And another view, showing the turning row. This is going to be my project for the programs at Asilomar, I think: something I can work on in the dark!
And, Louise finished her quilt. She's entered it in the Glendale Quilt Guild's show, which is this weekend in Burbank. It's made from the leftover pieces of her Bouillabaisse quilt, including the back. The only new fabric she added was the black for the star's background.

It's not only a gorgeous quilt, it's a great use of "leftovers" and quite in the spirit of quiltmaking everywhere!

So the house continues to progress, but not in a way that lends itself to photography. The ductwork has all been replaced and they are now installing new heater/ac vents--which can't be seen, because there's paper and plastic down on the floors to protect them from the painters, who are also busily at work. Nothing started on the outside painting yet, but I've been told the kitchen cabinets are ready to move in once the painting in the kitchen is done.

In fact, I'm supposed to be buying a kitchen sink today, along with some bathroom fixtures for the remodeled back bathroom. It's going to be so spiffy that I think we'll have to move the cats elsewhere for their feeding/watering/catbox needs.

Speaking of the boys, they continue to do well in their respective "shelters." Padua is getting some needed medical attention (poor old guy) so boarding chez the vet has been a good plan; and Simon and Hi-Hi are having fun at D3's. Garrett loves them, they tolerate him, Hi-Hi's been raiding the toybox for his Mighty Hunter times and Simon just follows the "guys" around. I just hope they'll be willing to come back home...

More of Whatever

I know that this is supposed to be a knitting/quilting/crafting blog.

I apologize that the blog appears to have been hijacked into home renovation and cute babies.

Well, not really.

I mean, is this the cutest little sleepyhead? And would I love to be able to sleep like that??

Yes I would.



Here is the reason why I can't:

This is my bedroom. Freshly painted in pale pale blue.
It will be very restful, once it's all done.
Once I don't have to move piles of "stuff" and layers of plastic to get to the bed.


Okay, here's a different spot. This is the new shower in the "back" bathroom downstairs. Tile is laid in the proper orientation, floor tile is in, edging is up.

I like.

We are currently shopping for shower fixtures, towel bars, medicine cabinet. Just for this one room.

The tile floors are done, grouted and ready. The painters have begun patching and the plasterers have been at work. We have two different textures of plaster in this house, in addition to the "plain" walls, so getting the texture right isn't the easiest thing. So far, it looks as though the repairs are spot on with the matching thing.

You can look at the Flickr photos for more details. I mean, I only want to hijack the blog for so long!

And here's Little Miss A in the first of her summer outfits:
Cute, eh? And she's too young to know that at this age, those chubby thighs are cute!

Finger food??

Updating Again

First lilacs of the season! And just in time for the first day of spring, too.

I've been needing reminders that there is "hope" out there. Fortunately, my lilac bush has survived another year (it has had some traumas, including having the concrete guys washing off their equipment at its feet) and the bulbs are still coming up and blooming.

More pictures of the flowers, and the house, on the Flickr page--click on the badge over there to see!

There is progress on the tile front, too. The floor tiles are just about done, and I believe today they will finish the grouting. The bathroom shower is tiled but doesn't look as nice as I'd like so there will be more discussion there. Might as well have it look the way we want it to!
This is the top of the trapdoor to the basement, with the new tile laid over it. Note the absence of hinges... I think there's more work to be done here!


However, the floors are coming along. Here's a shot of some of the new wood that's replacing the old damaged parts. They were able to match the original boards really well--once the floor is sanded, they'll all be the same color.
So my days are divided between time with Miss Audrey and her cohorts, and the construction zone that is my house. Guess which part is more fun?

Maxine loves being near Audrey. Here Audrey is munching on her hand and playing on her surfboard mat. It's so cute to watch these two--Audrey giggles and waves her arms and legs around, and Max lays on her back and waves her arms and legs around. Max is better at rolling over--but give little missy time, and she'll get there too.

Here's the tile cut around the base of the newel post at the foot of the stairs.

Not much knitting or quilting going on these days--it's really hard to work on a project when there's so much going on, and supplies are out of reach. I am looking forward to my trip to Asilomar soon, if for no other reason than the quilting time! Of course, having real meals and a peaceful environment will help a lot too!

Pretty Pictures

Well, today I had hoped to have pretty knitting pictures for you. It was certainly a day for eye candy, and a feast for the yarn lovers at knitting group! Patty had brought some of her homespun for Knit Devil, who was working with some loverly red Wool of the Andes. Annette brought her treasures from Stitches West, plus her Tulip Baby Sweater (yummy Dream in Color yarns), Sknitty came by with her Hellebore (didn't get the brand name but it is beautiful!) and Pam had her nearly-done Shedir to share and work on. Mary was working on her Pond Scum sweater--I can't say that color name without smiling!

I had the Taiyo scarf I started on Monday, and Miss Audrey. I got to do two rows of the scarf and fondle a little yarn, but then it was baby fussing time so we had to leave early. There is just nothing quite like painful screaming to disrupt the atmosphere! The good news is, once we got her home and settled down, she went to sleep quite peacefully. Many thanks to everyone for their patience with me and my little friend!

So, instead of yarny goodness, may I present construction-progress photos. The "tile guys" have moved in and are busy applying mud to the shower walls and floors where tile will soon be laid. We (D4 and I) decided yesterday that we will indeed carry the same tile all the way through the back of the house, so the studio/workroom will match the kitchen, mudroom, and back bathroom. The top photo is taken from just inside the kitchen door, looking at the trapdoor to the basement The second photo was taken from inside the kitchen and shows the wire mesh that will hold the "mud" in place. Then the tile will be "floated" on top of the layer of concrete. That hole in the wall with the copper pipes sticking out is the rough plumbing for the ice maker. What a concept--plumb for it first!

However, I do have some fiber for you--quilty goodness! The two quilts shown here belong to Anne and Gail, and the quilts are from the same pattern. Because the fabric choices are so different, the two quilts are barely even fraternal twins!

Have to show you a close-up of Anne's quilting--isn't it purty??

Quilt #1: Anne's, in brights with a lot of lime green and yellow and a nifty striped border. She is planning to hang this in her kitchen where I think it will liven up the place!

Gail's on the other hand is much calmer and the florals she used give it a whole different mood. She also added floral sashing to mellow the look: when she first laid out her blocks,with the black and white borders, the whole quilt felt jagged and agitated. The floral pulls colors from the blocks and makes them stand out so that the design and the fabrics used in them can be appreciated.

The quilts are from a mystery weekend project sponsored by Bearly Stitchin' last year.
That's it for now. I've been told that when I get home today the washing machine will be hooked back up (they were still installing faucets to it) and, since the plumbing has passed inspection, the trenches in the front yard can be filled in. I shudder to think of what has happened to my irises...

More "Progress"?

Let's focus on something pretty for a change, shall we? (Although, the way things have been going lately it seems if I post a picture of a "pretty" it then winds up traumatized, and I'd hate to do that to my camellia!)

This is the bush that grows by the back door.

It is mostly (nominally) this peppermint-candy kind of blossom. Very pretty.


Flowers come in big clusters, and it's a very heavy bloomer.


It also grows blossoms that are solid red. Sometimes you'll see the solid red and the peppermint stripe on the same branch.

Sometimes on the same flower, like this one!

We have a new shower pan! It is full of water, which is a test to see if it leaks.

The old shower leaked really badly and actually at one point was dripping onto the junction box in the basement. That was NOT a good thing! It also rotted out a lot of the floor, especially the trapdoor which is the basement access. New trapdoor coming! And I've been assured, in the face of a total lack of logic to the thought, that they can indeed put floor tile on the trapdoor.

I'll believe it when I see it!
Have you ever seen a sadder looking kitchen? This is a view of the south and west walls--the dark line on the right is the edge of the dining room doorway. Over there on the left is a chunk of the wallcloth that's peeled away--I tried taking a closeup of it but it came out fairly blurry.
Apparently, putting fabric onto the wet plaster was a hotshot design statement in the early 20's.
Looking out to the back room/studio area, this is the north and east walls. Also quite pathetic!
Lastly, I thought I'd show you how the back of the house is looking with the new windows in. You can also see the new French doors and garage door.

When we paint, I'm planning on keeping the body of the house the same color...Swiss Coffee... but not sure about a trim color. D4 thinks the blue looks "dated" but we haven't come up with anything better.

Suggestions??