The Betsy Ross Experience

In the final stretch

2011-12-06T08:55:00.007-06:00

I'm going to have to work on getting some "after" photos up!

The past few months have been a flurry of activity: with help from Kevin and Brad, the trim in the dining room, kitchen, library, and front hallway is up! It's amazing what a difference some trim work makes in making a room look finished. And it also helps my vacuuming time to have baseboards - the dog hair can't hide in the gap between the wood floor and wall! I still have more painting to do in the dining, kitchen and hallway, but it's coming together.

My current project is sanding the spindles on the stairs. Last night I finished most of the rough sanding; next up is going back over everything with a finer grit paper.

One exciting update is my new front door - I'm thrilled with it. The old one was single pane glass. The frame for it was cobbled together and wasn't well secured to a stud on the left side interior. Even with the storm door, there was so much cold air blowing in that I had to hang a large piece of felt over the door last winter.

In an effort to up the curb appeal of a front door that didn't have much punch, I also got a door surround. The curved arch pediment and pillars (made by Fypon) draw more attention and as Mom says "make my house look like it's smiling". Much credit goes to Alaina and Mom for sitting through endless questions about door, glass and surround combinations. We settled on this one from Pella - a 3/4 European door style with "Sheffield" glass. (still need to add a piece of Azek below the sill plate) The combination allows a lot of light into the hallway while giving more privacy; it's super nice to not feel like the neighborhood can see you walk downstairs in your PJs.

It was also fun to see the original siding while the aluminum siding was off. In addition to the new door, I updated the house numbers and doorbell. It's coming together!

My wall re-work

2011-01-29T10:09:00.004-06:00

Several months ago, the print that was hanging on my living room wall took a dive of it's own volition, leaving a good sized hole in its place. I looked around for something to replace it. I was in LOVE with an Ansel Adams print, but the only size that fit the wall was a legit reproduction and out of my price range.

Enter: two empty frames and a bunch of watercolor supplies. I had fun mixing colors and making a couple of trees - one spring, the other fall. They fit well with my other pics of trees, go with my decor and didn't cost a thing! WOOT!

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety

2010-11-17T20:05:00.005-06:00

I've become increasingly disturbed by the enhanced security protocols instituted in our country.

The lack of security of saved images
3rd base action that usually comes after a few dates
And the kind of stuff most parents would want to kill somebody for doing to their kid

As part of a campaign to rethink this, Reddit has started Operation Grab Ass, working through the more politely named Fly With Dignity. One of the easiest, and most effective things we can do is write our Representatives. If you share these concerns, you can find your Rep & write them through their Congressional site!

Here's my missive:

Dear Mr. Camp,

I'm writing to you today because of my concern about the new airport security screening protocols put in place by the TSA.

In order to travel, many of us are having to choose between posing for nude/semi-nude pictures or a groping. This isn't a choice that citizens of a free nation should have to make; it's invasive and compromises our personal freedoms to an intolerable degree.

I would like to see changes made to these security protocols and ask that you work toward this goal.

We all want to travel safely, but let's do so in a way that doesn't violate our personal dignity.

Thank you for your time,
Allison

New member of the furmily

2010-10-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

Mom & I left TC for Goshen, IL at 6 am to pick up Evey (Née Lady). Within 5 minutes of being in the car this is what she looked like:

She's a puddle of love - wherever there's a warm lap, that's where she is.

On the car ride home, Mom & I talked about how sweet she was and how adorable...I also found that in 9 years of having a black dog, I've chosen things that hide dark fur really well. Those same things are exceedingly good at showing white hair really well. (Like the black interior of my car, he he)

We also decided on good colors for redheads - so I'll likely be knitting an apple green sweater for Evey to go with the one I just finished for Abby. Evey has the most beautiful amber mixed in with the white - she's just the color of some of the fall leaves coming down right now.

When we got home, Mom walked Evey down the way & I went in the house to get Abby. They met up in one of the grassy areas and sniffed each other, then I walked the two of them together back to the house. This is supposed to make Abby less territorial about a new dog coming straight into the house. They both seem pretty blase about the whole thing, though I'm still doing the Alpha-dog cues for Abby (food first, out the door first). They've been sharing the bed and couch just fine, so hopefully everything else will work itself out.

Since she wasn't responding to the name "Lady" and I wasn't so keen on it, we commenced with name choosing. Originally I was thinking Ilsa (like Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca), but that wasn't rolling off the tongue well, and she just didn't "look" like an Ilsa.

We bounced around some other names, including Ella and Gracie and I tried them all out for a day or so, and slept on it, before deciding that "Evey" won out. I liked the spelling used for Natalie Portman's character in "V for Vendetta".

Do you see the two dog beds below? Guess whose bed Evey is getting into? (c:

Today Evey came with me to work, and then to her vet appt just before lunch. The vet agreed that she ought to lose a bit of weight - about 6lbs. She had a bit of yeast in the ears that hadn't developed into a full-blown infection, so I have some drops for that. And her teeth are pretty bad, but that's just the way things go. She'll have a look at them again in a month or so & see how they're doing.

After her big checkup, she was happy to go back to the office & take an extended afternoon nap on the chair next to me.

Oh, finally...some after pics!

2010-09-08T21:35:00.000-05:00

I hadn't wanted to put pictures up post-move in since I had people coming to visit for my sister's wedding (and I wanted it to be a surprise!). So I'll do more catch-up now...covering at least part of the downstairs.

There's plenty left to do, but I hit a wall at the end of May where I was just burnt out, so I moved my stuff in. I thought I'd be more inclined to mix working on the house into post-job time but having stacks of boxes around actually make it kind of difficult to work. The wedding and the prospect of overnight house guests was a major motivating factor. So, there has been progress.

I've officially painted every room in the house now!
Here's the layout, so you can get an idea of how it fits together.

When I moved in, just my Master BR, the downstairs bath, and kitchen were in decent shape.

Downstairs, I finished stripping and repainting the moldings in the Living Room. Got my pictures up & the room is fairly well decorated. This pic is taken from the entry hallway.

The entry hall is still the biggest mess - since all the trim molding is off, it doesn't look the greatest, plus I haven't touched the stairs. Each post on the banister needs to be stripped and repainted.

I'm so happy with how the downstairs kitchen turned out. Most of it is IKEA (Stat white cabinets), so I was able to keep my costs down. I love the double bowl apron sink! I ended up using travertine tile for the backsplash (left over from my parent's remodel) and really like having the natural stone against the wood - it tones down the bright white. The floor is Allure - fake cork. ;) I know the lights are a bit modern, but I'd seen some similar in historical Victorian kitchen pics, so I'm happy with the choice. Oh, and that big lower cabinet panel to the left of the sink is a dishwasher - isn't that swish?
A word to anyone designing an IKEA kitchen: the one thing I wish somebody had told me is that there's a "fridge" cover panel that's deeper and taller than the normal cover panels. (It's also a bit thicker). I'm pretty sure it didn't show up in any of the catalog/design software they had. I had to make an extra trip to get it, but really like that all the cabinets are the same height and that the fridge is completely enclosed. My contractor had to build a box out to get the correct depth, but it all worked out really well.
The downstairs bath is really pretty - it's much more feminine than most of the things I designed. I did all white, sticking to different textures for interest. This picture doesn't really do it justice ;)

The back laundry room. (Looking towards the kitchen) In here I swapped out the back door for a Dutch door that was in the garage.
Both the front & back doors are painted a pretty rose-red color on the outside called "Frosted Pomegranate".

I still owe pics of the dining and library, in addition to the upstairs, but those have been particularly hard to get a good photo from!

What I love about my house so far:

Abby can go romp in the yard to her heart's content
The floor in my bedroom is crooked, so one side of my dresser is at least 3 inches higher than the other.
The morning sun in the kitchen.
The sound of rain hitting the roof just outside my window when I'm falling asleep.
Admiring the wall of book shelves (ah, zenlike)
My wi-fi hasn't once needed to be reset (constant, often daily problem at the 'rents)
All my stuff is in ONE place!

Mom bought me some geraniums and helped me plant them in the window boxes around the house. They look really pretty and less like a troglodyte lives here. It also makes me feel like maybe I won't kill everything I plant. Regular rains have helped maintain this illusion.

Things left to do:

Strip/Sand/Paint Stairs
Paint trim and doors in upstairs hallway
Touch up walls that got dinged during move-in
Strip/Sand/Paint other trim pieces in garage (fall/winter project)

And...now we're back up to speed...

2010-05-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

Here are the last couple "catch up" pictures after being incommunicado for a few weeks.

The living room has been painted (Wedgewood Grey). It really is nice to have the beautiful, clean surfaces that a fresh coat of paint provides. Can I tell you how much my shoulders are killing me from all this edge cutting, wall, and ceiling rolling? On the plus side, only the two bedrooms & bath upstairs have yet to be painted. I'm so totally rewarding myself with a professional massage when I'm done with this mother.
It might be hard to tell from the photos, but this color looks SO different in the living room compared to the MBR - downstairs faces North, so it's a darker, almost teal color. The same thing happens with the Montgomery White in the hallway & library; depending on the light it can go from a buttery cream to POW! Daisy Yellow! Just odd how those things work.

Brad put up the beadboard in the downstairs bathroom, after I painted the upper wall (Lambskin). The tile floor was laid today (just in thinset - no grout, yet). He also got a start on the tile surround for the bathtub. Both the tub & floor are going to have a very light grey grout, which he'll probably get on the floor tomorrow. This should set us up to get the cabinets in on Friday.

The other cool thing with the floor is that he put down the subfloor heating mesh, so the tile will stay toasty during the winter (a very nice luxury during our cold Michigan winters!). I'm excited to see how the tub turns out. I found a really pretty chair rail tile to go under the window. Just below that will be a thin green glass tile for an accent. It's very close to the green "depression glass" knobs/handles I got for the cabinets that are going in this room.

You know how sometimes your biggest strength is also your greatest weakness? This project has been so fun because, in the end, everything is the way I want it (or imagine it). At the same time, there's nobody who really says "That is an awful idea. Did you think about how bad that's going to be?" I mean, I have a safety net from family & Brad input. But they're not in on every decision & some things I'm just winging as I go along.

The separate elements are coming together now & I'm really excited to see how it turns out. While the floors are done, they're covered with protective paper & cardboard. So it will be like unwrapping a package when everything else is done...only then will I see it all together!

More updates...

2010-05-05T19:38:00.002-05:00

Here's more of my progress in the past week:

The whole hallway has been painted. I about "code browned" my pants painting the high part of the hallway. I noted how the drywall guy set up the ladder to get to the high spots & then copied him (ladder leaned up against wall, wedged against stair). He's got bigger balls than I do, though. That was seriously the scariest part of the whole remodel for me. No, the hall is not getting a second coat.

The upstairs master bedroom had been painted navy blue. The second pic shows it after priming, and the third with the new Wedgewood Grey color. The ceiling is Edgecomb Gray - suggested by one of Mom's decorator books for lower ceilings. All my color names are Ben Moore, but the paint is actually Behr from Home Depot - the flat enamel is $17 a gallon compared to $40-something for Ben Moore. And it looks really good/goes on nicely.

My project for this week is stripping and sanding the trim in the kitchen and living room. I'm hoping I can do all the trim sanding in the next couple weeks. Once everything is at least sanded (but not necessarily painted) I can get the ducts cleaned and feel pretty good about moving my things in. I have no idea when the ducts were last cleaned, but they were icky dirty when I moved in - and I've only added to it with the plaster and drywall dust. So the two things that will get done just before moving in will be cleaning the ducts & upstairs carpet.

Catching Up...

2010-05-05T19:28:00.003-05:00

I fell into a deep, dark hole of painting...and painting...and painting!

Here are a couple of things to catch up.
Dad & Brad put up a fence along the back of my yard - its really nice & Abby is so happy to have a yard to romp around in. I'll have to take an updated picture because those bushes spilling over the top are 100 year old lilacs that are now in full bloom (and smelling delicious). They're also the reason there's a jog in the fence!

When I left for a trip to CA, I'd told Matt (the floor guy) I wanted to go w/ the dark stain. Dad called up saying "hold the presses! You should really see how it looks sanded...it looks so open & I'm worried it's going to look like a cave w/ the dark." I'd been hemming, after hearing that the dark floors are a bitch to keep clean. (I mean seriously, I'd love to say I'm one of those people who swiffers the dog fur daily, but realistically, it's lucky if it happens weekly). So I ended up going with the lighter floors - just the natural color (second pic). I'm really happy with it.

I've painted the living room Ben Moore's Alexandria Beige w/ Lambskin colored ceiling.

Brad tetrised the bookshelves into "the library". I mean, seriously, it's like this room was designed for IKEA book shelf dimensions. The corner shelf overlaps the other by a bit less than an inch. Brad designed the bump-out for the upstairs plumbing so that it the shelf under it has one fewer extension unit than the rest of the shelves. I'm kind of wondering if I should paint the bump something closer to the shelf colors, though. (Sorry the pic is so bad, the room is small, so it's hard to find a good angle!)

Days 53-54: Bits of Progress

2010-04-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

Brad has been hard at work putting up the cabinets in the kitchen. He has the upper and lower cabinets mounted and cut the butcher block countertop on the exterior wall. It's nice when what you imagine comes to fruition!

The big decision today was what floor color to go with. It was funny that all the MEN I asked (with one exception) liked the light, natural look. All the WOMEN (with one exception) liked the dark stain.

I went with the dark stain ;)

One of the girls at work was replacing her patio set and generously offered up her old one - it's so nice to have a nice place to sit outside!

Days 51-52: Filling wood floors & more painting

2010-04-11T20:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday Matt (Peckham Floors) brought over the epoxy I'm using to fill the cracks in the wood floor he's going to be refinishing next week.

The wood floors, which we believe to be original to the house (and thus, about 100 yrs old) are pretty thin from previous sandings, and show some cracks and chips, in addition to some significant gaps between the boards.

Filling these with epoxy will make a solid surface, in addition to stabilizing the old boards.

There was a combination of plaster and drywall dust embedded in these cracks that had to be cleaned out before filling it with epoxy. The shop vac didn't do the trick, neither did two types of shop brushes. Some metal brushes I'd originally bought for stripping paint off the moldings did the best job of getting crud out of the cracks.

So I literally went over the floors with a fine toothed (metal) comb and brushed out the crud, vacuumed it up, and marked the spot with blue painter's tape.

The next step was filling each crack with epoxy. It came in a caulk-gun type format - though much more expensive per tube than caulk!! I cleaned everything out on Saturday & finished the epoxy on Sunday.

The first choice color for the hallway & library looked like watered down Mountain Dew (BM's Rainforest Dew), so Mom helped me run through some other color choices & I selected Montgomery White. It looks creamy in the hallway, but more yellow in the back library. I cut in and did the first coat in the library today; it went pretty quickly since I didn't have to paint the one wall that will be covered by bookshelves.

Pic 1: cleaned & marked cracks.
Pic 2: me at work
Pic 3: filled cracks
Pic 4: freshly painted library

Mai kitchn haz a colur.

2010-04-08T20:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah! I really needed this - finally got some color up in the house this week.

The drywaller was wrapping up the sanding in the other room while I started priming the kitchen and library on Tuesday night. On Wednesday I got both ceilings painted and the first coat of color in the kitchen.

Today (Thursday) Brad got the Allure flooring down - I got the light cork color and it looks really good. I'll get a better (less dusty) picture later.

After work I did the edging and a second coat with the roller. I brought the upper cabinets in so Brad can start into hanging those tomorrow.

My second job: stripping

2010-04-05T19:13:00.000-05:00

I've been at it with the heat gun, stripping the layers of paint off of the woodwork downstairs. Taking all the plaster walls down had the advantage of forcing the removal of all the baseboards...that was extra work in the short term, but will allow me to strip most of the moldings after I've moved in.

Before I get in there, I need to strip the few moldings that are left on the main level. I'm starting with any that touch the wood floor that will be finished in the next 2 weeks.

These first pics are of the living room baseboard moldings. I've stripped the paint and done a first round with the orbital sander on the large/flat area.

The third pic is the newel post on the stairway - it's amazing how much detail there is with the paint removed.

While the drywallers were working late, I finished putting together the kitchen cabinets together. They're just hanging out, waiting to go in!

Days 35-41: I Lurve Drywall

2010-03-31T21:17:00.001-05:00

Were I a poet, I would write an ode to Drywall - beautiful, clean, even, drywall.

It makes such a difference to have the walls closed up again.Here are a couple of before and after pics...Taping and mudding the joints is a dirty job - one I'm leaving to the pros. Meanwhile, I've been spending most of my evenings assembling cabinets in the garage.

Once the drywallers are gone, I'll finish stripping the moldings that abut the wood floors that are soon to be finished & prep/paint the kitchen so we can put in the floors and cabinets.

Days 33-34: Insulating & stripping molding

2010-03-24T20:44:00.000-05:00

Do you know what makes me a happy girl?
This is about the first time in a month that I haven't been pulling down plaster in my house.
Now I'm into a new past-time: stripping (probably lead) paint.

Yesterday Brad made my house all pretty and girly with new pink insulation in the walls. It's amazing what a noticeable difference this has made already. It's been cold at night here (in the 30's) and then warm during the day (50's) the past couple days. Normally the house temp is pretty much the same as outside, but today the inside was about 15-20 degrees cooler than outside when I visited at lunch. I'm hoping this will keep me toasty this winter & keep down my heating & cooling bills.

In the second pic, you'll see a new design element along the top of the living room wall: some holes for blown in insulation. Dad suggested, and Brad delivered, on putting some blown in insulation in the walls we aren't pulling down.

The drywallers also delivered their boards so they can get started bright & early tomorrow morning.

This evening I started in on stripping the moldings in the living room. I'm hoping to finish stripping them & start on sanding them in the next week...at least before Matt, the wood floor guy (Peckham Wood floors FTW!) starts making the floors pretty. After he's sanded & varnished I won't want to point searing hot power tools anywhere near them, so now's my chance.
The rest of the moldings, which had to be removed in the process of taking off the plaster, are waiting in the garage to be stripped. I'm probably going to hold off on doing those until I've moved in.

This last photo shows my progress with the heat gun (about 2 hrs work). You can also see the new outlet Jeff put in for my TV and assorted peripherals. This is going to be a switched outlet so I can reduce the "vampire power" used by all those things sitting in standby mode. I'd like to say I'm green, but really I'm just cheap (and I've got the Dutch genealogy to prove it!)

Day 28-33: More of the same

2010-03-24T20:11:00.000-05:00

You know how much I complained about pulling down plaster walls?

Plaster ceilings are infinitley worse.

The electrician had to punch a couple holes in the hallway ceiling that I'd originally thought we could plaster over. At a certain point it becomes too much to patch over, so I just pulled it down.

I'm sure there are much dirtier jobs, but this has been the dirtiest I've done to date.

And yes, I probably should have changed my respirator before it got quite that filthy, but I'm glad all that stuff wasn't going into my lungs.

Days 25-27: We've got windows!

2010-03-18T18:08:00.001-05:00

So I already covered last weekend when I ran down to Detroit to get the first half of my IKEA cabinets. The people there were really cool and let me leave the other half to be picked up Tuesday when Dad would be down there. My awesome Dad, exhibiting his mad Tetris-skill packing abilities got the rest of it into the Jeep when he was down there. The first two pics are of that mess (which includes a bunch of cabinets, a dishwasher & a microwave). The things my Dad won't do for his girls! (c:

Poor Brad was sick for the first couple days this week, but came back like a champ Wednesday and got the rest of the bathroom plumbing and both the library & bath windows installed yesterday & today.
I meant to go to knitting group on Tuesday evening, but had forgotten my knitting, so that ended up being a night to catch up on laundry & other stuff.

Wednesday I made a run up to the Lowe's in Gaylord to get the extra-long skinny window for the library. It's about 6" shorter than what was there previously, but it will look good. Standing outside, we could tell the current window was in at an angle (like many of the things in this old house). We joked that maybe it was just level with the floor inside...sometimes it's hard to tell what you should make things level with in an old place.

The bathroom window was originally a slider; after all the mold issues in the bathroom I wanted something that wouldn't trap water like the grooves on the slider would.
My original thought was to find an awning style window, but ran into two issues - they were much more expensive and the lead time would have them arriving far after I'd moved into the house.
We ended up getting a solid piece of low-e, Argon filled glass & Brad built a box with an inverted "v" at the bottom so the water will get channeled away from the glass on both the interior & exterior. The box for the glass is made from some sort of vinyl stuff so it won't rot like the old window did.

What I've learned this week: You can shake the new iPods to get it to shuffle to the next song. With the iPod in your pocket, you can get the iPod to shuffle by dancing (badly). This method of advancing the track is superior to setting down tools & removing gloves to hit fast-forward.

Pics 1 & 2: Dad's packing job.
Pic 3: Bathroom window & framing for shower/tub faucets
Pic 4: Newly installed bathroom window.

Day 23-24: Wave of Mutiliation

2010-03-15T21:51:00.001-05:00

Guess what I did yesterday and today? If you guessed "pull down plaster" you get a gold star!
Here's why I wear a respirator. Some of the stuff falling out of the walls is nasty.

You know that part of human nature where the thing you tell yourself NOT to think about is the only thing you can think about?
That's what happened today as I'm ripping down lathe & getting rained on with crap. "Hmmm...wonder what's in these walls." Mice, mouse droppings, bugs, bug droppings. Just try to not think about it. It's the grey/black clumps of hair that creep me out the most - I'm just hoping its the horse hair binder they used in the plaster and not something else. bleh.

These wall pics are from Sunday night. I finished pulling down lathe in the dining room exterior wall. The other walls will just have drywall over the lathe.
A bit of Sunday & all of today were devoted to the front hallway. The pic, taken Sunday, shows the plaster down in a section. I actually have this corner down to the studs with what I did after work. I left around quarter of 9 & it was too dark to take a good pic.

I'm about ready for another trip to the dump.
Pic 1: 1 day's breathing in left mask vs. new one.
Pic 2: Living room down to the studs
Pic 3: Starting the plaster/lathe removal in the hallway.
Pic 4: Trailer 'o junk

Day 22: Fun at IKEA

2010-03-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

Fraud services from my credit card called while I was at IKEA. Going from not using it in a year or so, to making a run to Home Depot & then a much pricier purchase at IKEA they were concerned. Isn't that sweet?

I did the run on Saturday morning, arriving a bit before they opened. I was really lucky with the timing of my remodel and hit one of their semi-annual kitchen sales. I ended up cancelling the micro-hood I'd ordered from Sears because the extra 5% off with buying the microwave/hood vent AND dishwasher from IKEA made the dishwasher essentially free. Free is good! Though not cheap, the whole shebang from IKEA (cabinets, countertops & fire clay sink, microhood & dishwasher came in a smidge over $3K. Not too shabby.

The girl I worked with in their kitchen department was really good and I was pleasantly surprised with how fast they were able to pull my order together. I'd heard it could take several hours, but they were done in less than one. (Far before I was done doing other shopping!) I also lucked out that every.single.thing. on my list was in stock: another area I'd heard could be a trouble spot. It took me about an hour to check through all the carts to make sure everything was there before the guys loaded a good chunk of it into my car.

I probably over-stuffed my car, but I was able to get more than half the kitchen in the Waggin' Vagon. Dad is picking up the rest this week while he's on a business trip to Detroit.

Hmmm...now to put it all together!

Days 18-21: Pulling down more plaster

2010-03-11T20:04:00.002-06:00

The electrician is supposed to be here today, and in the middle of next week we're expecting the drywallers. So I'm working madly on pulling down the remaining walls we planned to do before the drywallers get here.
In the entry hallway you can see the plaster on most of the walls and a section of the old '70s paneling (since painted) on the right. Next up in this room is pulling down the plaster. The section under the stairs was really soft, so I'll hope the rest is as easy to pull down.
I've also gotten a bit more down in the living room.

Dad brought the trailer over, so I was able to take out all the plaster that was sitting in piles throughout the main level.

Brad got the kitchen windows in & they look really good! Shortening them will allow me to run a kitchen counter along much of that exterior wall. The kitchen was really short of both storage and counter space, so I think this will really help.
I also got the flooring for the kitchen ordered. I ended up going with the Allure cork-ish flooring from Home Depot. It's a vinyl plank floor - not unlike Pergo. It was the best option, since it was much less expensive (and softer to stand on) than tile, more durable than cork and wood, and thinner than all of the above (an issue with the match-up with the dining room).

Pic1: Front entry
Pic2: Dining room plaster - still working on it!
Pic3: Kitchen windows before
Pic4: Kitchen windows now - not quite to "after"!

Day 17: Making more messes

2010-03-08T20:18:00.002-06:00

You know, it will be really nice when I stop pulling things down and can start putting them back together! I think Brad just shakes his head now at the messes I make over the weekend. We agreed that the living room walls were in rough shape, so we'll add that to the drywall list. This means the plaster currently on the walls needs to come down. Unskilled labor should do this kind of thing. That would be me.

So today I worked on pulling down the plaster. Some sections came down really easily - like they were just hanging out waiting for the wallpaper to come down. Others were a total PITA, completely stuck to the wall. Those sections required a lot of crowbar & hammer work. That part sucks.

But I finished the East wall and a good chunk of the north wall (this is helped by the fact that 50% of the north wall is the archway to the living room, so there wasn't all that much to do. Hopefully I can finsh doing the rest of it after work this week.
It's probably weird, but I think the lathe is really cool looking - I like the texture from across the room & up close it's cool to see the guts of the house. Like if I were into modern, I'd probably just put fiberglass sheating over the wall so you could still see the lathe...and then throw around words like postmodern, deconstruction, and "stimulating unpredictability"... But I'm not. So I'll cover it with drywall.

Brad got one of the windows in the kitchen changed out; I'll show pics when they're both done.

The only other interesting thing going on is that Jeff the electrician is supposed to start soon - hopefully tomorrow. Did I mention that my house the original, state of the art 1911 wiring? This knob & tube stuff would still be relatively safe, except that the insulators & casings become brittle over time & are favored by rodents, so it's generally seen as a fire hazard now. (It also lacks a grounding wire)
Since there's still live current running to at least part of the house through these wires, Jeff will be pulling & rewiring those sections. He'll also add electric in a couple spots for the remodel, including to kitchen cabinet lights & that sort of thing.

Pic 1: East wall - on the left is the front hallway, to the right is the kitchen. Through the window is the eat-in banquette.
Pic 2: North wall (stripped) & west window in the dining room
Pic 3: My stone foundation & light coming through the kitchen subfloor
Pic 4: Electricity by Edison

Day 15: Strippin' Ain't Easy

2010-03-07T08:17:00.000-06:00

On Friday after shopping, I stopped over at the house to see how my new heat gun worked. Turns out about as well as my hair dryer. So Saturday morning I headed back out to exchange it. A more expensive Milwaukee model later, and I'm in business. So I worked on stripping some lead paint while I waited for my other project to heat up.
It's hard to capture here just how thick the paint was on this wood - I'd guess at least 8-10 layers, with a thick varnish underneath that. I don't know if it's an OCD thing, but there's something very satisfying about tearing off that much paint. The last time I did this work was on Mom & Dad's old place in Midland, about 15 years ago. It was really easy to pick up again.
I'll have to go back and sand to get a smooth surface on which to paint, but I was happy it only took me about an hour to get this much done (2nd pic).
On Saturday I also picked up a wallpaper steamer to see about taking off some of the layers in the living room. This project I'm still not sure about. I was able to get the wallpaper off (at least 6 layers!!!), but I'm not sure about the condition of the plaster underneath. It's also very slow going. It took about 2-3 hours to expose the area shown in the first pic. In the area underneath the kitchen door, the plaster was in really bad shape. It was just being held together by the wallpaper. I ended up pulling down all the plaster on that section of wall. There had been a badly done patch in that wall at one point and it was caved in underneath the window pass-through.
So I'm going to put that project on hold until I can talk to Brad and the drywallers. For the cost of the rental ($25/day) and time put in (maybe 100 hours to do the rooms?), it may just be worth putting in new drywall. That makes me a little sad, but maybe that plaster has served it's 100 years and is ready to go. When I think about the character of the house, I think of the tall ceilings, wood floors, and great moldings. Some people might consider it a little sacreligious to take down the plaster, but with as many layers, and as in poor shape as it is, I'm worried it will be the really awful looking standout in an otherwise great looking house. Meh.

Pic1: corner molding on kitchen entry door
Pic 2: the whole door after first round with the heat gun.
Pic 3: Feel the burn - taking down wallpaper in the living room
Pic 4: Layers of wallpaper and plaster in the living room

What I learned: sometimes the more expensive option is the way to go, but it's usually worth trying the inexpensive option first. This applies to both heat guns and wallpaper removal.

Day 14: More shopping

2010-03-07T07:49:00.000-06:00

Friday I ran back out to HD & Tile Mart to figure out the kitchen floor. The original idea was to get some sort of laminate wood floor, but after looking at the wood floor in the dining room that butts right up to the kitchen, I thought that might look cheesy.

The second thought was to install cork. However several people have told me that doesn't hold up well in a high traffic area. Kitchens are, by nature, high traffic and mine is especially so since it's also the thoroughfare to the back yard and garage. So cork seemed like not such a good idea.
I really like the look of slate (second picture), but it sounds like it can be a pain from the maintenance/sealing/stain resistance standpoint. Tile Mart has a really nice porcelain ceramic looking tile that I think might be a good solution, but I'm a little concerned about the expense once adding in installation costs.The other option would be cork laminate/vinyl look or black and white vinyl tiles, which would also give the look I'm going for with the 1910's Victorian cottage feel.

I think I'm pretty set on the kitchen layout, but any suggestions would be welcome! On the exterior wall, I'm able to keep both windows, just shortening the length (they currently stop about 1.5 ft above the floor). In between the 2 windows will be a 3-door glass cabinet. Under the South (right side) window will be a big double bowl apron sink. There isn't much space to the right of the window, but I was able to fit 12" deep cabinets on the top & bottom.
You can't see the other wall layout all that well, but essentially, the first hole is for the range, with a microwave-hood above it. The hole closer to the corner is where the fridge will go.
In addition to the shopping on Friday, I blew some cash on Saturday buying appliances at Sears.
Pic1: Porcelain tile (on closeout price!)
Pic2: Home Depot slate
Pic 3: Kitchen layout

Day 13: Back into it

2010-03-04T20:22:00.000-06:00

Wednesday we were allowed back into the house again & Brad started into the library, removing some of the old plaster and working on the rough plumbing for the bath.
Abby has been hanging out at the house during the day. She's still not used to the place especially with all the construction noises and things going on, but I think she likes the view out the front door.

On Wednesday the wood floor guy checked out the floors to see what we could do. They've been sanded before & there's not much thickness left. We should be OK with doing a lighter sanding, then staining. Going forward, we'll have to make sure the varnish is kept up, since the floor probably couldn't go through another round of refinishing.

Today after work I took down the acoustic tile in the entry hallway ceiling.

Pic 1: Abby "A hall with a view"
Pic 2: Hallway ceiling after taking the tiles down
Pic 3: My sweet Lowes deal (a $250 pedestal sink and $140-ish? faucet for $135...I'm a happy girl)

Decisions, decisions!

2010-03-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

While I was barred from entering the house (asbestos & mold abatement), I tried to get some of the design decisions straightened out. First I headed over to the tile store, along with Home Depot & Lowes. I'm set on both of the bathroom tile combinations, but still undecided on the kitchen backsplash.
I also headed down to IKEA near Detroit to check out their kitchen cabinets & pick up the bookshelves for "the library". I really like the quality & options they have. Pretty awesome for the price!
Opinions wanted, please!
1) Pebble stone backsplash, or glass subway tile? (Bottom left or bottom middle pic) This would be going with one of the white cabinets and a darker stained butcher block countertop.
2) IKEA cabinets; trying to decide between 1 of 3 white cabinets at IKEA (middle pic). The left and right ones are plain glass, the middle is textured (as seen in the left, center row pic)

Days 6-11: Asbestos & Mold Abatement

2010-03-04T19:57:00.000-06:00

So here's what asbestos & mold abatement bought...
The guys came in on Thursday of last week & started into the kitchen and bath. The kitchen had old asbestos tile, the bath had some nasty mold under the layers of wall board and flooring. Both ended up being a bigger job than expected, but George & his guys at Mold Matters did an awesome job. They were there through this Tuesday, taking the bathroom down to the studs to make sure we got all the nastiness.
These areas that hadn't been opened up in a while are lacking in insulation, so it will be nice to do it right & put up fresh drywall before doing the rest of the bath.
Taking the walls down that far exposes some funny things. In the top pic you'll see a couple boards attached to the wall that go nowhere & appear to serve no purpose. There's also a nice window header with no support on one side. (Also, check out my sweet Lowe's deal: a display sink they'd just taken down: a $250 pedestal sink w/ nice faucet ($140-ish?) for $135.)
It was also fun to see that the bathroom sink has been in at least 2 other spots over the years. When looking at finished walls, I feel like they're sacrosanct and that I'm somehow messing with the history of the house to change or move them. But somebody moved the sink, somebody took out a window on the west wall, and at one point there had been a door to the library (2nd pic), which doesn't exist currently.
So I don't feel so badly about shortening the windows in the kitchen to make it more functional. (c:
Speaking of the kitchen, that looks pretty different without the floor and cabinets.
Again, there are at least 3 other locations where the sink has been. And with the move I'll be making to under the window, this will be the 4th!

Pic 1: Looking into the downstairs bathroom (Tub is normally under the window. It is currently residing in the living room)
Pic 2: Standing in the Library, looking through the old doorway to the bathroom that's framed out for a medicine cabinet. Abby looking emo.
Pic 3: Abated asbestos floor in kitchen.
Pic 4: Kitchen w/ no cabinets & a naked floor

Day 5: What happens when Allie is left unsupervised...

2010-02-24T20:43:00.002-06:00

So the other day I wanted to see what was going on under the floor in the kitchen. You know, because that loose flap of linoleum was just sitting there, hanging there over the edge of the stairs, taunting me. That one was so easy to pull up, so I grabbed my trusty crowbar and pulled up the 3/4 inch of particle bard. Under that were dark tiles with a thick paper/tar backing, then wood subfloor. Hmmm... not the pristine, finished wood floors I was hoping for.

After a bit of googling, I realized I'd probably uncovered the original asbestos tiles installed in the early part of the last century. Oops. Well, at least I didn't crumble it up my hands and sniff it!

So a call to asbestos remediation later...and yeah, it's hard core asbestos. I'm going to have them remove it rather than just covering it up again.

So in other news that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I got all the drop ceiling down in the kitchen.

Pictures:
1. Asbestossy mess
2. Drop ceiling ugliness
3. Oooh. Eight feet of exposed wall beauty.

What I learned:
When in doubt, wear the respirator.

Day 4: !!!REDRUM

2010-02-24T20:13:00.001-06:00

Had some internets issues yesterday, so two updates today. Yesterday I muscled down most of the wood paneling in the library. The paneling stopped where the drop ceiling was, so it all needed to go before the drywall can go up.

Pictures:
1: Before
2: blocked in piping for upstairs bathroom
3: exposed wall next to window

What I learned today:
Close your mouth before yanking on nails in old plaster.
The idea of painting this room dark brown/practically black was definitely out after feeling how much of a black hole it was with the exposed walls.

Day 3: Elvis called, he wants his bathroom back

2010-02-22T18:31:00.003-06:00

Today Brad, contractor extraordinare, came over & we made a game plan for doing the renovation. Then the rest of the afternoon we did demo, starting with the downstairs bathroom. He did some of the bigger things I don't know how to do myself (removing toilet, shutting off water & removing sink) while I starting pulling down the wall paneling.
I'm noticing a trend with surfaces in this house. Seems that every previous owner has added a layer of paint (or 2 or 10), flooring, wall, or ceiling without removing the one that came before it. The result over the 99 years is that there are about 15-20 layers of paint/wallpaper in the living room and so many laers of paint on the moldings that all the detail is lost. The bathroom follows suit, with enough layers of wall board that they're flush with the 3/4 inch molding around the door. I'm bucking the trend by taking it down to the original wall, which we'll re-drywall in this room.
So the top layer board is likely the 80's reno: cream pressed tile board w/ little blue flowers. Kinda country/Dutch tile look. This was painted white more recently. Under that is a snazzy beige/gold board that was both on the walls and the ceilings (see second picture). A disco light and some LSD and this bathroom would have been trippin' back in the day. Under that is the original plaster with some interesting colors (lavender bathroom (ceiling, walls AND trim), anyone?) - made more vibrant by the pretty gross mold. It isn't currently damp, but I called over the mold guy to check into it anyway.

Pictures:
One: "As is" when I moved in
Two: From the same vantage point, mid demo
Three: snazzy ceiling
Four: privacy wall from the tub/toilet side.

Things I've learned so far in this house:

Fiberglass is the "no-seeum" bug of the remodeling world. You can't see it, but it hurts like a bitch.
You can destroy just about anything with a crowbar and hammer.

"What evil lurks behind drop ceilings," or, "Oh, that's why they did that."

2010-02-21T16:58:00.003-06:00

I loathe drop ceilings.
I don't know why. Maybe it's because I associate them with office buildings or finished basements. But I knew I didn't want them in my house. Luckily, there are only two offending rooms in the house: the kitchen and the little room off the dining room which I plan to make my library. I could say that it's going to be "the den" or "the office", but "the library" just sounds sweet. And those 14 boxes of books in the storage unit have to go somewhere.
So today I took all the drop-ceiling tiles out so I could see just what was going on behind the scenes. The kitchen wasn't too bad, other than one corner that had some water damage. It looks like old damage, but I'll check with Brad-the-awesome-contractor tomorrow to make sure. I was happy there's electric in the ceiling where I wanted it. The ceiling was likely put up in 1980, based on the pristine extra tile sitting up there, wrapped in 1980 newspaper. Did you know that Jimmy Durante died?

The library is a little more problematic. From what I can tell, the ceiling and wood paneling went in around the same time. The paneling only goes up to the drop ceiling; above that is some iffy plaster/wallboard and plaster lathe. I'm guessing this remodel also put in the upstairs bathroom (PVC pipe). I'll get the real scoop from Brad on what's to be done tomorrow.

My new adventure

2010-02-21T16:55:00.001-06:00

And the reason I won't be getting much, if any, stitching or knitting done in the next couple months:
I bought a house in TC. It's really cute, and I'm in love with it...with a few exceptions (You're perfect, now change!) The layout is great and I fell in love the tall ceilings and the way the rooms on the main floor open into each other. The previous owners made some nicer, expensive, but non-cosmetic improvements like a new roof, water heater, and replacing some of the old windows.
So I get the fun of doing the insides in a way that, hopefully, stays true to the house while still making it look nice. The house was built in 1911, making this it's 99th birthday. It'll have to get a Smucker's shout-out from Willard Scott.
The realtor spec sheet says it's a Victorian, but other than a little gable trim on the outside, it doesn't look much like one. It could be that when they put on the aluminum siding that something got lost, or just the way it's always been. In my research on Victorian houses, there are some non-gingerbread-y, not so over the top sorts, which mine is probably like. So I'm thinking of simple American decor, nothing too over the top Victorian, and nothing too modern.
I closed on the house Friday, and yesterday Dad & I took some tools over so I could get going.
From here on out, I'll be showing a bits of what I'm doing and learning along the way!

Break out the tundra gear!

2009-12-11T18:09:00.001-06:00

Northern Michigan held off on dishing out the chilly goods until after the Thanksgiving holiday, but it's fully winter now! Even Abby the dog has been balking at going out unless she really needs to go out. Between the several foot tall snow drifts and bitter winds, it's been really nice to stay in and work on crafty things.
I'm nearly finished with the little neck gaiter/smoke ring for my sister and I started on some little fingerless gloves for me!

Still here!

2009-11-17T06:31:00.001-06:00

Heh. So much for updating my blog more often! ;-)

I'm now living in beautiful Traverse City, MI, having made the move from Chicago burbyland. It's beautiful up here & my new job is working out well so far. I'm starting to get involved in things around town, so will hopefully develop some new friendships along the way.

Beatrix Potter is still getting a bit of work; just a couple motifs left to go before it will be finished.
While ignoring BP, I've been doing more knitting and learning a lot along the way. I finished my first little sweater (for my Cousin's little boy). I started a little burgandy neck gaiter for my sis, too.

This weekend was beautiful & I got out for a hike with Abby the Dog & Dad. I also got around to dying the lace for my sister's bridal veil. I was worried about something going horribly awry, which caused me to procrastinate on doing anything with it, but I'm happy with how it turned out (cream. not horribly yellowed or tan). Next up will be attaching it to the tulling (is that a word?). Wish me luck!

So many updates!

2009-05-30T16:35:00.004-05:00

Geez, you'd think I'd be better about posting more frequently, but I'm not!

Just a few updates of things I've been doing recently...
I grabbed one of the motifs from the Beatrix Potter sampler and made a cover for a journal using Loreta's awesome notebook tutorial. I gave this to my Mom for Mother's Day (she loves pink!).

I've also been working on Primitive Needle's ABC Hornbook. I'm using the recommended 40ct "Earthen" linen from PTP and gob and gobs of Week's threads. Really, I don't know why I don't use threads from my stash that are close to the colors they call for. I just feel compelled to use what they call for, even when my wallet doesn't like it!

Lastly, I'm still plugging away on the Beatrix Potter sampler that I'm doing with the SAL group. This month I've made a lot more progress and I think I'm a little less than half done, so I should be on track to finish it this year!

I noticed two things on the software that came with my webcam: one was a motion detection program, which may finally answer the question "What does Abby the dog do when I'm not home?", and second was a time-lapse option. I tried it out while I was stitching on the ABC Hornbook. I think it would be cool to show the progress on a whole project, but in reality I think this will be the extent of my foray into time-lapsing my own stitching. (c:

Where have I been?

2009-03-29T19:23:00.004-05:00

Goodness, it's been almost 2 months since I've updated my blog! Lots of crazy things going on the past couple of months - the biggest that my BF/fiance of 3+ years and I broke up...that's my big excuse & I'm sticking to it!
So I've been engaged in reading lots of self help classics & holing up, you know, the standard post-breakup fare.
Now I'm doing pretty well and stitching a bit more.
Saturday I went down to meet my sister & her guy in the city. Arriving home in the afternoon, it started raining and with the evening temperature drop there was about an inch of snow on the ground. This morning I woke to a beautiful blanket of snow! It was a nice last taste of winter.

By early afternoon the sun had come out and I got to watch dozens of birds hang out at the bird feeder while I stitched.

I finally got the chart for the last section of the Mystery Sampler from BBD, so I started working on that this week. Poor Beatrix Potter has been much neglected, but I did finish one big motif this month. The last pic is of a finished DT "Woodland Walk". As part of my recent re-decorating, I put up a wire curtain rod in the 2nd bedroom from which I can hang my stitched pieces and watercolors. It's kinda fun to see some of the finished things I haven't gotten around to framing!

Woodland Walk

2009-02-09T22:25:00.000-06:00

Bouncing between BBD's Mystery Sampler and the Beatrix Potter sampler, I wanted to add something a little different, so I started Drawn Thread's Woodland Walk. It's going very quickly & makes me realize why DT is one of my favorite designers - her mix of different specialty stitches, in addition to pretty designs, make these so much fun to work on. Hopefully I'll have the rest of it finished before the weekend!

3 down, 2 more to go!

2009-02-01T23:01:00.001-06:00

I plugged away at the 3rd section of Blackbird Design's Mystery Bonus sampler, finishing it this morning. I learned something new about historical samplers when trying to figure out why there was no letter "J" charted on the sampler. Poking around the interwebs, I learned that prior to the mid 1700s, "U" and "J" weren't commonly used and were often left off of samplers. I thought that was kind of a cool explanation, so I modified the chart a little more and removed the "U", filling the space by making the "W" full size instead of over-one as charted.
Next up in my stitchy rotation is the Beatrix Potter sampler...so that will be fun to work on this week!

Framing fun...

2009-01-29T22:13:00.001-06:00

Last weekend I picked up a couple of frames that came in. After fiddling with the stretching, I got them both pretty straight. I never seem to notice some of the little bits that are off until I've finished putting everything together!

Bent Creek "All in a Row"

Heart's Content - Splendor IX

Still plugging away on part 3 of the Mystery Sampler!

Monday Morning Question

2009-01-26T15:32:00.002-06:00

This Monday question comes from a forum I like to frequent:

If you could take any class you wanted, in any subject, what would you choose to learn about?

Oh, there are so many things to learn about!!

There were two classes I really wanted to take in college, but never did because of time/prerequisites. I'd really like to take a philosophy class on Existentialism. I took the Pre-Hellenistic & Ancient philosophy class (and, big geek, was the only one with 100% on the final!) which was a pre-req, but couldn't fit the next into my schedule. I could probably read the books on my own, but I would miss the Professor's perspective on interpretation and how the beliefs fit into history.
The other I would like to take would be an astronomy course. All the classes at Michigan State required lots of math and physics. I'd really like to find one that is geared toward a beginner. I love the feeling of seeing so many stars in a dark sky. It makes me feel very small - both in relative size and in just how little we know about our world. There's a great book called "Just 6 Numbers" if you like having your mind boggled!
I also think it would be fun to do a hands on course: a stained glass class or artisan breads. I've been getting into bread making recently, and would love to know how to make some of those beautiful French loaves.

What would you want to take a class in?

Wee bit more of the Mystery

2009-01-14T22:23:00.000-06:00

I'm still chugging along on the Blackbird Designs Mystery Sampler. I can't wait to see what the last section of the sampler looks like!

It's been soooo cold here in Chicagoland. I don't think our furnace has had much of a break in the last few days with temperatures hovering around 0 degrees.

Progress on BP

2009-01-07T07:52:00.001-06:00

I'm having so much fun working on this project! I didn't get started until Jan 2, but I sat down with BP & the movie "Miss Potter", which was kind of cute (Rene Zellweger & Ewan McGregor). Beatrix comes off as a bit of a kook in the movie, which was really different from the impression I got from her biography. She was an advanced amateur naturalist, making many watercolors of rare mushrooms & even posited a theory of lichens & fungi that turned out to be true years later.

So back to the stitching (c: ...I chose a 36ct Creme Brulee linen from R&R with WDW Lancaster Red. I think I'll use GAST "Nutmeg" for the accent (all the colors have a bit more of a yellow tone than the picture does).

I started with 2 threads over 2, but it was too chunky looking, so I frogged it & went with 1 thread over 2. I've asked over at the HP SAL (http://nbpq.blogspot.com/) whether people are using their own initials, or those in the chart. I'm still noodling it over, but I'm leaning toward using those of our family.

Finished with CDC & some other progress pics

2009-01-04T23:23:00.001-06:00

Guess I took some blogging vacation in addition to my work vacation! Luckily, I did get some stitching time in. My original plan was to wrap up some ornaments, then finish Cirque before New Year's so I could start the Beatrix Potter Ackworth sampler. But, the best laid plans...so I didn't finish by New Year's, but I finished New Year's Day. This completes Cirque & makes it my first finish of 2009!

Ink Circles' - Cirque des Cercles
Caron Waterlilies "Monsoon" on R&R 32ct "Weathered Barn"

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I also spent a bit more time on Blackbird's "Mystery Sampler", finishing the 2nd part. The biggest mystery for me is "When will the last part be released?" I love how this one is turning out & I can't wait to get the next 2 sections done.

Blackbird Design's "Mystery Sampler"
WDW & GAST on WDW "Straw" linen

On Jan 2, I started Beatrix Potter's Ackworth School sampler. I'm doing this one with the ladies over at the BP SAL. I'm thinking if I do a minimum of 2 motifs a month, I'll have it finished by the end of the year. For anyone else doing this one; are you keeping the initials as is, or are you switching them out with your own? Drew's sister K gave me a Beatrix Potter biography that I'm really enjoying. It's fun to learn about the woman behind the books & makes me feel more connected to the sampler.

Needlepoint Inc - Beatrix Potter's Ackworth Sampler
WDW "Lancaster Red" on 36ct R&R Creme Brulee linen (1 over 2)

So much SNOW!

2008-12-19T09:51:00.000-06:00

We're still getting dumped on here in Chicagoland - we think we have 9" here so far!
The road is a bit past the little pine tree. Drew is having fun snowblowing!

Abby says "On second thought, I can hold it!"

Christmas Gifties

2008-12-17T21:34:00.003-06:00

Oooh...lots of little Christmas gifts going out the door! Each year I resolve to get all the ornaments & goodies done months ahead of time & each year I end up throwing things together at the last minute in not-quite-the-way-I-imagined. Damn you, procrastination!!!

The first pic here is a little ornament and a loaf of YUMMY cranberry bread for one of my work friends.

Ornament from JBW's Advent Calendar

Fancy Work's Nature Sings from 2005 JCS Ornament issue

(Our tree makes me so happy. I just want to stare at it for hours)

JBW's Starry Night

Here's my bit of progress on the Mystery Sampler from Blackbird Designs. I'm partway through the 2nd section & I'm having a lot of fun with this one!

Holiday decorations & some stitching...

2008-12-07T16:10:00.002-06:00

Within the past 2 weeks, Chicagoland has decided "It's WINTER!" and we're doing our best to keep up! I slapped some pretty bows on a couple wreaths to put on our front door - here's Abby modeling them. The model is thinking "Yeah, I'm really cute. Now put down the darn camera & let me in! It's COLD out here!"

We picked out our Christmas tree, and got it decorated. Note to self: check size of base before buying a 10' tall tree. We came out to a fallen down tree & some broken ornaments after putting this monster up. Drew wired it to the wall so we won't have a repeat. Could I also say how pleasantly surprised we've been with the price and quality of trees at Home Depot?

On to the stitching!

These Blackbird Designs projects are so fun to work on - I can't believe the first part of the Mystery Sampler is already complete! Drew & I both love how this one is turning out. I think I'll get back to Cirque and some ornies before starting on part 2.
In other (non)news, I've been meaning to mention a movie that I really liked - "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not". It's more fun to know less going into it, so I won't say much about it other than that it's a love story from his & her viewpoints. If you like a great story with a twist & don't mind foreign films (Ex DH: "You mean I have to READ it?" he he) then this is an interesting one.

Thanksgiving week stitching

2008-12-02T11:59:00.002-06:00

I pretty much went off my stash diet this past week - it all started when I saw the Blackbird Designs Mystery sampler & fell in love with it. So I now have parts 1-4 and the fabric (WDW "Straw) and threads to finish it. I wonder when they'll release the last part? As I went to pick up my needle, I noticed that the alphabet has no "I", I wonder if that's an oversight, or a common sampler thing I just don't know about. (c:

Since I was there...I might as well also get fabric & threads for the Beatrix Potter SAL that will start in January. I picked R&R Creme Brulee & WDW Lancaster Red to do that one with. I'm really looking forward to starting it.

Over the past week, I also worked on CDC, finally getting to the bottom right corner. And I did two of the JBW Advent calendar pieces, which I'm going to give away as ornies. I have a bow charm for the wreath, but can't find it right now!

3 Pages Down!

2008-11-17T23:36:00.002-06:00

I have 3 pages of Cirque des Cercles finished (plus some parts of the last 3 pages). So I just have the border circles on the bottom half to go! I have almost 2 full skeins of thread, so I'm hoping that will be enough. If not, it will be a dye lot crap shoot since my LNS is out of this color (Waterlilies "Monsoon").
In other stitching news, I got my e-copy of the Beatrix Potter Ackworth School sampler to work on with the SAL group, come January. Not sure what colors I'll use, but after all the blues, aquas in CDC, you can bet it won't be in the blue family!
Drew & I hung out at home for a few days last week while he recuperated from foot surgery. I pictured stitching the time away, but we rented Fallout 3 & I have to say, I'm kind of addicted to that game; Drew & I have been taking turns with it all weekend & it's a very intense game (creepy to play at night!). It's set in the post-nuclear wasteland of Washington DC a few hundred years after a war. You're trying to find your father after leaving your bomb shelter & run into all kinds of creepies along the way (mutants, ghouls, irradiated scorpions, etc.). If you're near water, these crab men "Mucklurks" come after you. A couple came out while Drew was playing and he yelled "Aaah! The crab cakes are chasing me!" and, after blowing them away, "I don't like it when food chases me. You should be crab rangoon."

Flow of Circles

2008-11-10T23:16:00.000-06:00

Have you ever heard of that term "flow"? In a management class at grad school, they talked about this mythical "flow" where you become completely engaged in something and time just melts away...they described it as this thing that if you found it in your work, you'd never really WORK again because that feeling is so profoundly rewarding in & of itself. Most often people describe this in relation to religion, music, gaming or coding...I get it sometimes at work when working on stat models or pulling complex data.

Saturday night I was flowing with Cirque - I wanted to finish the middle circles & the border along the top - I sat down seriously with it around 9:30 & was completely flabbergasted when I got up to go to bed and realized it was 3:15am. The next day (for the first time in quite a while) I slept in until noon!

This weekend Drew & I went over to Welcome Stitchery in Crystal Lake, IL where I got to buy some stash! (Highly recommended store if you're ever in the area - and Benedict's around the corner is a yummy place to grab lunch) I restrained myself from buying any new charts, but I got lots of pretty fibers & embellishments for things I'm working on. They only had one more skein of the Waterlilies (Monsoon) I'm using for Cirque, so I'm a little concerned about having enough to finish with (at least using the same dye lot). I have 2 full skeins + what's on the little thread winder in the photo above. Do you think that will be enough to finish with? Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Autumn is here

2008-11-03T19:23:00.002-06:00

It was a beautiful fall day here - the leaves are falling and the colors are really pretty. I love spring and fall, unfortunately they always go by too quickly! Here's a pic from the yard and thru the window in our family room:

I did finish a couple more ornaments this weekend:

Fancy Work - Nature Sings

2005 JCS Ornament Issue

JBW - Starry, Starry Night

1998 JCS Ornament Issue

So for my goals for October were mixed, but I'm happy with what I got done:

Finish top border and small circles on Cirque Nope
Finish big center circles on Cirque Nope
Complete filling on both lambs in "Outstanding in their Field" Nope
Finish "Toi et Moi" Yes
Complete stitching on at least 2 Christmas ornies Actually, 4!
Start a new big project Yes, Mirabilia's Adia
Put together Gentle St. Nick Christmas stocking Yep, it's done
Get iTunes to Airport to LR speakers working Yes, and it's so nice to be able to play music and not watch the boob tube (c:

This "goals" thing seems to be working out for me! So for November:

Finish top border and small circles on Cirque
Finish big center circles on Cirque
Complete filling on both lambs in "Outstanding in their Field"
Complete stitching top of Adia's dress
Finish 3 more ornaments

mmm...Brains

2008-10-28T14:19:00.002-05:00

A cool mind test from Chris:

1) Click the link below:http://flashfabrica.com/f_learning/brain/brain.html
2) Most of the website is in Japanese, ignore that. Click "START".
3) Wait for the 3, 2, 1 countdown. At the end of the countdown, various numbers will flash in the box.
4) Try to memorize the positions of the numbers and, when the circles appear, click on the circles in order of the numbers, going from lowest number to largest number. At the end, the age of your brain will be displayed.

My brain is somewhere between 29 & 32 years old, which is pretty good since I'm 31 (and a half!!). I played twice and got 29 on my second shot.

3 Little finishes

2008-10-27T08:12:00.002-05:00

I just KNEW I'd started some other ornies that were in varying stages of completion, so I went through my different project hiding spots: the big Vera Bradley bag, and my 2 sewing baskets and found them. Finding partially completed ornaments is like finding $20 in last year's winter coat!

I'll try to complete some of these before X-mas. Last week I started M Design's Bluebird - he's pretty cute in his hat! The Brittercup ornie is one of the "leftovers" that I finished last night, and I finally put the lettering into Toi et Moi, so that's done now, too!

There are 2 more partially completed ornies to wrap up, then I'll have to get going on some new starts!

M Designs - Bluebird of Christmas Happiness - 2008 JCS Ornament Issue

Brittercup Designs - Home for Christmas 2005 JCS Ornament Issue

Isabelle Haccourt Vautier - "Toi et Moi" freebie

But Mom, Can't you tell it's a FAIRY?

2008-10-23T07:25:00.002-05:00

Mirabilia's Adia the Garden Fairy

Tuesday night I started Adia. I obviously haven't gotten much done! The picture reminded me a bit of drawings little kids will bring you "Look what I drew! Guess what it is!" ummm...er..."Mommy, it's a FAIRY!"

Winner of the floss toss: Willow Green

2008-10-20T22:51:00.001-05:00

About a year ago, I bought some pretty yellow-ish Graziano linen to do Mirabilia's Adia on. Taking it out over a year later, I don't know what I was thinking! The yellows in her dress totally compete with the other linen. I used my super-nerdy stitching database and found a couple other pieces of fabric in my stash that would fit - I settled on the Willow green linen which seems to pick up the greens nicely and complements the yellows. The photo looks more beige, and it's more sage green in person. I haven't put a stitch in it yet, but I've pulled my colors. I'll need to get some more Kreiniks & I only bought about half the treasures for this before (those suckers are expensive!)

Anyway, something to look forward to for tomorrow!
My thumbs are sore from playing Lego Indiana Jones. Stitching should be a good break (c:

A QUICK Finish!

2008-10-19T22:28:00.009-05:00

Bent Creek - All In A Row
DMC on Putty Belfast

Well this felt good! I started a project on Friday & finished it on Sunday. That hasn't happened at all recently - I even have a couple of ornaments that I started for LAST Christmas.

On Friday I wanted to start something new & showed Drew a couple of things I was thinking of. Then I remembered the Bent Creek "All in a Row" pattern I bought last year. Drew saw this in the stitching store - he's in love with fonts and we think this will look really cool on our big bookshelf. I did this over 1 on 32 ct. Putty fabric. I couldn't believe how quickly it went!

We had a good mix of productive and lazy this weekend - cleaned the house & made some really good meals for the week. (Including my favorite "Reindeer Soup"- includes no reindeer - but chicken, wild rice and mushrooms in a creamy chicken broth. Yum!). Our lazing about mostly included me stitching and both of us playing Lego Indiana Jones. The developers have a great sense of humor, with lots of inside jokes and puzzles you have to solve to move through the game.

This is Abby the Dog surveying the driveway from her lookout post. Yes, she's quite the lady with her paws crossed. (c:

Confirming the Obvious

2008-10-17T14:46:00.005-05:00

My Nerd/Geek/Dork street cred:

Pure Nerd
70 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record:A Nerd is someone who is passionate about
learning/being smart/academia.A Geek is someone who is passionate about some
particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.A Dork is someone
who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.You scored
better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Congratulations!

Test is here: http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-nerd-geek-or-dork-test

Weird Al's "White & Nerdy" is my ringtone. I already knew in my heart I'm just so white & nerdy.

One present down...

2008-10-16T19:15:00.001-05:00

Needle Treasures - Gentle St. Nick Kit

This past weekend Drew & I went up to Madison to watch our 5 week old nephew M. What a cutie! He was due for a feeding when we first arrived, and he had the best drunken baby look after he finished his bottle. He actually had the perfect stoner look with his full belly and sleepy eyes. :-b

Anyway, while we were up there, I got the materials I needed to finish the Gentle St. Nick stocking. (All the JoAnn fabrics near us have closed & the closest one is about an hour away!)

So Monday I put together the bulk of the stocking and last night I did the finishing work at the top. I kind of suck at putting stockings together. I took HomeEc in 7th grade and a quilting class in my 20's, but I've never really learned how to sew - I just put things together how it seems they ought to go and hope for the best! On both Drew's and this stocking, it ends up with these bad gathers on the back side. I'd guess it has something to do with the velvet shifting, or that the cording adds extra bulk to the inside when I'm sewing it. I did cut out little "darts" in the seam allowance, but I don't know what else to do. If anyone knows what causes this, or a way to avoid it, I'd be grateful!

I've finished all the stitching on my "Toilet Heart", but haven't figured out how to place the words so they don't bug me.

Stitch by stitch, row by row...

2008-10-08T08:14:00.001-05:00

I apologize for so many posts in a row on the same project! Some Christmas ornies should get worked in here soon just so this isn't so monotonous. (c:

I've been trucking along on CDC - and have almost finished the top row of circles. I've started my next to last skein of Caron Watercolors (Monsoon), so I'm thinking I'll definitely need more before the end of this project.

Check out my backside (c:

2008-10-01T15:35:00.006-05:00

Reading through the October issue of Just Cross Stitch, I came across an article on the neatness and "correct" techniques for the backs of projects. It started off with a quiz on how neat you keep your backs with everything from "I don't care" to "the front should look just like the back". I think mine are pretty tidy, but I don't really care unless it's something that's meant to be reversible. So I was kind of surprised that somebody might want the front to look just like the back, or would feel embarrased if another stitcher or family member looked at the back.

The article went on to detail how you should properly start/end threads (which I generally follow). Their rules for carrying or travelling threads were much more Draconian: No more than 3 stitches distance! Never carry over an unstitched area!

I take those "more like guidlines, really" to quote Pirates of the Caribbean, and for confetti stitches, I'll run under a bunch of completed work for what the JCS author would find obscene distances. (c:

I like suggestions for how to make my work better, but the hard and fast rule making rubs me the wrong way. I still remember the leader at my first EGA meeting, who looked at something I had nearly finished, said (quite seriously) "Now you should go back through the chart and make sure that each square was stitched exactly as charted and fix any errors." Yeah lady, I'll get right on that. The main "tree" section of that piece (left)had a million colors of green - like it was going to make a big deal if Green #10 was stitched in one square that Green #11 should have been!

Oh well, I'll keep stitching for my own enjoyment...and if my hypothetical grandkids toss my stitching because of the incorrectly carried threads or messy backs, so be it. (Not to say I wouldn't haunt them from my grave!!!)

October Goals

2008-10-01T15:30:00.005-05:00

Time just seems to slip by! In an effort to make some stitching progress, I'm going to see whether monthly goal making will work for me. So here goes:

October goals

Finish top border and small circles on Cirque
Finish big center circles on Cirque
Complete filling on both lambs in "Outstanding in their Field"
Finish "Toi et Moi"
Complete stitching on at least 2 Christmas ornies
Start a new big project
Put together Gentle St. Nick Christmas stocking
Get iTunes to Airport to LR speakers working

Wish me luck!

Weekend pics

2008-09-28T20:00:00.002-05:00

This weekend I got a lot done around the house. Procrastination didn't get the better of me (as it usually does) and I had the house cleaned on Friday evening. It's really nice to be able to relax in a clean house for the weekend!
The frogs attacked my Cirque project (grrr!), which required a good chunk of work to be pulled out. So sad to pull out so much pretty silk thread and it sure didn't help my lack of thread situation much!
I have a couple of pictures to share. The first was from Friday night when I let Abby the Dog out to do her evening round of the yard. Half an hour later I went to check on her, and she was chillin' on the plastic chair. When I first saw her, she was curled up with her head on the armrest, by the time I got the camera she was posing. (c: Abby is 7 and a half - she's starting to get quite a bit of grey around her muzzle.

I'm really enjoying our new place and love my stitching spot. I can look out the window or watch TV. Abby really likes her bed next to the window. (you can see a bit of her on the left). The last picture is where I am currently on Cirque. I've finished pages 1 & 2 and parts of 3, 4, and 5.

How much do you REALLY love crafting?

2008-09-23T16:29:00.006-05:00

This afternoon Drew sent me a link to this huge tattoo on an obviously dedicated crafter. The shading and detail on it is amazing! While I love me some craftin', I wouldn't want to display it on the entirety of my chest. (Besides, my cups runneth over, I don't need any more attention there!)
I've always been sort of under-the-radar unconventional and probably not the type to get a tattoo. But seeing this out-there display of crafting enthusiasm made me wonder what I would, if ever, permanently ink on my person. The first thing that popped to mind was the super-cool logo for Handmade Arcade. Obviously I love crafting and this is general enough that it could cover just about any area needlework or crafting I got into.

If it weren't propreitary, I'd so put this all over my blog and anywhere else that needed a picture or icon- I think it's so great; cute, crafty and a little edgy. Since I have no ink plans, I'll just have to wait for them to sell t-shirts!
What do you love so much that you'd display it on your skin? If you have a tattoo, how did you choose it?

Making Progress on Cirque des Cercles

2008-09-22T22:38:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, I worked on CDC, making a pretty good dent into page two (the top middle). I was happy I finished some of the big circular motifs in the center while working on page one, because it's making me feel like there's already a lot done on each page. I'd like to finish the top all the way across, and then maybe start something new. I'm trying to decide between Mirabilia's Adia, and L&L's In the Arm of an Angel. Decisions, decisions!

Over the weekend I also worked on some genealogy research - yes, all my hobbies are ones septuagenarians usually do. Anyway, I found out some cool things about one branch of my family. We knew that one of my ancestors, Edward Fuller, came here with his family on the Mayflower, but I found some additional information about him. He was believed to be one of the framers of the Mayflower Compact, based on his legal training as a barrister. I just thought that was about the coolest thing!

Broken record brain

2008-09-16T22:51:00.002-05:00

Many moons ago, in college at Michigan State, my super-cool roommate Anne and I shared an oh-so lovely dorm room in Holmes Hall.
I bought a fish tank in freshman year because I missed having a pet. Fish don't make great pets, but they were fun to watch. Anyway, said fish tank had a filter that would draw the water up, filter it, then send it back into the tank in a little waterfall. It had a pretty sound - like a really low end water feature. This white noise blended into the background of all the other dorm noises. One night, Anne mentioned that one of her friends had come into the room and pointed out how loud the water noise was, and gosh, how do you sleep with that at night? Although we never noticed it before, this became annoying once pointed out. Every night I'd fill the tank to the brim so that the once pleasant water bubbling was muted so as to not annoy the hell out of us every night.

So I'm stitching along on this pretty little French style heart - "You and me" - tres cute! Drew glanced at the chart over my shoulder and couldn't read what it said...
"Does that say 'toilet'?"
"No, it's 'Toi et Moi'"
"Oh, sorry, it looked like it was missing an "L" there"

Now all I can see is "toilet moi". Le sigh.

Back to CDC

2008-09-16T22:37:00.001-05:00

So I finished Santa the other day...what to do next? I think I'll wrap up a couple WIPs before starting something new (famous last words).

Tonight I pulled CDC back out after not stitching on it for quite a while. Man, do I love stitching with silks. I don't know what I did when calculating the number of skeins, but somewhere I was off. Based on the number of skeins of DMC the design called for, and the number of strands in the Caron silks, I thought I had bought enough and I'm pretty sure I was off by a long shot! I've gone through almost 2 skeins in the page and a half I've done and I have about 3-4 skeins left. Hopefully they still have this same dye lot at the store!

Didn't get home from work until 7:30, and still had some work to wrap up, so I only got about an hour of stitching done. Right now I'm working on the circle that's in the lower right of the picture. Can't wait to get more done tomorrow!

Happy Dancing with St. Nick

2008-09-14T19:36:00.000-05:00

It's been raining here in Chicagoland ALL weekend. At least it was a good excuse to sit on my tush all weekend and stitch! I did A LOT of stitching and finally finished the St. Nick stocking. I started this last summer, and then lost momentum and he was set aside for quite a while. This is for a special someone, so I hid the name ;-)

Needle Treasures' Gentle St. Nick

DMC on 28ct White Lugana

SBQ for w/o Aug 21st

2008-09-08T10:50:00.000-05:00

Catching up on some SBQ's!

This week's SBQ was suggested by Dawn(http://crafterscreations.blogspot.com/) and is:

If you had to choose, would you rather spend money on overdyed floss or hand-dyed fabric?

The permalink to this post is:http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/08/sbq-fabric-and-floss/

First off, I love both hand dyed fabric and floss! Fabrics I tend to buy with a specific project in mind, but I do find them to be more versatile and I have fun seeing what project might work with a fabric. Flosses aren't quite so exciting to me because most of the time I use them when they're called for in a chart, so while I think they're pretty, I don't get the same creative feeling from them. So I'd go with the hand dyed fabrics!

Gentle St. Nick Update

2008-09-07T23:19:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple updates on Needle Treasures' "Gentle St. Nick". The top picture is from a couple weeks ago, before I finished the snow covered pine tree on the right. The picture below shows the finished tree and the start of my backstitching. Starting from the top, I've been completing all the remaining stitches and backstitching my way down. I'm filling the snowflake spots with Kreinik cord - one of the opalescent whites. I still have some stitching on the bottom to complete; both trees continue to the lower part of the stocking. There's a motif with a bird and some holly in the "toe" of the stocking.
Drew thinks he's lovely (I do too), but in future stockings, I think I'll be careful to pick ones with less background stitching. It's been sort of tedious/boring and I've had a hard time motivating myself to finish this one. It's nearing the end though, and I can't wait until hes' made into a real stocking!
We had a really fun weekend - Drew and I made Thai curry on Friday night with squash, zucchini, and some shrimp in a coconut/cream sauce with green curry. Yum!
Saturday we just relaxed - stitching (me), napping, reading, and computer gaming. Have I mentioned that I'm addicted to The Sims? Sims3 is coming out next February and it looks like they're going to fix one of my major gripes about the game: once you're on a lot (like your Sim's house), it's a pain to go other places. It looks like the new game will be more realistic in having an open plan to walk around the neighborhood. Gee. I'm 31 and I'm playing dollhouse! This totally feeds my need to micromanage (c:

Anyway, on Sunday we drove up to Milwaukee to see Drew's sister J, her hubby P and their week old baby boy M. M is adorable and two year old A is an awesome older brother. Drew's boys were also there and it was fun to see all the grandkids in one place! They got a great picture of GreatGrandpa K with all 5 great-grands on the couch.

New Start

2008-09-07T22:59:00.001-05:00

This is Teresa Layman's "Outstanding in their Field". I've been wanting to start this for a while and I was kinda dreading all the backstitching that's left on Gentle St. Nick. :b Drew fell in love with this when we were at a stitching store, and I decided to try it even though I usually hate French Knots.
Yes. The whole design is filled with French and Colonial Knots! It's done on a weaver's cloth with the design drawn on. You do the design in a specific order, doing the detail areas first and then filling in the bigger spaces; very similar to punch needle. Well, I'm really getting the hang of those freakin' french knots now! I think I hated them so much because I was wrapping too many times around the needle and they looked "floppy". The instructions with this said you should make bigger knots with more plys of thread. Each of these knots are done with one ply, so they're pretty small. With this many knots in a small area (2000/square inch!) one weird looking one doesn't stand out too much.

Finished Brightneedle's "Welcome"

2008-09-07T22:40:00.000-05:00

I've got pictures! Here are a couple updates. I did the finishing on Brightneedles' "Welcome", which was a Birthday gift for my future MIL, Kathleen. I used some mounting board, covered with batting to attach the linen on the front and did the same with some complementary fabric on the back. I hot glued the two boards together and then wrapped some grosgrain ribbon around the edge. I think it turned out cute!

Flickr Meme

2008-08-28T15:02:00.001-05:00

I found this over on blondelibrarian's blog and I thought it would be fun:

The rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
The Questions:

What is your first name? Allison

What is your favorite food? Thai

What high school did you go to? Dow High

What is your favorite color? Purple

Who is your celebrity crush? Jason Statham

Favorite drink? Chardonnay

Dream vacation? Sweden

Favorite dessert? Chocolate Cake

What you want to be when you grow up? Joyful

What do you love most in life? Family

One word to describe you: Thoughtful

Your flickr name: cheeto (Not flickr, but my blogger name)

Learning to entertain...

2008-08-08T15:42:00.001-05:00

I was just thinking about my Mom who does all the gardening/decorating/entertaining of Martha Stewart, but is nicer.
She hosts a number of parties over the course of the year - some summer garden parties, a big holiday party for all their friends, and my favorite, her Chinese New Year party, which includes about 12 people - each bringing their favorite read from the past year to discuss.
My Mom, prior 1st grade teacher, next to never swears, but just before one of her parties this happens, and 16 years later it still makes me laugh:

Mom is still in her bathrobe with curlers in hair about 10 minutes before party start time, stirring boulaibaise on the stove and doing about 10 other things. She's giving my sister, A, and I directions, as we're telling her JUST GO GET READY! Mom says: A, can you put our purses in the laundry room? And put these drinks in the freezer?

The laundry room has spare fridge for overflow goodies. Mom runs off to put her clothes on, dashes back through and goes into laundry room to retrieve the desserts.

"SHIT!!!"

She finds that A has tossed the purses on top of two pies, crushing them. One of them has some sort of meringue topping, the other is lost to memory. Then she goes into a sort of Stuart Smalley/Martha with tourettes trance in which she mutters, under her breath: "Fuck.....fuck....fuckfuckfuck....I'll fix it, it will be fine, no-one-will-notice." "I'll just whip this around here like THAT." And she was right - no one noticed.

Out of touch and Friday Feast

2008-08-04T12:11:00.001-05:00

Bad Allie - I've really not been good about updating my blog! Almost 2 mos since the last update! I really have been stitching (on the Santa stocking) and have lots of progress to share! In the meantime, I'll do last week's Friday Feast:

Appetizer - When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed?
Just before 4th of July. I'm really bad about doing it often enough. The cut before that was sometime in winter!

Soup - Name one thing you miss about being a child.
I've been feeling nostalgic the last couple weeks. I think it started when I was out in the yard and decided to lay down in the grass to take a break from mowing. It felt like such an age since I'd done that. When I lived in Miami, I would go lay in the grass before a thunderstorm (not sure that's safe/advisable) and watch the clouds roll in, then watch as the big drops began to fall. So I think I miss being excited to experience those simple pleasures that come with curiosity. I used to save bees from the swimming pool, setting them on the edge where the water would absorb into the hot concrete. I would look at them up close as they dried off, falling over until their wings were dry. I miss the details you notice when everything is new and other priorities aren't pulling you away.

Salad - Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.
Olive oil.

Main Course - If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?
Swedish - it would be fun to have a connection to my ancestors and maybe visit where they came from.

Dessert - Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…
36! and a Mom.

Zombie Santa is coming to town!

2008-06-11T08:21:00.001-05:00

Made some more progress on the Christmas stocking for a special someone. I started this last fall and would like to finish it this summer so he's ready to go to his new home for the Holidays!

He's looking kind of creepy right now - He actually makes me think of the cover to a Rob Zombie album! Anyway, after the gobs and gobs of red are finished, there's lots of background to be stitched.

I've also made (some) progress on CDC - finished the first page, plus a bit to finish up the first big circle. I'm not sure what the best way is to progress - I'm using silks & I don't like to crush them with the Q-Snaps (scrolls would have been unweildy with this size piece). I'm trying to decide whether I should complete each vertical section, going left to right, or do the top strip all the way across, and come back for the bottom strip. Kind of like whether you nibble your corn typewriter style, or spin it while eating vertically. I sure don't have much to complain about - the news is full of floods, earthquakes and tornados and I'm concerned about whether to stitch across or down!

SBQ for w/o April 3rd

2008-04-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Terri and is:

What items do you consider essential to your needlework that you keep in your stitching bag?

This is a fun one!
Obviously needle & thread...
Magnetic board & magnets to hold my chart
Yellow & Green highlighters: Yellow to highlight the color I'm doing, green to "cross it off" once those stitches are done.
Thread Heaven, especially if working with Metallics. It seems like my fibers lay better if I run them through TH first.
Pretty scissors on a fob. I love my Gingher & Dovos most.
Fiber Hider - I tend to use every bit of thread I can, so this is nice for finishing my ends

Feast #185

2008-03-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

Appetizer: What does the color dark green make you think of?
Forests

Soup: How many cousins do you have?
Just two! Guess we're not a very prolific family!

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?
About an 8. I most frequently lie about things to not hurt somebody's feelings or make something easier for myself (e.g. "I already have plans" when I don't want to go someplace)

Main Course: Name something that is truly free.
Things that aren't free: lunch, freedom, and Tibet. I thought about air, but I pay for an air purifier. Vistas, but I've had to pay to get into parks. I think cuddling is free (c:

Dessert: Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

I'm cheating with an ampersand:
"Spring Permeates, Reinvigorates & Incubates New Gardens"

SBQ for w/o March 27th

2008-03-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

This week's SBQ is: When you stitch a pattern that you have downloaded do you print outthe pattern or do you stitch directly from your computer screen?

The permalink to this post is: http://blog.blondelibrarian.net/archives/2008/03/sbq-downloads/

It never occured to me to stitch directly off the screen! I mostly stitch charts in my stash, but I do keep a file of freebies on my PC. When a project is ready to be kitted, I'll print the chart. My stitching nest doesn't have a good spot to balance my laptop, but does have a really good spot to hold my chart, so that would be difficult. Also, the laptop has one of those really shiny screens, and I like highlighting, so that setup wouldn't be ideal for me.

This picture is from our previous rental in Madison, but my setup is pretty much the same. I talked about it in an old post.

Feast #184

2008-03-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

Appetizer Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

I think it would kind of depend on the city. I could see living in Amsterdam, or one of those cities that have a lot of parks-I like being able to walk places when a city is well laid out. But I don't like feeling like I'm right on top of other people, so I prefer the space of the country. I think I could be quite happy living away from humanity, given high speed internet & access to a stitching store!

Soup Who is the cutest kid you know?

Well, babies have an unfair advantage, but I'd have to say Drew's niece Amelia. She's got the cutest little face & if she keeps this up, her Mommy & Daddy are going to have their hands full when she's a teenager. Of the non-baby variety, Drew's sons are really cute and it's fun to see features of their Dad manifest in different ways.

Salad Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

Um...I couldn't believe it when they said "it's not butter".

Main Course If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?
I don't know if it's a "product", but I'd love to be in a commercial for IKEA - most of their stuff is great, and if it involved a makeover of our place, I'd REALLY like it.

Dessert What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

I try to take a Women's multivitamin and a calcium chew, but I'm quite often forgetful.

Our new place!

2008-03-20T09:24:00.001-05:00

Thanks for well-wishes on our (rental) house hunt! They accepted our application & terms! We just have to sign the lease. (c:

Neighborhoods in ‘burby Chicago are varied; we ran across rents from $15,000 per month to $600 per month and commutes from 10 minutes to over an hour. We saw a three bedroom place that looked like a single family on the outside, but was split into 2 units; one of which held a family of 6+, a couple cats, some birds, and some fish in its’ 3 bedrooms. One of our biggest considerations was a yard for the dog. She gets rather miserable being constrained to a leash & you can almost see the puppy depression in her eyes for not having free squirrel-chasing reign over a yard.

We finally settled on a house in the country…I have to say it’s simply perfect for us! Well, almost perfect! It’s fugly as hell on the outside (complete with bad 70’s brick), the brick hearth is outdated, there’s a urinal in the master bath (!), and a teeny-tiny tub. But for a whopping $10 more than what we were paying for our under-insulated (burst pipes in the master bath!), 1200sq/ft, 2BR, 2BA, we’re getting a 2BR, 2.5BA, 1800sq/ft brick house, with a (blissfully dry) basement on 2.1 acres. Abby the Dog is going to be so psyched! Drew says “It’s going to be from famine to feast for the baby!” There’s also a pool, which is empty & covered right now; we may not do anything with it because of the maintenance cost/time.

While our apartment is really cosmetically nice, there’s something about having a yard, garage, and basement that we’ve really been missing. We love the wood floors, the kitchen makes our “foodie” hearts happy (granite counters, spacious cabinets, and gas stove), and the bedrooms are huge. The best part though is the yard – I just can’t wait for Abby to be able to run around and hassle the wildlife!
The past couple days have been rough – there’s this great hope that everything would work out, but this fear that it might fall through or we could jinx it somehow. I don’t think either of us has slept very well with visions of furniture configurations dancing through our heads. It will be fun, now that it’s settled, to think about how we want to make this house our home.

The top picture is of the living room; you first walk in through double doors opposite the french ones in the photo. I’m picturing this spot on the right of those doors for my stitching nest!

The next photo is of the back yard - the property is quite deep, that fence you see is a dog run. To the right is the pool.

The last photo is of the family/hearth room. It's taken from the kitchen, which is open to this room.

Progress!

2008-03-17T23:41:00.001-05:00

Made a little progress on CDC in the past few days. I'm having fun with the colors and like how it's coming along!

Last May I graduated from my MBA program and we moved down to Chicagoland to get settled before I started work. Due to a variety of factors, we ended up in an apartment, even though we really wanted to be in a place that had a yard. We've been anticipating the end of our lease here, hoping that we could end up in a house (still renting because of all the weirdness in the housing market). So we've been looking and finally run across a house we'd both really love to be in. We put in the rental application this evening, and hopefully beat anyone else to the punch. We're trying not to get our hopes up too much, but this place is perfect for us and we really hope it comes through! Please send good wishes our way!

Friday Feast # 183

2008-03-14T12:46:00.000-05:00

Appetizer: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

About an 8 or 9. It used to be really good (a college friend once told me she's want to study if she had my notes!) but it's deteriorated in the interest of speed.

Soup: Do you prefer baths or showers?

Showers. I like a really deep tub for baths and haven't lived someplace with one in quite a while.

Salad: What was the last bad movie you watched?

It don't know about most recent, but the most memorably bad movie I watched was "Even Dwarfs Started Small". It's a Werner Herzog movie, so it's one of those that people who want to act cool are supposed to like, especially since it's subtitled. (Check out some of the high ratings in Netflix & IMDB). It's a bunch of midgets who take over the asylum in which they're kept. Take a look at the clip & then multiply it by a few hours.

Main Course: Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

I love both the internet & stitching, but I can go for periods of time without having them. They affect my life because I devote both time and money (need high-speed internet!) to them.

Dessert: Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

Piano or Cello; and especially the combination of the two. They both have a range of expression & I like the mellow tones of the cello. I love Nick Drake's "Cello Song"

A finish & back to the circles

2008-03-14T09:07:00.000-05:00

My first finish didn't come until the middle of March, but my second finish is coming just days later! Brightneedle's "Welcome" stitched up quickly on 36ct Cream linen with DMC threads.

The colors in the picture are a bit off. (I wish I had a good spot to take pictures of things in natural sunlight!)

After seeing Juls' progress on Cirque, I really wanted to get back to it. I was kind of bummed because just after threading a new needle, I realized that I had made a mistake in the upper right circle the last time I worked on this. Not a very auspicious start! Anyway, it required some frogging before I could continue.

This project looks better to me from far away; up close it isn't all that impressive, but when I see it from across the room, I just love it! It's pretty fun to work with these beautiful silks, too. (Caron Waterlilies in "Monsoon")

A Spring Mood...

2008-03-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

After having my first finish of the year with Splendor IX, I thought about going back to Cirque des Cercles or my "Gentle St. Nick" stocking, but I felt like starting something new.

I decided to do Brightneedle's "Welcome" and love the soft colors on the higer count linen. I've actually gotten alot done on this since the picture, while being home sick with the flu. It's nice to work on a smaller project!

After starting this, I ran across Juls' progress picture of her Cirque. I love the colors she chose & am hoping mine turn out as nicely (I'm doing blues/aqua in Caron's Waterlilies "Monsoon").

Friday Feast #182

2008-03-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

Appetizer: If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

Natalie Portman because she's smart, travels internationally talking about microfinance loans, and she's incredibly beautiful, talented, and classy.

Soup: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
Probably a 3-4 - I don't really like talking on the phone unless I have to & would prefer to talk to somebody in person. Drew is one of the few people I can talk to for hours.

Salad: Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
I donated to a Chicago area labrador rescue group in our corporate charity drive this year. Abby & I found each other on a road where she had apparently been abandoned, which I'm grateful for. I'm glad that they find good homes for other labs.

Main Course: What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
Sushi or bagels & cream cheese.

Dessert: Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?
Yep - everybody except the dog has had it this year.

Literature Check

2008-03-10T17:10:00.000-05:00

I wonder what personality traits most stitchers have in common? It seems that most I've run into are pretty well-rounded and many are also readers (or maybe this is a subset of stitchers that are also into the internet/blogging?).

Based on the list below, I think I read a decent amount, but some of it is literary junk food. I think it's OK when it's in balance with the other things, but it still made me think about this bit Henry Rollins does on wanting to date a "reader" and the amount of Harry Potter books on my list! (NSFW language).
It also made me think about a statistic I heard that 80% of US families did not purchase or read a book last year, which makes me kind of sad. My family has always been into reading (the photo above is from my Grandpa's book shelf) and my Mom started teaching me when I was really little. I was a solitary kid and reading was (and is) one of my favorite ways to escape.

What are you reading now? What's a good book you'd recommend?
Right now I'm reading Cool It; it's basically a scientist's point of view that going after global warming won't have a very large impact and we'd be better off focusing our efforts (and money) on things we can actually change.
Two books I'd recommend are 1)Just Six Numbers and 2) Aztec. Just Six Numbers is about the forces in our universe that allow our planet to be here. It made my brain hurt to think in more than 3 dimensions and some of the interesting things that would happen if one of those "6 numbers" were tweaked slightly. I like it when my brain hurts! Aztec is amazing historical fiction (but really well researched) about the Mexica civilization before the Spanish arrived.

Michelle had this list over at her blog & she's another one of "them readers". Join in by looking at the list below:

Look at the list of (100) books below. Bold the ones you’ve read. Italicize the ones you want to read. Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. (Movies don’t count.)

1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Sharing my Stitching database

2008-03-09T23:16:00.001-05:00

In the comments on my stitching software post, a couple people mentioned they were interested in having a copy. Just e-mail me at allison dot hurd at gmail dot com & we can figure something out. It's a rather large file (~90MB) so I can send a disc if you'll reimburse me with cash or stash (c:

Finished Spledor IX

2008-03-09T23:11:00.000-05:00

This project wins the award for most hours logged with the magnifying glass. I really like how it turned out though, and I can't wait to get it framed.

I've admired a few of the Heart's Content designs, although I'm usually put off by the prices.

One thing I wasn't sure about: how do people sign these? Or do they? I don't think backstitching would work very well, and initials 'over-1' would be really big. I think I'll just write a note on the back of whatever frame I get.

Finished Splendor IX

2008-03-09T23:03:00.002-05:00

This project earns the award for most hours logged with a magnifying glass.

Stash Organization: Me & My Labler

2008-03-08T21:01:00.001-06:00

I've tried a few ways of organizing over the years & feel like the setup I have now works pretty well for me. When I lived in SC, I had a house with an extra bedroom - which of course meant my stash expanded to fill the space! Living in the Chicago area is pretty expensive - we pay 40% more for half the space - so I've reigned in my stash sprawl. Now it's consolidated to this wardrobe shelf, and a fabrics/finished projects box that sits on top.

On the left are a bunch of individual plastic shoe boxes that hold fabrics for finishing and different fibers. The drawers on the right hold supplies, knitting yarn, and framing supplies.

On top of the drawers are my bead containers. The bags on the far left hold my scroll rods and Q-snaps. Below that are some magazine holders. Below the shelf are my painting supplies and DMC thread box.

All my DMC threads go into a plastic box that's actually made for matchbox cars (I got mine in the toy section at Wal-Mart). It opens on both sides, and allows the bobbins to sit upright, so you can see the labels. I have another plastic shoe box full of extra skeins, organized into baggies by the hundreds (700's, 800's, etc).

My specialty fibers are in baggies with an index card & a label. Spools of Kreinik are in one of the smaller Plano boxes.

All my beads (both Mill Hill & for beading projects) are in watchmaker boxes. I love the how pretty they look in their little round containers. Each one can fit 2 packages of Mill Hill beads. (I ordered mine from Lee Valley - I like the large cases of 33mm) The containers themselves don't screw on, so they can pop open (you can pinch the sides of the bottom so the lid fits more snugly). After hearing horror stories of boxes falling down & beads going all over the place, I put elastic bands around each of the boxes & haven't had that problem! :)

I use an under bed storage box for my fabrics and finished pieces. All my charts fit into a plastic file box that goes under my desk. Having these things organized makes it much easier for me to find things and the wardrobe shelf keeps everything (relatively) compact. D. & I dream of a room that we can have our hobby space in. He really likes Lego, which takes up almost as much space in our apartment!

SBQ for w/o March 6th

2008-03-06T09:19:00.000-06:00

This week's SBQ is:

After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?

I usually make a working copy that's all highlighted and would be pretty impossible to reuse. If I remember to, I like to take a picture of the finished piece along with my marked up chart. Then I destroy the working copy.

I keep the original in my file box along with my other charts. Once the project is done, I'm happy to lend or give the chart to a friend. I haven't sold any of them, but I probably should!

A look at organization, or, does this count as OCD?

2008-03-05T23:05:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun reading Jennifer's posts about stash organization, that I thought I'd show my method (and madness).

Today I'm just going to show my stash software and later some pics of my actual stuff. I started off with a paper journal to keep track of stuff, then downloaded a couple of the stash software freeware or trials that were online. I didn't really like any of them...I wanted both a "pretty" interface and some more powerful search options. So I built my own in Access. I've been working in Access for years & was learning Visual Basic at the time, so here's what I came up with:

The main screen (the upper left window) has the places I enter stuff on the left (Charts, Fibers, etc.) and the right side has some reports I've built. So when I buy a new chart, I click the "Chart" button and add info (the lower window shows the entry for Cirque) such as the stitch count. If it uses specialty threads, I'll also click the "add fibers" button & mark them as "needed".

When I click the "Search for Fabric" button, it will look at the stitch count, whether it's over 1 or 2, and the margin I entered, and see what fabric in my stash is large enough. So for "Cirque" I have 17 pieces in my stash that could work. I can scroll through the records to see what colors/counts they are. Cirque is medium sized, so it fits a few more fabrics; when I search on a bigger project, I may only have 1 or 2 choices.

When I'm ready to start a project, I hit the "Start Project" button on the Chart window & it pulls up and pre-populates the "Project" sheet you see here, including start date. I outfitted it with a super-dork option of tracking time, but I never really use it. I can attach progress pictures like this one for Marriage of the Minds.

Last picture, I promise!

I built a few reports, like one that will tell me which projects I have all the threads/fabric for, but the one I use most often is the shopping list. When I mark threads or beads that I need on the "Chart" sheet, it matches it against what I have. If it's missing, it goes to the shopping list.

One of the software pieces I tried just had "Need" list, but I couldn't tell whether it was for something I was dying to start, or something that was sitting in my stash for years. I like this one because it's organized by chart, so I can get what I need for one project.

So that's how I keep track of stuff. And I do admit that this thing is a little overboard - but I've been able to apply the things I learned while making this to other real-work projects. Since I like how it's laid out I do a better job of keeping up with it. I try to enter new purchases before putting them away, but not as good at removing things that I've used. I'd be happy to share, but I'd have to warn you that there are some quirky things since I'm not a professional programmer and it's a work in progress!

Friday Feast # 181

2008-03-05T10:41:00.001-06:00

Appetizer Who was the last person you hugged?
Drew - and before that, Drew's Grandpa

Soup
Share a beauty or grooming trick or tip with us.
For rough dry hands, put a couple tablespoons of olive oil, along with a tablespoon or so of sugar into your palm, then rub your hands together for a few minutes before rinsing off.

Salad
What does the color yellow make you think of?
Sunshine

Main Course
If you were to make your living as a photographer, what subject would your pictures revolve around?
Animals and nature

Dessert
What was the longest book you ever read?
In junior high I read the complete Sherlock Holmes stories - that was about 1400 pages and I thought I was the s*$t for reading such a long book (my dork roots run deep).
This year I read Aztec by Gary Jennings - it's the most meticulously researched historical fiction I've ever read. The protagonist is a Mexica (Aztec) giving an account of his life to the Spaniards, covering the height of his civilization & subsequent downfall. Even though the book was around 1000 pages, I was so engrossed that I didn't want it to end.

(Late) Friday's Feast

2008-02-28T11:03:00.001-06:00

Appetizer Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim?

When I was little I thought is was really funny to jump out from behind corners & scare people. My Dad broke me of that when, after I jumped out, he collapsed on the floor, pretending he was dead. He carried it on for a long time - I though I had killed him! I was never much of a practical joker after that.

Soup What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?

They're brightly colored pottery ones that I bought in Orvieto, Italy when I was travelling. They look a lot like the ones on the left, but they're more blue. They survived for 2 weeks in my suitcase, along with a bunch of other purchases. I mailed them, along with other souveniers, from Paris. Almost everything fragile in that box broke, including the handle on the S&P holder, but the shakers themselves survived!

Salad Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)?

Drew & I would like to take a road trip along the Pacific coast, from Oregon to San Franciso/Monterrey area. My grandparents used to live in Los Altos, CA (Near Stanford) and I'd love to show D. my favorite places & catch up with old friends.

Main Course What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?

It's crazy expensive, but I love the combination of Crabtree & Evelyn "Goatsmilk" Hand recovery cream and lotion. You rub the Recovery cream on & it has these granules that exfoliate; then you add a little water & it turns into a lather. It's amazing how good my hands feel after I wash that off and then put on their Hand Therapy lotion (I like the Rosewater one). http://store.crabtree-evelyn.com/hand-cream-goa107279.html

Dessert Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name.

I love Poppy seed anything; so a pound cake with poppy seeds, garnished with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I'd call it Poppy Delight!

Friday Feast # 179

2008-02-15T10:14:00.000-06:00

Appetizer Name one thing that is unique about you.
I don't know if it's truly unique, but my Mom taught me how to read when I was 2.5 - I read storybooks to the class when I started kindergarten. (c: I still love reading - Thanks Mom!

Soup Fill in the blank: My favorite _________ is __________ but I like _________ too.
My favorite time of year is spring, but I like fall too.

Salad What type of wood do you have for your home’s furnishings?
The nice stuff is mostly maple or cherry...the rest is whatever compressed fiberboard IKEA uses!

Main Course Who do you talk to most often on the phone?
Definitely Drew.

Dessert What level of responsibility do you have in your job?
I don't manage others, but I am responsible for most of the secondary data analysis of a multimillion dollar product.

2008-02-14T09:35:00.000-06:00

Appetizer How many times per day do you usually laugh?
8-9; more often when I'm home - Abby & Drew are pretty fun to be around.

Soup What do your sunglasses look like?
Kind of 60's style black rimmed glasses that I'm pretty sure I got from TJ-Maxx

Salad You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?
Assuming there were such a rail, It would be cool to go north from California along the Coast to Alaska. You'd have the ocean and mountain views and I bet it would be interesting to see how the people changed as you passed through the cities.

Main Course Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.
The dog park that's 5 miles south of us. Other than that and the stitching store Welcome Stitchery, the 'burbs of Chicago leave a little to be desired; it feels like one continuous strip mall. :-(

Dessert If the sky could be another color, what color would it be?
Right now they're winter grey, so anything would be an improvement. I think it's beautiful when it has that orange-ish pink color at sunset, so if it could be that color that might be fun. I like the line from that Fugazi song "nightlight comes into my room, some shade of bruise colored blue" to describe nighttime sky color.

Feast #178

2008-02-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

Appetizer: What is your favorite kind of cereal?
Cheerios

Soup: When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?
A gadget valet, which I also smooshed my USB hub into - now there's a spot for my camera, iPod, & phone that doesn't have cords hanging all over the place. It goes on the shelf next to my desk in the guest bedroom.

Salad: What is the funniest commercial you've ever seen?
This one - it sounds like it's French.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs85cgL93Ec

Main Course: Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).

Paprika Panda

Dessert: Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.
I haven't run a mile (outside) since high school.

SBQ for w/o Feb 13

2008-02-14T09:16:00.000-06:00

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Loretta and is:

Do you have any projects that you have scrapped and started over? What made you start over from scratch?

I don't think I ever have! I'm pretty careful about my fabric/pattern choices (and probably a little conservative) so I haven't run into "this just won't look good on here"...and I've never run into an issue where I started on too large a count or too small a piece. There have been some projects I just decided I didn't love enough to finish, but that's a different story.

Splendor IX progress

2008-02-12T08:37:00.001-06:00

I'm finally on to the second page of the chart! Working with a magnifier so much is interesting; the picture seems to reveal itself more when you pull back and look at it with the naked eye. While stitching, I didn't even notice the little cross around the woman's neck. I'm wondering who she is? When I first started her, I thought she was Lady Liberty, but now I'm thinking Joan of Arc because of the cross & the flame looking things? If so, that's kind of a morbid thing to hang in the bathroom. Guess I should be thankful that it's not Marie Antoinette on the guillotine. (c:

SBQ for w/o Jan 16th

2008-01-18T16:23:00.000-06:00

What is your favorite past time while stitching? Do you just enjoy silence, listen to music/audiobooks or do you “watch” TV/movies? Do you have specific favorites you listen to/watch while stitching? (Submitted by Outi)

My stitching spot is in the family room, so often we have the TV on or D. is playing video games. It's nice being there because we can talk. If I'm alone in the house I like listening to an audiobook or TV. If the TV is on, it's probably on Comedy Central or the Discovery Channel.

Friday Feast

2008-01-18T16:11:00.000-06:00

I've seen these Q&A's from Friday's Feast on some other stitcher's blogs & thought they were really cool, so I'm shamelessly nicking the idea.

Appetizer What is your favorite beverage?

Cherry Zero for regular beverage and white wine or margarita for alcoholic.

Soup Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.

Audiobooks from the Library waiting to be ripped to iTunes, bills, and my grandma June's old wind-up alarm clock.

Salad On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?

8 or 9 - I probably say things I shouldn't some times. The other 10-20% of the time it's to avoid hurting somebody's feelings or avoid something I don't want to do.

Main Course If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?

Ummm...What an odd question! How about switching New York back to New Amsterdam. Harlem/Haarlem would make more sense that way.

Dessert What stresses you out? What calms you down?

Jerks in traffic. Erosion of our civil liberties. Drew leaving soda cans all over the house.

Laughing/chatting with Drew, Abby the Dog sleeping next to me, stitching, silence.

Progress on Splendor IX

2008-01-18T08:38:00.000-06:00

I'm still plugging away on Heart's Content "Splendor IX", although I'm not quite half way done. The tiny scale makes it more difficult to work on for extended periods. I've left the thread bobbin in the picture to show how tiny the scale of the work is. Thinking about framing this, I'm not sure if a mat would be overwhelming - maybe I'll just put it into a thick frame. I do know that it will be going in my "Parisian" girly bathroom. (c:

Framed Verandas

2008-01-18T08:36:00.000-06:00

This finished piece (Barbara & Cheryl's "Verandas of Battery Row") hasn't had a frame since summer 2006! For Christmas, Drew picked out a really pretty cherry wood frame and double mat. I'm lucky to have a guy with such good taste!
I'm kind of anal about not letting other people mount my work because I've heard so many horror stories of adhesive boards and hot glue. I used to use stainless steel T-pins to attach the fabric to the acid free foam core. I looked around forever (both locally & online) & couldn't find any. Does anybody know where to get these? I ended up using some stainless steel silk pins which seemed to hold OK. I kind of missed the T-pins becasue they don't allow the pin head to slip through the fabric.

We hung it in the "dining room" area of our apartment (home to kitchen table & my piano). This pic is kind of dark - I'll have to take another when the table isn't covered with D's Legos!