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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Rush Hour Blog Hop - My Day!


It's poor Rushing Rosie.
Her deadline is near
and rush Hour is coming too soon
she does fear!
Her stockings are snagged
and her hair is a mess!
She needs a good shower 
and she slept in her dress!
But here she is now
all finished. Work's done!
It's time to relax 
and to have some good fun!
by Linda Winters

(My little doll was truly a rush hour project! I wanted to add something to what I did below, but I've been gone so much lately I wasn't finding time. Then I decided on Rosie! Do you sometimes feel like she looks? I know I do!)


Rush Hour! What do you think of? Honking, swerving, speeding cars? Bumper to bumper? Nerves frazzled? Maybe it's finishing a sewing project before a deadline like Rosie above? 
I invite you to think of a slower, simpler time. A time when taking a nap was a dreaded event in the day! (Can you imagine that?) A time when rush hour was finishing your dinner so you could have dessert! (And you stayed skinny!)
I was unable to buy the wonderful Rush Hour fabric by Studio E, so I enlisted the help of my niece and nephew to create some of our own! 
I gave them a Sharpie and a rectangle of fabric and asked them to draw a picture of something they liked to do. 

Tristan drew his family playing with the family dog, Bear.

Emilee drew her family playing with a doll. 
(Rush hour is trying to get an unblurred photo of these twins posing! You have to be FAST!)
Each child chose a border fabric and backing fabric, keeping with the red, black, and white theme of the hop.  I let them sit on my lap and guide the fabric while I controlled the machine. 
We sewed our borders on, pressed the top, and cut the back to fit. 

                                           

I showed them how to pin the layers together.... 

...and we sewed each picture into a naptime pillow. Here is Emilee sitting in my lap and sewing. 


Tristan had his turn, too! 

I gave them the stuffing and let them "have at it!"

"Add a little more, Emilee, so it feels good when you use it!"


"Woo-hoo! Time for a nap!"

Rush Hour? Not for these two!

Be sure to check out my fellow "hoppers" today! 

Wednesday, September 24

Stitchin’ By The Lake

Buzzing and Bumbling - you're here!

Lixie Makes It

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Living With Purpose

Madly Mid Mod

Coral Canyon Quilting

Our thanks to Mdm. Samm of Sew We Quilt and Carol of Just Let Me Quilt who have brought us this hop! 

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Monday, September 22, 2014

Rush Hour is Coming!! And a Hill Country Update

                                                       

Yes, Rush Hour is coming and my day will be Wednesday! Please join us! 
In the meantime, my rush has lasted much longer than an hour! This is an extremely busy time at the hill country house. After being on a three and a half week waiting list for our countertops, we spent last Monday at the house while they were put in. 

I know it's hard to tell what the kitchen will be like at this point, but my countertops are almost in. (More on that in a moment!)
We chose quartz over granite because this seems to be the upcoming trend. Quartz needs no resealing and doesn't "etch" like granite. I want something that I can enjoy without worries. The plastic wrap is still on these countertops at this point. They are a bronze color. The half wall you see above and all the walls without wall board will have limestone.
Here is the prep sink. We chose a trough style sink because it is under the window and seemed to fill the space better. 
After 7 hours of installation, there was a seam that just didn't lay flush. It will have to be fixed and it seems that the countertop has to go back to the shop for that! It also appears we are back on the waiting list! The shop has not returned our calls and the counters have not been removed to be repaired. This is a highly recommended business.   (I may mention their name if they don't do something soon!) We are beginning to think we may have done better to just have one of the big box stores do our countertops! (I am more than a little distressed by this.) Businesses in the hill country have more business than they can handle!
The stone people have had us on a list too and are supposed to come next week. If the countertops are not in they will not come and we will be back to square one with them, too! In the meantime, the flooring will be delivered on Wednesday and the stone has to be in before it can be installed! (Another waiting list!)
I did get a lot of painting done! I painted last week, but when the countertops were put in my gray looked more olive green! (I do have a little color blindness unfortunately. I have to have help with subtle greens because they look gray to me.) I finally chose a great soft gray called Gray Mist. I love Behr paint and it didn't disappoint! (I'm not an affiliate.) I spent Saturday and a couple of hours on Sunday getting everything repainted! Unfortunately, we were so RUSHED I didn't get a photo! 
I did manage to get this quick, but grainy, photo with my phone!  It is a blackbuck antelope. We have been seeing them roaming free near our hill country house. They have long corkscrew horns (not antlers) and seem to keep themselves in the open grazing areas. It is strange to see an exotic animal, native to India, wild in Texas! My brother in law used to raise them for exotic game farms and restaurants that served exotic meats. I'm assuming that since many of the hunting ranches around this area often have blackbuck, some of them have escaped into the wild. I've been seeing them since last winter here. It could also be that someone has released them into the wild.
 These are very skittish animals and they can run 50 mph!
Well, I hope to see you Wednesday! I will probably be in the hill country accepting the shipment of flooring. I also hope to have a photo of the completed countertops and stonework SOON! 
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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

It's September! See What I Did!


Thank you for joining me today on the See You in September Blog Hop! We are to show three projects we made this summer. 

Project #1

Remember these? I found them in a thrift shop and they started a search for souvenir plates to decorate a wall! 


Then I decided I needed a quilt to go with it!  I made a "Memories of Our Travels" quilt for my husband. We have done a lot of traveling in our 44 years of marriage. Since we lost all our souvenirs, I decided to make a quilt that would remind him of those happy memories every time he cuddles up in it to watch television or to read. 





 On the quilt I appliqued fabric "souvenir plates" with the names of some of the places we've been.  I used my Riley Blake gingham in the background along with a few other fabrics I had on hand.
Here is a close up along with a few of the real plates I have.  (I gave up on a photo without Sugarplum in the middle. She loves this quilt for some reason and searches it out to sit or lay on it!)


I asked Doug to choose 12 photos that brought him really nice memories and then my sister, Darla,  printed them off on fabric with special washable dyes. I used them  among the plates and other  applique souvenirs such as sea shells.




Projects #2 and  #3
I also had a lot of fun learning to reupholster. Many of you saw my Pinto Pony covered chair here (the one that many thought was "cow"! ) I also did this one, but saved it for this hop.


Here is the ottoman "before":


Here is the chair "before":


(Do you see the horsehair on the floor around it? It was falling out of the bottom!) I know my gray and bright serape stripes are daring, but I love it for the hill country! (I actually used a real Mexican serape for the upholstery!) It makes me feel happy. If I get tired of it, it will be easy to make a new bolster pillow and recover the top of the ottoman. Does a chair and ottoman count as two things?

Project #4
Well, in case it doesn't, here are some throw pillows I made earlier in the summer. I have never posted them, but Debby Kratovil did last month on her blog. (Thank you, Debby!)

I was really hoping to show you a finished kitchen at the hill country house, but it looks like you'll have to wait a few more weeks. That has taken up most of my summer!!!

My thanks to Mdm. Samm (Sew We Quilt)  and Shari (Living with Purpose) for hosting our fun "show and tell" from the summer!
 Be sure you visit the other blogs on the hop! Here is today's schedule!

Wednesday,September 10

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Tuesday, September 2, 2014

See You In September Blog Hop has Begun! Also an Update!


We were grilling on the patio when everything around us became bathed in an orange glow. I ran with my phone to see the sunset. Sunsets in Texas can be spectacular! 

Do you see why I love orange? It is an important part of nature here.
Then the evening burst into the songs of birds and cicados. There was a mother deer and her triplet fawns eating grass in the yard about 200 yards away. September is here! Fall colors are not seen so much in the leaves around here, but in the sunsets!

You will not want to miss the See You In September blog hop that has begun this morning, September 3! (I can't believe it is already September! In my mind, July Fourth is just around the corner!) I will be showing three of my summer projects on Wednesday, September 10. Please come back for that!
                                                SEE you in SEPTEMBER BLOGGERS..
 Wednesday, September 3


In the mean time, I've been REALLY busy at the hill country house. We have the cabinets installed in the main kitchen. We haven't done the pantry yet although the cabinets are finished.  I met with the countertop guy on Wednesday and he measured for the countertops. A dry wall crew was there this weekend. After the counters are installed, the stone mason will come. When he finishes, the flooring can be installed. When that is done the appliances can be installed.  (Some time during all that, we need to have a level concrete pad poured for the propane gas tank. Then the plumber can finish running a gas line.) We still have to have a range hood cover  built also. Actually, right now I don't want to think about all the things we need to do! Lets just enjoy the hop! (Oh, I need to finish my third project. Oh "pickles", as my four year old niece says!)

                                                         

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