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Archive for the ‘House and home stuff’ Category

The Finished Deck

Monday, August 1st, 2011


We were so happy to have gorgeous summer weather and a finished deck. We had Steph, Jack and M & M over on Sunday night for the inaugural meal on the deck.

Here it is before furniture.



And after:


Today, I hosted the guild new and old board meeting and lunch. It was great to be able to set up on the deck. We were a bit cozy as we wanted to stay in the shade.

The breezeway is not quite finished and we still need to purchase a new natural gas grill so those photos will come later.

Mia loved camp and wants to go back and hopes to be a counselor some day. They are off on a camping trip to Orcas Island and then a couple of days in Seattle.

SAQA Goodies

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

This is the piece that I did for the SAQA traveling trunk shown, also known as “This is a Quilt.” This is  small piece that is matted so that only an 8 inch square is visible. The pieces are put in different groups and travel the country to be ogled by other SAQA members. We got to see group G at High Fiber Diet meeting last week. They are like little gems. This year, they can all be seen on the SAQA site, along with the schedule for their travel. You can see them HERE.

The SAQA auction quilts are also available for viewing. This year, we were invited to curate a grouping of quilts around a theme. I did a group with architectural details. You can see them HERE.

The deck is pretty much finished — just a few details. Once we move the furniture back, I will take a photo. Today, we went shopping for a new natural gas grill as we had a gas line installed in the breezeway where we do our barbecuing. We didn’t make a purchase yet, but have narrowed it down. I for sure want a rotisserie.

We were very tired last night and went to bed early. At midnight, the alarm went off and scared the heck out of us. The house was locked up tight. We don’t know what set it off. We shut it off early enough that the police did not have to come which was a relief. Then, I couldn’t get back to sleep, of course. I kept thinking of all the reasons why the thing went off, but of course, we just don’t know. I am trying to let go of the burglary post trauma, but things keep happening that set me off.

This is Not a Sketchbook

Monday, July 25th, 2011

My sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project has been digitized. I had fun getting reacquainted with all the fiber collages that I did. Here is the info if you want to go take a look:

Viewers can find your book two different ways so far:
   1) by going to your profile and then clicking on the Artwork tab.
   2) by using the library directory and searching for your name. As with the entire Digital Library, things are constantly being worked on, and the searchable directory is one of them.

I have signed up for the next round, but I am not sure what I will do. I am thinking of photos or machine stitched designs.

They started installing the aluminum railings for the new deck.

This is the spool of aluminum cable that will run horizontally between the posts.

And this is the beautiful job of piecing the ipe that Mr C has done in the breezeway which is not square.

I had a very rigorous pilates class this morning and have not been up to doing much for the rest of the day. I did manage to get some  machine felting done tonight.

Rainy July Day

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

Today felt a bit like winter in the northwest as it was in the 50s and pouring rain most of the day. We lost power late in the morning. We took a walk and found a huge limb from a tree two streets away had come down and taken some power lines with it.

Mark left us this morning. Mr C is going to finish the remaining deck work, particularly between the house and the garage. It was great to have him to do this job and just get to spend some time with him. Here is the way it looks, now, ready for the rails to be installed on Thursday or Friday — just in time for some real summer weather, I hope.

Here is the view from the dining room.

As a reminder, this is what it used to look like.

This was taken when Mr C started the demo.

The photo at the top is one of the little tree sketches that I am finishing for the High Fiber Diet show which opens later this month. We can have small pieces for sale at the venue. I have to turn them in on Tuesday night so I thought I should get busy with the handstitching.

 

Construction Zone Continues

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

I managed a little bit of studio time tonight. I fused 2 more organza sketches to silk for hand stitching. They hope to finish the decking on the outside area of the deck tomorrow so that the aluminum railings can be installed next week. The deck is going to wrap around between the house and the garage where we have our BBQ and will raise the floor so that we do not have to do so many up and down steps.

We had a bit of excitement late this afternoon when a golf ball came through the living room window.

It is a very large window and will be pricey to replace. Mark ran down and found the golfer who hit it. He has offered to pay what the home owner’s insurance does not cover. We find lots of balls in our backyard. This is the third window to take a direct hit. The other two were smaller windows downstairs that Mr C repaired.

The next and last Twelve by Twelve colorplay challenge is orange — pure, unadulterated orange. I found these at Trader Joe’s today and they followed me home for inspiration.