W.I.B.W.O.

What have I been working on?  Been in the sewing room and in the yard.  First, I'm so pleased with the way my front porch looks now.

When I moved in it was bare and pretty stark.









After two springs of planting a few shrubs and some perennials, improvement was apparent, but recently I bought a couple of new chairs, potted up some flowers, and had lattice put up on the end of the porch where I will plant several colors of clematis to add even more color.  This is how it looks today.

Also recently tried my hand at some more complex machine quilting than I'd done before.  Think it came out pretty well, but I confess I got really tired of doing it after a (not very long) while.  Was "stuck" finishing what I'd started, since I couldn't very well change what I was doing part way through.  All that's left on this one is sewing the binding on by hand.  (Photos should be "clickable" to see the quilting more closely.  Please be kind.)

Front

Back

Pin-basted the Jelly Roll/Fish quilt (now known as the Jellyfish quilt), and will also do that one myself, but with a far simpler pattern.  No matter what, I will only get better by practicing.  That star border was such a find!  And I had the exceptionally suitable backing in my stash.

I have almost finished the top of the Mystery Quilt that Pat and I were doing.  You can see hers here.  (Bonus photos of adorable baby on the beach!)   No photos of mine yet, but you may remember I chose fabrics that were somewhat out of my comfort zone.

And, just because I like the way it looks so much, my completed Rubik's Rings on my bed:

Water, water, everywhere

... well, in the basement anyway.

Got home from a wonderful, relaxing weekend sewing to find that the water heater had been leaking since sometime after I left the house Friday morning.   Shut off the water line that feeds the heater, called the plumber, who assured me that the last 40 gallons of water wouldn't continue to flood the floor and then promised to be here first thing tomorrow.  I am grateful that almost nothing (other than plastic) sits directly on the basement floor. 

Guess I won't be showering, doing laundry, or running the dishwasher.  Will try not to feel guilty watching a movie or reading after I settle back into my sewing room.

One small step = one large leap

In my previous house, I got used to having a bulletin board in the kitchen.  It was a place for a master calendar with each family members activities noted (color-coded, of course).   It also held the little pieces of paper that would have caused problems if they were lost (like tickets), and a few decorative items including the occasional picture postcard sent by friends or family.  When we moved (April 2010), I put the bulletin board right into the kitchen.  Where it has been sitting ever since, except for the times the kittens cats knocked it over. 

The ideal only place it fit was on the side of the laminate enclosure around the refrigerator, which needed holes to be drilled to hang it, as no nail known to me would pierce the rock-hard surface.  Unfortunately, it took me several months to find the drill which had been "deposited" in the garage, along with almost all the other contents of the former basement.   I believe it was around the fall of 2010 when I found it, along with the other power tools. 

A month or two after the drill had been located, I decided it was time to drill the holes and hang the bulletin board, only to discover that there were no drill bits with it.  Over several weeks, I spent more time digging through the rest of the non-junk from the garage (now relocated to the basement).  No luck.   Finally, I gave up on the search and bought a set of drill bits at Lowe's.   Nice, huh?

The next time I decided to hang the bulletin board, I gathered the drill and the bits, then noticed that there was no "key" to open the drill chuck to insert and tighten the bit.   Several lifetimes ago, my theatre-shop training taught me to lash the "key" to the cord, so it wouldn't get lost.  Guess my X never learned that trick.    Lowe's had several sizes and, naturally, I didn't know which I needed so I bought them all and returned the ones I didn't need.  Third trip to Lowe's (fortunately I work nearby)and I've-lost-track-of-how-many more months.

When I assembled all the required parts, the final discovery was that the chuck was rusted shut.  I could turn it to open wider but the three "jaws" that hold the drill bit just sat there, fused into place.

W-D 40 to the rescue.  (Another trip, of course...)  Home to spray the drill and let the chemicals work.

Last Friday, I decided, once again, to hang the bulletin board in the kitchen.   Drill, drill bits, key.  Zip, zap, zip, zap.  VOILA! 

(Note that it's the picture that is crooked, not the bulletin board!)

When I told D#2 what I'd done, she asked, "Does this mean we are finally moved in?"   Guess it does, Sweetie, guess it does.