Gasp! I Think I Have Found Somewhere I Like Better Than The Red Chair!

Office is somewhat set up, and it is a wonderful place to be. I find myself wandering to the white counter and doing whatever task needs to be done. The views are gorgeous...a peaceful place to work. You can see that I added a few red accents...I know you are not surprised. The handles on the cabinets are spools of thread from my Grandma Fry's sewing box. I carefully razor-bladed the threads off. I hated to do that because the thread was a wonderful, shiny cotton, but I doubted the strength of the thread after all these years. A couple had a price on them of 15 cents. Such a deal. Blacktop is in, looks...black, of course. The studio tub is in, after a few challenges. Family members start arriving tomorrow for the holiday. A good test of the new facilities. Jerilynn

Master Bath

Wacky days continue. As you can see from the picture, the tiles are now done in the master bath. Hard to see, but they are white subway style tiles with a narrow black tile thrown in for accent. The plumber showed up and hooked up the shower and started working, with Carl, on putting in the soaking tub in the studio bath. Problems. Not all the parts were packed with a crucial part of the whole thing. They will be delivered tomorrow, but I was disappointed that it didn't get done today (back to the whole patience thing). While the plumbing drama was going on, the blacktop people came to get everything ready for the blacktop tomorrow. But, they totally undid the sloping aspect that the excavator did. They made it so that all our rainwater would wash down on our neighbor, which isn't a good thing. So, it had to be re-done. In the meantime my dad shows up to inspect the project and was right in the middle of it all! I thought I would quietly sew a shower curtain for the master bath and the window curtains. I got the shower curtain done. Almost made the mistake of not cutting off the selvedges again, but remembered not to leave them on. The fabric is a bit sheer and a bit fussy to work with. I got the curtain done, but not just thrilled with it. I thought the white would look good with the black and white tile and the black counter top, but it is just a bit boring. I got one side of the window curtains done with the same material before I finally admitted to myself that the fabric choice was not a good one. Bummer. I did get the fabric on a great sale, but I put quite of few hours in getting this far! I will leave the shower curtain up, but I won't put the window curtain up - I have some old curtains that will work until something wonderful comes along. Tomorrow the black top is coming, and the parts will be in for the studio bath tub. I will take some shots and also show you some of the studio that I have set up. Jerilynn

Sink Top and Vanity Done!

Carl finished the studio bath sink top and vanity today! I think it looks great and very fun. I can put small toiletries in the cabinet drawers, and maybe stack some extra towels on the treadle. I need to find some small type of cabinet to store extra tp and some cleaning items. Rumor has it that tomorrow Pete the Plumber is arriving to hook up the tub. The blacktop guy is coming, also, to prepare for the driveway on Wednesday. The rock retaining wall is in...things are moving along quickly, now. I brought up more sewing supplies from our home today. I haven't found a fabric I like for the studio bath curtains, so I may hang a small quilt at the window until I find something. It might look good, and certainly give some privacy. Jerilynn

Antique Sewing Case + Ikea sinktop = ???

Well, I think this might work...and I think it will look a bit interesting. Behind the sink (you can only see the bottom - sorry) is an antique sewing machine cabinet ( no machine inside!). I think Carl can fit the sink on to the top and I can use this as the vanity in the studio bathroom. Not a lot of storage, but it is a conversation starter. I will let you know how it looks! With Tim's help today we got all the trim done on the studio level. Carl nailed, Tim kept the saw going all day, and I just ran between the two. Plus, ran to get more nail gun nails, plus ran to the store for dinner stuff. Right before sunsel we decided to take a pontoon ride and enjoy part of the beautiful day. Another busy, fun day. Jerilynn

Wow, What A Crazy Good Day!

What a crazy, fun, productive day! Tim (son-in-law from Appleton, WI) took a day off from work and drove over to help. Carl and Tim decided to tackle the studio floor, thinking it would take two or three days. Well, after day one, you can see the results...done!!!! And, it is beautiful! What was funny, though, is that they had to trowel the glue down in sections, and at one point, we all were glued in the room...that was fine, we knew as soon as we laid the floor that we could get out, but the problem was that the trowel needed to be cleaned before the glue set up on it! The only thing we had on the studio level was the Toto toilet! We moved some of the sewing stuff out of the way, and Carl carefully cleaned off all the goo. I am not sure he was too happy that I took his picture, but I thought it was really a clever use of facilities! You can tell by the bottom picture that the floor is just beautiful. I have been told I need to wait until Sunday before I move anything out on it, but I am not sure patience is a strong quality I have. Actually, I have been thinking about Patience, and may do a small post on it at some point. What else happened? I made rum cake and banana bread and knitted a bit. Then, on top of all the floor excitement, the tiler showed up to start the tile in our bathroom! THEN, the retaining wall peopled showed up with a truck full of huge rocks. Oh my gosh. I didn't know what to look at first!!! I am glad Tim and Carl decided that I was needed on the floor project so that I could let the other workers do their job without me bothering them. Tomorrow the boys are going to finish the trim work. I think one will be in the studio measuring and nailing, and one will be in the garage sawing. I have a feeling I will be the runner in between. How fun is this??? Lots. Jerilynn

What!? You Don't Have Any Dishcloths????!!!

Daughter-in-law number 2 casually mentioned that they a) didn't have any wool felt coasters, and b) didn't have any knit dishcloths. What??? How can that be? How can some have so much and some have so little? This almost seems political in nature. My sewing has stopped for a few days...floor is starting tomorrow for the studio...but my knitting needles are operational. Two dishcloths down. Who knows how many more to go. Ballband of Mason Dixon fame is the brown/blue one, and the other blue one is just garter stitch. I am working on a seed stitch cloth now. I love how bumpy the seed stitch is and feel it does a good job at washing things because of the bumps. Jerilynn

New Sewing Room

Well, I guess the great sewing area overlooking the lake was short-lived. All my sewing stuff and beading stuff and glass tile stuff is now located in the bathroom of the studio. I suppose I can perch on the edge of the tub to run the sewing machine. Ironing and cutting may be a problem.
Are you wondering why I am not so sad that I cannot possible update this blog? It is temporary, I have been told. Tim is coming up tomorrow night to help Carl finish up some wood and help him install the studio floor. We decided that if we pile all the stuff in the already-floored-bathroom, it would give a clear shot to get the work done. This means that there will be no sewing for a few days, but then...I can set up shop! I agreed to do the Sew Club lecture in August at Sew Complete and don't have any fabulous ideas yet. I sat down a couple of nights ago in The Red Chair and made a list of possible projects. The good news is that I came up with a pretty good list. The bad news is that none of the items on the list are finished, some are not even started. I have a feeling that showing pictures of curtains and wood walls just might not be very interesting. I tend to live by the motto that "things will work out for the best". I can't wait to see what I am going to talk about and show! Jerilynn P.S. I found one of my patterns for sale on Amazon. Really?