Almost Sewing . . .

I know by now you must be tired of photos of the Janome silhouetted against my view - but there is a difference this time - the Janome is "ON". So I am enjoying a glass of zinfandel in my #1 Grandma wine glass to celebrate!

It has been a looooooong process with all the additions, corrections, and repairs that go with the purchase of a new manufactured home, and having so many people doing different tasks (running electricity underground, installing an aerobic septic system, waiting for parts to take care of first time walk-through repairs, and installing "skirting") takes time away from unpacking. Our first time purchasing a manufactured home has been an eye-opener!

Jack the new kitten is thriving in his new environment, and he and Katy (my older black cat) have adjusted beautifully. Jack is honestly the sweetest cat EVER, and he is a true gift from God. You can read about how I adopted him here Although he is very much a kitten (trying out his claws, scratching, play-biting, running/galloping through the house) he cuddles at night, purrs loudly when I speak to him, and follows me around when he isn't acting "crazy" or sleeping.

I am so inspired by all the quilting activity I see on Instagram and in the blogs I read daily. I cannot wait to get my fabric unpacked and start sewing!

Future Sewing Space

While at the house today, I couldn't resist putting my sewing desk in place!

After many days of waiting for county permits, electricity was connected yesterday, and tomorrow the AC will be installed - yay! Last week we had to go ahead and move our furniture into the house to avoid paying another month of storage on two units. Fortunately we had great movers, and everything arrived intact and unscathed after sitting in storage for two months. Next Monday the aerobic septic system will be put in, then Tuesday new appliances will be delivered.

Itching to get to these boxes in the sewing room!

With an additional bedroom, I will have a dedicated sewing room, so I am very eager to start unpacking. It has been so warm in the house, even with fans today it got too warm to stay long, so only a few boxes got unpacked.

If everything goes according to schedule, we will gather the dog, cat, and kitten, say good-bye to son's game room, and spend our first night in the new place next Wednesday!

UPDATE 9/25/16: Found the Janome - now to find the cords!

My DIY Guy

Before he retired last year, my husband used to talk about how he was going to "make things with wood". Now that he has organized his garage and acquired new table saws, he is ready for projects, and I came up with a few ideas to help him fulfill his carpentry dream. Here are some of the things he has made in recent weeks.

He made a holder for my acrylic rulers

He fashioned a large rustic bird-feeder to make feeding easier for the growing population of cardinals, blue jays, robins, and smaller birds that frequent the other two feeders. When we first moved to this house, we rarely saw any birds, in spite of the fact our yard backs up to thick trees and a small creek.

He placed a bird bath close to the feeders and planted a crape myrtle, one of our favorite trees. Next spring I hope to fill this little garden with wildflowers and herbs. I can see all this from my sewing room.

He built this gorgeous shelf above the tub in my bathroom. He based the design on a picture I liked from this blog

BEFORE: I wanted a small island in the kitchen, so he refinished and re-purposed this buffet. The wood on it was nice, but we wanted more of a contrast with the wood of the kitchen cabinets, so he painted it dark espresso and made a new top for it (pictured below).

AFTER: Although the drawers are missing in the "before" shot, he replaced the pulls on the drawers with ceramic knobs.

He got to practice his "round-over" and sanding skills to make this nicely finished top for the island

With the island in place, we reorganized and simplified the kitchen, so it all looks less cluttered, and we are loving it. It's always fun to have a new look in your home. Now he wants more projects!

Sewing Room Addendum

A lovely reader had a couple of questions about my sewing room post, so I thought I would use that as an excuse for another post.

One of the questions was how my spools of thread stay in the spice shelf.

As you can see in the photos above, each shelf is slightly lower than its edge and safely nestles the spools so they don't slide out.

I purchased the rack at a furniture consignment shop where it was labeled "Vintage Spice Rack". It may not actually be old, but if not then someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look old.

I had to lighten the above photo to show the raised lettering across the top "Herbs & Spices".

Another question was about my tools and what I do with my hacksaw, pictured on the left.

I find that a hacksaw is pretty handy, but mostly to saw off the backs of decorative knobs. The knobs/drawer pulls, such as those pictured above, were purchased at Hobby Lobby and come with very long "stems". Once the knobs are screwed them into the wood, I have to saw off the excess. My husband usually takes pity on my extended sawing and takes them to his garage to saw them off more quickly with one of his man-saws.

I replaced the standard white wooden knobs on this shelf with decorative ones. I had to saw off the excess stem so the unit would lie flat against the wall.

Here is a drawer pull I installed on a drawer in the nightstand next to my sewing table

Here is what it looks like on the inside of the drawer. I had to leave a little bit of the stem sticking out and need to cover the sharp raw edge, because it is a drawer I open frequently.

The rest of my day will be spent finally getting started on the Little Joys Quilt-Along - how will you spend your day?

My Sewing Room - A Little Redo

My crafted "Welcome" sign, just inside the door to my sewing room

Recently my husband and I decided to swap pieces of furniture. He wanted my workbench for his office/man cave, and I wanted two of his bookcase units for my sewing room. This trade precipitated a frenzy of reorganization for both of us. Over the weekend we sorted everything out, with my husband moving furniture, adding shelves, patching walls, and painting. Although the switch mainly involved the area around my cutting table (pictured below as "Before"), I "found" many things that had been tucked away since 2013, my tools are now more easily accessible, and I am very pleased with my new arrangement.

Before

After

I dream about having a bright, cheery room with gorgeous furniture like this one at Maple and Magnolia - love it! But I love all of my thrift and resale items and little trinkets, knick-knacks, photos, and linens I've inherited from my parents and Grandmothers. I try to mix useful things with things I love, and it works for me. This is my happy place!

The iPhone pictures aren't the best quality but here is the (photo-heavy) tour, with an explanation below each photo. (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

Entering from the hallway (my husband's office is on the opposite end of the hallway)

Looking straight ahead

Looking to the middle of the room

Looking to the left

Looking to the right, behind the door, to my big design board

The adjustable light and pegboard above the cutting table are two of my favorite things

Between the cutting table and door to the room - one of my "new" bookcases

Granny Mitchell's quilts

Crafty stuff

Cutting table/craft surface

My husband attached a shelf to hold my glue guns and Ranger craft dryer

In 2012 I spent $40 for a used kitchen table at Goodwill and purchased bed risers to elevate it to the correct height. My husband painted them white so they aren't as noticeable! Under-the-table bookshelf holds cutting mats, current projects, binders, and a hard case toolbox

Left of the cutting table a wall shelf containing stamps, inks, glues, Mod Podge. The Twenty Third Psalm hanging above the bookcase was embroidered by my Mother

I need to recover my craft stool, but in the meantime I've covered it with a doll quilt made by Granny Lawhorn when I was eight

This bookcase holds my tools, hammers, nails, and screws, as well as my light box and P-Touch, plugged in and ready to use

Looking over my left shoulder from the cutting table

My view from my sewing table

Beyond the waterfall and firepit is an arbor planted with star jasmine, 3 active bird feeders, a bird bath, and flower garden. An 8-foot fence surrounding our back yard and a heavily forested creek separating us from our back door neighbor provides privacy!

Nightstand left of my sewing table contains sewing box, collection of embroidery scissors, and sewing machine attachments. Above is an old spice shelf for my threads

The Lord's Prayer was embroidered for my Mother by her best friend

Wire rack for magazines and quilting books

Antique shelf with treasures

To the right of the magazine rack is a small design board

Bookcase for quilting, embroidery, and crochet books

Top of bookcase - a framed poem from my daughter and treasured family items

Guest bed and corner

Trinket shelves and closet

Closet contains fabric, batting, yarn, embroidery thread, and more crafting supplies

Beside the guest bed

Hats and gloves from Granny Mitchell and her wedding picture from the late 1800s.

My Mother's favorite print

Katy napping amidst the chaos - she thought this was going to be her bed