Sunday, October 26, 2008

Making a come back...

I feel like maybe my crafting urge and inspiration has returned. I was in a bit of a slump for a while, but as of today I feel pretty un-slumped. I suppose with a 20 month old, personal time, and the urge to do anything with it, is rare.

This is Samuel and Elaine. They will hopefully make it to the shop at some point soon. They're lounging on Estella's quilt which is now at 41/54 done! I've been sewing the binding at night while I relax on the couch, and it's coming along quite nicely. I think I'll be done before Estella leaves for college after all.

All ready for the snow:
We bought Estella this coat over the weekend. In the store she was at first very enamored with it, insisting that she wear it out...then of course, later that day, she refused to put it on. She's since come around again and has fallen back in love ...so much in love that we have to keep it hidden in the house. She caught a glimpse of it yesterday and ended up wearing it around while she played. Wacky child! I guess it's better that she love it than hate it.

So, we sign the Purchase Option for the new house on Monday. Once that's done, we figure we'll start making it a bit more ours. We bought a couple of colors of a no VOC paint this weekend to get started. We've never used that type of paint, but you're supposed to be able to paint and not have to leave the house for days afterwards. We're starting with Estella's room and the upstairs bath...it'll be nice to not see white walls everywhere you turn!

I'm off to NJ on Wednesday, so if I don't post before then,
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

actual work!

Now that we're settling in a bit, I've had some time to get back into some projects. I have an actual Fritter in the works...and a quilt that may be finished by the time Estella leaves for college.
I decided to do the hand stitched binding for Estella's quilt, and I'm glad I did. It looks so nice when it's attached...all fancy. It does, however, take a lot longer to do than a machine attached binding. I figure that since the quilt is 12x15 squares, that's 54 square edges that I'll have to attach the binding along. I'm 9/54 done! These are the things that go through my head as I sit and tediously attach binding! I've been picking it up randomly and doing a couple of squares, and I figure that at some point this century I may actually get it done...
It snowed today. Real snowflakes (which Estella kept referring to as birds). Every winter when the snow starts to fly, I question what it was I was thinking when I never left Vermont...and every spring, summer, and fall, I remember. For today though, I had to try to explain to a 20 month old why she couldn't go out and play in the cold and wet. Leave it to me to give birth to a child that might actually like to play in the cold and snow...isn't being constantly cold genetic? Well, if it's not, it should be...what am I going to to if she makes me play in the snow?

Friday, October 17, 2008

We took a little time the other day to go pumpkin hunting. Usually there's a beautiful sea of orange, however this year there seemed to be more green than orange...maybe all that rain? Still really pretty though.
Estella found one of the only pumpkins that she was able to pick up...almost all green. It was very cute this year to see her wandering around the piles of pumpkins. Last year we had to prop her up in between two pumpkins to get her to stand for a picture. I'm sure by next year, she'll be requiring a pumpkin with the intention of actually carving it...
I'm done with the quilting part of Estella's quilt. I passed on buying a walking foot, as was suggested in the book, and did it all on my machine with my normal foot. I stitched in the ditch or trench or whatever they call it and also did the diagonal lines to make Xs across the squares. I've said it before...I'm not a quilter...the lines look like a drunk person was driving the sewing machine. Still, I like it, and I feel quite pleased with the outcome so far. I have all of the binding sewn into one big giant strip and all I need to do is spend a million hours attaching it...that's a project for another day.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

fall-ing

Today was one of those perfect fall days...sunny, warm, deceiving. It almost makes you forget that in a few months we'll be freezing cold and buried in snow! Today, however, was perfect. We took the opportunity to mow the lawn (hopefully the last of the year) and play in the leaves. Estella had a ball, and was especially happy because Walter was there to play in them with her...those things are always so much more fun if Daddy's involved.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

our new home!

Just a quick post to give everyone the link to (crappy)pictures of the house. Please keep in mind that we haven't done any painting, or put anything up on the walls. It's still very plain and generic looking...all in good time.

Friday, October 3, 2008

we're home!

We have moved! Estella took advantage of all of the empty drawers and cupboards, and managed to entertain herself for a while while I packed.
The first night in the house was rough! The upstairs floors were all redone and were letting off tons of nauseating fumes. Walter aired out Estella's room for a couple of days before we moved, and it seemed to be okay. I only lasted about an hour in our room. I'm so sensitive to smells anyway, and the fumes were too much to handle. Long story short, Estella started coughing around 2am (presumably from the fumes) and we all ended up on the pull out couch in the living room, Peanut included...cozy. I have no idea how people have a family bed. I would get absolutely no sleep! I can happily report, we were all in our own beds last night!

We still have TONS of unpacking to do. There aren't any shelves or bars in the closets, so we have suitcases and boxes and laundry baskets full of clothing without homes...I've got a trip to the Depot planned for tomorrow...we'll eventually have functioning closets.

The house is so big that it's almost comical how empty some of the rooms look, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we fill them and get more comfortable in the space. We're still in shock that we live here, but super happy.

One of the best features of the house isthe original staircase:
The staircase is nice and wide, and considering it's over 100 years old, is surprisingly not creaky.

Someday when there aren't boxes all over, I'll post a photo tour of the place so all of you out-of-staters can see out new home! Or, you could always come for a visit!

On the crafting front, since everything is in boxes, not much has happened. I finished the top of Estella's quilt right before we moved. Actually, I was finishing it as Walter moved boxes around me. I wanted to get it done so I wouldn't feel so pressured to get my studio set up...too many other things to take care of. Oh yeah, you heard me right, I have my OWN studio, at least until a boy child forces me to give it up! (NO NO NO, there is not one on the way...) I did make sure to arrange the furniture so that we'll be able to put in a guest bed when we have the money. I'm not totally opposed to sharing...

Hope everyone has a warm weekend...supposedly there's snow in the forecast-burr...