There is Some Sewing Going on Too

You'd think from all the construction talk that it's destruction and construction all the time here but that is not entirely the case. There is some sewing going on this summer. I have summers off from work so I do a fair amount of sewing in the summer since there is such a bonus of time available to me. And with just a couple of weeks left until I return to work I am trying to get some things finished. So here are a few for you to view.

I organized my fabric at the beginning of the summer and decided I really needed to start using more of my stash which is so hard to do with such wonderful fabrics coming from such creative women like Anna Maria and Heather. So that is where this quilt came from, my stash, except the backing which I did not have enough of any one or a few fabrics to piece together. It does not show the borders in this picture but it has two. The pattern is "Full Bloom" from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

Then I also made this which is actually going to be a Christmas tree skirt. I love that the fabrics don't scream "Christmas". The colors go nice with the colors I have in my house. The fabric collection is called "Yuletide Blessings".

I also made this quilt from a kit and I'm getting ready to put it together and quilt it with some fun varigated thread. And talk about fun-I love the fireworks fabric for the backing that I got from my local quilt shop.

So as I stare the end of summer in the face I hope everyone is enjoying theirs.

We're Getting There

Finally we are getting along with the family room addition and since I have had a number of questions about it by e-mail I thought I would answer them here. The room is 22 x 26 and has a cathedral ceiling which I am not sure how high it is but it is not super tall. There is a two car garage underneath. The french doors got installed this week so this is how we enter the room from our kitchen and living room. The carpenters are almost done and then we are doing the rest of the finish work to save money starting with a bamboo floor. We already had a painting marathon so it's nice to have that out of the way.
Looking back once you are in the room you can spy my kitchen.
And what is that in the left hand corner of the first picture? I have been looking forever for a sideboard and I found one in an antique store in NH that I fell in love with.
We also did a bunch of antiquing when we were in Maine and here are a couple of my finds. We bought 6 of these matching chairs which are so similar to the ones I already have. They still have a label on the bottom that shows that they were made in NH in the early 1900's. And I love the lines of the plant stand that I found.

Then one last find is this little child's table that I found at a local thrift shop this week. Perfect for my grandson as he gets older. I already have children's chairs to go with it. I also finally found a coffee table for the new family room at the same thrift shop but couldn't fit it into my Beetle so I have to go back this weekend with something bigger! Maybe I should get a truck-or maybe not-I'd come home with way too much!

Back From Vacation

I'm back from a short vacation with my family to here and we had a wonderful week. The weather was mostly nice. No need for an air conditioner ever here as there is always a breeze off the ocean. There is no cell phone coverage and no computer so it is a real vacation. Lots of games, playing with my grandson and what my daughter declared was "the hardest jig saw puzzle ever"!!
We have a path that is a short walk through our field to the ocean to search for sea glass or just walk on the beach. The water is, as we say in New England, "wicked cold" so there is not much swimming done here.
We can sit on our deck off the kitchen and take in the view. My husband's grandfather always used to sit out here with his cigar to listen to the Red Sox games on the radio.
And when you get too much of that sea air this is what happens-nap time for both babies and adults!

Another Construction Update

Seems like these construction updates have been far and few between and that is because it is going SO SLOW! But we are finally done with the dusty mess known as drywall and it looks like the last few things to be done by the contractor should be done this week so that we can do the finishing work like painting and floor installation. We are doing much of the finish work to save a substantial amount of money. This was all supposed to be done a month ago which would have given me plenty of time to do finish work before I go back to work in August. I guess we'll just have to work fast.

In the meantime I am off to Maine for some vacation with hubby and my grown kids and my grandson. This will be his first trip to Maine! This is our cottage there.

And this is my handsome husband and beautiful daughter in law with some of the view.

See you in a week!

Yard Sale Score!

I rarely ever score a big find at a yard sale so I frequently have blog envy when I read about all your finds at yard sales and thrift shops. But this past Saturday I did find a great quilt at a yard sale for $10! It is a Dresden Plate quilt in wonderful 30's fabrics. I have had another Dresden Plate quilt for many years in my daughter's room in more pastel colors but I love the bright colors in this one.

It has a cute scalloped border. It doesn't have a backing or any batting in it but it is finished on the edges with bias tape so I assume it was meant to be used as it is. I thought at first it was made by machine but on closer examination I found it was put together by hand except for the binding.

And Penny the cat has already checked it out and we now have another quilt with cat hair on it!

Color Themes

Today I'm taking you on a tour of the shelves that are part of my kitchen cabinets. I change them frequently and when I do I don't really have themes that I do but I seem to go with a particular color theme. Right now there is a lot of green/aqua showing up. I have had this sugar canister for many, many years and picked up the flour sifter recently at a consignment shop.
The cracker tin is another I have had for quite a while and the little green bowl is made by the Watt company and is the basketweave pattern. I have a number of different color bowls in that pattern.

I recently picked up the pottery cover cheap at a yard sale because all they had was the cover. But I loved the color and the detail on it so I grabbed it. The cookie cutter gets used mostly at Christmas for sugar cookies.

And finally my tea canister that I have had for a long time and the green salt shaker that appears to be made by the same company, the Ransburg Co., that made my tin canisters I use everyday for sugar and flour, etc. I'll have to post picture of those another time.

So what color theme are you today?