Thursday, August 4, 2016

Really Random Thursday, 8/4/16

Are you trying to keep cool? We had started the week with high temps, in the 109 degree range. This is what it felt like.
So why not go out for donuts?
Why did no one order the flamin' hot cheetos donuts? Probably too hot. I couldn't take a good picture of Ella's donut because it was the last one in the case and she bit into it right away--"squirmy wormy." Appropriate.
I love going on individual "dates" with our grandchildren. On Friday, Charlotte and I went to Color Me Mine and had such a fun afternoon. I had been trying really hard to get the cute vase/cup from Target that I had seen on Instagram. No luck in our local stores. And the search engine online did not reveal any results for "vase" or "planter." Correct wording makes all the difference. "Pencil cup," in case you are interested. However, I decided to paint my own.
Note: I could have purchased three from Target for what it cost me at Color Me Mine. However, the time with Charlotte was priceless. Question: Why is she looking so grown up??
Also, in the "why" category, you could paint the ubiquitous red plastic cup.
I had the chance to do a little pattern test for Crazy Mom Quilts. She made a new and different pincushion for each day in July. Now she has written a pattern, and Volume 1 includes five of the pincushions (available on Craftsy). I tested "Pineapple."
When I posted on Instagram, I decided to get a little artsy, and took the picture on a mirror in order to get a reflection. Boy, is that ever tricky. It's hard not to get the ceiling light, me holding the camera, etc. But it was a fun experiment.
Sometimes I buy fabric with no purpose in mind. I'm sure that never happens to you. Ha. I had purchased a lot of license plate fabric from Timeless Treasures last year and made one-hour baskets for my friends. So I really wasn't planning on buying any this year. But then I saw this: Fresno! Now I need a plan.
And in another late-night iPad session, the kind where you surf from link to link to link, I found this fabric. You may initially be wondering why that caught my eye and I immediately ordered two yards. NOTE: This is from the line Out to Sea, Pirate Girls in gray, by Sarah Jane. I purchased it here.
Do you see the pirates named Amelia and Ella? Here are the real-life Ella and Amelia. These two are best of friends.
Also in a super weird coincidence, Ella's middle name is Jane, the same as the pirate on the right. Now to come up with a good plan...Help me out, matey.

Since I have come back from my fabulous quilting retreat in Minnesota, my sewing room has pretty much looked like this.
So what better time to ignore the sewing room and instead...paint the office and main bathroom.

Both rooms went from green (think Granny Smith apples...) to my favorite warm gray, which we have used in nearly 85 percent of the rest of the house--Valspar Oatlands Subtle Taupe. I found the paint color when I saw it on one of my favorite decorating blogs, Freckles Chick, but I was really thrown by the word "taupe" when I went to Lowe's to get the first gallon mixed. But when it dries, the color is, in my opinion, sheer perfection.

I haven't taken pictures of my office yet, which adjoins the sewing room, but here is the main bathroom. Naturally, when you change paint colors, it necessitates a lot of other changes--towels, bath rug, cabinet knobs, etc. Some things are repurposed from other parts of the house. I'm thrilled with the results. Also, I love the fused glass quilty block made by Mark.

And here is a better shot of the shower curtain, which I have actually had for months after Nicole posted it on her blog.
In the first picture of the bathroom, see the light fixture? It is original to the house, from 1968 or so. I have mostly been too lazy to switch it out and have always kind of liked it. Now I'm SO glad I never changed it, as it goes with the rest of the geometric touches in the bathroom.

And it looks so pretty when the light is on.
I started a new project because....why not? It is the Quatro Colour Quilt by Sue Daley. My friend Deborah (@missluella1) talked me into it. Although I have to say, it didn't take much convincing. I'm excited about this one. My plan is to finally cut into my hoarded Heather Ross fabric, and add Jen Kingwell dots.
And because November seems like an eternity away, with nothing but political ads, this is my new platform/policy. Thanks for posting this, Michelle (@speechquilter).
Lastly, I hope you are reading today,  Robby H. You are such a faithful commenter each week but you are a no-reply commenter. I would love to reply back, so I hope you directly email me. For those of you who aren't sure if you are no-reply commenters or not, here is a great little tutorial.

Stay cool, my friends.

12 comments:

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Grandma said... #

Love the fabric. I would do a lot of fussey cut the fabric. What designer?

Nicole said... #

Hip hip hooray for classic names! Can you give us more info on that fabric? Designer or brand or anything? And whatever you make for your girls be sure to also give them a copy of "Pirate Girl" by Cornelia Funke (a very fun picture book). And when they get a bit bigger go for the Pirate Princess series (4 books) by Judy Brown (think reluctant princesses who sell the family jewels, run away and rescue other princesses).

Have an excellent weekend!

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

I love seeing little glimpses of your life in these posts. Nice bathroom redo. We have been in the process of redoing a bathroom for months now. Without wanting to spend a fortune we redid a lot of existing things and one thing just led to another. The most recent being a flood of water when Justin worked on the shower. Uggg will it ever get done?

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said... #

Such fun going on around you! Love the donut dates with the kids. And your bathroom looks phenomenal. I'm writing down that gray, I'm always on the hunt for a good gray!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said... #

Your bathroom looks fabulous and your sewing room looks like mine. Those donuts look delicious!

Mary Ann said... #

The pirate fabric would make really cute pillowcases for those two very cute little girls.

Mary Ann said... #

The pirate fabric would make really cute pillowcases for those two very cute little girls.

Robby said... #

That fabric is too cute. Maybe some sort of little bags for the girls? It seems like girls that age always have some treasure to keep safe.

I love the new bathroom look. I'd call it 'far range planning' that the bathroom fixture is unchaged but looks so great with everything new. ;^) I hate to replace things if they work and I don't find a replacement I love, not that's I'd have any old light fixtures at my house. (cough, cough)

Sorry about the No Reply thing, and my tech support is traveling on business right now. So: bolderbaker.at.aol.dot.com

Laxmi Rai said... #

Happy to visit your blog.Thanks for sharing.

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Dondi M said... #

Your blog is a delight in this election year! I don't drink, but I can understand that people who do would totally agree with that great sign!! I had to laugh. As for me, I will drink some sparkling flavored water or a diet coke with lime or even water with lots of ice. Then I must stay very busy in order not to think too much about politics. Have lots of fun with the grandkids. They grow up much too quickly! The three of ours who lived the closed to us moved out of state this summer. Life goes on and there are many people who need visiting and there are many quilts to sew.

OPQuilt said... #

As usual, a fun blog post with All Things Cindy going on. I recognized the reason you loved that fabric instantly: Ella! but didn't know about Amelia as much. Fun to see a shot of those two together. Oh, and lovely house remodel--it really is a gorgeous color. (And too bad it takes putting me on vacation to get the commenting done!)

Mary Marcotte said... #

How do you keep up with yourself?! Love the new project--just how small are those blocks? The fabrics are fantastic, though. Anyone would hoard those until just the right project came along.