What a busy summer and fall I have had. I redid (if that is a word) the retaining block border around my back flower garden. That was a lot of heavy lifting. We also redid the patio and sidewalk. We did not order soil to build up the flower beds or fix the border around the patio and sidewalk because it was scorching hot all summer and grass seed would just roast not germinate in those temps. I will order dirt in the spring when I am in the mood to garden again.
Fred and I finally tore the basement apart and re studded all of the walls because the moisture build up between the moisture barrier and insulation soaked the existing studs and we did not want mold in the walls. We first lined the walls with thick styrofoam insulation then put Roxul between the studs and secured it with vapour barrier. We then put up drywall, instead of the ugly panelling that we had down there, and we did the mudding, sanding and priming. The basement is so warm now that I sweat when I am down there.
I have to finish painting but after smelling the paint that I put on the shelves Fred built me for days and days, I cannot even think of smelling paint for a while. Besides, I have started quilting again so I have all my stuff organized and against the walls. I do not have the energy to move things around again right now. We still have to paint, put down some kind of flooring, put up trim and baseboards, and finish the stair area. We might do some of it over the Christmas break.
I have moved all of my sewing stuff to the basement now and I am enjoy spreading out down there. It was a pain to share my sewing room with my bedroom. I have room to breathe in my bedroom now.
I have started so many new projects that I don't know which one to work on. My problem is that I start something and then need different or more fabric and have to find the time to go look for it (and we all know how easy it is to find fabric here, not.). Anyway, I have finally started to work on the "Winter's Song" applique quilt. I am not happy with some of my fabric choices and I need larger pieces of fabric for some of the blocks. This quilt cannot be done with fat quarters. Yardage is required as it is a large quilt. I need to go on a major fabric shopping trip in the states. The shops here have limited choices.
I have also started the Orca Bay mystery quilt from Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville blog. I have cut most of Step 1's fabric but I need more neutrals. I do not want to use a lot of white on whites this time. I need to go to Marshalls fabrics and have a look. I have started Step 2 of the mystery as it consists of making 72 x 3.5 inch string blocks with blue fabric and I have lots of that. I have been digging all of the blue fabric I can find from my scraps, strings, cut up squares and strings to use in these blocks. I have been sewing and sewing and have only completed 24 of the 72 blocks. Back to the basement for me.
In the meantime, while I was pulling blues for Orca Bay, I have been putting aside blues to use in another of Bonnie's patterns called Blue Ridge Mountains. That one will take a lot of collecting. I really should order some packages of fabrics online and scour thrift stores.
All of the above fun has seriously cut into my longarm quilting business, so I better smarten up and get my priorities straight. But I am having so much fun doing my own stuff. Oh well, the business does pay for my quilting addiction after all.
I will post pictures of my progress with Orca Bay next time.
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