Strange stains...

Still working away on the mud porch project. After two coats of Kilz, I still have brown stains seeping to the surface. There is some linoleum backing residue that we couldn't get off... and this seems to be the problem. I am applying a third coat today which will hopefully seal it in.


On the fabric side of things, I received these absolutely beautiful Printmaker International prints in the mail.

I ordered them from Fashion Fabrics Club after my friend Mo sent me a fabric alert email. I'm hoping to make Miss Elsie a summer dress out of the ranch house/BBQ one. I've got a whole stack of mending to get through first to clear my sewing table for fun projects.....(sigh) there's always something holding up the fun.

Do I really need another project?.....

....Yes, I do!
Backstory-
This past winter a local cat decided to mark our mud porch screen door as his personal territory. Our three cats decided to return the favor by marking the inside carpet. After cleaning repeatedly with a carpet cleaner, using pet odor neutralizer, and Febreeze, we cannot get the smell out. To top it off the spouse purchased a different formula of cat litter last week that for some reason smells fruity. So we have fruit and cat urine wafting into the house occasionally. Not pleasant!

So yesterday, I ripped out the floor coverings. The first layer was indoor-outdoor carpeting. The second layer was a mid-seventies vinyl that came apart in pieces like construction paper. The third layer (which was over the wood floor) is real linoleum. Our house was built in 1921 and the linoleum is of that vintage. Unfortunately it was completely unsalvagable due to the mass amount of glue used to hold down the aforementioned vinyl. So now it looks like this:



I was delighted to see the wood floor in good shape... no holes or anything rotten. We are planning on painting a good coat of Killz over it (too seal in any remaining stinky stuff) and then paint it grey for low maintenance. However in the process of scraping off the remaining residue this morning, I wore off some of the skin on the palm of my hand. Took me awhile to realize that that was why my hand was burning inside my gloves... a little slow sometimes. So I have one corner left and the spouse has agreed to help finish it tonight when he comes home...


It already smells so much better!!!! The new paint will perk up that space, and I've cleaned off my grow light shelves, so as soon as everything is put back out there, I can start moving my plants and seedings out. Spring has sprung!

Finding Spring

This morning is so beautiful and warm with blue skies! I could hardly resist, so I grabbed my camera and headed out in my pyjamas to snap a few pictures.




They have this strange lighting quality about them, because my flash kept firing. I kind of like the way the daffodil one turned out.... and you can see the wonderful blue sky!

We are off to Home Depot this morning to buy lag bolts to hang our bathroom cabinet and to buy a new microwave. The handle came off 3 weeks ago and we've been making-do with the stump that's left. It won't last much longer, and if it breaks off then we can't get the door open. Miss Elsie and I are heading to the farm on Tuesday, so Dave will be installing the microwave while we are gone.... I like those kinds of projects.

Recovering from the weekend

I have just returned from a wonderful 3 night ski trip to Mt. Bachelor with my best friend. Neither of us have skied in 5 years, so we were taking it slow and enjoying ourselves. We spent the nights at the Seventh Mountain Resort which was wonderful. We took advantage of the fireplace and the bathtub. What a luxury to have a long soak without the interruptions of a toddler or husband! We also treated ourselves to an evening at the day spa after the first day of skiing. We were both rather sore after day one, but rallied for day two. It was a spectacularly beautiful morning- bright sun, snow sparkling like diamonds, and freshly groomed runs. It couldn't have been more perfect. Here are two pictures from that morning....


Now it's back home and back to projects.... I spent the whole morning getting through everything on my desk. I have greatly reduced the piles of "To Do" paperwork. Now it's on to finishing the tax prep and getting lists organized for the basement project... as well as taking care of a sick Elsie. She doesn't feel too poorly, just not too perky.

Lot's of Excitement

The blog has been a little quiet due to a lot of things going on. Last week, I met the most wonderful group of baby/toddler designers. One of the designers is in the same factory that my sister and I use for Mister Judy. She saw our fabulous dresses and had to meet us. She organized a get together and this is who came:
Violet
Kung Fu Bambini
Andrea
Baby Wit
Jennifer
Dishy Duds
Dana
Baby Star
Kristen
Go, Goose, Go
Shannon
no website yet
An amazing group of women. We are hoping to do some group trunk shows and events... will keep you posted.

Then last Friday, my sister and I drove to Seattle for the Northwest Fabric and Notion show. We need to select our fabrics for Fall 2006. We had a wonderful but busy time. We stayed for one night at the fabulous Hotel Max (used to be the Vance). It was very hip, yet affordable. We met with most of the fabric vendors that we wanted to see and were able to make some initial decisions. It was nice just having a little time too... just the two of us.... haven't done that in several years. We also found this great cafe near Seattle Center called the Mecca Cafe. It's been in the same family since 1927. Total diner food, which equals comfort food. Great little spot!

Now that I'm back home, I need to get some seeds started for this spring. I'm really wanting some vine ripened tomatoes.... unfortunately it will be a little while yet.

UFO Report

Over the winter I've started many knitting/crochet projects without finishing them. Here's a sampling of my Unfinished Object situation....
the scarf using the vintage crochet pattern that I found...

My mom bought me this beautiful baby alpaca/silk yarn, but I do not have enough of one color to do an entire project. Since the yarn was a gift from a year ago, I don't think I'll be able to match the colors, so I'm going to do the scarf half and half. The second half will be in the warm mango-yellow yarn still in ball form.

This is the skirt that I was knitting this winter for Elsie....

... unfortunately I did it wrong and did not wind up with a tube skirt with a ruffle at the bottom. It is supposed to look like this skirt that Mo made for Miss M. I did not reduce enough stitches at the hem and wound up knitting the entire body double wide! This is a candidate for an unravelling. It's a fuzzy yarn, so it's going to be a pain, but I can't figure out how to finish it. Elsie has such a tiny waist, that by the time I draw it in to fit her, it will be so bulky that it may be uncomfortable to wear.

and my latest undertaking, the wrap sweater for Miss E

This is my first attempt at a garment. Hopefully I will finish it before she grows.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have taken a break from the blog to take care of a sick girl for the past several days. However, she has made a full recovery and is ready for preschool this morning.
We made some frosted Valentine sugar cookies this weekend....

This is my mom's recipe which produces a far superior sugar cookie than the thin crispy kind you buy in the store. These puff up about 1/2" thick and are soft. They are as close to shortbread as you can get without actually making shortbread... they are really close though, they have 1-1/2 cups of butter plus 1/8 cup. Yummy!
Elsie had a great time frosting little piles of decoration in the middle of her cookies. We had to change frosting tips frequently, so I think I need to get some more bags. Toward the end, we spent more time changing tips than squirting frosting. I think we wound up with 4 dozen beautifully frosted cookies.

Dance Party

My wonderful spouse, Dave, will do anything for his little girl. Here he is wearing a flowery apron and performing "ballet" with Miss Elsie. The apron was required as a dancer needs something flowey and pretty....


.... and finishing with a lift....



.... how much do I love these two entertainers!

Taking a breather...

My parent's left this morning after a wonderful six day visit. We worked on some projects (no we did not get the bathroom cabinet up, but it's really close) and had a great zoo outing yesterday. The polar bears at the Oregon Zoo here in Portland, put on the most spectacular show swimming and playing with their various toys. We probably watched them for a half and hour. Elsie did not want to leave them... they were her friends.
Today Elsie is spending the entire day at Pre-School. This was a special request by her. About two weeks ago, she discovered that the kids sleep on little blue cots for nap time. Elsie has been cot-obsessed ever since her grandparents bought her one to use at the farm. The fact that her pre-school had them too was almost too much for her little system. All we heard about for days were the cots at school. So today, she took a pillow and blanket and sleeping buddy to try out the cots. She will be there from 8:30am until 6pm, but I don't think I can make it that long and will probably pick her up at 5pm. I hope all goes well. Today was also pyjama day at Pre-school.... which I forgot about and dressed Elsie in a tiered skirt and embroidered cardigan. She looked at me with big sad eyes wondering why she wasn't wearing her pyjamas like EVERYBODY else at school. I had a severe Bad Mommy moment. So I ran back home, frantically found the pink poodle flannel pyjamas and little sheep slippers and drove back to Pre-School. Her teacher was going to help her change her clothes.
So for now, I'm trying to solve a last-minute factory issue for the Mister Judy product and then I'm going to take a break. The basement will have to wait until tomorrow.

House projects.... what else!

We are still plugging away at the basement. I posted the last items on Craig's List that need to go. If they don't move, the next sunny day they are heading outside with a big FREE sign. One of the positive aspects of doing so much basement cleaning and reorganizing is that it is forcing me to finish some incomplete projects just to get them out of the way. For example, we bought an old wall hanging cabinet for our bathroom 3 years ago. It has been sitting in the basement waiting for it's coat of paint. It sat there long enough that we started to use it as an additional work bench! Goes to show that humans can adapt to anything. It currently has 1 coat of primer and 1 coat of paint. 1 more coat to go and then it can be hung in the bathroom and give us some much, much needed storage. My parents are coming to visit this weekend, and my Dad is wonderfully skilled at anything requiring tools or complicated angles. I'm hoping he can assist the mounting of this cabinet. Would be terrible to load it and have the whole thing come down taking bits of the wall with it.
So here are some pictures of some progress.
Before....


After...


I think we are finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel of preparation. We haven't even had a plumber or electrician over yet, and it feels like we've been working at this for months!

There you are!

Old Sol decided to grace us with his presence in Portland today. That makes two sunny days in a row. My spirits are definitely lifted! I thought I would take advantage of the beautiful light and take a few pictures.




Apparently I've hit my Flickr upload limit for the month. I'll sort that out later and stick the rest of the pictures out there.

Kitchen Sink Faucet

Here is the current state of my kitchen sink....

As you can see there is no faucet. We have purchased a new one and started working yesterday at 3pm to put it in. It took us 3 hours to remove the old one. After dinner when we put the new one in, the hoses did not reach the shut off valve connections. The spouse went back to Home Depot (second trip of the day) only to be told that they should reach and it was impossible to have this problem. So no faucet for after-dinner clean up and no faucet this morning. Fortunately the plumbing store is open and the spouse is on his way to pick up new fittings.
Soon I can have my kitchen table back....

Dreary, rainy day

It has been raining an unusual amount in Portland this January. Consequently most days are dark and overcast... making it very difficult to stay motivated. I would prefer to curl up on the couch with my knitting, some tea, and a stack of Audrey Hepburn movies and not move until spring arrives. However that is not at all compatable with Miss Elsie's schedule.... I can always dream.
For fun, I took one of my dragon wing begonias that I'm over-wintering in the house and added some bright moss to his pot. I think it's rather striking and brings in some springy feel to the dining room.

I had to use the manual setting on my digital camera to catch enough light. It's a little blurry, but I had to breathe.

The basement is coming along. We are in the process of painting the cement storage ledge with oil base paint which makes the whole house stink.... but it does seal up the walls nicely and seals out the bugs. Speaking of which, I found two of these when I was moving boxes off the ledge...

... centipedes are my least, least favorite crawly thing. I squashed one, but the other got away. I'm hoping the paint fumes gassed him.

Antique Mall Find

We spent Saturday night at the beach in Seaside and did a little antiquing along with some sand castle building. I found these great knit/crochet books for $1.50 each!

One of the patterns in the Moods in Fashion "The Open Look" is almost identical to this kelly green crochet scarf that I have been coveting at Oilily. This is a peek at the pattern:

Antler Update

The antlers just left the house and are on their way to their new home! YAY! That's one large item out the door.

Ready for Spring

I know, I know... Christmas is hardly over. We still have a few decorations to tuck away, but my thoughts have already turned to spring. It doesn't help that we are already receiving February magazines with beautiful pictures of large spring floral arrangements. I was outside today in my rubber boots, trying not to sink up to my waist in the back yard and discovered that my daffodils are coming up and my helleborus is sending up it's blossom stalks. One of the camelias even has an open blossom on it! Spring isn't too far away!
Here is the lovely inspiring picture from Country Living. I love all things chartreuse.....


My interpretation....

....I'm just delighted than I finally cleaned off the top of the fridge and got rid of stacks of cracker and cereal boxes. The branch is from our camelias out front. I soaked the entire branch in some warm water in the tub and then crushed the branch before putting it in the vase. Hopefully the buds will open.
And then to show off my blooming camelia....

Wonderful Blog Site

I linked through to Mary's blog,My House is Cuter Than Yours, from Tie One On and immediately fell in love with her house, projects, and other house-wifey items. You've got to see her photo on the Tie One On blog. She is absolutely stunning!... and those curtains, and the TREE!!! You've got to see the tree. The spouse loves it too! Thought I would pass on the link.

Have we made any progress?

We worked like beavers in the basement this weekend. We hauled an entire car load of stuff to the free plastics recycling event on Saturday and then took two piles of odds and ends to Goodwill. Does it look like we've made any progress?



I also put a couple things on Ebay and have some unusual items that I have no idea what to do with:
the elk antlers...

.... apparently I cannot legally sell them, since we do not have an elk tag. We don't even know who shot the animal in the first place, since we are about the third owner. If anyone in Portland, OR wants these and is willing to drive to my house to pick them up, they are yours. Leave me your info in the comments.

the tea box....

... would make in interesting end table, but we no longer have room for it. I think we will put it out on Craigslist.

Hopefully the next time I post on the basement, there will be some obvious progress. Like new electrical wires or greatly improved plumbing! It's very strange the things that make you excited when you are a home owner....

Projects and Plans for the New Year

Now that I'm finally well (8 weeks later), I'm doing a lot of much needed house cleaning and sorting. Apparently my spring cleaning urge happens about 3 months early. There are also some home projects that need tackling. My current studio situation is a disaster when I'm in production mode....



This next part, I'm almost embarrased to post... but, here goes.... We want to turn our unfinished and full basement....



.... into a joint studio space for the spouse and myself. There would be plenty of room for my sewing machines and fabric stash, as well as space for his letter press and never ending supply of "raw materials"... more on that later. The new West Elm catalog arrived, and it is full of beautiful airy rooms... white floors and orange and yellow. It makes me want to get moving now. But as you can see from the previous picture, some serious cleaning needs to be done.
For now I can dream about storage...

I really like these cabinets from IKEA. With the glass fronts, I will be able to see what is inside at all times.
As far as overall design for the space, it has to work with both of our styles. We are leaning toward Mid-Centry Modern Pad with Tiki overtones and maybe some James Bond thrown in.


... maybe we are little bit conflicted... I'll keep you posted on this project.

Happy New Year

2006 has arrived! There are resolutions to be made and new adventures to have.... not to mention all sorts of new projects to tackle.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and a safe New Year's Eve.
Here's to a brand new year full of wonderful things.
Cheers!

Lori