Here I thought I would have so much time to post with being home, but with Christmas, the kitchen remodel, the addition to the quilting machine, and everything going on, my computer time has been severely limited!
But that's okay....you can imagine me enjoying my evenings hand stitching bindings...endless bindings...to my heart's content.
The only hard part is convincing the males of the household to watch something OTHER than sports, or ice road truckers, or alaskan state troopers or whatever it is. Can I PLEASE have something with a PLOT?! We have settled on things like Law & Order, NCIS, CSI, and all sorts of other shows abbreviated by initials.
During the days I've been quilting, intermittently interrupted by poundings, hammerings, drillings, sawings, planings, and other multitudinous man noises.
The granite was installed yesterday and it is BEAUTIFUL. Still no sink..tho we should remedy that today. I bought a sink and faucet that included a soap dispenser as it's 4th hole accessory....but it had to go way on the right side of the sink...I have my garbage disposal on the left...and the soap dispenser is just kinda...ehhh...SO! Today I went and decided to install an instant hot water tap there in that 4th hole instead. May as well go all the way, right? I have loved it at my friend Randy's house....and I didn't think I was going to have room under the cabinet because of the space the garbage disposal and the dishwasher take up, but turns out we can do it, so I am SO anxious to have hot water on tap, much better than having a built in soap dispenser!
I've had emails asking to see how I quilted Carolina Christmas, so I'll post a couple pics here for you. The pieces are fairly small, and it's a busy quilt..and I am limited on TIME mostly, so a beautiful pantograph really adds a lot of nice texture to this quilt and gives it a vintage delicate feel without being too "stuffy" you know? Let's face it..if I'm going to do fancy quilting, it's going to be in big plain areas where it will show. It's the same reason I don't generally stitch in the ditch either by hand or by machine....I want it to show! :c) So here you go...
I've got a fire burning in my wood stove here in the basement studio. Toasty warm! It was 28 degrees when we went out for the hotwater tap.....I have no desire to go out there again, I just can't get into gear when my FEET are cold! And if you think that's funny, just wait until I fly to Wyoming mid January for the Windy City Quilt Festival in Casper! Doesn't that just sound....balmy? :cD I'm bringing my warmest slippers!
Bonnie - the kitchen looks fabulous - you will be so happy when it is finished. I put a filtered water spigot in my extra hole when we got a new sink a while back. - loved it as our water can sometimes taste "chlorine-y" and I don't like my tea to taste like a swimming pool! Even colder up here in MA - minus 4 with the wind chill. Have fun with your long arm - I am learning long arming - a couple of my friends from guild have a long arm business and they rent time on the machine - I have had one lesson
ReplyDeletePeace Mary In MA
I love this quilt! I've been thinking about beginning one...but haven't. So many quilts to make...so little time!
ReplyDeleteI feel for the cold feet and in consequence my hubby got me three more pairs of wool socks for Christmas. Even though I have my warm slippers on, I think I will go put the socks on--then the slippers on top. (It might even be a good idea to get dressed.) I'm going nowhere today--snow on our rural roads wsn't plowed yet when Ipeeked out the door and I gave hubby permission to use my car with studded tires.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I will actually sew.
That hot water will be worth it's weight in gold. My soap thingie is always plugged up ... I stopped trying to use it 2yrs ago (bummer).
ReplyDeleteKitchen looks beautiful.
Oooooo, love the countertops!! Yes, you might as well do everything you want to, because I bet you don't do it again for a while. I love your CC!! Mine is almost...almost! together. Thank you for this gift.
ReplyDeleteWell, girl, I sure hope you can make it to Casper, Wyoming, because finally, I, ME, Elaine Adair will be in Casper, Wyoming, to meet YOU, come H or high water!!! so ... please don't let the cold weather hold you back! My gosh, I've been trying to 6-8 years!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, and thank YOU for all you have added to the Quilitng Community! 8-)))
The kitchen looks gorgeous and I know you'll love the hot water tap. I've never had one but a friend did and I always thought it was the coolest thing.
ReplyDeleteYou are so preaching to the choir regarding the TV viewing choices! If there is a cop anywhere in that show, i.e. cops, Alaska State troopers, DEA, SWAT, we will be watching it. How many times can you watch someone kick in a door? I finally got through to them last night by saying I feel like they would if we watched QUILTING shows 24/7. lol We watched a movie, WITHOUT a car chase! lol
I so agree with you about watching something with a PLOT!! :-) What's with these guys, anyway?
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen is LOVELY! Enjoy! :-) Laura
What a lovely kitchen it will be when everything is finished - like the cabinets too. I have serious "granite envy" but it's not in my future, at least any time soon. I should put some thought into the instant hot water tap, though, at least to support my husband's coffee and tea habit. Regarding the quilting on Carolina Christmas, that design is very nice and enhances without overpowering the quilt. I delivered my quilt to my favorite longarm quilter today (just too large to even think about with a DSM), and requested autumn leaves since my design is in fall colors (I'm calling it Autumn in Tennessee). She's looking for an appropriate panto design right now. Can't wait to have it done! Thanks for lovely pattern idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the cold feet! I found some great thin wool hiking socks at Dick's Sporting Goods -- look for them locally if you have one, they are great! The quilting on Carolina Christmas is really nice.
ReplyDeleteThat kitchen is coming together beautifully! You will love having a single surface without grout lines. We replaced our builder 4" white tiles with Silestone (quartz composite) and love it. We opted for the soap dispenser as we have very hard water that doesn't taste good for drinking but is okay for cooking.
ReplyDeleteCarolina Christmas is gorgeous!
Bonnie, You are going to LOVE the granite counter tops although it will probably take you a little while to finally put a hot dish on them without first hovering over them trying to decide if you can really do that without any damage!!! I finally got used to it and it's so great to not have to look for a trivet or something else to put down first. Heck, you can put hot dishes every where and any where and not worry!!! For me, baking cookies made the granite all worthwhile. I am just printing off the Carolina Christmas Mystery to do later. Thanks for the "gift". Best to you in the New Year and I hope to see you at one of our local NC Guilds in the near future.
ReplyDeletethe kitchen counters are gorgeous! the quilt is gorgeous! and may I suggest some cuddl duds for your trip?
ReplyDeleteBonnie, one of these days I'm taking my broken-almost-from-day-one soap dispenser off and getting the hot water!! Our house hot water heater is at the other end of the house and it takes forever running the water to get it hot...what a waste!!! The savings in my water bill alone will probably pay for the thing!! lol
ReplyDeleteLori in VA
The kitchen is looking great. It must be the year of the kitchen remodel for alot of us. How do you like the hot water??
ReplyDeleteOh Debby is right ...those cuddle duds are the best......tops and bottoms make you so cozy....mmmmmm.
ReplyDeletethanks so much for a close up of the quilting.....now I know what to ask
my talented longarmer ( Debby Brown)
to do on my Carolina Christmas which I am going to finish this week!
Happy New Year.....enjoy that fabulous new kitchen........oh its just beautiful.
Happy sewing
Hiya Bonnie
ReplyDeleteLOVE how the kitchen is coming along
know what you mean about guys...althoughmine wants to watch Top Chef all the time!! LOL
and I adore how the Carolina Christmas has come up, I'm still on the DD, but have saved your instructions.
I ALWAYS have a "Bonnie" quilt in progress, so easy with the leaders/enders system too!!
Oh, Bonnie, you will lkove the hot water spicket. I put one in my sink when we remodeled here . I am an instant coffee drinker and can get my coffee as soon as I get up. No more tea lettle on the sotve.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen looks terrific. Enjoy it. Thanks for the Carolina mystery. I changed the setting to min.
I love when you show us a close up picture of one of your quilts. Not only does it allow us to see the quilting, but it gives me a better idea of the range of neutrals that you use in a quilt. Sometimes I'm a little hesitant to use many prints in my neutrals for fear they might stand out too much. So it's really helpful to see part of your quilt up close and compare that with the distance shot.
ReplyDeleteBTW, one of the things I loved about your book was that each quilt showed a close-up of one block. Allowed us to see the quilting as well as the range of fabrics you used.
Your kitchen will be a dream to be in. I love the idea of instant hot water. Your Carolina Christmas quilt is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen looks lovely. I had mine done a few years ago and while it was a pain I'm still enjoying it even if I still have to cook *LOL* I adore that quilt!
ReplyDeleteNice counters! And a hot water tap sounds way better than a soap dispenser. Instant hot water for tea and cocoa. Yummy! Especially on those cold winter nights.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen will be lovely and you will love being in it for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the mystery quilt. I am still working on mine. I really struggled to keep it very scrappy, always want to have that control. I grow a bit with every one of your quilts I make.
Happy New Year!
Jeane
Boiling Billy applies the Venturi Principle of water pressure. There aren't any moving parts so it's maintenance free. It's our way of harnessing nature's technology. When there aren't any pumps, solenoid valves or electronic taps, there are fewer breakdowns and, importantly, less energy is consumed.
ReplyDeleteRead more- Filtered water
Water purification
Purified water
Boiling Billy applies the Venturi Principle of water pressure. There aren't any moving parts so it's maintenance free. It's our way of harnessing nature's technology. When there aren't any pumps, solenoid valves or electronic taps, there are fewer breakdowns and, importantly, less energy is consumed.
ReplyDeleteRead more- Filtered water
Water purification
Purified water