Home Improvement is(n't) Glamorous

The full bath on the main level had this switch and outlet combo when we moved in three years ago. the cover plate doesn't match the outlet or the switches and is painted over in spots. It worked, so we didn't mess with it. On Friday, the switch that controls the light decided it was done. It was over being a servant to our wishes for light or the lack of light, so it quit. Everything else in the box worked fine (the exhaust fan turned on and off and the outlets provided power). That doesn't mean you can just change the bit that's broken. 

We replaced the switches, the outlet, and the cover. I even convinced Darling Husband we needed a better (shorter) extension cord for all the things a family likes to power in the bathroom. There was some wiring confusion on my part during reassembly. We got it sorted, tested, and closed back up. What I expected to be a 30 minute project turned out to take 60 minutes. I also changed out the shower curtain liner, but that isn't even half as glamorous as the electrical work.

By the way, that nightlight is multi-color, with motion sensor, and includes a battery so it comes on when you lose power.

Pool Removal

When we bought this house we knew the pool would have to be removed. This is the year we finally got the job done. The cover was getting pretty rough and we couldn't put it off any longer.

We uncovered the pool to see how bad it really was.

There was quite a bit of damaged tile. More than a few frogs, too. I caught three frogs during the draining process. I was going to remove them to an area behind the neighborhood with a slow moving creek. Two of those three frogs decided to make their own way in the world.

This happy fellow stayed in the bucket long enough I could deposit him in the real wilds of my neighborhood.

The contractor made quick work of draining the water from the pool and the hot tub.

Once it was drained, the real work could continue.

They broke up the bottom of the pool to make sure it wouldn't hold water any more.

They broke up a bunch of the concrete and filled the hole. 

This process took several days. 

Finally, they had the concrete apron removed and the pool demolished about 2 feet below the level of the yard. Now all that remains is the job of putting down grass seed. The yard is so much better without that giant hole in the middle.

I know there are people out there that won't understand why we decided to remove the pool. The truth is we don't want to pay for the upkeep of a pool (it is expensive and time-consuming). Realtors will tell you there is no resale benefit to a pool. It's just another mechanical system you have to maintain. That giant slab of concrete reflecting heat into the back of the house isn't very good for my air conditioning bill, either. A big yard is a better deal any day.

If that doesn't convince you, here is a dog. This dog would rather have a big yard to run and play in than a pool any day of the week. A pool is just a hole in the ground the ball gets stuck in and that is no fun at all.

No, I won't hem your curtains

We've lived in this house for over a year. We put up enough window treatments to ensure modesty and privacy. But we hadn't done anything fancy. Not that this project is going to be fancy. I don't do fancy. We picked up some reasonably priced curtain panels at IKEA.

That's where the sewing machine comes in. We chose these based on price and opaqueness. There were thicker curtains, but the price point was higher. It also meant that they were about 20 inches too long. While my Darling Husband was more than happy to hang them as they were, I was less than impressed with 20 inches of curtain on the floor. Likely picking up a lifetime of dog fur.

After trimming and hemming the curtains I would have been left with five panels worth of 20" of curtain. I suppose I could have made tote bags, but I figured adding that bit to the top of the panel would keep the room a little darker (the real goal of this window treatment is to prevent glare on the television) and I wouldn't be left with scraps. I simply folded under about 1/4 inch on that raw edge and top stitched it below the seam at the top. It sure isn't fancy, but it isn't wasteful, either.

About two hours later I had my five panels finished. They block out the light nicely and look pretty good while doing it, too. After I was finished, I decided that I would evaluate the value of this work at $50/panel. This is where I tell you again about the wonderful articles you can find on Sam Hunter's blog and learn more about the We Are $ew Worth It way of thinking.

I would love to teach you how to use a sewing machine and how to hem your own curtains. No, I won't hem them for you.

Home Improvement and Mini Quilts

This week we tackled more small projects around the house along with continuing to unpack boxes.

We replaced a couple outlets.  This is an outlet/USB combination.  It fits into the outlet box replacing one of the outlets with two USB charging ports.  This is at my nightstand so I can have my lamp and charge two USB devices.  Pretty nifty.

The ceiling fan in Darling Husband's office stopped working about a week after we moved in.  Over the weekend we replaced it with this modern-looking fan.

Another great idea from IKEA is this drop table. We installed it in the laundry room so we would have a surface to sort and fold laundry.  We can move the basket out of the way and drop the table if we need more space in the laundry room and the table doesn't interfere with the baskets.

I also spent some time adding hanging sleeves to some of my mini quilts so I could hang them in my sewing studio.  I love being able to see all these minis in one place.  Two of these were received as part of swaps I participated in.  The others were made by me.

Do you have plans for around your house?  I would love to hear about your fun projects to make your space more comfortable or useful.

Where I've been...

I know the blog has been really quiet lately.  I've been so busy I don't know what direction I'm moving in.  In July I got a new job, bought a house, started the crazy task of getting painters in, pulling up old carpet, having flooring installed, moving all my worldly possessions with nothing more than a pick-up and a bunch of picking-up, travel for work for no less than two weeks out of every four and try not to lose my mind.  I've got some before photos of one of the bedrooms so I'll share those.  So you can see not only how far we've come, but also the depth of my crazy.

This is a bedroom that I will be using as an office and maybe a guest room.  

The first thing that had to go was the carpet.  Not a single piece of carpet in this house was worth saving.   This blue paneling?  That's got to go, too.

I'm not a fan of carpet anyway.  It is a breeding ground for who knows what.

I set about removing the carpet and padding.  You can save a few dollars in labor if you pull this stuff up yourself.  You also know that every staple was actually removed.  

This sand.  Yes.  Sand.  All trapped under the carpet and padding.

I didn't weigh it.  Maybe I should have.  This is all of it, piled into my dust pan.  This is one reason I hate carpet.

Sadly, the flooring tiles were too damaged to leave as-is, so I had to get some flooring put in before moving into the space.  That chair rail had to go, too.  I kid you not, every room in the house had chair rail.  

That closet space has such potential!

Ready for the next step:  Painters!

I don't know how often I will share these before/after photos.  But I did want to provide at least a little explanation as to where I've been.  This room is just one of the four we worked on to make them livable.  All while trying to move ourselves (that was a poor decision) and work full-time and travel for work.  We've made great progress but it hasn't been easy or quick.

When we are done, it will be awesome!

Red is my favorite color!

I'm back!

What do you suppose my first project would be upon returning?  Sharing the great fabric finds I made while away... no.  Sharing pictures from the places I've been... um, maybe tomorrow.  Honey decided we should go to IKEA yesterday.  I have been wanting to update my sewing machine space, so we took a couple quick measurements and off we went.

Here is what I started with.  A student desk, made by my father, that I've been working at for... about twenty years (that's just the time I've been sewing at it, in high school I did my homework at that desk).  It isn't big, but it has worked for me for a long time.  The biggest drawback was that I had to come up with creative ways to hold the work on my left side.  In Montana, I slid the ironing board over next to the desk for that job.  Since moving to Maryland, I've kind of just been winging it, which means occasionally, the work was not as easy to move through the machine as it should have been.

Step one, move that desk to the other side of the sewing suite to make room for the new.  The moving about of stuff made me do a little organization, but just a little.  Piles and piles of fabric, batting and projects in various stages still litter the space.

At IKEA, we picked up two tabletops, six legs and a drawer unit.  The upside is that neither Honey or I yelled or cursed when the other smashed a finger, or two during assembly.  A pretty good IKEA project for that alone.

The unit where the machine sits only used two legs (in case you were worried that I couldn't do maths) with the other end supported by the drawer unit. Here it is, in its final configuration.  Plenty of room to work and for the work to be supported.

I couldn't resist taking another shot of it, isn't that red worktop amazing!  Have I mentioned that red is my favorite color?

Today, I put that new workspace to some use by piecing up the backing for a quilt.  A coworker of mine made a couple quilt tops and has commissioned me to quilt them.  I hope to have pictures of that in the next few days.  Along with any other crafty mischief I can manage to get myself into.

Sewing Suite and Ti Leaves

I've moved up in the world.  Gone are my two folding banquet tables.

A trip to IKEA got me this great table.  Okay, so it's really two tables screwed together.  That isn't important.  The important part is that the height is adjustable.  Working height = 36 inches.

Much better than bending over to cut and pin.  Of course, now, my chair is too short.

Ti Leaves is a great little pattern I picked up last weekend at a little quilting shop in Virginia.  I wanted to try something different.

It's a different way to do applique.  Basically, you use both pieces when you cut out the shapes.  Above you can see the leaves traced onto the paper.

Next, you sit around and do some tedious cutting.  But they sure look neat.

There they all are, cut out and waiting to be matched up with complimentary light fabrics.

I've matched them up with their respective partners.  Time to get out the iron and make beautiful blocks. 

This Little House: the Sewing Suite--The End

The sewing suite is done!
On Saturday, my contractors showed up at 9 am to finish the flooring upstairs. I spent most of Monday morning cleaning up all the sawdust that was scattered about. Then I got with the moving of furniture.
The space is really much bigger than I can capture from the open doorway. See how nicely my desk fits in there? Then I unpacked box after box of fabric. You can't even see all the fabric in this picture because I ran out of room to put some of it. I just need to find the shelf brackets so I can have more shelf space. At least half the room isn't full of boxes any more.
I couldn't resist hanging up some of my quilts on the great little quilt stand we picked up at the thrift store last week.

This Little House: The Sewing Suite-Part Two

I have nearly finished with all the work I'm going to do to the house this year. The latest project is to finish up the floors in the sewing suite.Look at poor Slick, the movers dismembered him. At any rate, here is a view of the other side of the sewing suite before I got busy moving everything out so I could pull up the last of the evil carpet this house has been using to harbor smells, dirt and less savory things.
This morning, I started with an empty room. Time to tear up the carpet. Hammer: check. Screwdriver: check (although I have no idea why I needed that). Utility knife: check. Eleven-in-one tool: check (this is the most awesome tool I've ever had, no homeowner should be without one).
Carpet up, time to take up the padding. Padding that was was stuck down with some pretty sturdy double-sided tape.
After a couple hours, I've discovered the floor beneath. Whew! Time for my contractors to get here with the tools and expertise to cover it up with something much more pleasing. Then I get to move all the stuff back in.