The Great Bathroom Remodel of 2007. The shower curtain debate.

I wanted a shower curtain that had a clear or mesh top. You know, something that would let in more light. I looked at the the usual places. That's right, no luck. Evidently, I'm the only person in the world that wants a shower curtain that lets you see what you're doing in the shower. That, or everyone else in the world has recessed lighting over their shower.

At any rate, I couldn't find what I wanted, so I headed to the fabric store to find something I did like. Honey and I agreed on a striped fabric that we thought would go with the tile, although the floor still doesn't match much of anything. He grumbled when I told him we'd have to buy new towels, too. I tried to make him feel better by pointing out that we'd only need a few, just enough to put up when guests come by. That made him feel a little better, but not much.

My answer to this question, was to use an inexpensive, clear vinyl liner for the top of my new curtain. I'd just have to trim it to the length I wanted (no need to have a really big see-through panel) and add fabric to the bottom (this also helped with the lazy factor, I didn't need to buy, or install, eyelets). I purchased a new liner and installed it. Since the old liner was too short, it would become my donor. I also purchased some new hooks, primarily because the blue ones just weren't working any more.

Measure this, measure that, start cutting. Well, I didn't actually cut much. I'm a big fan of the "snip & rip" method of cutting straight lines on long pieces of fabric. Thank goodness my fabric has wavy lines on it. Nothing worse than ripping a piece of fabric to find that the printing and the grain is all messed up.

Since pictures of me and my sewing machine fighting with several yards of fabric and some vinyl don't show well, you'll only get one picture. The finished curtain, hanging up in the bathroom with the linens that don't match. I'll work on that.

It doesn't feel claustrophobic inside the shower any more. You have enough light to find that dropped soap and you can actually see to shave. Now I just need some orange and yellow towels. Maybe I'll paint to floor yellow. Hmmm.....


Now, what do I do with the half-yard or so of left over fabric...

The Great Bathroom Remodel of 2007. In my absence.

So, while I was away, Honey did some work on the bathroom. It's not done yet, but we're still making progress. The walls are painted, with just a little touch-up remaining.

The new vanity finally got put in (gee, I kind of miss it when I sit on the couch).

New faucet, some matching door-pulls for the vanity and the laundry shoot. Oh, yeah, and the door got put back up. Yay! Privacy returns to the bath!

The towel rods got put in. (I tried to tell Honey that the high one is too high, but he's tall, so he doesn't see it as a problem.) Now, there is room for everyone to hang up their towels. Seriously, who thought a 2/3 bedroom house with a single bath could get along with just one towel rod in the bath?

The floor is still a mess and the ceiling could use another coat of paint. It's still a work in progress.

Here is the up-to-date long-shot of the bath.

The neverending scarf.

A friend of mine inquired about me making him a Doctor Who scarf. Foolishly, I said I could do it. If you haven't looked around the internet for the instructions for this wonderful wardrobe item, you haven't lived. Let's just say... I'll be at this until Mid-Winter. Heck, I'm hoping the weather doesn't turn warm again before I'm finished.

There are not quite as many different Doctor Who scarves as there are Doctors, but it's close. I decided on the Series 12 version provided by a wonderful collector. He broke it down into simple terms. Not that it's complicated. Row after, row after, row... you get the idea. Garter stitch until you can't stand it any more, then you probably do it for five more feet. So far, I've worked through what I think is about 25% of the the pattern instructions. The scarf is over six feet long already (I think my measurement today was just over 80 inches).

I'll try to keep you updated on this monumental project. It isn't something I can work on exclusively. It is a wonderful sit & knit project for TV watching, though. Simplicity. Besides, I think it's fun to watch the new series with David Tennant and knit along. Torchwood isn't bad either.


For those of you that must know, I threw caution to the wind and decided to make it my own way, sort-of. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn and size 6 (US) needles. Even knowing it will take just as long, I opted for worsted weight and size 8 (US) needles. This means that the 60 stitches (counted on the original scarf) comes out around 12 inches wide. This will be a monster scarf.

The sprained knee...

So, within 30 minutes of arriving home after my cruise, Baby and Reesey barrel into my left side, taking out my knee. After a little self pity and a small grass stain on the right knee, I headed to the clinic. There I got x-rays to determine that I hadn't broken anything, but had mild swelling. Granted, I didn't need an x-ray for that, but I'm not a doctor. A knee brace, some medication and a limited duty chit later I was sent on my way.

Stuck on the couch, I decided on a new project. Yes, yes, I know. I have something like twenty projects in the works at any given time. Yes, the Doctor Who scarf is still in the works. I don't plan on that being complete for quite some time.

My friend Triple-A purchased some really scrumptious yarn the last time we visited Portland, ME. It's JCA's Blizzard, an Alpaca (65%) Acrylic (35%) blend. Very soft. It also sheds almost as much as Baby does. She originally purchased enough to knit a hat and a scarf. She successfully knit the hat, but lost interest on the scarf. Knowing her like I do, I decided that I'd just knit it up for her. So, knee in brace and under ice, now seemed like a good time. She'd seen a pattern in the newest issue of Knit.1 and decided that's what she wanted. I picked up the yarn and sat down to get started.

Like usual, I can never follow the pattern to the letter. I've tried, really, but sometimes the directions just seem dumb. My way is better, anyway. The pattern is for a cute little hat with ear flaps that are knit long enough to wrap around your neck. I'm sure that in the winter it will be a wonderful item for keeping warm and fashionable. Here is the cap of the hat.

She had four balls of the alpaca blend; two in a light green, two in a chocolaty brown. I actually completed the green one first, so a little bit of the green ended up in the brown one. Here you can see the top, with the edges bound off waiting for the ear flaps to be added on. Again, the green part is where I completely ignored the pattern and did it my way. I kind of like it.

I had to use up all the yarn, or she'd never find a use for it. Even after the two hats, I had some brown left over. I'm thinking it should be enough for a headband, something just to keep the ears warm.