December 2016 and the New Flooring!

It's Christmas Eve here on the central coast of California and it is clear, crisp and getting green from the amazing rains we have had lately. We are all deeply grateful for the water!
We are celebrating the love God blessed the world with through His Son, Jesus. Even though Jesus wasn't really born in December, we're singing along with the angels that sang...whenever it was!...to rejoice in the salvation He is to us.  I don't really love the holidays but can say that people taking the time to show love and peace to each other is always welcome and stirs hope and more peace. I hope you are each blessed with loved ones with whom you can share joy.
We are also celebrating here with some deep chaos!  As I've mentioned before, we are getting some long needed new flooring. Our house is for the most part packed up and stored.  Most of my furniture is in my garage and will be for another two weeks!  Crazy! We didn't really plan it this way..actually, maybe we didn't plan at all!  But once we figured out what we wanted and found the right installer, we just went for it.  Of course, schedules were backed up and the job turned out to be much more than the installer estimated...but it is getting done and getting done very well.  The subfloor was actually in good shape but it is in Really Good Shape now.  This guy prepped thoroughly...with very loud tools! It was brutal for over a week but we can see some results and are quite happy.
The flooring...for those who have wanted to see pictures....is called Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)  Very scratch resistant and can be spilled on and mopped without fear of damage. It's also a little quieter than wood and yet looks like it :-)
Good bye blue carpet...

Subfloor was painted during original construction to protect it from the rain happening at the time. We only had one maybe two places where we had a squeak but our current installer drilled long screws securing the subfloor again to the joists....like every foot or so.  No chance of squeaks now!

They also sanded/ground the floor all over for maximum smoothness.

The outside edge of the house is cement and the center of the subfloor had settled to make up to about 3/8" difference from the center to the edge. So after underlayment (plywood boards) were placed in the center, a leveling compound was poured to even it out to the edge making it all the same height.

Then they went about laying planks.  The glue my husband chose is a crazy one that requires mixing and gave off lovely fumes so the men wore respirators for protection. The glue adds yet another layer of protection from moisture.  We are pet proofed!

A heavy roller sealed those planks down.

We still have quite a ways to go but it is looking good!

They completed the floor in our bedroom so we could put our bed back together and leave the upstairs (where we have been staying) for my sister who is 'roughing' it here with us for Christmas. We huddle in my husband's office where they brought in some chairs for us so we can eat and watch Christmas movies :-)
Then next week they will be at it again and tackle the stairs and upstairs bedroom after completing the bottom floor. 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!  I think I'm starting the new year buying a Roomba to help with all this dog hair :-)

November

Wow, it has been a busy month! Voting, animals to the vet for shots, exams and oral surgery for both cats...poor babies, but both are happy and healthier for it....still packing up the house for the floor re-do which got pushed back a week and will completely alter any idea of Christmas here, and of course, the twice daily hour long walks of the pups.  So obviously, NOT MUCH SEWING HERE :-(
Fortunately for the gift from Julie, I can still sneak in a few moments.

These blocks are slow going but very fun to sew. With no pins, it seems like magic when they go together so well. It dawned on me that I purchased a pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful to sew up another Wheel of Mystery...that I will have to cut up myself. 😅😅😅   (Hey I just figured out how to add an emoji! though they don't look as good as they do on my phone...)

So hopefully, I'm getting some good practice with curved stitching here. 

To keep me in some good quilty spirits, I won two giveaways! 
Both were from a wonderful blog hop of new Kaffe Fassett material. From Amy at Mrs. Schmenkman Quilts, I won this beautiful jelly roll of Kaffe that I'm looking forward to sewing up in the new year. Thank you, Amy!

And from Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  I won this sewing machine mat that she made herself (!) from the new Kaffe fabrics.  

This is truly gorgeous and so special to have something sewn by her. I am thrilled!  Thank you, Sarah!  When my sewing room is put back together it will be gorgeous!
Thank you all for reading along in my quilty adventures. I hope you are blessed with a grateful heart as we head into this holiday season with Thanksgiving. We all need gratitude and hope and are blessed when we are able to share it. 

October part three

For some actual sewing this month, it took a treat in the mail to get me going. As I am sorting and purging through my stuff, Julie, of JulieKQuilts has been doing a bit of the same...at least in her sewing closet :-) She has a lot of wonderful projects started but was thinking some were just going to languish. So she sent me some wool applique blocks to share with me...I'll show these later when I get started working on them.  These are a particular treat for me as I love applique...but really don't like the prep part...and these are totally ready to go!  Awesome! Thank you so much, Julie!
A surprise in the package though was a precut kit for curved piecing project. Curved piecing peaks my interest so I jumped right in. 

I'm sewing slow and steady as these are not the easiest in the world to sew. And I'm not sure if I see improvement in my skill just yet but hopefully I will. It is so perfect for me right now with most of my house packed away. This little kit is too easy to pick up and just sew pieces together.
It is also giving me a chance to use something I purchased at PIQF. 

I think it was my last purchase as things were winding down Sunday afternoon. My sister and I listened to the demonstrator and it got my attention.  The cover uses the same material as firemen protective gear that reflects the heat back to what you are trying to press. So you can actually set the iron to a lower temp and also it was just a nice smooth surface for ironing. I have purchased an ironing pad at market before that was not really that great so I was leery of making another disappointment.  But they had a handy small pad just perfect for my pressing station next to my machine so I bought that for a test ride :-)
And I like it!

I was trying hard not to bring a lot back with me from this show.  I stuck with looking for some blacks and greys and reds that I haven't been finding at my LQS's.  I found these and am looking forward to sewing another red cross quilt in the new year sometime.

The white piece has demo stitches from the awesome Bernina 790 that I tested out.  It is quite a fun machine with beautiful stitches and great features.  I did not bring this home though!  I am happy to say that I'm quite content with my 1090 but it is fun to fly a jet sometimes :-)
In the not needed but still fun to purchase was this

...plaid, always a fun purchase!  and a pretty orange for pumpkins from Farmhouse Threads. I think this was their first year there and because my other favorite, Sew Cherished, was not there...these folks cheered me considerably. They have a beautiful booth with wonderful wools, homespuns and fun patterns. An oasis in a modern world :-)

October part two

More pictures of PIQF

I'm not sure how this got hexagons in the name but I loved all these plaids and flying geese.

This next one was wonderful to see from designer, Sandy Klop.

And from two quilters local to me...

I think these were most of my favorites. The show had some beautiful quilts.
I'll save pics of my purchases and what I'm sewing on now for the next post.
We are getting rain here in dry California. An absolutely wonderful fall day!

October

This month included very little, if any, sewing as we sorted and purged and donated 3 car loads of items for a local charity. Most of the rest is packed up and in boxes stored in an upstairs room as we wait...for still several weeks...till our flooring will be replaced. We are waiting for a preferred installer that we liked. So I don't really see the effect fully of my cleaning out.  We will have to wait till I unpack and put it all back together to see if we indeed made any progress to lighten our load. I know I still have more to do.  Does anyone know of a good way to donate rubber stamps?  :-)
On the quilting front however, I did make my way up the state to Santa Clara for the Pacific International Quilt Festival. It was a good show of some beautiful quilts and creative vendors. I am usually rather strongly drawn to the shopping but found less of a pull this year. Someone told me there were fewer vendors there and I did find that a couple of my favorites were missing and there were few new ones. The quilts displayed this year however were, in general, a lot more interesting to me. So here are a few...
From my favorite applique artist and teacher, Nancy Brown,
Leonard's Big Day

Almost too fun for words :-)  Leonard has his binoculars hanging from his royal neck, and he and his bird friends are wearing colorful sweaters. The ostrich may be my favorite just because his face shows so much attitude.

I really enjoyed this and also being able to see Nancy briefly. She really amazes me with the detail and creativity she puts in her work.





Of course I was drawn to the animal quilts in the show. Quilters did not disappoint this year.
One of Nancy's students entered this beauty.

These elephants were also a favorite. Such beautiful creatures.

I have more quilts to show in my next post and a pic of something fun I did get to sew.  Have a wonderful Fall weekend everyone! 

September

Happy Fall! Still my favorite time of year. We actually had a short heat wave here on the coast but we survived and are enjoying the cooler temps that the fog and breezes bring us. 
I finished a t shirt quilt for a friend's son. They are visiting colleges for his next adventure and hopefully will enjoy this quilt with shirts from his athletic days.

It is sandwiched with Hobb's 80/20 and quilted with stars and loops using a primary colored Rainbows by Superior. I used what I've learned is identified as Lingerie fusible to stabilize the shirts. I like it because it doesn't add any unwanted stiffness to the shirts but makes it so they sew up nicely.

There will not be much more sewing for the next couple of months here. After a few years of researching flooring, putting it off, and finally getting around to going to a flooring store...we have made a decision and committed to having all the carpet in our house removed and replaced with luxury vinyl tile. DH was all set for engineered wood but the flooring specialist steered us this way as it is more easily cleaned and more durable for the dogs and cats in our household and it really does look like wood...or close enough for us to be happy.  We have quite a bit of stained wood in our house as it has sort of a craftsman look to it. All the baseboards and doors etc is stained fir and oak so picking a product sounded daunting.  We brought large samples home and surprisingly found one that worked pretty well with what is here.  We also worked pretty hard to abuse those samples and found them to be rather resistant to scratching. So here's hoping all goes well. I will miss my carpet somewhat but will add some area rugs and possibly runners as the dogs get older and might find the smooth surface slippery. 
We are spending time now going through our house culling out what we don't need and packing the rest up to store in the 2 rooms that won't be affected. We'll move the furniture into the garage right before the job is done.
I'm trying to pretend that I'm actually moving....trying to trick myself into getting rid of as much as I can.  I'm not a hoarder but I sure like my stuff :-) We will see how well I have done when actually trying to fit all this stuff into the designated space!

August

Still not much sewing going on here but lots of dog walking and yard work.

Early in the month, I did manage to get my Four Patch Strippy quilted using a design called Chocolate Feather Swirl by Kathy James.

I added a couple of darker colors to this fabric kit that I had purchased years ago as some of the choices don't quite thrill me as much as it must have then. I have lots of fabric leftover and I think I will like them better thrown into the mix of the rest of my stash to tone down this girliness :-)

Pets on Quilts 2016

It's time for the Pets on Quilts blog hop again and I'm joining in. This year I'm showing a picture of my neighbor/realtor/friend's cat adorning the quilt I made for her. 

A fun quilt to make and such a handsome Maine Coon boy blessing it!
I'm linking up to Lily Pad Quilting where you can visit other pets on quilts.
Enjoy the parade and add your voting choices to win some fun quilty treats!
P.S. I still have my sweet family of pets too. We have grown to a group of 5.
Luke and Sabra

Elinor and Marianne

and Sammy