What's Up With Us

I'm not quite sure what happened to the rest of the year. It feels like we've spent most of it in a non-productive haze, which is why I haven't posted much—there didn’t seem to be anything noteworthy to report. That's changed now.

This past August, Intel announced layoffs that affected most of Jeff's group. Although Jeff wasn’t laid off, he was offered a role he would have disliked, so he chose to leave with his colleagues. Fortunately, we have a friend in a high-level position at Hewlett Packard Enterprises who helped Jeff quickly find a new job. It's a fully remote position, which includes some travel for customer visits.

Taking advantage of his newfound flexibility, Jeff spent a week visiting his mother at her retirement community in Anaheim, CA. He is always impressed by the vibrant social life and the close-knit community there—a lifestyle he now envisions for us. And not having to do yardwork and cook everyday is also a feature. So, we've decided to move into a retirement community ourselves. We're currently exploring options, ideally looking to be closer to family in California. Thus, our search has extended from Southern Oregon to Northern California.

Jeff dropped by Mountain Meadows in Ashland, Oregon this past week and was quite taken with it, making it our top contender. Finding the right home could take some time, as they only have around 50 detached single family homes available in the community. Luckily, we aren't in a rush.

This waiting period will be our opportunity to focus on downsizing—a necessary step, considering the homes in the community are about half the size of our current one. It looks like we're in for a serious "stuff diet."

Basement Work Scheduled

We have a start date for our basement project. Tim Austin is currently on a job and believes he'll be ready to start our basement project on Dec 15!! So, I guess it's time to get serious about this! I am not excited about emptying out the basement, but it needs to be done so I scheduled another storage space and we'll start moving stuff over as we pack.

We have a fairly simple "remodel" planned; it's not really going to be more finished than it is now but Tim will be bracing the house to the foundation and then installing a steel framework around the perimeter of the space which should provide further support. This is an example photo he sent me of another job he worked on.

Then Tim is going to level the floor as much as he can within the framed sections. We're not going for full-on level; that's not possible with our horrible floor without more effort than we're willing to pay for. This is another photo he sent as an example.

Once leveled, the floor is going to be finished with one of the Lifeproof plastic floors, probably in the Crosbyton Oak color. Tim assures us this flooring is one of the best options for an occasionally damp space. Even though our water infiltration problems went away once Jeff installed the French drain on the side of the house, it surely is better to plan for some future water seepage.

For the ceiling, I had originally wanted to install a dropped ceiling but it is already too low. With a dropped ceiling, we would lose several more inches so Tim persuaded me to replace the current sheetrock with new sheetrock after the wiring is finished. We will take good photos and dimensions to document the space once it is open so hopefully we'll have less destruction when we have future work to do.

This floor plan is roughly what we are hoping for once the space is finished. Really, the only change from the existing space is the addition of two closets and better lighting. We have made some minor changes since I did this SketchUp file, but they're not important enough for me to take the time to update SketchUp.

A couple days ago, I discovered some great wall-mounted arms to install Jeff's computer gear, so we'll be putting those in once the walls are up. Right now the computer gear is in the center of the room clamped to a table and looks so untidy so I'm really looking forward to this change.

LX Wall Monitor Arm

LX Wall Keyboard Arm

We have so much to do in the next couple of weeks. I guess I'd better get started tomorrow!

Dream Basement Plan

I spent a couple days playing in SketchUp again. The plan isn't as complete as I would like because my version is so old I can't download the fun free downloads. 

We have a big job ahead of us getting rid of all the extra stuff that will no longer fit. LOL

Since we still have a TON of douglas fir in our garage, we are going to try and build that media cabinet behind the TV.

The shelves are double-sided. The front side is the right depth for DVDs and the backside is a little deeper for the storage closet. The right side open shelves are for the home theater gear and our printer.

We're working up the plan with Tim Austin (the guy who built our garage) and he is expecting to be able to start in about two months. I'm crossing my fingers.

Finishing the Basement

I don't know if I've mentioned it here on this blog, but last month I ordered a Handiquilter long arm with a 12' frame. So, now I need a space that is 14'x7' to set it up. Even though this house is really quite big in total square footage, most of the rooms are pretty small by modern standards so there is really only one good place to set it up, the basement family room. 

I've been slowly sifting and downsizing during the pandemic, but now I am finally getting thrown into high gear. I am so looking forward to having a quilt studio down in the basement.

For folks who have followed us for a while, you'll know our basement is like a dungeon. There are some windows, but not very many, and mostly they are under bump-outs, so they don't provide much extra light. And there are only a couple of single-light bulb ceiling lights. 

We're planning to hire Tim Austin again to help us finish the space. (He's the guy who built our garage for us.) I'm hoping he can help us get the room wired up for better lighting and some decent outlets and I'm hoping to replace the battle-scarred sheetrock ceiling with some sort of panel system, probably something along these lines. In the old days, I had big plans to makeover the basement and make it beautiful, now I'll be satisfied with bright and comfortable.

Ideally, I would like to get the work done before I take delivery on the long arm, so we're going get started as soon as Tim is available, which is about two months. That will certainly provide a good deadline for finishing that stained glass project and cleaning out the space.

This is the area I am planning to turn into the quilt studio. 

The goal is to move the workout gear into the front storage area. We're trying to empty and collapse three racks. We've been making good progress on the project.

Replacing Rotted Railing

When CDR installed our back stairs in 2012, they put in hemlock! In Rainy Oregon. Outdoors. Had they taken one minute to ask us what we wanted, we would have approved and paid for a more durable outdoor wood. But what is done, is done. And now the backstair railing wood is all rotted out. 

We found someone who can help us replace the current railing so we're going to try and do that in the next few weeks, but we are going to change the design so hopefully there will be less problem with water seeping into crevices and rotting out the wood. And I'd really like to install flat sawn balusters rather than plain spindles.

My plan is to use this style of install from the Lowe's DIY website: How to Build a Front Porch Railing.

I'm hoping by sandwiching the balusters between two boards with nothing filling the gaps between them the water will just run right through. And I'll be painting and/or staining before the final install.

And I'm hoping to do flat sawn balusters that are more like these, from the Pretty Handy Girl website.

We're working on our material list right now and we'll be buying them as soon as we figure out the final plan.

Quilt Changed Again

So, it turns out right angle rulers are not marked with inches; at least, not the number of inches that represents the length of the line on the ruler. That would have been a nice thing to know last week. That line labeled 6 is actually seven inches, so the finished size of my blocks are considerably larger than I wanted. LOL

I almost decided to cut down all my triangles to get them to the right size, but I just don't have the right rulers to do that accurately and can't find one either despite a pretty thorough search.

(It took me a while to figure out what that number actually represents. Apparently, that number represents the size of the square if you sew four of these triangles together.)

So I went back to Electric Quilt and played with the design to make the quilt smaller; I don't want to make another bedspread. I made a few alternate designs and this is the one Jeff liked best.

Until I can think of a better name, I'm still calling it Queen's Jewel even though it's not the exact same pattern anymore. It is still made from pretty jewel tones. 

I've finished twelve of the blocks so far and I've gotten it down to about half an hour each to construct them so I have about 12 hours of work left building the blocks, perhaps less as I am getting into a bit of a rhythm of ironing, pinning and sewing and I've gotten faster than when I started.

Now I just need to figure out how to calculate the size of the border triangles.

My 2021 Quilt Queue

Amy Bouchard at Cascading Quilts is quilting all my outstanding quilt flimsies for me. She actually tried to make them double-sided, but it won't work; the vertical seams on the back layer shift too much when the long arm goes back and forth. I'm very sad because I was desperately hoping it was possible to make double-sided quilts because I could have twice as many quilts for the amount of storage space (and the cost of quilting). So now I've had to spend a bit of time the past couple of weeks trying to come up with backings for them, which has been surprisingly difficult. (I've had to reorder two backings because the original fabrics were out of stock by the time they got around to filling my order.) I suppose there are worse problems.

I got the train lap quilt back from Amy at the beginning of the month and I put on the binding the same day I got it back. I am so happy I learned how to apply binding by machine; it goes so much faster now.

I have been obsessing about the projects I'd like to make in 2021 so I spent quite a bit of time in Electric Quilt trying to come up with plans and get the fabrics right.

First, I am going to make the Queen's Jewel quilt again. I think I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to arrange the fabrics within the blocks so I won't have the same problems with arranging blocks as I did last time.

Queen's Jewel from Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag
by Patricia Wilens. I reduced the block size from the original pattern.

Next, I found a pattern that I thought would be perfect for William Morris fabrics. I entered it in Electric Quilt, but the border had to be changed a bit because the software couldn't deal with all the pieces in the original pattern. I will follow the original directions when I make it.

Snake River Log Cabin from Judy Martin's Log Cabin Quilt Book, page 50.
The border is missing pieces from the original pattern.

Then, I am hoping to make the Sea Swept quilt that was on my 2020 WOOFA list. I worked on the design in Electric Quilt some more and I think I have all the paper templates printed out for the sashing diamonds.

This is based on an image I found on Reddit. Unfortunately,
I don't know who originally designed this pattern.

Finally, if I have time and energy, I am going to make an Unbeweavable lap quilt with 4" squares. 

This is another quilt design I ripped off the image from the Reddit quilting list.

I believe this one is normally made with a special clear plastic template for cutting Xs out of pieced strips, but I am just going to use paper templates because the plastic ones don't come in a small enough size. 

Four more quilts, that should be more than enough. Only time will tell if I manage to make it through these projects next year.

Can Someone Have Too Many Quilts?

I guess I am having a bit of a quilting binge this fall. Sometimes I'll go months without ever stepping into my sewing room, but with Portland shut down again for the pandemic and the country in turmoil, it's just easier to hunker down and play with fabric. =)

I had meant to spend more time this fall out in the garage working on projects, but it's gotten pretty cold. We are hoping to buy a used SawStop table saw from a friend later this winter; it belongs to his father who is no longer able to use it but isn't ready to part with it. I'm sure if that happens, we'll have a binge of woodworking projects.

This week, while my sewing machine is in for service, I've been cleaning up my sewing room again for the next round of projects. I had piles of fabric sitting around everywhere, leftover from all the quilts I've finished over the past few months. Plus, I had a bit of a fabric buying binge last week (right before Thanksgiving). While I was sifting the fabrics, I saw a cool color palette I rather liked and may have inspired a new project.

In October 2019, I finished a quilt called Queen's Jewel. I really liked the design of it, but I didn't like how scrappy it was so I bartered it to a friend for our mason bees. I'm thinking about sewing another, but with a much more constrained color palette. 

Queen's Jewel from Quick Quilts from Your Scrap Bag
by Patricia Wilens. I reduced the block size from the original pattern.

I haven't decided yet how I feel about the colors. I almost always use yellow as the light color for my quilts so it takes some mental adjustment to get used to a light blue.

Also, when I cleaned out my closet over the summer, I found a big hunk of cotton fabric I bought to make square dance clothes probably 20 years ago; I liked using the square pillow panels to make handkerchief skirts. I'm thinking about making a lap quilt with them. I'm playing with a couple of designs.

These blocks will be a bit of a challenge for me; lots of mitered seams and the flowers have to be cut out with templates. I need to practice making a block before I start cutting them out in earnest. If I can manage the motivation, I'll make both and sandwich them together, if possible.

2020 Project Planning

I'm amused when I look back at old To-Do lists. Apparently, the last one I posted was in 2017. We did nothing on it during 2018. Here was my list:

To Do List:

1. Finish sewing room curtains
2. Finish master bedroom closet cubes
3. Repair the garden shed broken windows
4. Paint the garden shed exterior
5. Finish the interior of the shed with a chicken apartment (no longer needed)

Wouldn't it Be Nice List (the list I admit I probably won't get to, but I want to keep track of them):

1. Stencil the living room frieze
2. Stencil the dining room frieze
3. Stencil the basement bathroom
4. Make the leaded glass for the front door
5. Install the hybrid charging station

The garden shed painting didn't happen until late last summer.

The sewing room curtains finally got finished in February 2020.

I doubt we'll ever get the master bedroom closet cubes built, but I'll keep it on the list. Here is my list for 2020 with hopes we'll have better motivation than earlier years (in no particular order).

To-Do List:

1. Recover the living room furniture
2. Stencil the living room frieze
3. Weed and maintain the hidden garden
4. Fix the water flow in the front yard rain garden (currently slopes the wrong way).
5. Finish the back patio furniture set
6. Build shelves for garage
7. Sift and organize garage
8. Repair broken leaded glass panel in the parlor

Wouldn't it Be Nice List:

1. Finish master bedroom closet cubes
2. Make the leaded glass for the front door
3. Stencil the dining room frieze

WOOFA Challenge

I guess I need to get this list posted because I've already finished several items on it. When I cleaned my sewing room I inventoried all the in-progress projects. This is the list of projects I'd like to try and finish this year. I'm leaving a few items off the list because I'm not sure I still want to finish them.

Once summer arrives, I probably won't get much done because I'll be distracted by all the pretties outside, but since I got a late start I am likely going to extend this challenge beyond December when it presumably ends for everyone else. I'm thinking it will be a miracle if I can get through half these projects this year, but Habitica has really helped focus my efforts so maybe I'll do better than I expect.

Bind Dinosaur Lap Quilt (when returned from quilter)
Bind Batik Quilt (when returned from quilter)
Canvas Bag Repair (replace handles)
Denim Circle Quilt (started)
Denim Circle Tote Bag
Halloween Monster Wreath (started)
Harvest Placemats
Harvest Quilt
Jeff’s Georgian Coat
Jeff’s Lumbar Pillow
Log Cabin Quilt (started decades ago)
Louisa’s Dress Batik
Louisa’s Dress Y-P
Louisa’s Dress: Remodel sq. dance skirt to Louisa Dress
Mug Rugs
Navy/Gold Placemats
Rag Quilt Country Print (ex-square dance skirt)
Rag Quilt Floral Y-G-R-P
Rag Quilt Grey
Rag Quilt Solar System
Rag Quilt Xmas
Recover Living Room Furniture
Sea Swept Quilt
Sharon’s Lumbar Pillow
Square Dance Skirt (elastic, eyelet)
Stack & Whack Quilt
Stenciled Pillow (panel stenciled already)
Summer Placemats
Tie Large Disaster Quilt (or just ditch it)
Tie/Quilt Scrap Lap Quilt
White Brocade Napkins
Woven Denim Tote Bag
Xmas Placemats
Xmas Quilt

Is It Spring Yet?

My brain is already slipping into spring. Yesterday, I was in my sewing room and I looked out my window and saw sun so I dropped everything and went outside. I am already finding myself looking at plant websites rather than writing.

Since the color scheme of the hidden garden is the yellow to burgundy color wheel, I was pretty excited yesterday to find yellow bleeding hearts. I saw them last year for a truly astonishing price at Breck's, but they were already sold out so even if I had been willing to pay their price, they were not available. This year, I found them at Easy to Grow Bulbs for $17/each. This is still more than I like to spend on mail order plants since they so frequently die, but I really want them for the hidden garden, so I just ordered two of them.

Last summer, I ordered a bunch of bareroot hosta from Easy to Grow Bulbs and that went well, so I am hopeful this order will also go well. You can be sure I will report back if it doesn't. They gave me a $5/off referral code if anyone else is interested in ordering from them.

Because you can never have enough purple plants in your garden, I chose a color scheme of purple and white for under the black walnut. There are already some orange daylilies over there, so I won't be strict about it, but I'd like the new plants to be in the purple range. I may eventually replace the orange daylilies with purple, but right now I'm focusing on filling the empty dirt before I start digging up established plants.

I've been studying lists of plants that survive under black walnuts and tolerate shade, but I've found quite a few conflicts, so I'll just have to try some plants and see which make it. I ordered some blue blanda anemones which are new plants to me, but they're supposed to survive under black walnuts so I'm giving them a try.

I also ordered a white bleeding heart and a white astilbe (also new to me).

I'm seriously considering ordering more irises from Schreiner's. Irises are another flower that can grow under black walnuts, but I'm not sure they'll get enough sun. I should probably wait until plants reemerge in spring and see how much space we have left before I order any more. 

Measure Twice, Cut Once

I thought I was almost finished with the Fire Dance quilt.

I finished all the blocks and sewed them together yesterday. I thought I only had to add the border. But then I measured it and it wasn't wide enough. Oops. I couldn't figure out what I did wrong. I thought when I designed it, I'd double-checked the measurements on the quilt's size and it would be large enough to back the other batik quilt.

It took me a few minutes, but I finally figured it out. This quilt was meant to have blocks that were 12.5-inches square but when I printed out the block instructions I had accidentally made them 10-inches. Obviously, there's no fixing that mistake.

Jeff suggested I finish the central lines into the border, so I decided to do that. I designed some half-blocks to finish the edges and once I make those it should be wide enough to back the batik flower quilt.

I had expected to finish the quilt today, but now it will be at least another week or two.

Update on Sunday: Making some progress.

I had planned to take my sewing machine in for service right after finishing this quilt, and I would have made it if I didn't have to make additional blocks. But no. My machine has decided it is done. The tension is all messed up and nothing I can do will fix it, so this project is put on hold temporarily while the machine goes in.

Trying Something New

As our long-time readers probably know, since 2012 we've been having an ongoing issue with spending too much time playing video games. We wasted about five years of our lives playing a variety of RPGs and though we finally gave up those, we still play too much Forge of Empires (FoE). In an effort to try and find something that can compete for our eyeballs, we're trying a new website that will help our gamify our life priorities: Habitica.

We started yesterday, not specifically because it was a New Years' resolution, but because we revisited our goals for 2019 and confirmed that we didn't do too well on our writing-related goals so we went looking for a way to stay on track better. When I found Habitica, we installed the apps and spent several hours yesterday entering all kinds of tasks. So far, our results look promising. I barely looked at FoE yesterday and spent a lot more time working on cleaning and writing tasks.

We shall see how this goes, but early results look promising.

Double-Sided Quilt

While I was sifting boxes last year I finally found a quilt I made almost 20 years ago for a full-size murphy bed. I made it small for the murphy bed, it's more like a twin size.

I decided I'd like to make another quilt like it, but larger, for our queen size beds. Since it's about $180 to get a queen/king-sized quilt machine quilted I've decided I'm going to start making them double-sided. 😃

On one side it will be a Fall quilt based on my earlier design.

I spent quite a long time trying to find some fabric that would work. I finally found this discontinued print on eBay for a really good price. These boxes are 5" square.

Harvest Gathering. Designed by Color Principle for Henry Glass & Co.

This is a nice quilt design because it uses small amounts of different fabrics.

This is almost the final fabric palette, though I did pull out some of the brighter yellows and add some lighter yellows to blend better with the beige background of the block fabric.

My preliminary plan for the other side is a Winter Quilt. ElectricQuilt can't deal with rotating the border print the long way, so it looks funny in the plan.

The centers are made of a metallic angel fabric I've had in my stash for years. The greens and reds are also fabrics from my fabric wall. The sashing and outer border will be made from a stripe fabric I ordered on Black Friday.

I haven't received the fabric yet so my plan is still subject to change.