A Proper Sewing Desk

One plan for this vacation home has been in place from the very beginning - there had to be space for sewing. That meant I needed a table or desk for the sewing machine. We have a nice desk back in Ohio that is not currently being used, but we didn't want to haul it to Florida what with all the other stuff we knew we needed to bring. 

And there's one thing that Florida has plenty of: estate sales/thrift stores. We felt pretty confident that we could snag a suitable desk for sewing purposes with little effort. As it turns out, that is exactly what happened.

I saw this desk at a local thrift store about a week ago and passed on it. I thought it needed more work than I was willing to give in order to get it to the condition I wanted. But at $35, when we went back a few days later, I gave it another look and decided that a coat of paint would be all that it required. I'd not make it a bigger job than it warranted.

We hauled it home on Saturday, and Sunday afternoon, I was sanding and painting. I think the color I chose will surprise you - it certainly surprises me! I don't typically 'do' color in my furniture, so this is way outside my norm. But, hey, it's a Florida vacation home and a bright cheery color seemed to suit.

The color is called "Refresh" which I think is just perfect - both in name and in color. The exact number from Lowe's is HGSW6751. I went into the store with a totally different color choice in mind, but came out with this. 

After letting the paint dry most of the evening, DH helped me carry it in and set it up in the guest room, where I will be sewing. When we have guests, I will stow away all the sewing stuff and guests will be able to use it as a dresser or desk or whatever.

And now I am sewing! Hooray! The desk is going to work nicely. I don't need tons of space for the type of sewing I will be doing these next three months, so a pared-down, simple, multi-functional room is just the thing. Looking at this last picture, I will thread that cord behind the desk and plug it into the foot pedal from underneath. It would eliminate the tripping hazard and provide easier access to the drawers. So far, the drawers are empty, but eventually...

Bought on Saturday; painted on Sunday; using on Monday. For me, this is a turnaround time of incredible proportions. Now on to making a whole bunch of tiny 9-patches.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Farewell September!

My goal as the month began was to accomplish a monumental task - to move out all the furniture from the bedroom next to my sewing room, paint it, steam clean the carpet and finally, move the long-arm machine into that room.

Today is the final day of the month, and I am still holding out hope that before I fall into bed tonight, this will be completed.

Cross your fingers! While I am at OUC this afternoon, DH plans to steam the carpet. With this super hot, dry weather, I hope the drying-out goes quickly. When I get home from class this evening, and after a fast supper, we will move the Tin Lizzie to her upstairs penthouse suite. *grin*

Here are some painting pics from Sunday afternoon. What I'd expected to be a long, drawn-out endeavor, actually only took us a couple of hours. How nice! I did the ceiling trim work, and most of the baseboards, too, while DH got started on rolling the walls. Teamwork!!

One question: The light fixture in the ceiling needs to be covered. The existing one - which is 27 years old - has a broken glass. I wonder if anyone has suggestions for what type of light I should have over a long arm machine?

Also, we really ought to take the time to repaint the baseboard and door trim, but I doubt we do. It won't bother me once quilting operations commence.

That's it for today, Peeps. Lots to get done!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Chaos Update

A few days back I mentioned that we were in the midst of painting our entire downstairs. Today I thought I'd show you the new color. Farewell 80s and 90s.  We are moving into the modern era.

The old color is Bran Muffin; our new color is Agreeable Gray. We hit up Sherwin Williams today and quite by accident took advantage of a 40% off sale. Win!!

And as I promised, as DH paints, I quilt. So far I estimate I have 7 hours of quilting in on Erin's Diamonds. I have made my way across the entire bottom of the quilt.

I figured a little bit of mental math earlier. I will probably get precise with these numbers at some point, but for now, I estimate that there are 420 or so diamonds in this quilt. Over 50 are now quilted, so I am at least 10% done. The quilting has been pleasurable. I like using the Pearl Cotton, and the big-stitch technique is an easy adjustment to make.

I like seeing how the red pops against the various colors in the Kaffe Fassett fabrics. Fun all the way around, for sure.

Today, DH and I are taking a break from the chaos. We are making a weekend trip back to Belmont County, OH, to visit old family landmarks. We are traveling in a 15-passenger van, and traveling with us are my great aunt and uncle, their daughter, my mother, my sister and her husband. Uncle John and Aunt Nina are the last remaining members of my grandparents' generation, so we are hoping to soak up as much family lore and history as possible in the region where they were born and raised.

Tomorrow I will show you some close-up pictures of my progress on Erin's Diamonds. I've tried to get interesting shots so you all can see the same close views that I see as I quilt.

Happy Quilting, Friends!