Home Improvement Update

Just a quick update on my progress. I will be posting some pictures soon. I've torn up the wall to wall carpeting in the living room, dining room, foyor ,stairs and hall. I filled the back of a friends pickup amd took it all to the dump. The house smells much nicer now. I still have to go over all the floors and pull out all the staples they used to tack down the carpet pad, and finish pulling up the tack strips. I had a hard time with those, they used some long nails and thry were difficult for me to pull out. One of my sons helped me with that.
My boyfriend cleaned out all three sheds, mowed the lawn, trimmed some shrubs and cut down a couple of shrubs.
My son, daughter-in-law and grandson did a bunch of stuff, cleaned out the fridge, cut some branches that were overhanging my "studio", cleaned off the roof, and tidied up the yard.
My handyman-for-hire built me some cellar steps so I can uses the bulkhead, replaced a couple of stairs on the deck and put deck hangers under the deck because there weren't any and the home inspector said that wasn't safe.
Let's see, what else? I called digsafe so I can install some fencing and plant some shrubs, Verizon so I can get TV, phone and most importantly INTERNET! They can't do it all in one day, I need to have someone at the house on 2 different days. That is VERY inconvienent!
I cleaned up all the stuff the former homeowner left on the deck and in the house, moped all the floors with Natures Miricle, a de-oderizing product for pet urine. I sure hope it will work. I know it works on carpets, but have never used it on hardwood flooring.
My brother primed the walls in my bedroom and removed the wallpaper border in the bathroom. He's going to come by today and help me choose the colors I'll be painting each room. He's great at that.
I've been to Lowe's several times buying stuff and I guess I'll be back there or Home Depot getting my paint. I'm tired of the hardware store already and I still have a bunch of stuff to buy. It took 2 trips before I got a working de-humidifier and the primer I bought from them stinks so I'm going to return the other 2 gallons and get the Kilz. If you need two coats you're not saving any money and you're wasting time. I have no time to waste, I have too much to do.
Another friend measured the yard for the fencing. I hope he can get to that ASAP, I hate tying my dogs out.
I'm feeling very tired and overwhelmed so I called Dad in Florida and cried HELP. So Mom and Dad will be coming up to help me as soon as I get my bedroom painted and the furniture moved in for them. Dad actually sound like he's looking forward to working on my house! Dad's sure are great!!
This morning I'm going over to the house and get cracking on thier bedroom. I have to wait for my brother to help me choose the color before I can paint the walls, I'll start with deglossing and priming the woodwork and painting the ceiling. I will have it ready by the end of the week even if I have to paint one wall every night after work.

Today's the Day!!

Finally!! I have a closing. Tonight at 6PM I sign the paperwork that makes me a homeowner again.
This house is perfect for me. Not too big, not too small, hardwood floors, lots of closets, wood stove, 2 bathrooms, laundry on the first floor, dry basement to store stuff, lots of light and a real cozy feel to it.
The yard is great also, 4 1/2 acres, some sun, some shade, lots of trees, a farmers porch in front, a little deck in back, enough paved parking for me and my sons.
Last, but not least......... a separate sewing studio!!
Now before you all think I'm either rich or got the bargain of the century, I have to say, it needs quite a bit of work. The studio needs insulation, a wall torn down, a wall built, sheetrock to cover the insulation, a new furnace, the wiring upgraded for my quilting machine and a new floor.
The house needs the carpets torn up, the floors re-finished, every wall painted, a cabinet in the kitchen moved, a new microwave over the oven installed, the cabinets sanded and painted, the windows replaced - all 13 of them! Oh yah, and the upstairs bathroom needs some remodeling too.
So, if I'm not posting or quilting you'll understand why.
I'll post a picture of my little castle as soon as I can.
Wish me luck!

Fairy Giveaways

Donna from DZFANTASY is having a couple of contests for her fairy dolls. The only thing you have to do to enter is leave a comment on her blog. Check out her blog and Etsy shop, you're going to love her dolls!

Disclaimer, I don't know Donna and am gaining nothing by posting this link

My Quilting Machine

I hate moving! I want to be quilting, but I can't because I don't have access to my quilting machine. I'm lucky to have a temporary sewing room at my friend's house so I shouldn't be complaining. If you'd like to see the old timer I quilt on check out my webshots album.
by cindynvb
I haven't updated my quilt photo albums in forever, but you can check them out here, Dear Jane
by cindynvband my 2005 quilts
by cindynvb
Here are my 2006 quilts, you'll notice I've used lots of scraps.

Quilts 2006

Obviously I'm a just a little behind on posting my quilt photos, haven't uploaded any pictures since 2006. Also I have at least 130 Dear Jane blocks made, but it takes forever to scan them so I don't know if I will upload any more of them. As soon as I do, I'll let you all know. I love to show off my quilts. Show and tell is my favorite part of my guilt meetings.

When Do you say enough to giving?

I have a dilemma. My guild has a community quilt program. We make and give quilts to people who, for one reason or another are having a hard time and need a little help.
My goal for the last few years has been to donate three quilts each year to this program. I’ve met or exceeded this goal each year. I’ve also helped run a couple of workshops where we got together and worked on community quilts.
This year I’m very busy, between house hunting, packing, moving and working overtime I don’t have a lot of free time. That isn’t really my dilemma though, I’m always busy. The real problem is that I’m broke and most of my family is having financial problems. I feel like my time and money would be better spent making quilts for my family and friends rather than strangers. Family does come first.
My goal has always been to make a bed quilt and a sofa quilt for every member of my family and some of my friends. I haven’t reached that goal yet. Big family you know!
With the economy getting worse all the time a lot of people will be forced to cut back on giving and then the people who do need help and don’t have family won’t get any. So that’s my dilemma, I want to make quilts for my family and am thinking of not donating to my guild’s community program this year. I’m feeling guilty about it, what do you think I should do?

Here's a quick way to use up your scraps

We all have one, a bag, box or pile of scraps we've been saving forever. We can't throw them out, and we never really use them so they keep piling up because. Why do our scraps keep multiplying? It's because they're so time consuming to cut and sew into a pretty quilt.

I was going to write up a tuturial on how I use up my scraps but I found that Patti from Quilting is my Passion had already written one, so figured I didn't have to. Check out her blog, read the tutorial and start using up those scraps!

We all have one, a bag, box or pile of scraps we've been saving forever. We can't throw them out, and we never really use them so they keep piling up because. Why do ur scraps keep multiplying? It's because they're so time consuming to cut and sew into a pretty quilt.

I was going to write up a tuturial on how I use up my scraps but I found that Patti from Quilting is my Passion had already written one, so figured I didn't have to. Check out her blog, read the tutorial and start using up those scraps!a>

How to save money on QUILTING for new Quilters

How to save money on QUILTING for new Quilters

Join your local Quilting Guild. You will find lots of support and information there. Don’t be shy about being a beginner; we all were at one time.
When you’re starting out resist the temptation to buy every tool, gadget and book on the market. The basics will be enough to get you started and keep you going for a long time. See my list of “Basic” quilting tools.

3. Check out your local Library – borrow books before you buy them. I love new quilting books, but much as I would like to I just can’t have them all. The library is a great way to stretch your budget. My library has quilting magazines and lots of the latest books.

4. Buy Used and discounted books and magazines. For books try half.com, Amazon, Mackenzie books and Ed Hamilton books. For magazines, E-bay, Craig’s list and Quilter’s Flea Market are my favorites.

5. Save batting scraps and cut them up to use as pillow stuffing. I
use some of my ugly fabric and make a pillow form, leaving one side open. I fill it as I go so I don’t have a big pile of batting to cut up all at once.

6 . Buy your piecing thread by the cone. I use a thin, lint free thread in a neutral color for piecing. Lots of benefits to this, first, the cost, you’d have to buy about 11 spools of thread to equal 1 cone of Bottom Line or Sew Fine, my current favorite piecing thread. I figure I save $10 to $15 on thread buying the cones. These threads make much less lint, which will save wear and tear on your machine Also fewer spools of thread makes for less clutter.

7. Find patterns online for FREE! See my list of favorite pattern and BOM sites. (coming soon)

8. Don’t know how to do something? Go online for free tutorials, but you knew that already didn’t you?

9. Buy your backing fabrics from the clearance bins of your favorite quilt shops. I always look at the discounted fabrics and when I find something I like I buy enough for a backing. Do you really need to spend $8.00 a yard for the backing? My local shop sells their older fabrics for $2 -$3 a yard and they have a good selection.

10. Shop for fabric online. Here area couple of my favorite discount shopping sites:

Quilter's Flea Market and Hancocks of Paducah.

Saving money on your quilting hobby is just like saving money on anything else. Buy only what you need, don't waste your "leftovers" , buy quality because it lasts and makes your job easier.