Visiting the kids in England

My son and his family moved to Cambridge, England last August.  He took a job that is expected to last 18-24 months.  I haven't seen them in person since February 2018 and was very excited to get to visit.I sure am enjoying my time with these littles.

Cambridge is a beautiful little place.  My beautiful daughter-in-love.

This tree smelled incredible.

 Sibling love....

I was able to go to church with them on Sunday. It was a beautiful old building.

 Such a sweet boy!

Guest/Grandkids Room Twin Beds

I refinished these beds recently for the grandkids room.  I've had this idea in my head for sometime now, and made the quilts a year or so ago with this room in mind.  I still have to get a couple of sconces to go above the headboards, some art work, and I'm thinking about a rug.  Stay tuned for the final update in a month or so.

Green/Blue Edinburgh Square

Finally finished this beauty.

Green/Blue Edinburgh square

I showed a little of this on my quilting website, rachelmhayes.com.  Here's a few more shots.  I searched in my scraps to try to find enough fabric to make a gift quilt.  I want it bed size.  I've been out of quilt making for almost six months now, so I had a hard time picking something to make - not to mention we still are without internet, so I can't search for patterns and fabrics easily (borrowing the neighbor's wifi and it's a little sketchy)

 So I settled on my Edinburg Square pattern.  Pretty easy and fairly quick.

I love blues and greens together and I had a lot of batiks in those colors.

I'm still not sure if it will be 'right' for the gift but figure, if not - we will have a great St Patrick's day quilt.

More House

Boxes and more boxes.  We gave these to friends who are also moving.  Most were given to us by friends who moved. 

 I'm a big fan of command hooks.  These work great on the inside of cabinets to hold dish towels.

 And these, perfect for things we like to hang in our shower.

We did frosted panels in our master bath doors. We both love the look, although I will probably end up putting some shades, or fabric panels on the bathroom side, to block the light.  The hubby doesn't like to see the light coming in at 5 am, on my work days.  Imagine that?

Our realtor is amazing.  She bakes home made cookies for the closing and also gives some fantastic gift cards in appreciation for using her and her firm.  So thankful our old home sold, and we closed on it last week.

Here's a view of the cool ramp they built my husband.  It makes it really easy for him to move around to the outside.  He loves no steps!

The cat has had a hard time adjusting.  He seems afraid to venture out in the daylight, but once it gets dark he often wants to go outside.  We don't want him out at night - coyotes!

 The front yard dirt pile......

Today was a great day for yard work. Well, actually it was way too windy.  Hope our grass seed doesn't all blow away.  

Installed one of these yesterday.  Someone in our house....loves a bidet.  :)  Did you know you can get these from Amazon, and only $21.99!  Super easy to install.  Low profile.  You'd hardly know it's there. I am not sure Americans are as into these as the folks in European countries. We'll do our part to spread the word.....lol

And before I close for the night, go check out my quilting website at www.rachelmhayes.com if you'd like to see what quilting project I just started.  It feels good to be back at my sewing, after a long time off.

And more house pictures

Just some more random house pictures  :)

I found a black piano on Facebook Marketplace for a great price.  It's been on my bucket list for several years to relearn how to play.  I took lessons as a kid for a couple of years but did band through high school.  I am enjoying the piano so much!  I pulled out my hymnal and found a few songs that have only one flat or one sharp, you know, not too difficult.  I am practicing! I created this gallery wall by laying out parchment paper and tracing around where I wanted the photos to go. I taped the paper on the wall, with a level, then put in the hangers (push pins), pulled the paper away and hung the frames.  They are all black and whites of my son, his family, and their UK adventures in various black frames (Hobby Lobby, 50% off!)

 I have great plans for this room.  Imagine two twin beds with a small dresser between.  The beds will be for the grands, guests, or just to display more quilts.

 I hung these family photos in the hallway leading to the quilt studio.  My mom and dad, the four of us kids, and a collage I made for my parents several years ago.

 The quilting studio!!  I put up the design wall last weekend.  I bought two 4x8 sheets of insulation board. I had to get Lowe's to cut them in half so I could get them in my car.  Then once taped back together they were still just too large for me to handle by myself, so I cut a foot off the top and one of the sides.

 I just hung it with monkey hooks into the insulation backing, so I am not sure how it will hold up with a full quilt top on it.  I was trying to avoid screwing it into the wall, but that may be on the horizon. I plan to put a desk under the "Around the Blocks" quilt.

I think it's all ready to get back to sewing.  Yay.  We are scheduled to get our AT&T internet tomorrow.  Fingers crossed it will actually happen and will work well.

After I get some good outside shots, I'll be posting them.

House - more pics

Dining room which is also part of the great room.  I like how the one big room moves from kitchen, living room, to dining room.

I haven't done much in the master bedroom but hang my round mirror. Nothing else on the walls, but I'll figure that out later.  :)

ahhh, this room......the heart of a quilter. I'll be posting better pictures later.  The size is awesome and I can't wait to get back to sewing in this great space.  I recently put a design board up. It is on the wall facing the hanging quilt. I thought it would be neat to hang "my" magazines up across the top of the far wall.  I made the cover of two, but have quilts in the rest.

Stay tuned.  There will be more!