New Home (Continued)

We put a laundry room that opens to the hallway near the kitchen and also opens to my master closet. This is a brilliant idea, and one stolen from a friend who built a new home a couple of years ago.  We bought the tile for cheap at Floor and Decor (0.99 per square foot!), the cabinets are pre-fab, and the counters are a marble look laminate.

 All of our tile came from Floor and Decor.  The new design is much like our older master bath.  The new shower is a little bigger, with no threshold (thinking of our older years) and his tub is without jets (rarely used them in the old house). We each have our own vanities and closets.  Works well for these two independent people :)

 I loved my seat in my old shower but felt like if either of us ended up in a wheel chair we might need the extra room in the shower.  The teak bench was purchased at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and I am very happy with it. I like being able to pull it closer to the water. I asked the tile guy to put the nook in the half wall so it is mostly hid from view.

We used the knotty hickory for our vanities.  Mirrors purchased at Kirklands. Minute Quartz on the vanities. Basic white large subway tile for the shower, metallic penny tile for the shower floor, board and batting for the tub surround, and a grey/greige wood-look tile for the floors.

More pics coming soon!

New Home

It's been a crazy few weeks.  We moved into our new home a month ago, but still don't have cable/wifi/internet. Imagine how difficult that is in our busy lives?  I wanted to share pictures of our home.  We are so very pleased with how it turned out and so thankful we were able to build it.

First up is our kitchen.  Our cabinets are Benjamin Moore Simply White.  All the trim in the house is also this color, and all the walls are Benjamin Moore White Dove.  Most of the windows are shielded by porches so this paint color is perfect to brighten up the rooms.

 The island is knotty hickory.  Counters are Minute Quartz.  Lantern pendants are Kirshler (not sure on the spelling). I had a hard time finding these.  I really like them.  No glass to clean.

 Our floors are 3/4" hand scraped white oak hardwood with a medium brown stain.  Although they do show more dirt than our previous floors I still adore them.  So earthy and natural looking.

The hood was custom made out of hickory.  Our trim guy was great.  He made the hood, as well as the mantle, the beams, and all the custom shelving in our closets.

Ill post more pictures when I have a little more reliable wifi. Borrowing the neighbors and it isn't strong enough for a lot of pictures.

2018 Year in Review

 This year has flown by.  So many blessings. So, so thankful for another year of life and good health.  Here is a look at my 2018.  Beware, long post.

 Who would have thought this panel would make a cute one block wonder quilt?

 I made a Remembrance quilt for a sweet widow from her husband's shirts.

I also finished this beauty up to be used in the 2018 Christmas season.......

 Worked with others in our church quilting group to make table runners for our church staff.

This was a kit I purchased at the Paducah quilt show. Love the 3D effect.

Another one block wonder quilt purchased from panels from Hancock's in Paducah.

 And this one is probably my favorite of the year.  Made for the husband and wife building contractor team that is currently building our new home.

I also made four baby quilts that I can't show yet.  Two for design testing, and two for publications scheduled for 2019.  Not as many quilts as I normally make in a year, but we've been pretty focused on picking out all the things for the new home.  I am excited about moving in, hopefully in January, and will have a great quilting studio I'm looking forward to using and sharing.

I discovered Audible books a couple of years ago and have really enjoyed those this year.  Currently I have an Audible subscription, but also got the free Overdrive app that lets me borrow audible books from our local library.  Here is my 2018 reading list:

From Diana Gibaldon (finished up the Outlander Series)
- The Fiery Cross
- A Breath of Snow and Ashes
- An Echo in the Bone
- Written in My Own Heart's Blood
Lords of Disciple by Pat Conroy (did not like this)
Sycamore Row by John Grisham
Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith
Buried Sins by Mary Gaines (local author)
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D.Vance
The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (didn't really like this one either)
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (good but heartbreaking story based on true events)
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Seamstress by Sara Tuval Bernstein (True story of a holocaust survivor)
Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury
Gifted Hands by Ben Carson (good book)
Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson (good book)
Make Something Good Today by Ben and Erin Napier (HGTV stars)
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (Excellent, MY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR)
The Possibility Dogs by Susannah Charleson (makes me want a dog! now!)
Chosen People, by Robert Whitlow

I like to "read" while I run, while I sew, and while I drive.

My running continued this year with only one 5k and one half marathon. But I continued my habit of running 3x a week, at least 3 miles. I did the Kiawah Island half in December. It was fun. We went down with some friends.

I was able to visit the grandchildren in Edinburg in February.  Of course the highlight of that trip was Emma meeting Prince Harry at Edinburgh Castle.

My son completed his Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and although I wasn't there to witness it in person, I stayed home from work so I could witness it via live streaming.

We started our new home, and that has kept us so busy.

Still in progress

I made a trip to Los Alamos with some of my former work buddies.  So proud of these three.  They all worked for me in the past and have all turned into great managers of their own groups/department.

I did a lot of chalk painting this year too, but I won't bore you with all of those pictures. :)  But....here is my favorite.....I chalk painted the table, some mis-matched chairs, and the bottom of the buffet.

                        

So, what's cooking for 2019?  I love goals so here's some I've committed to or thinking about:

- Lead the first Run For God class at our church 

- Design some new quilts and get a few published

- Make a few more baby quilts for gifts/charities to have on hand

- Read, read, read.....

- Start a new daily devotional (I received one by Ray Comfort for Christmas)

- Move!! of course the goals with this, are get the sewing room organized and ready for work, purchase several things for the new house (counter stools, a TV, curtains, etc.)

- Have 2-3 big get-togethers at the new house (we want to use our new home as a blessing for others)

- Visit the kids in Cambridge, England, their home for the next 18 months or so.

- Build at least one bed, a work bench, and some other projects

- Do more for others

- Start and keep up a Gratitude journal (document 3 things each day I'm grateful for)

I better stop with the goals for now......I could easily fill several pages of what I'd like to do this year.

One of my favorite quotes is "Life doesn't get any better by chance; it gets better by change."  So, we should get in there and change the things we want or need to in 2019.  Looking up for guidance and wisdom. Hope this post has made you evaluate your activities in 2018 and your plans for 2019.  So, go ahead and document them.  One day you'll enjoy reading them, and maybe your children or grandchildren will enjoy learning about your life.

Photo Editing App and Other Musings

I recently read a blog post by Brook, at Nesting with Grace about a really neat app she likes to use to edit her photos.  I even downloaded some Presets she has for sale at ETSY.  Check out these before and after pictures.  The beginning pictures are great in themselves, but the editing...wow.

This one is my favorite.  The snow just pops!

The app is Lightroom CC and works for iPhones and iPads, and it's FREE ya'll!

It has been a lot of fun playing with the app on my pictures.  And...here are some additional things I'd like to document at this near end-of-year post.....

Take a look at these beautiful wooden beads.  My friend made them and gave them to me for Christmas.  She is so crafty and has great farmhouse taste.  I love the simplicity of them.

Below is my work group.  Our manager took us out to eat and then to Breakout games for a team building exercise.  It was pretty fun.  Ours was Island Escape.  You are locked in a room and have various clues to figure out how to break out of the room.

My son and his family living in Cambridge, England - their Christmas photo.

Another photo I received lately, just love this one.

I did a little hand lettering on bags for gifts of bread....

The new house is coming along.  The front craftsman columns are almost finished.

This will be a screened porch and a back deck.

Most of the lights are hung, although these pendants aren't exactly right yet.. :)

We've had so much rain, it is one big mud pit there!  We are still hoping to move in by the end of January, but there still seems to be a lot left to finish up.

I am so looking forward to getting in the new quilting studio.  We are hoping someone buys our current home soon.  We put it on the market about three weeks ago.  We've had four showings but no offers yet.  The realtor is positive it will sell, I guess no one wants to look at/buy at Christmas time.  I can understand that.

I'm formulating an end of the year post but it isn't quite ready yet.  I plan to print my blog for the last couple of years so I like to do a recap of the year.  Hope you have had a good year and are evaluating your year as well, and making plans for 2019.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rachel

December 1st

Wow, December already. It seems everyone and their brother is posting their decorated homes.  No decorations here, except our Christmas quilt.  Hope to move in about a month, and the house is going on the MLS for sale December 10th.  That will be fun, trying to keep everything spotless for potential buyers, not!

Here is a little eye candy for Christmas......love, love, love this simple quilt.

My little darlings are growing up.  I was never sad when my son was growing up, but these....oh my goodness, I just want them to stay little. They are loved so much.  I hope to go visit in Cambridge in March 2019, but that seems so...far...away.  They made a day trip to London recently.  I am so thankful they send me pictures.

The house is coming along nicely.  We are so glad we added the wooden beams, they add so much character.

I made this quilt a few weeks ago for our builder and his wife.  We have been very pleased with them during this process.  They have made it a pleasant and exciting time in our lives and I wanted to do something special for them.  We gifted them the quilt yesterday.

 I found a lot of house quilt patterns online, free.  I settled on one, but changed up the pattern some.  I was very happy with how it turned out.

 I was also very happy that I was able to make it using fabric I had in my stash.  That is always a good thing.

 The hubby loves flannel on the back of his quilts and insisted this one have that too. So it is nice and cuddly.

I was able to put their logo on the label.  That pleased them.  :)