The guest room is done...

and has passed muster with Jessie and Dan overnight, and again with Brenda, so I guess it's good to go!

I found the bedding at TJ Maxx...nice...simple and white. I don't have stock in TJ Maxx but I should. You can get such wonderful stuff there for a great price. The headboard is from a bed that belonged to my great grandmother. I have the rest of the bed, but the rails and footboard don't seem to want to stay in place. So, we attached the headboard to the wall and just used a metal bedframe to hold the mattress and springs.

The lamps and tables are vintage and came from that great Pontiac store, Old City Hall Shoppes. ;o) Stop by if you need similar items at your house...we'll be happy to help you out. The chair is from Pier One. The artwork is some that I bought at the farmer's market in Hilo, HI. 

 The colors in the room came from the art.

I really like how this window over the stairwell turned out. At night if you leave the stair light on, it's like having a little night light in this room. Very cozy. Our house has had quite a bit of remodeling done on it before we came, so I don't feel the need for true restoration (it's too far gone for that) and can just renovate...adding quirky things if we want, and staying within the spirit of a folk victorian.

Beaded Board on the Stairs

Joe has been working on the stairway while we were gone. He installed drywall first for its fire retardant properties. We are putting beaded board over that to a) get that cottage feel, and b) avoid all the sanding it would take to finish off the drywall. The rest of the house is looking pretty good, and I know from past experience that, even if you hang plastic to try and control it, that fine dust goes everywhere. It's a little more expensive doing it this way, but I'm sure liking how it looks.

I've seen board like this in plenty of old cottages in Michigan...sometimes hung vertically and sometimes horizontally. We opted for horizontally because it is already a very tall narrow space and I'm hoping installing it this way will keep from making it seem even more narrow.

Lace Fence and Window Progress....

I'm not a big fan of chain link fencing, but the Lace Fence company has done some amazing things with it! Visit the gallery on their site. Some of it is too busy for my taste, but the simpler ones are quite beautiful. Apparently they can do any design you'd like with this technique.


While I've been off working on my car, Joe has been finishing up that window in the guest room. He managed to match the stain very well. I love how it turned out...now I guess I better put the hardware on it, and get back to painting that room!

On Saturday and Sunday, I knitted up this little guy during slow moments at the shop. I think he's downright cute, and I may make a few more and turn them into a mobile. It's the Frida the Fish Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. Well, it sort of is that pattern....I hate knitting a bunch of little pieces and sewing them together, so I rewrote the pattern to be worked in the round. I think I got it pretty close. I'm making another one by my pattern, and if I have the bugs worked out of it, I'll put the pattern on here for free. Or if you like to do a lot of seaming, the original pattern is also free and can be found here on Lion Brand's website.

Using the Old Woodwork

Look at this! Joe found enough window trim that is stained rather than painted! So, if I can manage to stain that little bit of new wood to match so it won't stick out like a sore thumb, the new window will go with the rest of the room rather than being painted.

About 18 years ago, we changed the roofline on the back of the house, due to some bad remodeling by previous owners. In the process, we had to lose one window from each of two bedrooms. One of the windows we had to remove was from this room, so it's very possible that that trim came from this room in the first place.

There's a lesson in there. We stashed that trim from the old windows in the garage....and now we are using it. If you are just starting to renovate an old house, and you have to remove pieces from it, don't throw them away! Stash it over your garage doors or some other out of the way place. Even if it stays there for years, that's ok! You never know when you might need some of that old trim...and it's not easy to find if you have to buy it.

Here's the window from the stair side. Pretty cool!

The Stairway...........

I've referred to the stairway a few times in this blog. It's very tall and narrow and dark and runs right up the center of the house. We gutted it 7 years ago when we gutted the kitchen. I didn't know when Joe was going to get to it, but I knew I can't do that kind of height, so I just tried to be patient.

Well, a couple of days ago, Joe asked if I still wanted a window from the bedroom into the stairwell....I did. The problem was that I had already painted the ceiling and started cutting in the walls in the bedroom, and I really didn't want sawdust and plasterdust all over that new paint. I said yes though, because I'm really hopeful that the window will throw some light into the stairs.

And as you can see, it is! The window we are putting in is a very plain stained glass one salvaged from a local church. At night, if a light is left on in the guest bedroom it will be almost like having a night light on the stairs. I think it breaks up the tall narrowness of the stairwell...at least a little! Joe found enough trim to trim it out like the rest of the windows in our house, and I think the window will be in and all done in a couple of days. Yea!

Hardware and Softwear

This is the hardware. My son moved out this weekend, to the home that he and his fiancee will share when they are married. I was looking around the empty room, being sentimental and thinking about all the changes....and all the work I want to do to this room in the next month! I noticed again one of the things I love about this house...the hardware. I like the little x's and o's on the hinges.

I get aggravated about how the old stuff doesn't latch quite right, but isn't it charming?

And this is the softwear....I'm making a new felted bag from some beautiful Malabrigo yarn. It's such lovely stuff to work with. So soft! We went to see Cirque du Soleil in Champaign, IL and while we were there I visited Needleworks and Klose Knit. Both are lovely shops with a nice variety of yarns and supplies.

Buying what you like...

Sometimes when you just buy what you like regardless of what is "hot" or "not," nice things happen. Like the lights from 5 years ago pretty much match the cushion fabric I purchased last year! Just snapped the little shades on a new strand of lights and we're done.

Last year the stores were full of black and taupe for outdoor living. I've seen beautiful porches decorated with those colors...but our house is yellow, and I didn't want it to resemble a bumble bee! Actually, our porch looks more like a circus, especially since adding the great table made by an artist friend. It's fun. I'd love to get that glider to an auto paint place and have it painted red or white.

Found these cushions at Pier One...made from fabric intended for outdoors, so hopefully they will not fade to quickly. I need to tighten up the cushion cover on that seat...it's just a tad too loose and wrinkles up a bit.

Home is where the heart is....

I gave the dog a bath, changed the mantle from Halloween to autumn decor, made a fire in the fireplace and I'm doing laundry. I'm going to knit a little while the next load is drying. I feel so content being here getting these things done. I know that doesn't sound like an exciting day, but I'm looking forward to the day when I can spend my days at home again.

I love running the shop, but I don't like being away from home and having things fall so behind here. I don't think it will happen anytime right away though. The shop is starting to pick up and I'm hoping the income from that can help with our daughter's college expenses. I don't want to give you the impression that I'm the perfect homemaker even when I am home though...I usually have a ton of projects, volunteering, and of course I always have struggled with being organized. But this is where my heart is.


I love to put lights on the mantle. When we renovated the kitchen, I had them put an outlet on the mantle. Now I can have the lights with out cords draping all over. It's pretty easy to hide the outlet with greenery, photos or other objects.

Primed

We're trying to get in some priming and painting during hours that it's not raining or too cold.

Paint, Paint, Paint.........

You won't believe what I did today!

That's right, and if you know me...you know how odd this is. I hate heights. I don't do heights. But, I'm determined to get this garage painted! If you could see my feet you would see my toes are trying to curl around the ladder...my feet were so tired when I got down! Last time I tried something like this I ended up in tears. So maybe I'm making progress, but I don't think I'll ever like being up high.


Here is the view from the neighbor's house....looks better, right? I still have a second coat to go on the side with the doors. And we need to do the other two sides. But the worst part is done...DS scraped them down and started priming them. Just in the nick of time, since he goes back to work tomorrow.


Here's Joe working on the front of the house again.


He's very safety conscious...I'm glad he wears the mask. We want to keep those lungs healthy for a long, long time.


Making progress on DD's sweater. Tomorrow I have to go get more paint and I'm going to go by a yarn shop in Btown. I'm hoping to pick up some more colors of sock yarn-maybe one of the self striping ones.

Painting, Painting, Painting.....

Here you can see why it takes Joe a long time to do a paint job. He is a perfectionist. And he does do a great job! It just takes a long time. We have literally painted somewhere on this house every year for 10 years. Arg. Joe also works a ton of hours at high stress job to support us, so this gets done in his spare time. Sometimes I wish I could convince him to hire it done, because I'd like to see him spending his spare time doing something he likes...like biking. The man is a cycling machine. But he isn't sure we could find someone to do this good of a job. Well, he has a point there. LOL


And of course he is doing the gingerbread...the hardest part for sure. He's a good man.


Usually I'm a perfectionist too...although through the years I've been learning that sometimes done really is better than perfect. Because of housework, kids, shopping, working, and balancing so many different things, I think most women come to that sooner or later. And besides I painted the garage last time the same year we painted front of the house, and it lasted just as long. So see, both ways must work. Anyway, he does it his way and I do it mine. And we are still together 26 years later.


Maybe it's partly because we are both the oldest child....we're used to being the boss. Here's how we compromise.....we usually work on a completely different areas. We both do it the way we want and we still get along at the end of the day! That's why you saw that I did the inside of the porch and now I'm working on the garage. DS got some more of the garage primed so I'm working on getting some top coats on. As you can see we are not doing the garage doors in two colors this time. That's because the doors are on their last legs and will be replaced next year anyway by solid white doors (that you don't have to paint!).


And here is the sock update...I finished all the decreasing and now I'm knitting the foot. I'm trying to lose some weight and think getting back into knitting in the evening is going to help. Keeps the hands busy and I don't want to get that pretty yarn dirty.

It's funny to see the reactions of people when they find out I'm knitting a pair of socks. Most of them look at me like I've lost it. And I can see their point. I don't know why I'm driven to make some things that you could buy for very little. But I am. Everyone has their quirks!

Second Sock and Painting the House (does it ever end?)

I think I'm on my way to avoiding "second sock syndrome." Today I finished the ribbing on the second sock, knit the heel flap and turned the heel. It's all coming so much easier to me on the second sock. Short rows for the heel turn and all the decreasing and picking up stitches, etc. is new to me in this project. In the future I can use these techniques to make sweaters that fit a woman's curves. That's the hope anyway! LOL And they are a small project that I can finish relatively quickly.

Now, on the house. Joe and our son fixed our garage door (again) and hopefully it will make it through one more year. Then DS worked on priming some more. He had to quit for a while there because it rained for a few days. Now he's gone for the rest of the weekend visiting some friends at the university. Tomorrow I'm going to put the first coat of paint on the first side he primed.


Joe got back up on the scaffolding to scrape the gingerbread on the last bit of the front of the house that needs painting. I'll have to take some pics tomorrow. It's supposed to be nice this week and we have to make hay while the sun shines. Or I should say we have to paint while the sun shines. Then we can pack up all the paint for the winter. I sooo hope we get this last bit of the front finished and the garage all nice and freshly painted. Then I will feel good going into the winter.

Painting the Garage and Fireball Run

I painted the garage about 8 years ago. It was definitely time to do it again. Our son has been home lately because he is laid off from his job for, hopefully, just a few weeks. He is an apprentice pipefitter and the slowdown in construction in this economy is coming home to roost. Here the garage is...he has already scraped it.


This is the backside which never did get painted the first time. We keep ladders stored by hanging on this back side.


He's got it this side primed today before he had to leave for school. It's looking so much better already.


Tonight Joe and I gave Hawkeye a haircut. We clip him short...and then he gets more and more lamb like as it grows back. The haircut lasts longer this way, and the burrs are a lot easier to get out after romp in the country. I hate using a flash on dogs....you always get that doggie "red" eye.

Here's another fun thing we did lately. The Fireball Run stopped in our town for lunch. It's a scavenger hunt done by people who have some really awesome cars. It's kind of like "The Amazing Race" but across the US and done to publicize the plight of missing children...and hopefully find them. One of the goals is to pass out flyers with missing children's photos in as many places as possible. This is my son and Dot's son by the car from the movie Back to the Future II. Our little town was full of Jaguars, Lamborginis, Ferraris, and all kinds of cool vehicles.

Tomorrow's Project....Radiator Cover

This radiator cover is in our living room. We have lived here 20 years...and yes, it has had those holes all that time. Time to wrap up some of the stuff on the original to-do list. Tomorrow I'm planning on sanding and priming this cover and the window sash in this pic. Someone antiqued the window sashes and it is peeling. I will be painting it an antique white. We painted some of the upstairs sashes white and left the trim natural and it looks nice. I'll also be taking that broken mesh out and investigating what kind of material to use to replace it.

Hanging a Vintage Quilt-Tackle It Tuesday

The weekend I went to the auction, I also went to another auction where I only bought two things. One of them was this vintage quilt...it's the perfect light and bright quilt I was looking for for our room. I tried it on our bed, but decided that the Rachel Ashwell quilt would probably hold up to washings better. I hadn't figured out what to put over our bed, so I hung the vintage quilt there. I just put up a rod from Walmart and used some curtain clips I already had to hang it. It seems like a pretty good way to hang it since I put a lot of clips across there to distribute the weight. I did it tonight....Hubby is working some weird hours so he's sleeping during the day.
You can click on the image to see it larger. The quilt has a wonderful appliqué border and such pretty prints. It also has some red in it...though I didn't catch any in this shot. I love red and pretty much every room has at least a little red.

To see more Tackle It Tuesday projects click here.

Busy day....started bedroom

Today started out with a big gathering on the square in support for keeping the Pontiac Prison open. Our governor is threatening to close the prison to save money. This of course would be devastating to our local economy as well. Our prison does have some very old (even historic) buildings, but it has all been recently updated and serves as a model of how to incarcerate very tough criminals. Hopefully the closing will never happen. If the state could find the money, they could reduce the overcrowding by opening another prison (which is already built), solving a problem and creating new jobs. Of course, money is the big factor here. A large group of citizens turned out....the crowd actually goes further to left and right but that's all I could get in with my lens.

People always ask me what it's like having a prison so nearby. Mostly it's like having any other big facility or company nearby...it does not make alot of noise or create a problem in the community. And it provides a lot of good jobs to the area citizens.....and a lot of workers who support the local economy.

This is Senator Rutherford getting in place for the photo. He's working hard to try and keep the prison open.


The photographers are are way, way up there in the ladder truck. Yikes. Not me.


And I got started on the bedroom. I'm writing this on a break. I'm painting the ceiling white. I had it painted a honey color before. I think this alone will brighten up the room a lot. As you can see some previous owner put ceiling tiles up, and we have never taken them down. This was done in several rooms of our house. We'd like to put it back to plaster ceilings someday, but for now a nice fresh paint job will help.