Monday, March 5, 2012

Arbitrary Activities

Right up front I'll say this post is about a bunch of random stuff. Odds and ends of finishes, and a new beginning.

As most of you know, we've been doing quite a bit of clearing out. It also means there's been lots of cleaning. I mean vacuuming, de-cobwebbing, dusting, mopping, window-washing, woodwork-oiling and general back-breaking scrubbing.

We have a bottle of this, and I couldn't help noticing "New Zealand Springs scent." Goodness! Does this mean that springs in New Zealand smell better than they do here? How does a New Zealand spring smell when compared to... say, Hot Spring, Arkansas, or Steamboat Springs, Colorado, or Sarasota Springs, New York? Kiwi friends, can you enlighten me?

This Star Block is the February design for the Blogger's BOM. I'm sticking with my name for this quilt: Strawberry Fizz and Lime Pop.

The gray sorta washes out on this one, but it will be a great place for some detailed quilting.

Love that pink "pop" in the center.

Last year I won a giveaway for a "Spiced Pear Pincushion" kit. The pattern is from Sewn into the Fabric. I didn't care for the fabric in the kit, so I used six prints from a "Sunkissed" (by Sweetwater) charm pack to make it.

It's filled with three tablespoons of walnut litter, as the instructions called for, but I think another tablespoon or more would have made the pear a bit "taller."

It's so tiny!

I took advantage of a perfectly lovely day to photograph my finished Disappearing Four-Patch quilt. There's no green grass below, but check out the blue sky above.

The colors are certainly more vibrant together than those dull, ugly prints were by themselves.  

Such a pretty, crinkly look with the feather flower quilting.
57" X 69"
 Even the backing, made from left overs, looks nice on such a pretty day.


I photographed the quilt on my backyard clothesline.


If you don't have a clothesline, but would like to buy mine, it's for sale.

My clothesline comes with a house! 

As of last Friday, March 2, our house in West Des Moines, Iowa, is for sale. 

All that purging, paring down, Craigslist-selling, sorting, organizing, donating, and cleaning, was for a purpose. After 22-1/2 years, we're heading south - permanently - to a warmer clime. When last December I excitedly blogged about our lifestyle visit to The Villages, Florida, we weren't exaggerating when we said we liked it! So much that we're selling our house, all the furnishings, and my 2000 Volkswagen Beetle to move there! (Boo-hoo, about my Bug. It was my surprise, college graduation gift from my husband.) So, except for our personal possessions and my quilting necessities, we'll load up a 14-foot rental truck to make this HUGE change. We'll:

  • go from a two-story (three-story, if you count my basement sewing room) to a single floor home.
  • downsize from 1,860 square feet (not counting the basement) to approximately 1,500 square feet... when we pick out our new house.
  • become a one-car family. Our new "second car" will be a golf cart, even though we don't golf.
  • go further away from our Kansas City family and grandies who will be 1,200 miles/19 hours from us (boo-hoo again).
  • move closer to our Tampa family and grandson who will be 90 miles/90 minutes from us.
  • leave 22-1/2 years of friends and memories (boo-hoo even more) and God-willing, make another 20 years of friends and memories.
A Bible verse from Acts 17:26b (NIV) has recently become a new favorite, thanks to my friend Carla.

...and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

God knows. He has determine that the time is set for us to go, and where we should live.

While we'd already planned to move this spring, we put sort of a "rush job" on it when, in mid-January, I learned that my degenerative osteoarthritis is worsening. No whinging here; just the facts. I'll need a hip replacement in the not-too-distant future. Better to be in a single-story home with a master suite on the main floor, where recuperation will be easier, than in a two-story.

So here we go! Let's sell a house. If you know anyone who's looking to move to Des Moines, and wants a clothesline well-kept home at a very fair price, do let me know. 

Now let the daily quilting housekeeping begin! Linda

14 comments:

  1. Congratulations on getting your home listed! Wishing you lots of open houses and showings. I've always heard that it's good to plant something yellow in the front yard but it's probably too cold there for flowers. I predict that you'll have a posse of friends in no time in your new hometown!

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  2. I love you blocks for the Blogger's BOM and your quilt is stunning. Best of luck with the house sale and the move. That's quite an adventure you are planning!

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  3. Great post, Linda! Your disappearing 4-patch is very fun and a great way to use your scraps. What a adventure you are on!! Woo Hoo!

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  4. oh my goodness!! I am so excited for you both! That is just wonderful news :) I think that this is a great move for you :)

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  5. Great news!! I figured you were readying for your (future) move when you started purging!!! Good luck!

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  6. Your four patch quilt is beautiful! Isn't it amazing what some cutting and piecing can do?! I love the way it turned out.
    It seems you are doing some cutting and piecing with your life as well. I was going to ask you yesterday about your plans but decided it would be better to wait until you posted about it. This is such a life changing decision. You seem to have made it quickly and with ease. Was it really that simple?

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  7. First of all, good luck with selling your home and embarking on a new chapter in your lives.
    Loved all the lovely bits and pieces in this post. The four patch quilt is wonderful.

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  8. love the fabrics you're using for the blogger's bom and that itty bitty pear is a treat ! also love your four patch - great to have a blue sky day to take photos :) as for the new zealand springs cleaning product - it obviously doesn't smell like rotorua - you can smell the hot springs there as you drive in and let me tell you - smells like rotten eggs !!!

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  9. Downsizing can be a good thing. It is our plan to do the same thing in about 5 years. We thought we would be doing it sooner but we haven't really heard from the Lord that it is time.
    I will say a pray that your house sells quickly.
    Sorry to hear that you will have to have surgery but a one story and warm weather will be a good thing.
    Love your blocks and your quilt.

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  10. Godspeed on this new journey! Even though I'm already in a one story house I'm wishing for more convenience is all parts of it - I too have degenerative disc disease and am struggling right now. This is going to limit some things I don't want limited! Oh well, God knows my desires and He also knows what's best for me so I trust Him to show me the way. blessings, marlene

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  11. Congratulations on your move, it will be an adventure!
    Quilting is a great way to make new friends and I think there are a lot of guilds in FL.
    I used to be a Real Estate agent, showings are no fun but hang in there!

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  12. Good luck on the house sale...I believe all things happen in God's time. Trust that this will too! I love your Diasappearing Four Patch...so cheerful! Happy sewing!

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  13. Good luck with the house. You listed it on my birthday.LOL!
    Don't know about the NZ spring scent. Never heard of it, although we are clean & green here!!
    Love the quilt on the line.

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  14. Wow, Linda, did you notice when you visited me how much our houses look alike from the outside?! Same little door, garage and picture window. If we kept our shrubs trimmed better, it would be almost a match! Good luck with selling it.

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