Good, Bad, and Fun!

When a friend emails to say that she's noticed a "slow down" in my blog posts and she hopes "all is well" - it is! - I'm overdue for a post. What with trying to get the house put together, attending a few newcomer get-togethers, and meeting neighbors, the days just fill up.

Good News
On the home front... some of our living room furniture is being delivered Tuesday! We ordered it May 25. On July 17 we'll receive our sofa, love seat, a chair and two end tables. We're still missing pieces in the living room and bedroom, but at least we can put away those bag chairs! Now I can shop for area rugs and lamps.

Not much progress in the sewing room. After deciding on half a dozen ideas, and then tossing them out, I've finally settled on having the closet "done." For $313, it will be customized with two sections of 14-inch deep, 23-inch wide shelves, and two more rows of shelves across the top. Reason asserted itself before I purchased shelves for the rest of the room. After the July 29 closet installation, I'll put things away - folded fabrics in the closet? - and then decide what's needed in the way of additional storage.

Martha Stewart fabric bins/drawers in the color "lagoon" are a must. They'll be for scraps organized by color, and look pretty on white shelves or in cubbies.

Today I picked up my new Gidget II sewing table. The insert for this Bernina hasn't arrived yet.

 

Bad News
T-Mobile cell phone coverage here is horrible - no reception marks, or one mark at best. My cell phone is my primary phone. Calls I accept in our house usually cut-out and drop off. Because of the poor reception, I asked T-Mobile to release me from my contract, which doesn't expire until May, 2013. After waiting two weeks, I phoned them to learn that my request was denied. If I choose to break my contract, it will cost $200. Steamin' mad about all this. There won't be an I-Phone in my hands for months!

Fun News
All the oak and walnut furniture pieces we brought with us are turning white!

bench

sofa table, floor quilt rack, wall-mounted quilt rack

five-drawer chest purchased at an estate sale

All tolled I have seven pieces I'm painting white, and it's taking most of my time - at least four to five hours a day. I can't really say it's "fun," but in the end, it will be worth the time. Thanks to advice from Ron at Home Depot, I'm gettin' the job done. If you ever want to paint furniture, here's what's worked for me.

Instead of starting by sanding the wood surfaces, buy a bottle of this. Use a small rag and a circular motion to apply this clear liquid to all the surfaces. Let it dry for an hour.

Then paint. My favorite paint brand is Behr. I chose the color "Candlelight Ivory" in a satin sheen. The gallon I bought has primer in it. Ron said to invest in a good brush and he picked this one for me. It's working beautifully and clean-up is easy with water and a little Dawn dishwashing liquid. Ron suggests that after cleaning the brush, while it's still damp, store it in its packaging.

So I've been painting...

...and painting...

...and painting.

I'm aiming for a Thursday finish.

More Fun

It's good to be quilting on a Bernina again, but after attempting to use the BSR, I've returned to free motion quilting without the regulator. I need to take some time to figure out how to use it. In the meantime, I'm anxious to finish quilting this Circle of Geese foundation paper-pieced quilt. 

The Great Granny Along hosted by Bee in My Bonnet has captured my attention. Blocks are scrappily easy. Just the sort of piecing I like. Sewing is at your own pace, so it's not too late to join in!

12-1/2" unfinished Great Granny block

In between these things I've been bike-riding, and gone places in the golf cart! We listened/danced to music outdoors in the square, attended a couple socials for newcomers to The Villages, and I took my first line dancing lesson! Life is good and fun! Linda