We have lots of drawers under the counter. Shallow drawers, like this one that holds the knives. Steve made the knife blocks years ago and they work in the new drawer. The drawers pull all the way out so it's easy to get to everything. So much better than trying to reach way back into a low cabinet... I bought several more of these Good Grips containers. They work so well! However, from the top, they all look the same. I made labels for the tops to make it easy to find what I'm looking for. Our refrigerator is not... Continue reading

Here is a view through the kitchen, in one direction. We were able to use the same rug that we had before. We kept the dishwasher, refrigerator, and vent hood as well. They work and were too new to replace. I'm glad we kept them. I might have been tempted to go with stainless steel appliances otherwise and it turns out that I like them white. They disappear. And here's the view from the other direction (I should have tidied up the the towels on the oven): The microwave is built in over the double oven. I ordered the hardware... Continue reading

Steve likes a clear countertop and I've gotten to the point that I like it too. We had a space for the toaster oven built in to keep it off ov the counter. The backsplash is 3x6 subway tile with an accent strip of 1/2" tiles. They aren't all white, and they aren't all glazed which makes these little tiles more interesting in a subtle way. There was enough granite for the window sill which is really nice! I moved some of my favorite paperweights to this window. Why didn't I think of that before! There are two false drawers... Continue reading

I'm sorry I haven't posted but I have been so very busy unpacking, cleaning, finding a home for our stuff, making other stuff go away... it was a little over-whelming. But now, it's done and can share what I think are the best bits. Best Bit #1: We had an excellent contractor, Rick Owens. He has an amazing crew. I have absolutely no complaints. How often do you hear that about a contractor? If you remodel, I hope you can find someone as good. Best Bit #2: Everything feels so very clean. All of the trim was repainted and most... Continue reading

Janice, among others, commented that she really wanted to see the neutral quilt. I can't show the whole thing because of the 'surprise' factor - gotta save it until the book is closer to publication. But here's a little bit of it: Quiet, with a very cute little bird! Continue reading

In college, we had a friend who used to joke about names for rock bands. One he liked was Babies in Neutral, because babies are never in neutral. Sewing is not a neutral experience either - but using neutrals alone makes for a quiet kind of quilting. I made a pieced quilt (that I can't show you) in wild colors and big prints for the color book. The pattern was so fast, so easy, and so much fun to make that I decided to make a smaller version in neutrals to show with the colorful quilt. The two quilts are... Continue reading

It's been a little crazy at my house and I haven't found enough time to post. The kitchen is nearly finished - I took these photos late yesterday. You can't see one of the lights in the ceiling. The far light is in the breakfast room, the next one is one of two round, florescent fixtures that are on either side of the SolaTube. Luis spent most of the day installing the sink. It was surprisingly complicated because the new sink is deeper than the old sink and the drain pipe was sort of in the wrong place. Orville got... Continue reading

I thought you might be interested to see what a difference a SolaTube makes. Here is the (empty) kitchen, before: I took the photo above, mid-afternoon. I took the next photo at the same time of day, after the SolaTube had been installed: The light in the room is not electric. It is shining down the inside of the reflective tube that ends in the roof. I wrote about SolaTubes when we added them to our bathrooms. Amazing, isn't it! The contractor says that we actually get more light from this than we would from a skylight. I think it's... Continue reading

How's that for an attention-getting blog post title? I wrote a guest post for the C&T Blog about The Best-Every Applique Sampler. There's a bit of behind-the-scenes info, there are some pretty pictures... and then at the bottom of the post, you are invited to write a comment. I'm going to be interested to see what you write :-)! One commenter will be chosen on June 10 to win a copy of the book! Click here to read the post and to comment. I hope you enjoy the post! Continue reading

Well, I don't know about you but I have been BUSY! I thought today would be a good day to catch you up on the remodeling. This was Monday (Memorial Day) evening - Steve preparing dinner... And this is the same space, Tuesday: And from where Steve is, looking the other way: The new cabinets are built and at Rick's warehouse being painted. He tells me that there are a huge number of them, more than you'd imagine in this small space. So where is Steve cooking now? He has set up shop in the garage: Many of you know... Continue reading

It's been a while since I gave you an ugly fabri update. My quilt top is done, but I can't show it until the book comes out which is many months off. I can, however, share some snippets. The next photo is a section of the quilt back. Christopher suggested that I use the leftover fabric on the back which was a great idea. I didn't piece it to look good - I wanted to highlight some of the most memorable fabrics. That amazingly awful Santa is just stunning, don't you think? I actually grew fond of the monkeys that... Continue reading

This is a corner of the C&T booth showing a big page from our coloring book. Quilt Market is interesting. There is a lot to lust after. Lovely fabric, great notions, inspiring quilts - so much! But the thing is, most of it you will never have an opportunity to actually buy. That was true many years ago, and it's more true now. Used to be, there were a few big fabric companies. Shops bought from most of them. An individual shop could never carry all the fabric available but I could usually come home and find most of what... Continue reading

I taught a 2-day class at Aunt Mary's, owned by Carrol McVey - not Mary - before quilt market. I had this post mostly written and then sort of forgot it. The 12 ladies in my class and I had a very good time. You'd think I would have taken pictures but, again, I didn't. I am just too focused on the job when I'm teaching which is probably a good thing. But later I always wish I had a picture! I stayed with an old acquaintaince/new better friend, Linda, at her house on the water. To say that her... Continue reading

I always take photos of my feet and manholes. I love the variety of these circular designs and adding feet to the image is quirky. If you see two extra feet, they belong to Amy, our publisher and my walking partner. The pointing hand above feels so Victorian to me. And when I see 'sewer' I think 'a person who sews' rather than the pipes below ground. I've seen the next design before and I always love it. It reminds me of an 'alert' symbol. My striped socks are good with it :-). The mix of neutral colors appeals to... Continue reading

You may have noticed that I didn't post last week. I've been in Portland for quilt market which is always an interesting experience. I took a lot of photos and not one of them has fabric or a quilt in it! Sigh. Here are some of the things that caught my eye: The lettering on this boat, and I'm exactly sure why... I saw these cans in a shop window (H&M I think) and thought they were interesting. It wasn't until I looked at the photo that I saw that the cans spell 'can' which made me grin. On the... Continue reading

I'm on the way home from Washington and I have some photos to share. Did I take pictures of the classes or of the quilt shop? No, I'm always too busy teaching to stop for that. But before and after class I found time to pull out the camera. I stayed in Yvonne's quilt room/apartment in Bellingham. I had the whole place to myself as Yvonne and Dave live in the big house (the big Victorian house, not the prison :-)). They had a number of wonderful sculptures in their 5 acre yard - gotta love these guys. You can... Continue reading

Do any of you still have one of the first blueberry iMacs? I need a high-quality photo (a pretty one) of a blueberry iMac. I've contacted Apple, but am not likely to hear back from them. I've searched online but so far have not found a good photo. This one is nice, but the quality is too low. Continue reading

The master bath is coming along nicely. The cabinet is in place and is being painted. The cabinet door and drawers are being painted off-site. The Ceasarstone countertop is in place and the faucet works! The new cabinet is countertop height. If you stand at your kitchen counter - it's that high. Somewhere in my travels I encountered a bathroom with this feature and I really liked it. I suppose if you are short this isn't a great idea but we like it a lot. Linda's bathrooms have a shelf that extends from the counter, over the top of the... Continue reading

Orville and Juan started installing the Bella natural hickory floor last week. It took Orville quite a while to establish this first line of boards. It's important to get this right because the floors are interconnected throughout the house. The got a lot more laid on day 2. The blue tape is there to help hold the boards in place until the glue sets. The heavy boxes hold the floor down and provide a walkway. I have to admit that when I first saw this I was a surprised at how much pattern there is. I knew there would be... Continue reading

As I type this I am at DFW waiting for a plane to take me to Washington. I'll be in Bellingham to visit the Running With Scissors quilt guild, then it's on to Aunt Mary's quilt shop outside of Seattle for a 2-day class. Now is a good time to catch you up on the remodeling. What you see below is our new shower. I chose a beautiful, expensive tile for the accent band. It has white glass and pieces of snow white quartz. It was perfect - until it was grouted with the dirt-colored grout that I chose. In... Continue reading

You knew this already, right? I visit a lot of guilds and am amazed by the number of quilts made with love and given freely for good causes. It warms the heart. I was recently contacted by Jim Nickerson, the social media director of The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. He worked with a wonderful group of women in the East Bay of San Francisco (one of my favorite guilds) who made and delivered over 70 quilts to the victims of Superstorm Sandy. He asked if I would share their story and I am happy to. Click here to download... Continue reading