The tile is done (?) and I love the color and the pattern!

I’m not happy with the clean-up – there is dried grout on the tile! You can see a bit of the new wall color. The new gas range was delivered Friday and the refrigerator is back in place. It’s great to have the kitchen back! We did move the dining room table and two chairs back but have to wait on the rest til after Tues when hopefully the trim guy will be done with the crown molding and baseboards.

I’ve been doing some sewing – quilting on the “Colorado Kids” and making some small pieces for my Artist of the Month exhibit at the Topeka Art Guild Gallery in September. I NEED to be thinking about a pattern or two for fall market. There is never enough time!!

Oh Rose- don’t envy me, it’s a real mess here! I’d much rather be going to Quilt Odyssey with you!

Yesterday I painted the bathroom; it took me as long to do that as it took the professionals to do three rooms and the hallway!

The painters came yesterday, painted the living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway and were gone in three hours!! It would have taken me at least two days. In my defense no one has ever moved all of the furniture out of MY way and removed the baseboards for ME! The color is Desert Tan which looks yellow to me, sort of a light golden shade which will lighten and brighten the space, I think. The rug and pad that I ordered arrived already and I can’t wait to unroll it and see how it will look, but must wait for the tiling to be done. That starts Monday morning. I cannot believe the amount of STUFF that we have moved, the house is in upheaval and we are living out of the studio with the refrigerator moved into the utility room and the range soon to be in the garage! The dogs are very confused. Me too.

In addition to the above spaces, we are also having the main bathroom floor tiled so today I am going to paint that room while the baseboards are out.

In between all of this, I have layered, pin basted and am in the process of quilting “Colorado Kids”. It’s coming along quite well.

Yesterday was the postmark deadline for PA National and I had nothing available to enter there this year except for “Longhorn Splashdown” which can’t go there because I have it pegged for Pacific Int this year. So there’s two shows where my work will not be on display this year, Houston, and PA. Bummer. Well actually, I will have work at Houston, just not in the contest.

I had a nice note this morning from Karey B. director of the IQF show in Houston, saying that if she had been the juror “Longhorn Splashdown” would have been in, so that was good to hear. I’ve gotten lots of nice responses including “your non-acceptance makes my non-acceptance less painful” which is one way to look at it! Glad to be of help!!

The painters are coming Friday so this will be a busy week of moving furniture and appliances, removing baseboards etc. The tilers, hopefully will start Monday. I have been busily shopping Overstock.com for an area rug for the living room and finally settled on this one which I ordered today.

I hope that I like it when it arrives – it was only one dollar to ship it here (special price) but returning it would be a different story!! It was not my first choice, but by the time I got back from CO that one was gone.  I could have spent all day tromping around Kansas City and probably not found one I liked better, so I took the plunge!

Late Thursday I arrived back home from my trip to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Guild in Fort Collins, CO. They are a great group and I had a wonderful time there; they took great care of me! The two day “Coneflowers” workshop was a lot of fun for all of us, I think. Some beautiful work was started and I hope to get finished photos to share with you!

Yesterday I had another commitment so I don’t even have all of the quilts put away yet – that is on the agenda for today.

Bad news arrived while I was gone – “Longhorn Splashdown” was not accepted to go to Houston this fall. This will be the first time that my work has been rejected there, and since they send their cattle up here to get fat, it’s not very nice of them not to take one back!!! Oh well, it will go somewhere else, I hope.Click on Longhorn in the side bar to see a photo.

I did get some pink double Knockout roses, two “Razz” and planted them out by the gate, I wanted one on either side but they need 5 hours a day of sunshine and one side is very shady so they are both on the sunny side. I’ve been thinning overgrown spaces, spreading compost and mulch, planting, and up until just lately, watering. We’ve had a LOT of rain the last few days so I have been inside sewing. Can’t tell you about that just yet!

Yesterday I spent all morning getting three quilts ready to ship and entering another show, but then when I went to get it all shipped, found out that there was no mail or UPS service due to the holiday. So that means another trip to town today – I hope everything gets there on time!!

For the last few days, I have been working on catching up the books for sales tax which is due next month. It’s just eleven days til I fly out to CO to visit with the Rocky Mountain Quilters for a few days. I’m really looking forward to that! There will be a trunk show/lecture followed by a two day Coneflowers workshop.

Since the weather lately has cooled a bit, it’s been great to get out early and do some gardening chores. I got the new plants into the ground and they transplanted beautifully with no wilt whatsoever.  Yesterday I spread some compost and did some deadheading.  The two Sunny Knockout roses that I planted this spring are blooming.

They start out a cheery yellow and fade to pure white.  I want to get some of the double pink ones next.