Archive for January, 2011

Longhorn

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Rose, I thought I did mention when “Longhorn Splashdown” was accepted to go to Lancaster, but I just clicked on it in the sidebar and that didn’t come up, so if I did, I didn’t tag it. So, anyway, it IS going and you can look for it there!
Two entries so far this year, and two acceptances!

That link did take me back to the beginning of the tile job though – little did I know at the time how that would drag on! So far the grout has been removed from the kitchen, dining room and a little bit of the living room. Very slow progress I think, and living out of the studio is getting old, not to mention grout dust everywhere!!.

I did a few more sections of quilting on the fire landscape yesterday and only the foreground and the sky remains. As usual I am putting too much quilting on it, so it takes forever. I took some time off to start the drawing for a new piece Saturday.

Celebrate Spring

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Great news! “Colorado Kids” has been accepted to be shown at International Quilt Festival’s “Celebrate Spring” in Cincinnati in April. I had forgotten that I hadn’t completed the hand sewing of the binding, so I did that yesterday and it’s ready to go!

Tile Update

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Thanks for the sympathetic responses, it is a nightmare. The old grout is being removed, but it is slow progress. To date only the kitchen and dining room have been done and no new grout has been put in yet. The hardener in the grout makes removal very difficult. Even diamond bits don’t hold up to it. A few tiles have been chipped in the process. At this rate it will not be finished this week and more snow is predicted for next week.

In the meantime I have been quilting on the landscape and knitting, exiled to the studio.

Tile Saga

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

Some of you may recall that back in the summer we had some renovations done. It was a big job to have all of the flooring and carpeting removed and replaced with porcelain tile in the kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom and hallway. All of the furniture had to be removed and stored, much of it into my studio space. The job that was to take a few days dragged on much longer. Displaced dogs and husband paced, but it was summer then and they could go outside.

The workers did not do a very good job. They wiped out so much of the grout that deep troughs were left between the tiles and since I had already mentioned that I didn’t like that early in the job and the foreman assured me that they would fix it, I did complain, so they came back and added more grout, extending our exile that much longer.

There is an additive you can get to mix into the grout so that it dries harder and is stain resistant. We thought that with the big dogs, that would be worth the considerable extra price, and I was really not happy that they had wiped so much of it away and down the drain. The grout that I chose was a shade darker than the tile and the color set them off nicely.

I noticed right away that the new grout was lighter in color, almost white, but the decorator said it would darken. Long story short, it did not darken. Even worse, it was not hard, and by December, it began to chip out and I discovered that it was so soft that I could scrape it into dust with just my fingernail and the the places that had been cleaned more like the kitchen and bathroom had areas where the light grout had worn away exposing the dark grout below making the floor look constantly dirty.

We asked that the decorator come and have a look at it. She brought the owner of the tile/carpet center with her and they agreed that it was not right, but no one seems to know why. We agreed that we would wait til after Christmas, they would order new grout and they would remove all of the old and replace it. It would only take one day. Yesterday was the big day!

We spent Sunday moving everything again. We had been told “just” to empty the shelves and drawers and leave the big stuff for the workers to move. Still, it’s a lot of stuff and took half the day.

By noon they had removed the grout from the kitchen and were working in the dining room, right up to the edge of the large corner cabinet, my husband said, you are going to move that, right? The guy said yes. I should say that only the foreman speaks English and by 5 o’clock when they were quitting, I asked if they had done under the corner cabinet and the foreman said no, he was not moving the big furniture. I said – but the owner told us you would move the big stuff. He said I was so picky I would say he scratched it and he would have to pay, so he didn’t want to touch it. We argued the point and he called his boss who told him to move it, and my husband said he would help so he agreed.

In the meantime I was looking at the completed grout in the kitchen and dining room. It was the same light color they had used the last time!!!! I called the decorator and she said it would darken. I reminded her that was what she said the last time and it did not darken. She checked the original order and it was not the right color at all, not even the same company- not even close. They stayed two more hours and tried to remove the wrong grout, but it has that hardener in it and they couldn’t get all of it out. I just hope that they will be able to get the right stuff in there and that it will be able to bond.

They are not half done yet, so the one day job drags on, who knows how long and what the outcome will be. I am so disappointed.

Snow, Spam And How I Spent My Week

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

More snow, more coming; enough already. I know it could be worse, but this is bad enough!

I’ve managed to get a little quilting done this past week, but I am just not really into it right now. The parts with no pins is done but you can’t see the stitching very well.

The 2000 piece puzzle is maybe three quarters done, and has been a focus along with getting the books caught up to file sales tax, and some knitting. I have not been outside to walk and get some fresh air and it makes me unmotivated!

This week I have had an inordinate amount of spam on this blog, which is VERY time consuming. Some to enlarge parts I don’t even have, etc, that are easy to spot and delete, but mostly posts that are phishing for something. They will be full of compliments that are so ambiguous they could just as easily apply to golfing as quilting. I have spent hours this week dealing with this and I don’t “get” it. If you have sent me a legitimate post that did not get approved please be more focused, I don’t want to ignore YOU!.

SAQA “This Is A Quilt”

Monday, January 17th, 2011

I finished the SAQA entry yesterday, so it could be mailed today, but there is no mail service today! Oh, well. I still think it has time to get there. If you compare it to the before quilting photo you will see that I made a few changes. Brightened the bit over one ear and darkened one eye; the white eye sparkles brings it to life.

It is quite amazing how much life that little touch gives! In comparing the two , I think I will go back in with a Pigma pen and darken that little bit of  light on dark quilting that grabs your eye by his mouth – then I think I will be happy with it and it will be on it’s way tomorrow.

From Lazy To Busy

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

It’s been a lazy week; the current puzzle has sucked up a couple of days! It’s about a quarter done, has 2000 pieces, a Bavarian castle, but Friday I was strong and got the fire top layered and pin basted and even started the quilting.

Saturday morning I decided that I really did want to make something for the next SAQA Trunk Show– it only needs to be at least 9″ square, after all! I looked through already drawn designs and found, already on freezer paper, this little dog. I have made him twice before and I’m thinking that the pattern was in the reverse of what I wanted last time. But for this one – perfect!

I got it pieced yesterday and will quilt it today so it should make it to CA by the deadline which I think is Friday! This trunk show called “This Is A Quilt” will show all of the different styles of art quilts that people are making and will travel for a year, I believe.

Answers

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

Gwynette, at this point, it measures 74w X 29″h. It’ll be smaller after quilting. My decorator suggested that I replace the 4 small framed cross stitched pieces that I had up with one substantial quilted landscape, so that’s why I made this one.

The water is made up of three pieces, two from one fabric and the lighter part from another. The fabric I had ordered for the water yielded the reflection and the darker part at the top, but was too dull on it’s own so I added the lighter bit. That same fabric had a nice purpley part that I liked for the closer far hill so I replaced that which had been the same soft lavender as the other far hill.

The large yellow and green hill below is cut from one of the hand dyes from Ghana that I purchased at Festival in Houston. It is repeated on the right side edge under another from the same source. These fabrics are sort of a damask, looser weave than I’d like, but purchased for the effect that I knew they would produce in a landscape.

Del, I’m glad you like it, but even though it was made to hang in that spot, it will still travel to shows where it will fit, and will be priced for sale. I’m thinking that I will eventually make it or something similar in different seasons.

Yesterday I was seduced by another jigsaw puzzle as the 7 inches of snow outside drifted in the wind and the temperatures dropped drastically.  Then I spent a few hours working to get the books up to date for filing sales tax soon.  So the top remains on the design wall, not even layered yet! Today, if I can get out (if the road is plowed), I am scheduled to work at the gallery, so will make no progress here on anything!

Fire Top Finished

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Yesterday I finished the fire top, removed all of the freezer paper and tweaked a few places that were not right. My other prairie fire quilts were night scenes, but I wanted this one which will go in my living room to be lighter.

While it is less dramatic, perhaps, than the others, it is pretty much what I wanted. I hope to start the quilting today.

It is snowing hard outside; truly a lovely if unwanted sight!

Colorado Kids Finished – Again!

Friday, January 7th, 2011

OK, so I got busy and added a border to the bottom of Colorado Kids and now it is big enough to enter into Celebrate Spring!

I actually think it looks better now as the proportions are better and it is more grounded. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!!! Added bonus – now it’s finish date is 2011 giving me an extra year to show it!