I'm still here!

Wow!  It has been a busy month.  The problem with going so long without posting is I don't know where to start!

When I left you all, LOL, I was painting.  I finally finished the fireplace wall.

Before

After

Getting to the top was a struggle.  We did get smart, however, and bought a new ladder - with wider rungs and we bought adjustable scaffolding. So, the rest of the room will be much easier.  Not easy, but easier.   Oh, and you may notice the orange pumpkin bucket has replaced the gnomes.  That is actually my next project so it won't be there long.

Having those openings in the wall is only convenient if you have exactly the right size electronics, etc. to fit.  No one does.  They are far too deep and too tall for our tv so my husband built a shelf and a false back and voila! It looks so much better!

We have been looking for a wine rack and couldn't fine one that we liked.  While sitting in the garage sanding and painting I kept looking at a display shelf we had stored out there and wondered if a bottle of wine would fit in the tallest spaces.

  Well, yes, yes, it does.  Now, I know that if you store wine for long periods it should be on its side but wine doesn't seem to last that long around here. Anyway, I painted the inside to match the cabinet and stained the outside to match the darker wood I'm changing to throughout the house.  My husband bought t-track that is used for hardwood flooring and nailed it to the bottom.  Turns out it is the perfect size for holding wine glasses. 

So now this corner of my house is pretty much done.  I have to break it down into corners, and small walls,  etc. or I get completely overwhelmed.

Before

After

I still have to get the curtains on the patio doors back up and I just noticed from the pictures that I need to paint the screws on the wine rack.  Ok, well, it's almost done.

When I was painting the hallway, I was taking down a mirror and sure enough, I dropped it and it broke.  So, while it was down, and the mirror was out of it, I decided to refinish it too.  Might as well.

Those are our initials so each of us has our own hook.

I also painted our front door but I don't have photos yet so that will have to wait.

I have managed to fit in a bit of needlework. I loved the afghan I made for my daughter so much that I decided to make another one using my Easter colors.  I love this pattern! It's a great design to do while watching tv.

One of my daughter's friends has requested one so I will be working that one into my schedule at some point soon but I have two more afghans in progress and I need to finish at least one of those before starting another. 

I spent a couple of days up in Illinois with my parents earlier this month. It seems like I manage to get more needlework done up there in a couple of days than I do in an entire month at home.  I am doing a mystery block quilt with my sister-in-law and this is the first block.  I still have two little ones to add and then do the embroidery on all of them.  The pattern is by Reiko Kato, a ridiculously talented quilt designer.  All I have seen are using more muted, country tones but that won't work with my decor so I'm using Kaffe Fassett prints for the clothes.  Isn't it going to be cute!

The second block they are jumping rope but the third block they are on a beach and in a lake.  I can't wait to get to that one!

Well, this was a long post and I still have photos and projects and my trip to talk about so I'm going to stop here and do another post in a day or two.  

Thanks so much for stopping back by!

Sandie