Time at the Duck

I had to go back out to the Duck to get windows installed on Monday. it was a special order and took a long time....weeks.   It's a big sucker. they are going to install it from the outside so they set it here till they get the space ready. the spot it goes in is left in the pic....not shown. 

The guy who measured either measured wrong...or the factory built wrong....the window is a couple inches too tall. and not returnable. but, my contractor is good and just took out more stuff to make it fit. so, it is in and caulked and i have put the first coat of paint on the trim around the outside. will paint it again when i go down next month.

This was the last of the official 'house' windows. actually this is an enclosed front porch but is officially house.  the only windows i have left are 6 on the enclosed back porch. 30 something windows is a lot of damn windows.

The next thing set up for next month is to have the mud put on the drywall ceilings.....9 rooms. the guy says a couple days work. 3 rooms have different type ceilings... so he was spared some work...and me some money. but doing things on the ceilings are not my favorite thing so i am happy to pay to have that done.

Just think...then i can paint ceilings. woopee!

Of course, you know i couldn't go down without doing some work myself.  i got more dining room trim up.

On the window. it is so hard to get a good pic with that sun coming in. because of the thickness of the barn wood on the walls, the trim has about an inch gap. i am thinking of covering that gap with some luan and then painting it white. i think that will work. probably glue it in there.

Got the trim around the inside of the back door, too. just need to install my stained glass window up at the top. maybe i can get that done in next month's trip. you can see the corner trim here, too.

I put the same corner trim pieces at the top that i put at the bottom. i love this. then i can cut top boards straight and don't have to miter anything at 45 degrees. which probably wouldn't work on this old house anyway. top trim pieces will be 7" wide....also barn wood...painted white.

I got the corner pieces cut, painted and installed. i used trim that was meant for the outside corners....just used the back side for the inside corners. because of differences in thicknesses of the barn wood...it doesn't all sit tight against the wall....but i'm ok with that. 

I also had more goodies to hang on the walls that i found in a few days scrounging in antique and thrift stores. 

Cranberry sauce...the sign just to the left of this is the same type...metal with glitter around. .. it is pumpkin pie filling. i am hoping i can find 1 more and have a trio.  with the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie filling ....that is kind of fall...thanksgiving....so i am hoping there is an apple pie or something out there.

Fruit stand sign.  this sign kicked my butt hanging. there were 2 holes in the back to align screws to hang it on. sheesh.....i took a screw out about 3 times before i got that sucker up there in the right spot. i almost just put the screws through the sign. hahaha

Grapes

Homegrown...loves this little rooster

Lemons...this was a paper sign that i mod podged to a board.

Pears

I found a metal moon. i hoped to get it on the other side of the window with the sun and the rooster but it wouldn't fit. but i guess this is better anyway.

Got a sunflower. i'm thinking i might need to make a stem and some leaves for that. gonna come up with something good.

I dug this old pump out of the corner of the garage. i almost forgot i had that. i found it at Canton Sale Days in Canton, Texas, many moons ago and have been dragging it around with me ever since. it must be at least 20 years old. i was always afraid to put it in the yard....afraid someone would steal it. so it has a good home in this corner. the dealer in Canton wanted $100 for it....i offered him $60 but he refused. Canton Sale days are 3 days of 100s of vendors on acres of fields. i went back every couple of hours and offered my $60 but he still refused. finally, at the end of the day, i went back again and told him he was just going to have to haul that heavy thing back home and i had cash. and he probably wouldn't sell it the next month either. i broke him down. hahaha

I also had time for some more blue door painting. the inside front porch door's final coat.

I still have blue paint....so the door opposite that last one....in the entry way...got it's first coat of blue. it will need probably 2 more coats. that is my 4th blue door....i will be known as the house of the blue doors. hahahahaha

Oh, i almost forgot.....i found pullies....or is that pulleys.   i think the latter.

An antique store find.....heavy suckers.  i played with placement and came up with this. and bought the rope at a yard sale to put through them. this is the last large place on the walls.....so other stuff will have to be limited in size. 

A close up....i still need to find one more drawer knob for the inside of 1 pulley

And i have this cool old wooden pulley with a large hook. i am looking for something to hang there. i have seen some 'flattened' buckets with flowers in them.....hhmmm....maybe.  i'll think of something...i'll know it when i see it.

And, thus concludes my couple days work at the Duck.  the dining room is almost finished. once i get that mud done on the drywall i can start another room.....i think the office.

But i still have shelves to put up in the laundry room. they could keep me busy for a couple hours. 

Stay tuned for more craziness next month.

Scottie Dogs

I can blame....er, thank....Gayle McKay for this quilt top. she showed her client's quilt on Facebook last week with this cool sashing setting and i loved it. 

So, i had to drop everything and try it. but you are not surprised, right...cause that is how i roll. it is 40" square.

The only fabric i had with enough to match was these scottie dogs. 

I love this idea and will be doing it again.

It is so simple...don't know why i have never thought of it.

Thanks, Gayle

A surprise package!

I came home yesterday and found a box that my friend Leanne sent me.

I just giggled....it was full of selvages. and she just sent me a box last month. i am getting spoiled.

Look at all those pretties....all separated by color.  she sure packs a lot in a small box.

Lots of browns....and some cool Halloween blacks.

A few Halloween oranges.....lots of blues and greens.

Now....to think of a new selvage design.

Thanks a heap Leanne....you're the best.

Black and White Selvage top

Got another selvage quilt top finished. i had some of these white blocks made already.....they were originally destined for a rug...but decided a white rug wasn't really very practical. so, i just made many more blocks and it became a quilt top. 9 1/2 inch blocks....set 7x8.....2 inch sashing. not going to have borders.  it's about 80x90"

I used foundations for the blocks and the sashings. some blocks are just straight selvages....and some diagonal.

I had  a piece of fabric with black and white pictures on it that i cut up for the sashing cornerstones.

And some blocks are whatever i could think of. there are 2 crumb blocks in this top. it gets boring doing the same thing over and over. 

I made blocks every way i could think of. this one has pieces down each side and a wider selvage in the middle.

This one got a lot of fuzzy edges. 

Once i got a lot of smaller pieces, i pieced them together into 1 long strip and just sewed them on....one after another....this time diagonally.

Kind of like pinwheels.

How about if i just use the same piece for the whole block?

Sample of sashing cornerstones.

I'm liking this one a lot....i say that almost every time, don't i?  hahaha    i thought i would use a lot of black and white selvages but ...sad to say....doesn't even look like i made an appreciable dent in the drawers.

AND....i came back from the Duck to find another box of selvages that my friend Leanne sent to me......so, it might have all came out even. 

Improvements at the Duck

I got a couple of days in at the Duck and this is what happened.

I hung a few more things in the dining room....a dinner bell....farm style

The Duck officially has a mascot. this Duck was sitting in a window at the studio and i decided he needed to be at the Duck. there even was a little chair waiting for him.

The rooster was at the studio also.....and i found the sun...some place.

I believe this was an auction find. i spray painted it black. it had 4 holes so was easy to install. put nuts behind the screws (didn't have washers) so the screws wouldn't go through the holes. it is 26" wide...and HEAVY.

Another auction find. i love auctions. this is above a doorway...my sis says she is running through that doorway. hahaha  it is held up very sturdily by 3 screws and is not coming down.

I got doorway trim put up on this door...with the pocket doors.

And i got the doorway trim put up on this door, too. it goes to the office.

I still have blue paint....so i am painting more doors. this one comes into the house from the front enclosed porch. it needs one more coat of paint.

And, my favorite thing i did while down there......was my artist touch on the front door.

I had jim cut many pieces of 4x4s and i painted them....4 different colors.

This is as far as i got on Sunday. i used Liquid Nails to adhere them to the board around the door. the only problem was getting the first row or 2 to harden up. then adding the rest went quicker. as you can see on the right side....i put a heavy concrete block against the bottom to hold them against the wall till they dried a bit.

I thought i was going to have to cut some of them down but discovered i could turn them various ways and manage to get 3 across. 

Some of the blocks have square corners and some rounded. i love how it is 3D. this might be my best idea yet. and some of them have cracks and splits, too.

On this side i used a product like glue but that would dry clear. and it set up quicker than liquid nails. can't remember the name, though. it goes in the caulk gun also.

This is as far as i got before i ran out of glue. i will need at least 2 more tubes of glue to finish it all.

God, i love this. hahha  that is how much i got done by end of day Monday. i hope to finish it this weekend when i go down again. wonder what the neighbors think?

And....i have to clean bird poop off my door. how does a bird poop on a vertical surface? i find that very strange.  next thing out here in front i think is to have a small porch built. 

This was about my 3rd design idea for the outside of this door. i was going to cut cedar pieces and put them up...lapping them like roofing shingles. then i was just going to paint it in different colors in some design. but i like this idea best.

This weekend should find this project finished....maybe. i have to cut more boards and paint them. 

And i will get the 3 windows installed on Monday that go right inside this door on the right. then all the house windows are finished....woohoo!!