I just started covering the 2nd layer for the bedroom valances yesterday.  Took me all day to do this one side. 

I screwed up on the cording the first time.  Hard to explain so I won’t.  Anyway — 2 layers on each side per valance plus a middle section.  That’s 18 sections for just the bedroom.  Cording on each.  Exhausting to think about so I try not to.  

I have to secure each layer using brads.  First time I’ve used those.  Bought an electric staple gun for that task.  I feel so powerful.  he he

This recovering project is  a.l.o.t. more involved than the first time around so I am taking some construction photos.  I figure some fellow RVers might like to know how to do this so I will add a new section to the Bus Renovations eventually.   Or why to completely avoid it.  [cheesy grin]

When I picked up the extra cording @ the fabric place they had a finished valance sitting on the table.. just back from the professional upholsterer….it was perfection with a capital PPPPPPPP.  I nearly drooled all over it.   Anyway — it looked something like this.  Only his was way better and he used white gimp.  Gimp — is the flat decorative trim.  I could not find white anywhere that day and I stopped at 3 places.  In an area with 4 million people you’d think you could buy anything. 

This was pretty messy inside until I covered it.  Getting the silk to lay nicely was hard to do — being so flimsy.  And I had barely enough cording to wrap to the inside and staple.  Now no one knows except me and you.  

I’m going to try and skip this step for the rest of the valances.  That’s too much work.  Good grief.  But I may add the gimp over the staples if it looks too sloppy. 

~~~~

Other things.  I found these cute signs on Etsy.  My first Etsy purchase - ever.   Plan to use them in the Bus.

I know - I’m such a child. 

The WIPs are out of control at Lucy’s place so I did what most  procrastinators do. 

I started another one.   gulp

I can’t help myself.  It’s a sickness.   I saw a finished one of these Stick Santas at the quilt store and it was instant love. 

How could I resist?  I couldn’t.  And obviously didn’t.  Now I just need to make another section like this one and put it all together. 

The kit comes with the cardboard tube and all the accessories inside.  The fuseable grid is a separate purchase.  You can buy the kit here.   The did buy the grid too, however, I didn’t follow the grid lines - I just placed my squares one on top of the other and pressed one or two rows at a time.  It was easier to keep it straight - imo.   So you can probably save money just buying a piece of this iron on stuff at JoAnns…

Here’s hoping I have a good Figgy Pudding weekend and I have no more distractions.  Like the other one I created last Tuesday.

A trip to the antique store. 

I bought another jar for my threads.  $4.  Since I’m behind on my projects - thread usage is down.  Not really an antique, but it spoke to me.  Like lots of stuff does.  Especially things with $$ signs.

So I switched gears and worked on the bath valance.  Easy Peasy.  The embroidery fabric is silk and hard to get a picture without lots of glare.  This was taken with no flash. 

I wasn’t real certain I’d like this — but now that it is done I’m happy with it.  The embroidery is reflective of my sewing hobby even though I have not done a lick of embroidery.  Hiding my head in shame cuz I have a machine that makes that easy to do.  If you were thinking hand embroidery — well let’s get real.  Of course not.  I’m too lazy. 

Anyway - moving on.   This is a little closer shot with the flash to show some of the fabric detail. The little check and cording is what I’m using on the bedroom valances too.  I just love checks — I cannot get enough of them.

Now I just need to figure out what to do about the wallpaper border in that room.   Kinda doesn’t work anymore - eh?

Hmmm.  And I might need some new accessories, towels.   I feel a shopping trip coming on.

grin

1994 Fleetwood Flair

1983 Minnie Winnie

1998 Alpine 36’

I’ve blogged about this couple before, but fellow RVers who are not familiar with them might enjoy reading thru their old and current blog. 

In summary — they toured the U.S. with the ‘94 Flair to promote green living.  Then sold it to upgrade to the ‘98 Alpine for something bigger.  They sold that to buy a house when she got pregnant again.  Bought the ‘83 Minni Winnie to use for vacations and latest blog entry says they plan to buy another Alpine - 40’ this time and go back on the road full time I guess.  Somebody got that cute Minnie Winnie for 8K!  I think I got that all straight but check out their blogs to get specifics.  Anyway she says they plan to renovate the 40’ Alpine and add bunk beds.  How fun! 

Anyway I’m slowly getting back into the groove here at home.  Very slowly.   I thought about starting the valance project today.

But then I just shut the door. 

Maybe later this week. Or next.

Made using Montana Modern fabrics from Bernatex.  Duck cloth interlining. Embellishments  - buttons, trim, and some old jewelry that I just don’t wear anymore.  Like the ribbon pin below. 

It’s big enough to hold all my gadgets and my purse.  Yep a purse for my purse.  he he 

Lots of pockets.  Two on the outside.

And two on the inside.

Some more of my jewelry added to this pocket — i.e, the beads. They are from an old necklace. 

I used the pattern Half Moon Tote from Seams and Dreams.  You can fold the sides in lots of different ways to give it a different shape.  Pretty easy to do, but it is tough to get those tabs sewn around the handles.  

It’s all loaded up in the pictures above as I’m headed out early tomorrow a.m.  Flying up to Illinois to visit my son and other family and friends.  Back in a week.

Figgy Pudding all pieced.  Just waiting on some extra backing fabric to finish. 

The Bus quilt.  I decided to just stick with the fabrics I have.  I’ll figure out where it will be used once it is done.  I’ve actually made progress on this one.  Seriously. 

All 9” strips are sewn. 160 of them.  60 more than the pattern requires because I had plans to make it bigger.

What a disturbed person I am.

Next step, cut all those strips to make a bunch of 4 patches.  320 total.  Told you I was disturbed.  But I have a plan. Wonkiness will occur you can count on that.  Wonky beyond repair - well those will go in the garbage.   Lots of wonky = smaller size.  Hopefully good enough to assemble into one quilt vs. a bunch of hot pads. 

Next xmas project. I plan to get this cut out this weekend.  Sure would like to get a few more xmas projects done before December.  This year.

Right now it is 36” square and should get to about 40” once finished. The plan was to add an outside red border, but looking at it I have an urge to go with the pattern design — i.e., a pieced border.  I’m going to quilt this myself.  Stipple it.  I have the thread, the batting, the spray baste.  Just send in the ambition and I’m on the way. grin

Other things …

Fabrics are picked for the valances in the front living area.   Oh the agony.  I’m quite sure the store consultant was ready to strangle me for changing my mind.  Once again.  I’m struggling because these choices must blend with the taupe sofa and grey walls.  The original feature fabric worked, but it was too expensive so I spent days looking at alternatives and it all clicked yesterday. 

Base - Linen.   This has some taupe in it although you cannot really tell in this online pic.  Again this for the background part of the valance.  A lot of texture in this — the little dots are actually rectangle and very nubby.   Kudos to the store consultant — she’s the one who found it. 

Accent - Terra Cotta.   Goes on the middle board so just a strip of it shows.   A canvas look that I like very much as the other two fabrics have a sheen to them.  And it keeps that reddish tone in the front area which I love. 

Feature - Outlandish.  My goal was to use a paisley because it is so timeless and I love this one.  Plus this one compliments the existing dining chairs.  Lucky me.  Although I would love to change the chairs too just to give the entire area a new look, it is not a priority. 

I have a cording picked out, but I cannot find a pic online.  It’s the same color as the Terracotta accent so it will just bring in more texture.

All of the fabrics I’ve picked are from Fabricut except the paisely - which is from Robert Allen.  I cannot find a reliable online discount source to order the Fabricut choices myself.   I’ve tried many times.  sigh  My usual resource no longer carries them.  The contact said they had too much trouble getting the right selections.  The other source tells me my choices are not in stock.  Which is not correct.  So I’ll order the Robert Allen thru the discount site and rely on the store consultant for the rest.  She told me you must order Fabricut direct as their online system is not reliable.  No kidding.  Of course she does not know I have been trying to locate all of these myself.  Trying to save buck you know.   Anyway the discount place refuses to call Fabricut to workaround that problem so I gotta go with the sure thing.  It’s OK.  I feel good about using the consultant — she has been a big help to me so I’m glad she will benefit too. 

Off to get a haircut (it’s a rats nest) then to the sewing room for the rest of the day.

Anyway — that’s the past.  I must have a funeral on all my mistakes and move on.  The replacement valances are bought and the future plan is underway.  Here is what I selected.  I’ve looked at these fabrics for over 4 weeks and spent 3 hours yesterday looking at alternatives.  I best be happy with these — because they are ordered.  The ink is dry on the check.  grin 

Base - Mushroom.  The background part of the valance.   This has a soft texture to it.

Accent - Haze.  This tiny aqua blue/grey check is a woven fabric.  It will be wrapped on the 2nd layer of the carved boards so only a narrow strip will show. 

Feature - Shoreline.  A blue/tan plaid.  Looks like silk but it is not.  The blue in this is also an aqua blue/grey.  As much as I despise grey  it is in the wallpaper so I have to consider it when selecting fabrics.  grrr   This will be wrapped on the top carved board so more of it will show  — especially on the small windows on each side of the bed.

Cording - Cognac.   I went with a new skinny cording — the consultant at the fabric store said it’s real popular right now.  I love the canvas look.  This will outline the edges of both cover boards  — i.e, the plaid and the light blue mini check.

~~~~

I also bought the fabric for the water closet valance.  Just a plain board —- no fancy cover boards on this one.  I picked a subtle whimsy fabric for it, but I cannot find a picture of it online.   Darn.  Anyway - it’s shimmery tan/taupe with randomly placed embroidered shapes (like a sunburst) — which are blue/grey.  I plan to make my own cording using the tiny blue check.  I ordered a yard — more than I need, but I figure if it doesn’t have enough punch I’ll have enough fabric to make a couple of accent pillows for the bedroom.  It’s kinda cool fabric.   

Now since I have started, but not finished the quilt I planned for this room I might add in some more new fabrics to emphasize these colors.  We’ll see.  Someday I’ll get that quilt completed, but I’m not sure where it will end up.  Maybe in the front living area instead.   

Today I must hang around the house because our roof and sidewalks are being cleaned.  We got a bad boy letter before we left — clean roofs, sidewalks, rocks - a requirement in this community.  Our neighbors got a letter too.  It has not even been a year since we had this done, but we’ve had so much rain things are looking pretty ugly again.  We cannot w.a.i.t. to get out of this state…the upkeep is never ending.

Since I’m house bound it’s a good day to organize my quilt projects.  Heck I cannot even remember what all I was working on — well beside the Figgy Pudding xmas tree skirt.  But hey — how about that progress???

I really should get this done today, but lately I just can’t seem to get it together.  Today is no different.   I just realized I screwed up cutting the background fabric. I cut too many rectangles to make the small triangles and now I don’t have enough to make a strip border unless I piece the  rectangles back together.  I mean who wants to do that???   What a bozo !!   The border plan was a light background and then a band of red.  Now I’ll probably just do the red.  Cuz I’m lazy.  But you knew that. 

I do love this fabric though — it’s fun and blends nicely.   I’ve seen lots of different quilts using it.  A couple gals who sell on Etsy have finished ones you can see here and here.  

Laundry Room Wallhanging. Pattern - Ten Inch Surprise by Deborah Designs

The first one is my favorite of those available — she used the same pattern I used in my laundry room quilt.  I liked that one — although my version was very symmetrical and reminded me of playskool blocks — ha ha.    If I were really ambitious I could whip up a couple of these for Xmas presents for the kids.  The figgy pudding vs. the playskool version that is.  He He. 

Any readers who do not sew,  but would love to get a quilt - spend an afternoon and browse Etsy.  A lot of talented gals do this. Pretty amazing what you can buy thru there — and not just quilts.  Lots of other home made stuff.  Artwork, jewelry, etc.    One of my blog friends  has a shop too.  Check out her current listing here .   Whoa - I must be careful I could end up spending the afternoon there myself and be lost there for hours.  Bad Lucy.

Other things…

The valances.  Our front room will look like a workshop for a few weeks I think.  Tomorrow I have to finalize the fabric quantities and get it ordered.  This is what the new style will look like for all areas except the bath — that will just be a box. I’ll have to pick a special fabric out for it to give it a good punch.   I’m excited to do this project — it is going to really transform the inside. 

That’s it for now — back to the sewing room.