Horsing Around

Ever since we found out we were moving and might be, possibly, able to paint the house the way we wanted, my daughter has had big plans for her room. We finally got to do it.

Before: (this looks very blue. The walls are actually purple.)

Now, we only did one wall. She likes the existing purple, and her plans work best for just one wall. She is also, at this moment, using up my leftover red on 2 walls in her closet.

During:

Completed:

She seems to be a very happy girl this afternoon. :)

And I am happy, because the only paint we bought for this was a small quantity of brown. The rest of the colors are leftovers from other rooms that were painted before we moved in. I love leftovers!

Now I have to figure out how to copy Ian's picture that he wants on his wall....

Busy, Happy Days

It has been crazy! I thought it would start slowing down a bit... I was wrong.

Last week, Joel was in Canada for the annual Skatechurch trip.  The kids and I went blackberry picking and made ice cream and cobbler with the delicious perfectly ripe berries. We had friends over, went to the library, all sorts of fun things. Then I painted the little boys' room.

Cutting in: (for contrast)

After:

I love the way the curtains my mother-in-law gave me fit this room so perfectly. This room is now the same color as our "spare" room.  So nice to get to use leftover paint!  It worked out so very well, both Asher and Milo wanted a "green room, mom, a dark green room." Well, there ya go. :)

So that was last week. Then on the weekend, we got to host family!!! Lots of family! Almost all of our families!  Because my beautiful daughter was baptized on Sunday, and they all came to celebrate with us. :) It was so wonderful in so many ways. We had a most fantastic weekend.

And the highlight:

An absolutely wonderful weekend. :)

Now on to more painting, unpacking, organizing, and (drumroll, please) school preparation!

One More Room

Done!!! Well. Almost. There is one more little detail I want to do, but it is going to have to wait. It's time to move in to the whole house. :D

So, this is what I started with-
This first shot is actually the stairs AFTER the refinishing, but before I did my thing:

This is looking south at the top of the stairs- BEFORE the refinishing of the floors:

This is standing at the window in the above picture, looking north- again, before refinishing:

And this is what I have now- Stairs:

Looking down the stairs:

Looking south at the top of the stairs:  (yes, I'm excited. I've already started moving stuff up. That's my massage table in the corner close to the window. And my wonderful husband put in the A/C last night, too.)

And this is standing by the window in the above shot, looking north:

Now I get to move in!

Getting There...

We haven't been using the whole house yet. There is an upper level that will eventually be Parent Space. Well, probably mostly my space, as it will contain my massage table and sewing machine- but there will be room for Joel's stuff too.  But we wanted to do a bit of work on it before we got all moved in.

Not that we really had to, but we wanted to. When Joel pulled the carpet (which had to be done because of my allergies) he decided he did want to refinish the floors because there were some splintery spots.  This is what we started with:

This is what my floors look like upstairs now:

And the stairs- from the top:

Didn't he do a great job?! I absolutely love the look. The color is so pretty!

While he's been doing that, I've been doing my own work.

On the living room. This is a contrast shot, so you can see the difference between what it was and what it is now. The lighter color is what I put on.

This is the end result- contrast color walls on either side of the chimney, the other 3 walls a light beige:

To tie in the contrasting color- I put some on the back wall of the built-in storage alcove on the wall opposite the fireplace. And it just looks all homey now that I have some books on it too.

What is it about unpacking the books that makes a house turn into a home?

Now that I'm done with my painting in the living room, and Joel is done with the floors, I get to turn my attention to my room. Tomorrow, more painting. Hopefully this weekend, I can start moving the unpacked boxes to the upstairs and get them unpacked too!

Just Playing Around

We're moved!!! Thank you so much to everyone that came and helped!  You made our life so much easier; we really appreciate it.

We've been here for almost a week now. It is hard to believe that it's only been a week, and yet also hard to believe that it's already been a week. It has been a very busy week.

There are still boxes all over the place, but I have a few rooms that are box-free and look organized. It's a bit crowded still, as there is still one entire level of the house that we are not yet using. Joel is refinishing the floor as I type this. Then we will paint, then we will re-arrange; and then I will feel like I have tons of room!

I'm taking my time with the cleaning, unpacking and organizing. I am having a great time. In the midst of all the unpacking this week, I took some time to use some paint leftovers to do a little shelf makeover before I unpack the boxes of stuff that go on this shelf.

This is in process, but you can see the pink that this covered this little file shelf when it came to me:

 This is the almost finished product:

 I put some patterned Contac paper on the back, just for something pretty.  The inside of the shelf is a light green, and the outside is a dark green.

 With the shelves in it. You can't really see the patterning of the paper in the back here- my flash washed it out, but it's there.  It now fits the color scheme of my home better, and I had so much fun playing in the paint!

Now to get back to more mundane things- like cleaning the bathrooms....we have been here a week, after all. ;)

Moving......

Moving is fun! This is the current state of my living room:

Boxes everywhere. I have to fill them instantly, or they become forts.  But that's ok. With most of the toys packed, the kids have to have something to do!

Happy July 1st!

I have 2 patterns now available for individual purchase from Ravelry.com. These patterns were previously available only in the booklet "More Socks Inspired by the Lord of the Rings".  If you wanted them and not the others, now is your opportunity. Enjoy.

Eowyn:

Very fair was her face, and her long hair was like a river of gold. Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings.  Thus Aragorn for the first time in the full light of day beheld Eowyn, Lady of Rohan, and thought her fair, fair and cold, like a morning of pale spring that is not yet come to womanhood.


“…..’What do you fear, lady?’ he asked.
“’A cage,’ she said. ‘To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.’


“…..Faramir said: ‘….For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell….’


“’…I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.’”
The Lord of the Rings- JRR Tolkien


The colors of this sock gradually go from the gold of Eowyn's hair, to the red I imagine her to wear.  A fairly simple pattern, really, this sock is one of my favorites. The lace flowers and the smocking just seem to fit the mental image I have of Eowyn to perfection. I hope you like it too.




Faramir:

The brave Captain of Gondor who was of the highest quality (as proclaimed by Samwise the gardener) was
a “grave young man”. He did not desire to be a warrior, but because it was necessary, he did it well. He
was rewarded for his whole-hearted service by being made the Prince of Ithilien and receiving the hand of
Eowyn, Lady of Rohan, in marriage.

This is a simple lace pattern that starts together at the toe, splits to wrap around the ankle and meet again in the back of the leg.

Again, a deceptively simple sock to knit. I love the colors. TheUniqueSheep.com always comes up with the best colors for my designs.