AAcccchhooo!!

Gotta love when everything starts popping into bloom around here....allergies are going haywire, not much can be done when you live in an area surrounded by farms and "hay" is one of your allergens...phooey.

However...I think a good part of today's troubles come from disassembling the Victorian sofa we bought a while back.  We had started peeling back the fabric to see how it was all put together and discovered the "padding" was actually layers of raw cotton and hay...ick.  Face mask and gloves on and I started taking the layers apart...apparently some of the crud still got breathed in because I'm having a horrible time with sniffling, sneezing sometimes stuffy.....ugh.  However....did discover what appears to be an old quilt that was used as part of the padding, and that will be slowly taken apart over the next few days so we can see what the fabrics were like.  According to a paper clipping we found, the couch had some work done on it in 1918!!!  wowzers!

That's just *some* of what I pulled off the sofa frame last night...interesting, huh??  I do have pictures of the "nekkid" sofa frame, but haven't uploaded them yet. 

We also remembered what we used to power out the old stain on a railroad trunk - oxyclean!  SO that's what I used on a small part of one of the sofa legs....OMG...it totally worked and now, instead of super dark wood, we are starting to see the cherry of the original wood..woohoo!!!  Told hubby that we should just make a big bucket, roll the sofa outside and spray all the wood buts down now that there's no fabric left on it....don't think he'll let me do that, though...lol

That is what the couch looked like when we first got her home (I say her because hubby has dubbed her Victoria - not too original since it's a Victorian sofa - but oh well)....the fabric actually started out as dark green with gold/reddish/pink designs in it, but had oranged...not even brown...that stuff looks orange!!!  I will be airing out the pieces so that I can use them as patterns for the new fabric....but for now....off to see the local lab for a blood draw that is needed for my check up later this month....

sunshine and gardens

FINALLY, we have sunshine!!  We've had a week of off and on rain and no sunshine whatsoever.....this weekend, it seems that the sun decided to come back for a visit.  So, today we managed to get more work done in the bonus room until it was time to take a break (before our backs went out completely).  Then, this afternoon, we put in our new garden plants....we tried to do the seed starters this year, but that was a no-go, so off to Milmont......this year, we have a Cherokee purple tomato plant that we got from the Staunton farmer's market, and from Milmont, we purchased Homestead tomatoes (beefsteak), grape tomatoes, yellow sweet peppers, orange sweet peppers, container cucumber plants, sugar baby watermelons, and seeds for buttercrunch lettuce, romaine lettuce, and collard greens...not to mention "popcorn" that my son picked out.

Not sure how much will take root, but we'll give it our best shot....have caged the Cherokee plant since it's fairly large already and have put the small fencing around the planter where the watermelons and the solitary grape tomato plant is.  We always put one tomato plant in the planter so that the dog has access to it....it keeps him out of the other garden areas and he eats off his own plant when he so chooses.....

Will get pictures when I have the chance.....

Do you believe everything that you read???

Ok...so yes, I'm on FaceBook.....there have been some really FREAKY postings, shared by my friends, but written by total nut-jobs who apparently live to scare others...makes me wonder what they are missing in their lives.

One such post was that everyone who reads this particular message will die at 10:35 tonight...yeah, ok.  Here's the thing....God knew us before we ever existed, He knew the length of our lives....He did NOT give such awesome power to some random troll posting crud on the internet!!!

Another post was about whoever read the whole story would be the next victim of revenge meted out by the ghost of a girl who was bullied to death.....yeah, see, I read that story...weeks ago, and here I am, alive and well (at least phsyically, my mental health has always been in question, but if you only knew my family.....you'd understand).

The point is....things written like this only serve one purpose....to scare others and to make the writers/posters feel important.  How sad is that??  They could better spend their creative energy finding ways to cut gas prices, feed the hungry, bring clean drinking water to people who don't have access.....sad, just sad.

Bottom line....don't believe all you read...especially if you are a child with reasonably intelligent parents who tell you that it's just a lot of crappola....trust me, you are more likely to get a swat on the butt for keeping them awake all night than you are of anything in those postings actually happening!!

trying to get back on track {sigh}

Spent most of the day tidying up my work room...finally have the majority of the fabrics put away and patterns stored properly.  Have made a project list.....first thing I have to do is finish up some projects: hand sewing a facing down on a dress, hemming another dress, tacking the bodice of a knit top so it doesn't show off so much cleavage......

I still have to finish working on my summer lesson plans for the kids, but I'm still waiting for one of the books that I ordered....they will be a combination of Bible study and home ec.....gah....

eventually things will get back on track.....just not sure when

Status report

Not a whole lot of sewing going on around here.  We spent "Spring Break" installing the last bits of sheet rock in what will be DHs office, and the few pieces remaining for the garage ceiling.  Then we started mudding....phew....taught the kids how to deal with the nails while I worked on seams, and hubby worked on the heating duct work that the previous owners ended about 5 feet away from the wall....apparently they were going to run a gas line in there for yet another gas log fireplace (so far, we know of 3 places they were going to install them, but they never got around to it).

I did another table runner and pillow covers for a different friend, and finally got fed up with the plastic bag that was holding my clothespins, so I whipped out a 3-pocket half-apron....AND I got 2 loads of laundry done on the lines before it started looking like rain...woohoo....

Not sure what next project (sewing) will be, but I decided last night that I was going to re-draft the pattern that I used in my first home ec class - simple apron, 2 pieces - to fit both of my kiddos for when we start our cooking lessons this summer.

Will try to make regular posts from now on, and probably quite a few this summer as we progress through various sewing and cooking attempts and (hopefully) family field trips

Goodbye to another local store

It's official...due to there not being a seriously interested buyer, Valley Fabrics of Stuarts Draft, Virginia will be closing at the end of today.

While I can completely understand Kathy and Leo's point of view, I feel bereft of any local, supportive, creative fabric store now.  When we moved here (nearly 7 years ago), I could purchase fabric at Walmart (meh), Valley Fabrics, and Ben Franklin, or I could drive to Charlottesville to go to JoAnn Fabrics (need to improve customer service).  Ben Franklin closed last year, and now Valley Fabrics is closing.

We were fortunate that our local Walmart was not one that went to the pre-cut pieces of fabric and actually has a fairly decent (if you overlook the quality) selection of fabrics.  However, Valley Fabrics was where I typically went for the fabrics for my DDs various "custom-made" outfits, the notions that I thought I had purchased but that I apparently overlooked....and sometimes, it was just a place I went to get my sewing mojo back when I wasn't even remotely interested in looking at the sewing machine.

Eventually, I will probably have to resort to ordering all my fabrics from various online sources...but it's just not the same as being able to actually look at and feel the fabric....

Kathy and Leo and Phoebe (and everyone else)...you will all be greatly missed.

sewing status and rainy days

Table runner is done - reversible with pink/black zebra on one side and black with pink/white flowers on the other. 

Fabric is pressed and pattern pulled for the toddler bolero jacket, which WILL be ready/done by Wednesday morning when I go in to the elementary school to do copies.

DDs Easter dress is still sitting in pieces, but at least some of them are being put together into some semblance of order.  I may have to purchase more lining fabric, though...and sadly (because I don't want to see another local fabric store disappear), the store now has it marked down to 50% off as they are closing at the end of the month...ah well.

My Easter dress isn't going anywhere...still in flat-fold stage...oh well.  I have a few pieces of clothing that need finishing - hook/eye at top of zipper, hand-sew hem up, sewing down facing....so that may be what gets done instead of trying to squeeze in a complete outfit...then I can just wear one of those things and be happy with it...or at least comfortable...lol

Now, we had planned to work in both the bonus room and the garden today, however, the garden is temporarily ruled out because of the continuing rain.  SO.....time to get into the bonus room and get what sheetrock we can put up.  Of course, we can't go buy any today....rain.....but at least we should be able to see how much more we need to purchase to finish that room off....then I get to do the nail divets and seams....yes, will need more drywall compound....but it's progress....

The fence around the back yard won't be getting done this year, even though we were trying for it....but we will repair what we have, as best as we can, and save up the money to get it done next year....if we are lucky, we may be able to get it done in the fall, but I'm not holding my breath over that....tuition for T's school comes first.

Off I go....time to get dressed and start either pounding nails or holding the sheet rock up....