Still here, still working on the blasted tapestry.

Oh how time does fly!

Here it is 2017 and I'm still working on the sunflower tapestry. Progress is being made. I may even finish it before the end of the decade. Truth be told, I don't get out to the Shanty as much as I should these days.

Lest you think I'm completely slacking on craftyness, let me assure you that I have been carding fiber, spinning, and knitting. And there's that whole gardening thing. And now there's...[ta da!]...

Genealogy! You can read about that at my other blog, Rooted in Elizabeth.

Here is photographic proof of my efforts since last I wrote.

Well, first there were these guys. They sucked up most of my time in December 2015

[and lots of money too!] They were dumped out where I work, and after living on a manky deer carcass for five days I fed them and took them to my Vet's office to board. For three weeks. With the generosity of friends and strangers I didn't have to foot the bill all by myself, but boy was I glad to get these guys adopted out - one through the vet's office, and one through a very reputable rescue group. [I would have loved to keep the Doberman. What a complete goofy love muffin!]

Our own dog is getting older now (14!), but there are still walks and games and sleepovers with her doggie friends. We try to get her to day care twice a week, just so she can have an outing.






Here are some pics of things I made, though not all the things I've made! Must get better at taking finished object photos!

Spun lots of naturally colored wool.

Brilliantly dyed batt from Into the Whirled

On the bobbin

Done! Still haven't made anything with it!

To be carded, and carded fiber.

Lincoln, with mohair locks carded in.

I've been working on blending Ramboullet and Alpaca.

Studio. Birds eye view from the loft.

Sunflower on the loom. I'm a good bit past this part now.

 And around the house:

Strong young men with shovels built our new patio.
We built the lovely surround for the stairwell.

Spinning on the new patio, Teashanty in the distance.

The front garden with sunflowers of ridiculous proportions.

 And so it goes. We do a little of this, a little of that. And, apparently, not too much blogging on this site. I shall try to be better. But....genealogy! Really.

Happy New Year. May 2017 be way better than I expect it to be.

Random things of awesomeness.

So, you know when you go to the thrift store and see something kind of cool but you can't figure out what you'd do with it so you don't buy it? And then you go back a while later and it's still there, and you still can't figure out what to do with it so you don't buy it again. And then you go back a month later, it's still there, and you still like it, but this time, even though you don't know what you'll do with it, you buy it anyway. Because if it's still there, you were meant to have it.

That's what this is. Yes, it's a red ceramic tile toilet paper holder. Crazy, right? I love the color and wish I could see a bathroom that this was used in. Really. My bathroom is pink and I hate it, but I might be able to love a bathroom that had awesome red tile. Maybe. Anyway, when I got the roll holder home I had my lightbulb moment. This little beauty is going to become a dispenser of garden twine. Oh, yeah. I'm off to the hardware store to get a replacement springy thing to go in the middle.

The second brilliant find of the day, also at the YMCA Thrift Store, was the discovery of this ginormous roll of vintage Con-Tact paper, pictured under my new twine dispenser. Seriously cheerful, isn't it? And the roll is huge!

You may be wondering how I know this fab Con-Tact Paper is vintage. Well, look at the back of the roll...

Hints for covering walls!?! That explains the size of the roll....

Isn't everything easier when you read and follow directions?
And wear a little frilly apron.

I think everything in this room that isn't fabric has Con-Tact paper on it!

Seriously. Awesome.

I see a Con-Tact desk set in my future.
If there's any Con-Tact paper left over after I paper my kitchen...

And on to the kitchen. Check out the dining set.
So vintage, so hip, so now.  And Con-Tact on the fridge, too!

Saving the best for last.
She's also faux wood Con-Tacted all of her kitchen cabinets.
Check out the roll on the floor.

Wow. Just wow. I'm not sure how many yards of this stuff I have, but I'm getting inspired.

Dining Room? Done!

Checking things of the ever-growing To Do List is always so satisfying. Last fall I got to cross "Dining Room" off the list.

It took a bit of planning, effort, and a very good and talented friend with a Sawzall and a nail gun, but we got it done.

First I wanted to rearrange the traffic flow. Instead of coming in the front door and meandering through the living room into the kitchen and then into the dead-end dining room, I wanted a straight line of sight from the front door, through the dining room into the backyard. So, we moved the doorway.

Hole in the wall for the new doorway to the dining room on the left.
Old doorway into kitchen on the right.

New doorway all framed in, old doorway covered with drywall and goop.

This change did a couple of things for us. It turned the living room from a traffic zone into an actual room where we could put furniture. It gave us space in the kitchen for a new refrigerator and a work table. The view through the dining room to the backyard made the house feel a little less small. And most importantly, it gave me an excuse to paint walls! Squeeeeeee!

And the results... drumroll please....

Freya, running.
She's not always this muddy.

This is the view from the kitchen, the living room is to the left, and the large window is on the right. We can sit at the table and watch the birds at the feeder and the Buhund running in circles in the yard.

The light fixture, table, white chairs, colorful cushions on the bench, and shelves are from Ikea. The computer desk is an old oak desk I found in a dumpster on the local college campus. I added the pull-out keyboard shelf.  The artwork I've collected over many decades. The wall paint color is "Popcorn" from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot. It was a nice quality paint, a pleasure to work with.

So, dining room done! Next up - the living room, or maybe the bedroom, or possibly the basement.....and then there's the new plan for the garden, and the front porch, and....