Bathroom Progress...Not So Much

I feel a little guilty calling this post bathroom "progress." Mostly, we're still in the tear-it-apart and figure how it originally went together phase.

Step one, pull out the ugly old cabinet.

The ugly old cabinet with a weird flexible plastic drain pipe that continually clogged with all the hair it trapped. Seriously, what a hack job.

Turns out, the sink's not as old as we thought. The date of manufacture label indicated it was made in 1996. The back, however, was rotted at the bottom. As it butted up to within half an inch of the tub, it was impossible to clean up any water that splashed back there from the shower. As careful as we'd try to be, some managed to get back there.

(The sink has now been sitting in the middle of our kitchen for the last two weeks, where it has become a favorite hideout and perch for the kittens. We really need to get that down to the alley for trash pickup.)

Step two, cut a hole in the wall and stare at the components for a few days, as you mull over the best way to proceed. The plaster all had to come down anyway. There was black mold growing on the wall, and the lathe behind was rotted -- all from water getting trapped back there.

That's about where we're at currently. We've assembled all the supplies (we think) we need in order to replace these pipes and get the new sink installed.

So, I guess that will be this week's step. For now, the kitchen sink is doing double duty as a wash basin.

Stained Glass Class -- Putting Those New Skills to Good Use

There hasn't been much blogging done around here, although we've continued to plug away at the house. Work-work and clients have been taking up a lot of my time. (Thank goodness for that, really; it's been a tough year with the economy and all.) I also started a beginner-level stained glass class. My dream is to be able to replicate some of the original stained glass window designs we have in the house and carry the theme through to other windows. Here's an example of one such window:

And here's my first class project.

 

Stop laughing. It's a cute little mushroom. Admittedly, my second project was better:

 
However, I am probably being a little over-ambitious on my third (and current) project:

 

Those are some darn tiny little pattern pieces. 

When we moved in, we found an old dresser in the basement, and a drawer full of stained glass pieces. It looks like it originally came from the large window in our stairwell, and I think most, if not all, the pieces might be here. When I feel confident enough, I will try to reassemble it:

It will go in a wooden frame and hang in the window. I imagine it will look fairly similar to how it once did.

In the mean time, I have completed one repair project. I found this table lamp on Craigslist about five years ago. The glass is not original, and was not even cut to size.

So I made a nifty template, gave my shiny new glass cutter a trial run, and replaced the panels with a warm butterscotch glass I liked much better.

Plus, it complements the colors of our stained glass windows!

Okay, okay, you forced it out of me. I actually cracked the fourth panel on my final cut, and need to buy some more glass. For now, that side is facing the wall so you can't really see it.

Branching Out

I just started my own blog - Evanston Quilter - and want to invite everyone to check it out. I'll be posting pictures and stories of the many quilts I've done over the past 16 years.

Here's a picture of the first one.

I call it "The Grandmother's Quilt." Three generations of women in our family worked on it.

http://evanstonquilts.blogspot.com

See you there!
Box Mom - aka. Ladyquilter - aka. Donna

Box House - Another View

The seven-year-old son of a friend recently finished a project in school. Using burlap, felt and glue, he was told to do a picture of a house he knew. He did ours. Not having a piece of felt big enough, he used several for the attached porch. The small square in the lower right corner is the garage. He even included my red van parked in front. Not wanting the burlap to unravel, I stitched his picture to a quilted block. It's hanging in the back porch for all to see.

Here's a picture of the house to compare with his.

Pretty good job!

Another One!

As I promised Joanne I'm adding a couple more of my quilting projects. The first is a wall hanging we have hanging on the back porch along with art work from family, friends and goodies from our trips. The hanging says 'Shalom" this is Hebrew for hello, goodbye and peace. All applique work is by hand with a blanket stitch the rest of the quilt is pieced. I machine quilted this one. If you click onto the picture you can see, closeup, the handwork.


This next quilt is a labor of love. A baby quilt for Ted's nephew's new baby girl just born a few days ago. Her name is Violet Alexandria. I love her name, it sounds so old fashioned.
The quilt was made from Mary Engelbreit fabrics and so very girly. I didn't do all the blocks, for this one, myself. They came from a block swap I did with one of my on-line quilting groups.
The Sunbonnet Sue Chat. This one was also machine quilted.

Anyone interested in joining our group go to sunbonnetsuechat@yahoogroups.com