She's still shelling 'em ...

So ... this is my first personal quilting project in my new space. Appropriately tied to The Sea, considering my new, closer proximity.

For a project that has spanned almost 2 years worth of time, I have not tired of it. In fact ... quite the opposite.

By the end of today it should be sporting a binding.

I like pink.

Of Fabric and Forgiveness ...

So ... I am not saying that I am actually forgiving Blogger ... let's just say it's on probation. However, it did cooperate with me this morning on a (private) family blog post so I am willing to give it another chance. The picture above is one that got eaten a week or so ago, of my dining room curtains. I really looooove that fabric ... so ...

I used some scraps to cover a pillow in my family room.

All right ... so I am not completely thrifty and self sufficient. This pillow (cover ... I only paid for the cover) is from Pottery Barn. But it was on sale people, let's not forget that.

In other sewing news, I am actually doing some quilting (for myself) for the first time since I moved. I cannot explain why it is that it took me so long. It seriously made me a little teary to sit down at my machine with a quilt top that I started in 2009. I am loving how it has come together and (if Mr. Blogger continues to cooperate) I'll post some pictures soon.

She got 'em at the seashore, but she is NOT selling 'em.

So ... the pictures seen here were taken (by me) about 12 miles from my home. Twelve miles, people. I know this because I actually got a flat tire not far from this beautiful site and was watching the mileage very ... very ... carefully as I drove home on my "donut". (Thank you son-in-law, Mr. Gee and AAA.)

But once I was over the whole flat tire thing, I sat and pondered the fact that I have this incredible beauty ... nearly at my fingertips.

I am very ... very ... grateful.

And I have this reminder of a tray full of shells (with a most unusual blue hue to them) that thrill me when the 12 miles stands between us.

All good.

Me and My Cubicle

So ... first I must apologize for a couple of things. First that the pictures in my last blog were eaten whole by Blogger, and secondly that since it still appears to be a problem, I must resort to plan B to post and the result is the unlightened/un-touched-up photo above. Get over it, because one of us needs to. I have been doing some sewing ... some secret, special, "stunt" sewing (as my friend PKM likes to call it and if you look closely in the [very dark] picture above you will see her blog on my computer screen.) I was asked by Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs to do some applique work for an upcoming quilt to be unveiled at Spring Quilt Market . Let's just say that the work involved some dots ... and you know I love dots!! I can't give you any other hints except to say that you can always count on those crazy sisters. I have loved their work and their bright happy fabrics for years. They are fellow Arizonans and it is indeed ironic that we chose to form this working relationship after I moved to California. Go figure. If you are wondering what expansive parts of my studio are not revealed in the photo ... wonder no more. What you see is pretty much what you get. I'm pretty certain I am violating some fire codes because I must do a wee bit of maneuvering to extract myself from my cubicle, once I have settled in there. It's definitely not for the claustro-at-heart, but it's my blue studio and I love it. Stay tuned for the big reveal of the project ... um ... once The Sisters reveal it.

~ Of Hassles & Tassles ~

So ... taking advantage of what little space was left after I plunked a very large piece of furniture right in front of a window ... I added curtains that I am oddly pleased with, considering the weird placement circumstances. (Go here for an explanation, if you must.)

Then ... to my utter delight ... I found this lovely, ornate tassle that matched the colors of the curtains in primo fashion. On sale. At Stein Mart. Woo. Hoo.

Then ... (yes, even more fun ensues), Mrs. Gee found this darling outdoor set (for the young set) that matches the adirondak style of my porch, for a whopping deal on Amazon. There was a small glitch however. Neither of us noticed that in very small print at the bottom of the screen that the set ... which was pictured in white and exactly what I wanted ... actually only came in red. You can imagine my shock when I opened the box. I didn't return them because Mr. Gee is so fond of them and frankly I am too, but still ... a little bit annoyed, I'm not gonna lie. Would you be??

Oh who cares?!? I still love my patio and even more I love the luscious spring weather we have been enjoying.

Have I mentioned how much I love living with open windows and heavenly breezes? Aaaaaaah.

~ Random Stuff ~

So ... I succumbed again at Target. Can you really blame me?

The mornings in my living room are a little bit of heaven. The light through my "wedding veil" curtains is pretty spectacular.

Mrs. Gee and I made this cake for me to take to a weekday meeting at church. I am really, really popular at church now.

Um ... L'il Mr. Gee can fly. (See here for a picture of Miss Dub1 flying. It must be genetic.) Mr. Gee really likes to bowl. And to smile.

I hope you enjoyed this spattering of shopping, glowing, baking and flying. You've got to admit, that is pretty darned random.

~ Just Beachy ~

So ... this picture is from a morning jaunt a couple weeks ago. Doheny State Beach at Dana Point, if you must know.

Sigh.

~ Sibling Love ~

So ... I interupt my absolutely riveting home tour to give you a taste of just exactly what it is that even drives me to decorate in the first place.

Fabric is Fine and Furniture is Fabulous, but let's face it, Grandkids are ... well ...

Grand-er!

~ Singin' the Blues ~

So ... I have this recurring dream where I move into a new house (that apparently I have just been given) and I keep discovering new rooms that I didn't know existed. How cool is that?! I seriously do have this dream a lot and I'm never wake up unhappy when I do.

This week I discovered a new room in my new house ... that I like to call "the porch". My porch does not have covering so my choices were limited. (The people who bought my AZ house made my patio furniture part of the original deal, so I was starting from scratch.) I finally settled on these resin adirodak chairs with weather proof pillows. Since it was in the 70's all week long, this was a very pleasant room to hang out in. I will say that it would have been a tad more practical for my newly discovered room to be someplace to put my computer, but hey, I'll take sunshine and fresh air and ... blue. I am not complaining.

I potted these hydrangeas that were given to me as a housewarming gift from a (new) friend. Thank you my new friend. Please don't be offended if I accidently kill them.

So ... come on over and sit a spell.

~ The Power of Print ~

So ... I sewed.

I sewed curtains for my kitchen. I am quite thrilled with how they turned out ... which so beats the alternative.

I love how the cobalt blue in the lovely, leafy pattern shows against the pale aqua of the walls. Once I hung the curtains ... (Oh, who am I kidding, Mrs. Gee hung the curtains because Mrs. Gee is tall and I am decidedly ... not. Thank you PDaddy for contributing some tall genes. Thank you Mrs. Gee for hanging every single curtain [and rod] in my house.) ... I realized how happy I was that there were not beautiful white shutters on those windows like I was blessed with in so many other rooms in the house. The print delights me every dang time I walk into the room. If you ever wondered just why I am so in love with fabric ... now you know.

In other, more excrutiatingly painful news ... my back and I are once again no longer speaking. This could possibly be due to the fact that I lugged things around the garage this morning for about 3 hours. Much of that lugging was into a four foot tall space that is under my living room. The one time that being short could be an advantage and I'm not short enough. Seriously ... that can't be fair.

Oh, who cares. I've got print in my kitchen and room for my car.

And I sewed.

~ From Lakers to ... Lovely ~

So ... what you are seeing in the picture above is my bathroom as it looked when I purchased the home. The brown here actually showed more like ... gold. To add to the fun, that "little room within the bathroom" was painted a rather bright ... purple. I kid you not. My first thought was that they were going with some sort of a royal theme, until I was reminded (probably by a man) that purple and gold are the colors of the L.A. Lakers. Either way, they were not my colors. Hmmmm ... let's see ... what would I want to paint a bathroom?

You guessed it ... blue. This is the medium hue of the three different blues that were painted in my home in various different rooms. (Not all of the rooms because I left everything that was white ... white ... and I left my bedroom a very lovely beige.) My favorite part of this bathroom is that there was this tiny, useless space beside the bathtub and I made it use-ful by placing the CD holder there, that previously held all my thread in my studio. I love that thing! It actually holds some practical items that I might have had trouble otherwise finding a place for.

And as for that "little room". Not so purple anymore. The same lovely blue with an even lovelier seashell theme.

Don't you just want to hang out here?*

*please make an appointment

~ Ahoy Maties ~

So ... it's probably weird and ironic that in my new home, where the choices are mine alone, I have chosen to have a somewhat masculine bedroom. This in light of the fact that for 35 years, PDaddy sweetly and silently retired for the evening surrounded by a certain abundance of frou frou. In my new home, I've chosen to give it a sea going theme, with crisp colors and stripes, masted vessels and sea captains/pirates.

Rrrrrrrr ....

I will say that I was rewarded for my efforts this weekend when L'il Mr. Gee came to spend the night and was entertained for hours by the pirates and their nesting ways.

I am really enjoying the very beige-ish walls (a previous color that I kept) which highlight the colors so differently than white. The bed you may recognize from my guest room in AZ and the wall decor from my guest bathroom. Let's face it ... I'm a girl who likes to mix it up. (Not to mention the fact that my window-filled bedroom would never have fit my king-sized bed.)

Do you think I'm weird? (On second thought ... don't answer that.)

(Is anyone else out there having troubles blogging straight from Picasa? Suddenly it won't upload the pictures that way and it's driving me crazy! Blogging straight from Blogger has never worked well for me. Help.)