Home on the Rearrange

Ping Pong Brain

This entry is kind of all over the place. It’s picture-heavy, though.

House Dressing

Y’all. I am a fashion designer.

I mean, a fabric designer.

There are places online where you can order custom fabric, printed with your own design. Unfortunately, price for custom fabric ranges 50-60 bucks a yard. Not in my fiscal wheelhouse for a vanity project.

Then, on a whim, I checked Joann’s Fabric. I discovered depending on fabric content, I could order my own design for less than $15 a yard. Still a chunk of money, but a lot better than 50-60. The imagery in this post header is a collage of four coordinating designs I created. I hand-drew and colored in Photoshop.

It would be kind of expensive to do a quilt made with all four patterns… and I might do it anyway.

There are precious few red prints available in quilting fabric. The available options tend to be holiday-centric, too — which, no. Not finding what I wanted was what finally prompted me to create my own.

The turquoisy-rusty-purpley pattern (above left) was another direction, but I’m ambivalent about the plain background. I’m still futzing around with variations to make it work. Incorporating a map, a la the version at right, (the map is also my own concoction) sort of helps – I think?

I’ll have to redo the dragon insignia lower left, though. I bought the commercial rights to the imagery, but I’m really trying to stick strictly to things I personally drew and designed. I didn’t draw the dragon — I bought him.

Sewing It Up

We sold the sewing machine I bought a few weeks ago for $25. Two old/new ones have replaced it: a alightly newer Kenmore, and a God-knows-how-old-it-is Viking. For reference, A Viking sewing machine is a nice Mercedes to the Kenmore’s Chevy. The Kenmore is a perfectly good machine. Despite being old and beat up, the Viking purrs when it’s running. It’s quiet and smooth. The Kenmore runs well, too. It’s just got more of a rumble.

As you can see, the Viking is literally rough around the edges. The enamel’s been chipped or worn off in more than one spot. I still love it and will hold on unless and until I find a Viking upgrade. Not necessarily a newer machine – just one in better condition.

The photos of the two machines were taken with my phone. I won’t even pretend any semblence of technical expertise for these. I’m just jazzed to have gotten started on a small quilt this afternoon. I decided to stick with simple lines for now, though I might opt for an on-point version (the squares will run diagonally vs. in straight horizontal and vertical lines.)

House Porn

If I were retiring today, I’d already have put an offer in on this place. It’s the right size, the right price, and it’s gorgeous. I’d need to add a wheelchair ramp to one or the other of the entrances, but the rest? *Chef’s kiss* Perfect!

I love a brick or block exterior. I love a covered wraparound porch. This home hits all the marks, other than stairs – and I’m not gonna get vintage (just a slight whisper more than 100 years old) without any stairs.

There’s virtually no back yard – it’s all taken up by garage and paved driveway. The lack of back-yardage means any plantings would need to go in the front and side yards. I’m more than okay with that. The garage and driveway still provide a buffer between this place and the neighbors. I suspect G will want a bigger yard, though, so he can have a dog or ten, so maybe I should hold off on the chef’s kiss assessment.

The kitchen is almost perfect. No built-in micro, but there’s enough counter space with the peninsula I’m fine with giving up a small rectangle on the other side of the fridge (not shown in this pic, but it’s where the current owners stashed theirs.) Looks like there’s also no exhaust fan over the stove, though, either, so who knows? Might be able to add a micro in the space.

Yeah, the oak cabinets are dated. I don’t care even a little bit.

Love the fireplace, the built-ins… Gimme craftsman all the way, Baby! The size looks big enough for comfort, small enough to be easy-maintenance.

There’s even an outdoor kitchen. I could live with that, though I’d want to add some type of awning over it.

It’s a 4 bed 2 bath place with 1,630 sqft, and going for $150K. Other than the yard, everything’s right in our sweet spot. It even has a decent-sized garage with a workshop area for G. Click here for the listing details, including more photos.

Road Trip!

I have Thursday off to meander across the mountains for photo ops. We’re taking a couple of tripods and the tentative plan is to do some videography, along with the stills. I’m not a wiz with video editing, but neither does it intimidate me. Let’s see if we get anything worth the digital space.