70. Sew what?

June 22, 2013September 8, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 21 Comments

It is true confession time.

Very cute designer fabric purchased on Etsy because I saw it on the internet and couldn’t find it in any stores.

If you are an alert reader (I know this is redundant — ALL you readers are alert!) you will remember way back in post #29 (This is now post # 70!) I talked about failure and the humility it brings when one attempts a project and is found lacking. At the end of the post, I bragged that my next project would be making shelf liners from Very Cute apple fabric and how I wouldn’t fail at that, because I KNEW how to sew…

That was October 9, 2012. As of June 19, 2013 there were still no shelf liners made out of Very Cute apple fabric.

There are several ~~reasons explanations rationalizations~~ excuses for this.

Actually, there is only one: I couldn’t find my sewing machine.

Right, you say, “How can one lose a sewing machine?”

In my city house, I have been blessed to have not only a library, but a small room upstairs that is totally mine. For crafts, sewing, storage (and I have a lot of craft stuff to store…). Even in the best of times the room was messy. In the worst of times, well….

Last year, the only time I set foot in the room was to find something I was pretty sure I had in there somewhere. I don’t remember even making Christmas cards, an annual event that usually gets the room in some sort of cleaned-up shape.

Yes, it was time to sort out the clutter and the rubble from the diamonds.

No, I didn’t find any diamonds, but I did find some old rubble that made me smile…

Remember when stainless steel razor blades were sold wrapped in paper? No? I don’t either…

Five 34 cent stamps! That was 2001 — not THAT long ago.

I love this old oil can!

A beautiful lace collar — I have much trouble throwing out antique textiles…

Iron-on-patches from the 70s!

and this antique. I hardly remember what it is called, let alone what it is used for!

And underneath a pair of old curtains, 2 pillows, an iron, assorted papers, fabric, a bag of photos, and a box of assorted envelopes, was this:

A White sewing machine from the White Sewing Machine Company in Cleveland Ohio; the patent date is Nov. 26, 1888. A good guess is that it is a model VS III, manufactured in the 1890s. The web site Treadle On helped me to identify it.

Yes this is my only sewing machine, and it isn’t my first either — the first was a Singer model acquired in the mid-seventies for free by the side of the road. It worked for years until the leather belt broke. This one has a metal belt — think of a miniature slinky — and seems indestructible.

A few years ago I bought my daughter a new sewing machine for a present and considered buying one for myself. But they all seemed so … well… fast! In fact, that was the sales lady’s pitch to me. “Look at how fast this sews!” she said proudly. She tromped on the presser foot and the whine of the machine sounded like a jet engine taking off. My old treadle has a gentle rocking sound; it goes as slow or as fast as I make it go. It is in sync with me and that’s how I like it.
I’ve made curtains, tablecloths, pillow covers, skirts, quilt tops, pajamas, purses, and prom dresses with this old machine.
Apple designer fabric by Robert Kaufman
And now I’m wondering if it has a place in the cottage. There’s no extra room for a sewing machine and the accoutrements that have to go with it — an ironing board, a cutting table, and storage for all those projects that might get finished some day…
Such as shelf liners from Very Cute apple fabric.

One down, three more to sew…

69. Rounding the edges…

June 19, 2013September 8, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

While I was having fun in the sun on the first ever Sisters’ Vacation, Mr. H.C. was hard at work. When I asked him over the phone what he was doing, he said, “Oh, working…” So I let it alone, and wondered what project he was doing… He had permission to organize his shop, lay in the hammock under the trees, and take naps.

He admitted to laying in the hammock for fifteen minutes one evening (see post 18. Gifts of Time.) but he declined to take any naps. This is the almost-finished project that greeted me on Saturday evening.

This project included insulating the space that was “the cave under the cottage“, wiring the cave so there would be a permanent light there, hanging and electrifying the schoolhouse light fixture over the counter, finishing the outlets and wall switch, bolting the two cabinets together, and adding the butcher block top. (And pouring glasses of wine…)

On Monday, I added the doors to the cupboards — it took me hours to find the hinges, spray paint the hinges, find screws that would fit, and put the closers on the doors. I wouldn’t do well being paid for my labor, but the end result was pleasing. New counter top in kitchen

The butcher block top is not yet bolted down; we are still trying to decide which side will get the overhang — the kitchen or the dining room. I was thinking of voting for a symmetrical look of even on both sides.

I’m thinking that the countertop is too square; Mr. H.C. doesn’t want to hear it. I would like to curve the ends on one side. Correction: I would like Mr. H.C. to get out whatever saw will work and curve the ends on one side. He’s still thinking about that; the other option would be to round the edges on the end — you know, where everyone would walk through, bump against the corners, and bruise their hips? Kind of like life? Rounded edges are better than sharp corners…

Here’s the photo that was my inspiration:

See how the edges of the island are gently curved on one side?

Do any of you out there in reader-land have an opinion on this?

64. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Kitchen…

May 11, 2013January 20, 2016 / Apple Hill Cottage / 9 Comments

Everywhere I look
Finished walls and doors,
beautiful shiny floors
What a grand place to cook!

Yes, yes, I know. Bad rhymes again. But every time I walk into the kitchen I feel like singing (and dancing on the checkerboard floor). We’re getting close to the drum roll, but not yet. Still no stove. Still no French doors. But we redded up the place on Saturday in preparation for visitors — it is spring after all — and it looks almost like a real kitchen.

This is the built-in floor to ceiling spice rack. The bottom shelves are larger to hold olive oil and larger bottles.

It was well that we neatened everything up, because we had more visitors on Saturday than we’ve ever had in one day. We even had our first international guests — our son-in-law’s parents from Spain are here visiting. Such a lovely time we had; I would have given anything to speak the same language…

His mom is an artist, and I was so pleased she noticed the kitchen windows. For outside the windows is the green green grass of spring, and inside the windows on the wall is Blooming Grove green.

The inside green and the outside green are separated by the creamy white of the windows, and I love it. I can’t manage a photo of it though. When I take a shot of the grass outside, the inside green is too dark; when I take a shot of the interior walls, the outside blurs. If someone out there in readerland is a photographer and can tell me how to do this, I’d be happy. In the meantime, you’ll have to look at these two photos and pretend.

the green green grass of spring

Sunlight, Shadows, and Metamerism

We’ve also put wainscoting on the short wall that flows out to the peninsula between the living room and dining room. We’re still working on the rest of the wall as it turns the corner. The beam that separates the two rooms has to go up first. This is good because it means that we can finally get rid of these 2x4s that we’ve been walking around and through for the past year.

Hey, the human species is very adaptable — we can get used to almost anything! (Washing dishes in the bathroom sink was tough though…)

We’ve put the island back in place. A dark oak cupboard will go on the wall next to the green door.

We actually ate dinner in the kitchen on Monday night — on stools around the island — even though the stove is still in the living room. It was still a little too cool to eat on the porch, but it is ready for spring.