Friday, June 7, 2013

Summer Fun

Summer doesn't officially start for a couple more weeks.  But, for us, it's already here.
Our daughter is home from college for the summer.  The weather is warm.
And, we're busy planning and doing lots of summery fun things.

A lot of what I've been doing is trying to work on projects that
 I've been needing to do or finish for a while.  I'm on a mission!
I'm having lots of fun with it.  But, there are so many things I want to do that
 I sometimes don't know where to start.  But, I'm trying to keep moving and 
not get stuck.  I'd like to cross a lot of things off of my mental to-do list
and see lots of finished and wonderful projects by the end of summer.

We recently re-planted our front flowerbed.
We planted two Madame Julia Correvon Clematis and some Society Garlic, Marigolds,
Alyssum, and Lobelia with the Baby Tears that were already growing there.


The vines and most of the flowers are doing great.


Except for the Marigolds.  Some kind of critter has eaten most of them.


I love the purple/blue color of the Lobelia.
Sometimes it seems to glow.


We finally planted something in the flowerbed at the side of the our house.
It's something we've been meaning to do for a long time.
We decided on a Star Jasmine.  It's right near where we store our trash cans.
So, the floral scent will be nice over there.


Hubby built a trellis for it.  I love how he wove the wood.
This flowerbed and trellis line up with our office/soon-to-be-guest-room window.
It should be really pretty when the vine grows up.  And, it will provide a little privacy.



I finally got around to painting our family room.
The paint color doesn't show up very well in the photo.  It's actually a lot warmer and prettier.
The color is Benjamin Moore, Everlasting.  The room looks so fresh and pretty
with it's new coat of paint.  It was just builder white (Swiss Coffee) before.


I originally blogged about the room make-over HERE.
Life just got busy and then it was winter and a bit chilly to have the windows
open for painting.  But, now it's warmer and I'm on a mission to finish projects.
Hubby still needs to install crown moulding and mount the speakers.  And, I need to sew the curtains.
We got the moulding last week.  I'm planning to look for hardware today.
I'm hoping the room will be complete by the end of the month.

I've finally worked up the courage to try and figure out how to re-cover my dress form.
I found it a few years ago at a thrift shop.  It's in good shape but the purple color
doesn't look good with most of the projects I want to photograph on it.  
So, I've been working on making a pattern...first with tissue...


Then, I used the tissue to cut out white fabric pieces.
I've pinned them on and adjusted it a bit.
Now, I need to sew the fabric together to make sure it works.
If it does, I'll use that as a pattern for the neutral fabric I have to re-cover it.
Wish me luck!



Another project that's been waiting around for way too long is a rug hooking project.
I bought it years ago on a trip to Texas.  I didn't enjoy doing it as much as I thought I would and
it's been sitting in the closet ever since.  I pulled it out the other day and I'm trying to work 
on it a bit each day.  It makes my hand hurt.  So, a little each day is better than nothing.
It'll be nice to finish it and enjoy it instead of moving it out of the way
when I need to get things out of my craft closet.  


I wound my new yarn from the Yarn Over Truck and bought the pattern for the shawl I plan to make.
So, I'm all ready to get started on that.  Yay!  I'm so excited!
But...
Last night, at knit night, one of the ladies (who also dyes yarn...Inner Yarn Zen)
showed me some yarn she'd just dyed.  It was LOVE at first sight!  It's gorgeous.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to capture it's beauty in a photo.
She asked if I'd like to test knit it for her to see how this new base yarn is to work with.
Of course, I agreed!  Eeeee!  I'm so excited to play with this beautiful yarn!
I came home and started searching for patterns and have narrowed it down.


Last weekend, my daughter hosted a party to view the film she worked on this past school year.
The film was created by a student for his masters project and it's based on the true story of a harpist. 
My daughter wrote and performed harp music for the film, acted as a hand double for playing the harp, and coached the main actress how to sit at the harp and look like she was a harpist.  We were very impressed by the film.  It was so well done that no one would guess it was made by a student.
It helps that the college has a top notch film school with great equipment, facilities, and instructors.
We are so proud of her!  And, very grateful for all the wonderful experiences she had this last year.

Besides the film, we enjoyed the company of family and some of our daughter's friends.
And, she made Sangria and a delicious tart that was gluten and dairy free.
It turned out beautiful too!


There are just so many fun things I want to do this summer!
I just wish the days were longer, that there were more days in the week and weekends,
and a few more months in the summer because I know it's going to go by very quickly.
Although, that kind of adds to the fun, I guess.  It makes it a challenge and
 a bit of a game to see how much I can squeeze into it.

I've heard several other people talk about how they're also on a mission to try and finish lots of projects.  What are you up to this summer?  Are you on a similar mission?

6 comments:

Quinn said...

You are on a roll! That's a lot of progress on a lot of projects. when I feel overwhelmed by the tasks I see waiting in every direction, I also try to "keep moving" - as long as there's even a little progress, it's better than going backwards, at least!

Cindie said...

Oh my, you're making me feel like a slacker! How great that you're tackling those UFO's. My goal this summer in-between everything else is to get at least one quilt top made which I'll then have a long arm quilter quilt for me.

Brandi said...

Yep, after reading your post I definitely need to get myself in gear! Good luck as you make your way through your projects.

Judy S said...

WOWZER you are busy! Good to know you're scratching some things off that to-do list! The fabric you're hooking on looks very similar to what we weave here...and you were so right about the positioning of the fabric strips. The rug looks fantastic though!
I won't offer my tutoring services on locker hooking and tatting until the fall so I don't sidetrack you :-)

roxie said...

Rock on! I so admire that you do things the right way. I would have just spray-painted the dress dummy. Or at the most, I would have pulled a white t-shirt over it. You are SO good!!

The gardening looks wonderful, and the trellis is a knock-out.

As for the hooked rug, lots of people give half-finished projects to Goodwill. No one will punish you if you just acknowledge that it isn't that much fun after all, and get rid of it. Why do something that hurts your hand if you don't enjoy it anyhow? Anyway - a white rug? What are you thinking?

KarenB said...

How is the pattern for the dress form going? Looks like you made a lot of progress on a lot of things! That hand dyed yarn is gorgeous. What have you decided to make with it? Do you get to keep it? You're making a ton of progress!