Let There Be Light

When you're married to a retired engineer there are always interesting projects going on at home and even more interesting and creative solutions happening!  It was time to change the chandelier in our foyer, the one that's been hanging there for fourteen years was never exactly what we had wanted in the first place, not to mention the fact that the brass plating was turning color. But, how to remove a fixture that's suspended 19 feet high?  Mr. Goodneedle constructed scaffolding, he even clamped the ladder to the platform. I can write about this now because it all turned out to be okay and without injury, but, I assure you, I thought I would suffer a stroke before the chandelier was succesfully replaced!  So, back to the chandelier replacement itself... what, exactly, did we want for a fixture? The retired engineer-turned-woodworker had an idea. For quite some time now he's been keeping the wood lathe very busy. 
Here's the new chandelier, hand crafted in its entirety from cherry wood (except for the innards, the metal conduit and wiring). He added a ceiling medallion while the scaffolding was erected. There's a soft "down light" incorporated into the bottom turned portion of the fixture, I didn't get that in the photo above.

Here is a closer shot of the fixture, in all of its hand-rubbed glory!

Yep, this is it... just what we wanted, lovingly made to order.

Let there be light. And there was light. And it was good.

Life is Good!

Making Headway...

I've been posting for a while about the new lights in the Studio and rearranging the sewing space. We're making headway, the lights are in and the ceiling's been painted. We've gone from this:To this:And finally, to this:It was cleaned up temporarily, and not a stitch was sewn. Now we're preparing to paint the walls and trim and possibly refinish the floors. We initially had a floor outlet installed, but now that we've moved the furniture it needs to be moved and the original outlet hole plugged, one thing leads to another. "Why", you may be asking yourself, "are all these lights necessary?" I'll give you a clue, the answer lies in the gift that Kyle gave me for Christmas; here's a peek at that:Everything will be revealed in it's time. We're still preparing the space. Until then, remember:

Life is Good!
~very big smile~

Let There Be Light...

There were lots of bright and shining light-filled moments yesterday, I'll share three:

1. The holes for new lighting are cut in the ceiling (no turning back now!) they're placed strategically for specific sewing task areas. It's hard to tell in this photo but it will all be revealed in good time. My husband made a "template" and screwed that to the center of each spot where a light will be placed and then cut around that with a hole saw. The lights are on here just to see how things will look, but the rings will be removed for ceiling painting, we bought the reflector inserts, too. We're going to repaint all the trim and walls too, as long as everything is currently down and covered.2. Bonnie of Quiltville was in town, right here! Oh, yes!! She will be moving here soon (great big smile) and was in dire need of a quilty fix while staying in her temporary digs. I picked her up, kidnapped Quiltkeemosabe, and together we gave her the 'nickel' tour all the while hitting a few quilt shops and eating lunch at one of our favorite places. Bonnie is just as genuine and generous in person as you know her to be through "Quiltville". Columbia's loss is certainly our gain! My only regret yesterday is that I left my camera at home. But, lucky me, there will be plenty of opportunities for group photos in the future. Thanks, Bonnie for a wonderful, memorable, luminous day!

3. Our son and future daughter in law treated us to a movie yesterday afternoon in honor of my husband's upcoming birthday; we saw The Great Debaters. If you haven't seen it, and have the chance, run-- don't walk. It's that good! Starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker, it's set in the racially-divided deep south in the 1930's and based on the true story of a small, black college debate team struggling to succeed against all odds. A Harpo production, it's one of those movies that will stay with you, I can't stop thinking about it, even today; it will sweep you up.

It was a bright and shining, light-filled day.
...the afterglow remains...
Life is Good!

Post Christmas, The Calm Before The "Storm"

This is a shot through the kitchen yesterday evening. The gifts have been opened, the dinner has been eaten and the dishes washed, the family has all scattered. This is a picture of post-Christmas"calm", the kind that has descended on Chez Goodneedle, it exists yet today; albeit temporarily. There's a "storm" brewing, it's in the forecast... keep reading...

Our daughter brought a hand-crafted (from wine corks) reindeer that she had received for a gift. Hers is all decked out in Auburn orange and blue. She thought that maybe I would like to make some for next year, I think there's a very good chance of that! We opened a bottle of sparkling cherry wine yesterday that we had purchased this fall in Michigan, feeling obligated after all... as you can see, the reindeer's head necessitates a champagne-style cork! We'll be saving up corks all year, whatever it takes... solely in the interest of these reindeer ornaments, naturally!

(However, ours will be non- AU colors; sorry, honey!)

...now, onto the "storm". The studio (more recently Santa's workshop) is closed down and under alert. The furniture has been covered to protect it from the onslaught. Not snow, not now; it's even worse, sheetrock dust! We're adding task lighting- eleven recessed floods. This required removing the existing lighting and, of course, redoing the ceiling. Never a dull moment here, I'll post updates this week as they occur. Things are looking up (sorry!) in The Strawberry Patch, the future for the New Year is certain to be a bright one!

Life is Good!

Fall Bag, New Arrangement

I have a new bag, one for Fall! I have managed to sew this (and its small companion pouch) this week, I love them and know that I will enjoy carrying them. I thought the zipper would be hardest part, but it wasn't at all... sewing and then turning the handles was! Grrr... I stabilized the patchwork with DecorBond and then quilted through that and Quilter's Dream batting, it makes a nice, sturdy weight for a handbag. Fabric: 'Fall Back In Time' collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda.
Pattern: 'My Things' by Rosalie Quinlan Designs.

Other than that, ever since we returned from being away my days have been consumed with catching up and there's been little being accomplished on the sewing front. That's far from saying that there's nothing going on in the studio, though! My husband and I have decided to reconfigure my space and eventually add better, more specific task lighting. I don't embrace change of any sort, it's difficult for me; but this idea was mine! In an effort to find a good, efficient layout the furniture's been moved. I'm forever walking to the space now where the cutting island was and turning my chair in the wrong direction to reach my machine accessory box! Does everyone do this or am I just a slow learner? At any rate, I'm trying out the new arrangement on a trial basis this week to see how everything "fits". If it does, we'll be moving/adding overhead lighting soon and redoing the ceiling.

Stay tuned...
Life is Good!