Is this thing still on?

OK I did kind of vanish on everybody, except those following me on Facebook. It's been a very busy year and change.

Flashback to March 2013: we finally received approval to buy our dream house, yes, the one that sat empty for 4 years while the bank was making the short sale of the property a complete nightmare. 

We signed in April and after 6 weeks of getting the most urgent repairs taken care of (mold remediation, roof leak, and get the kitchen & one bathroom functional), we finally moved in. 

Since then we have been slowly turning the train wreck into our home. We are reclaiming the jungle surrounding it and turning it into a civilized yard. Our new neighbors welcomed us with glee and helped us along the way. 

Here is a list of what we've done so far:

- remodel 2 bathrooms 

- repaint 4 bedrooms and hang drapes

- repaint the front hall, living room, dining room

- remodel the master bedroom

- spruce up the kitchen

- demo the master bathroom

We still have a long road ahead but since we don't plan on moving any time soon, we are taking things a bit slower from now on. We still plan on finishing the  master bathroom renovation in the near future but the rest will wait!

I think there will be a few posts in the near future to show all the before and after pictures, what do you think?

Oh and on the plus side, I now have a HUGE studio. Really, really huge. 

Sooo forgive me?

2012, 2013 and that house thing

Back in June, when we put our townhouse on the market for sale, we never imagined that we wouldn't be in a new house for the holidays. We didn't even thing we wouldn't be in a new house for Halloween. But there it is, Halloween, Thanksgiving and CHristmas have come and gone and we still are camping in a small apartment. What happened ?? Well complications for sure. If you want to short story you can skip to the end of this post. 

Here is the long story. Back in May we started scouting the area for houses, we spotted a house we really liked, in a great neighborhood, with great schools. Unfortunately this house had been on the market since March 2009 years and unoccupied since May 2009 because it was a short sale, the bank holding the mortgage was making the process drag on and in the meantime, the house suffered some damage and with the repairs needed, the asking price was way over-stated. There had already been several offers on the house, some had been retracted due to the delays some still active, so we decided not pursue it. 

Early August, once the sale of the townhouse was finalized, we started seriously house hunting in the neighborhoods we had previously retained as possible and soon thereafter found a suitable match: a large split level house, with a pretty yard and room to grow. Our offer was accepted and we thought we would be moving in by the end of September. Everything seem to workout well until the bank ordered appraisal came back, way lower than the price previously agreed on. We tried to re-negotiate the price but to no avail. There we were, at the end of the summer, back to square one, house hunting again. 

Then in one of those crazy curve balls of life, that same house we had been eyeing back in may was back on the market, this time the asking price was well within our range, even factoring the inevitable repairs. So we decided to visit the house. After assessing the situation (not as bad as we had anticipated)  and discussing the other available options thoroughly, my hubby and I agreed this was THE house. Mid-september, we took the plunge and put an offer of that train wreck of an house that we had fallen in love with. And then waited, and waited, and waited for the bank to make its move. 

Early October, we moved again to another short-term rental. That's when things started to move again. Paperwork, then wait some, more paperwork, more waiting was the name of the game until the week before Christmas. And then just as we started to doubt anything would happen until New Year's, the news finally came in: the short sale has been approved by the bank. We have until the end of January to close.  Some seriously crazy Christmas present for us. There is still many a thing that can go wrong and prevent the sale to conclude, but the short sale red tape phase is over. 

If everything goes well in the next couple of days, we will have a new home at the end of January and move in by the end of march since there are some repairs that will have to be taken care of before the house is habitable. Are we crazy ? Certainly a little bit for embarking again in the fixer-upper boat. But the house is infinitely worth the trouble and the wait: it has all the features both my husband and  desired, the location is great,  we are getting a great bargain on the price and after a bit of TLC, the house will be fantastic.

So 2013 will be a busy year for sure, while we turn our train wreck into a dream boat.

Happy 2013 to all !!

Goodbye House

Goodbye living  room

Goodbye kitchen

Goodbye bedroom

Goodbye studio

Goodbye house...

Now on to shopping for our new home

From the back seat

Good morning my dears,

I know I have been scarce lately and I'm going to be scarce a little bit longer. So many things are going on right now in our lives that I'm having a hard time keeping up. Despite my efforts to keep up blogging has been taking the back seat.  I have a whole line up of projects to show you but no time to make it happen. I've decided it would be best to just regroup and be back in few days.

To keep you entertained I may just repost a couple of older projects that deserve a second look. If any of you is interested in guest posting in the mean time, just email me. 

Thank you for your patience!! I'll be back soon.

What I have been up to - Week 19

My studio has been mostly neglected this week. I only finished up my button scarf and some headbands for bug's crazy hair. 

  

  

My mom lives thousands of miles away (and 6 time zones apart) in France but I have wonderful women that are playing a huge role in my life: Aunt Joan (who is really my husband's aunt) and her mom Gram Betty. Both have "adopted" me since we settled in Maryland and it is wonderful to have them around . Yesterday, I finally took a couple of hours to "play" with fabric and make some flower pins for them.

I also played a little bit with a new technique: Kazashi (new to me because this art is centuries old). This is my first (almost) finished flower:

The lack of crafting was mostly due to a bigger need. We worked hard this week at finishing to fix up our deck. What was initially planned: replace the handrail. What actually happened: replace the handrail and all the planks. Hmm does that ever happen to you? A smallish project that keeps on growing? 

Anyway, the bulk of it is now done and I can put out a deck chair and enjoy Mother's day outside, surrounded by the soothing sounds of nature in the spring. Oh and I can let bug be there with me ( well now I worry about her climbing the new handrail rather than worry about the old baluster falling off and bug with it). 

This leads me to my reflection about Mother's day and what it means to be a mother. I certainly had no idea what I was in for on that day of July when I first held bug, so tiny and sweet.

Now I see this picture of my mom, bug and I and I know.

Little victories, new experiences, having too much fun and play hard, chocolate (and chocolate faces) and dreams

 

and of course little mistakes.

All of it surrounded with lots of love and cuddles and kisses

So at the end of the day sleep my little one can sleep like this

with no fear or worries (I do all the worrying for now)

Being a mom is all about making sure that my child lives happy and grows to her full potential. 

Happy Mother's day to all mothers, and beautiful women that are mothers in their heart and in their actions. Your tender embrace, the comfort of your presence, the kindness of your words and your undying support makes us children who we are, and then makes us mothers (and fathers) in turn.

PS: In France, Mother's day is celebrated in a couple of weeks later than in the US. So I get to wish my mom a happy Mother's day twice every year :) 

Layla of the summer

I'm still recovering from surgery so I have limited energy for the bare essentials to keep up with the house, let alone crafting but I did sneak in the studio for one hour here and there to put the finishing touches on my new handbag.

Why do I need another Layla handbag? Well the original one is going on an "adventure" next week and I may not see it again for several months. 

I'll tell you more on my first Layla's big adventure soon.  

I decided to go all out colors for this second edition. I had a lot of fund digging through my stash to find the best color to marry with this Moda print I love so much. This was the original combination I found but when I was packing for my weekend of sewing in Delaware I found that piece of really fun batik that was just puuuurfect. The rest came from my stash of Kona cotton solids.

I love that the 2 sides look different just because of the way the fabric repeat panned out

  

This time I decided to add a second pocket inside as well as a loop 

I also added a quilting detail with the fusible fleece I added for more body

So what do you think?

What I've been up to - Week 13 & 14

Well it's been quite crazy really. The Spring Stashbust started so no shopping for me. I was able to control my urges so far. 

I made a second a ruffled apron as tester for Linda's pattern store the Ruffled Begonia. (You can win it here). The fist one was a collection of dot fabrics. I didn't realize how many different dot fabrics had in my stash until I started pulling them out for this project.

 

This past weekend I was in Delaware, with no internet, but with awesome gals at an awesome place for a sewing retreat. It was pretty cold but with a bit of wine and the good company, we all felt quite warm.

I got 4 projects underway: a scarf, 2 handbags and a quilt top,  all stashbusting projects. Yay. I'm hoping to share the handbags soon. I only have the snap closures and the straps to finish.  Here is a sneak peek of one of the bags. 

The scarf is also still in progress, about 90% done. 

But mostly I'm pretty proud of this quit top. The mitered corners were new to me. After some "quality time" with my seam ripper, I figured a way through it and like my daughter would say: Tada !!

 

My mom saw the pictures and loves it. The deadline to finish quilting it is in July but I plan on completing it faster... I have a request for its twin, for which I have all the supplies already. More mitered corners in my future.

After that my time was spent preparing for surgery (which happened this past wednesday), including a few scheduled posts on projects completed earlier but not yet shared. The surgery went well and thanks to Joan, I was able to rest a lot Thursday and Friday. The recovery however is going much slower than I hoped. I spent the past 3 months completely exhausted, I should have known better. It can only improve I guess. Still taking it slowly and catching up on emails - about 50 more to go through. More scheduled posts in the week ahead until I'm fully back in the swing of things.

Spring is my favorite time of the year. I usually feel more energized and motivated. It's a time of renewal, rebirth, and along with that comes a bit of yard work. I would like to get a mini herb garden planted with my little bug. I think she would love it.  In the meantime I made some fabric flowers...

What have you been up to?

PS:

Nobody guessed  which of these cups came home with me yet

 The first to guess gets a custom fabric flower (pick your favorite color)

How you can help Vanessa and family

Dear readers,
I just found out that sweet Vanessa from V & Co is in a family crisis. You can learn all the details here. So if you want to help, head over to her store. She has lovely patterns like this adorable play food cake and some fabric bundles for sale. Time to shop.

strawberry shortcake with detachable frosting

  

  

  

Out of town and not around

I'm on my way to Delaware where I will enjoy friends and crafts and be a free spirit for a weekend of sewing retreat. My sewing machine is packed, along with all the sewing essentials, a good selection of fabrics, threads, and a plan for the weekend: sew, sew, sew. Oh and have a good time.

I may or may not post this weekend. But I'm sure of one thing: I will have a heap of things to share when I get back. However,  there may be some delays in the sharing due to some health concerns. Let me explain:

I have been not feeling too great lately and have to have a little surgery to take care of the cause of my ailments  (ugh!) . I'm not looking forward to go under the knife - but it is unavoidable. The surgery is this Wednesday with still a million things to take care of to be ready. I've prepared a few scheduled posts to bridge the gap but depending on how fast I'm recovering there may be a bit of a blogging hiatus. I can't wait to be back to my normal self and enjoy the Spring.

So I'll be back, soon. I just don't know how soon. 

So far and so close

A quick word to call for action. 

If you haven't already, donate to help the victims of the Tsunami in north Japan that are now facing the threat of radioactive pollution from damaged nuclear plants. This is halfway across the planet but also so close to home for craft bloggers knowing the pain of Sachiko from Tea Rose Home whose family has been directly impacted by the disaster . 

A little can go a very long way

Thank you - 3 times thank you

Thank you so very much to all that took the time to write a support message. I truly appreciate the kindness and it helps tremendously. Kindness and empathy are such a blessing.

I'm still in a bit of a crafting slump (all I have done lately are fabric flowers) but I used up the time organizing and de-cluttering the house some more. I have a trunkful of various items to be donated to Goodwill and a cleared up guest bedroom to show for it. 

Amie (Kittycats and Airplanes) and I may be going craft shopping together this weekend. I hope we can work it out and hopefully the inspiration will kick back in for both of us.

In the meantime, does anybody fancy guest-posting ? If you do, please email me.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE 

Oh and I just noticed the counter ... 250, I say wow, whoop whoop and thank you for joining my blogging experience. Stay tuned because there will be some very special gifts for you very very soon. 

Winter makes me feel blue

53 days until spring. 53 ? I've got the winter blues. I'm longing for spring, sunshine and flowers.