Prepping a New Location

So after 10 years in the same center Bolts in the Bathtub will be moving to a new location. 

It is exciting and stressful and exciting. We will be moving to 723 West Lancaster Blvd. The city has been doing a lot of work in the last few years to revive the downtown area and there is always something going on.



The previous occupant was a law office, so there were lots of offices. It was kind of a maze or maybe that's amazing.

Our proposed layout with some fixture pieces.



The bathtub will be somewhere near the front of the store. Ours is much cuter as it is a claw foot.



We left two of the offices intact.



A machine tech area for my brother-in-law Leith and my partner/sister Fay’s office. She usually works behind the scenes checking in product, ordering, and paying bills as well as all of the other accounting work.

This built desk in Fay’s future office was dismantled



and rebuilt for a larger machine repair area for Leith.



Fay will now have a window to see what is happening on the sales floor. She may get tired of seeing us and close her blinds. 

Notice my spectacular photography – I am a ghost like figure in the shot.



Walls marked for destruction.



Then the excitement of walls coming down. (I played with PicMonkey for the first time!)



The view across the entire space towards Fay’s office.



What is that between the two support posts? Water pipes.



Fortunately, George our contractor was able to get them cut down to below the concrete. 

Although I suppose we could have installed a water feature in the middle of the store. LOL.



Next up rebuilding the space.

Stitch at you Soon,

Dawna

Linking up with 
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage

Back to Blogging

As we all know “Time Flies”.

Somehow this spring it completely got away from  me. It also seemed that the longer I was away from blogging the harder it was to restart. But last night seemed to be the perfect night to catch up.

I wrote the following last night:
Earlier today the electrical box at the entrance to our housing development was hit by a car. I came home for lunch while running errands. It  must have happened between the time I turned onto the main drive and opened the fridge to make a salad. At first I thought the light had burnt out. Then I realized that none of the clocks on the appliances were working.

It is now 8:50 and I am peacefully writing by candlelight. However, first thing on the list for home upkeep is to refill the battery drawer and find out why none of the flashlights in the house seem to work. I’m sure the Golf Guy will figure it out when he gets back to town tomorrow.

Luckily there is some battery power available on my laptop. There is a lovely cool breeze coming in the windows. If this had happened a few nights ago it would still be in the mid eighties at this hour.

What have I been doing for the last two months?

1. Driving to see & spend time with my brother who had a stroke. We are blessed that his recovery is progressing and he is working so hard in all of his therapy. Thank you to all who added him to your prayers.

2. Preparing for Bolts in the Bathtub’s new store location. Our move to Lancaster Blvd will be sometime in the next three weeks. Just in time for the Southern California Quilter’s Run. The demo/rebuild is slated to be finished a week from today, May 24th.

3. Making two quilts for the run, one of which will be featured in the book being produced by Mountain Peak Creations. Preorders of the book are available, but the quilts may not be shown until the first day of the run. I will have a post ready to go up with pictures first thing the 20th of June. Bolts was a little crazy, we made four variations on the quilt design for our area.

4. I finished my Madison’s Star quilt,


a set of baby quilts for twin girls for a work colleague of the GG,
































making quilts for Strip Club meetings,



two more baby quilts were made from a poorly designed pattern (it was supposed to be a large lap),



and I have almost completed all the blocks for the Toes in the Sand block of the month starting at Bolts this Saturday.

 

This is my favorite block. There are 43 pieces in each one.



5. My cousin’s were down visiting from Canada for two weeks. For them a holiday is being in the warm weather with a list of projects. One of the projects that they helped with was to rearrange the master bedroom. It’s been on my list for quite a while as the furniture had been in the same place since we moved in ten years ago! However, with marble tops on the large dresser and bedside tables, help was definitely needed. I have drapes and a new quilt to make before sharing the redo.

Tomorrow the 17th is my birthday, so today I treated myself & wandered around the Antique Asylum. I found these fabulous turkey plates for my gift from Mum. I have never seen anything like them before. They have a Spring look.




No power yet, so this will have to be posted tomorrow. 

Stitch at you Soon,
(No really, I promise.)

Dawna

PS - The power came back on at 4:28 am.

St. Patrick’s Day Blessing

As I was starting this post last Monday I received word that my youngest brother had had a stroke. The world stopped. Life revolved around keeping vigil at Rob’s bedside at the hospital and being with his family.

Our Irish ancestors, Gordie - our dad and the Lord were surely watching over him as well, for today he is likely to be moved out of ICU. So on this St. Patrick’s Day our family is truly blessed.



I had set the side board before setting the table. The purple was used to complement the chargers on the table.







My shamrocks from the last couple of years are so large they would overwhelm the table. 



You can see them on the counter in the butler’s pantry.



A shamrock quilt is draped in the corner. My friend Nancy drew and appliqued the shamrock for me years ago.



I A few weeks ago I received a call from my friend Terri. Terri is who gifted me with the lovely red chargers that were used on the For Christmas Give a Heart tablescape.

She was at Penny’s in the clearance section. Was I interested in purple glass hobnail chargers on sale for $4.00 each?
Now I have been being good, (the cupboards are full), but they were only $4! So I said yes, I’ll take eight.

Ok, it’s true I’m easy for dishes.



The original plan wasn’t for a St. Patrick’s Day table, but when I opened one of the napkin drawers I saw these.



St. Patrick’s Day napkins with tiny purple flowers and verses from Irish songs. I’m not sure what the purple flower is - it might be a nettle-leaved bellflower.

 

Perfect! A second set with crocheted lace on the edges add some softness at the edge.



Dinner plates are Johnson Brothers, I don’t think I would ever actually eat on them as they are pretty delicate. I would pull them with the salad plate and serve the entrée on white plates.



You can see the crazing around the stamp on the back of the plates.



Christopher Stuart, Batalha White salad plates are topped with green depression glass bread plates.



Stemware is a combination of my mums wedding pieces and Cambridge purple. Silver edged stemware from Home Goods and purple crackled wine glasses from Pier 1.



I had to borrow the wine glasses from my mum as they were part of her birthday tablescape Purple Presents.







May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow;
May the soft winds freshen your spirit;
May the sunshine brighten your heart;
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you;
And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.



Happy St. Patrick’s Day. May your family be as blessed as ours has been this week. Take care of yourselves and be sure to hug the ones you love.

Stitch at you Soon,

Dawna

Linking with :
The Tablescaper - Seasonal Sunday
Between Naps on the Porch - Tablescape Thursday

Winter to Spring

Ok, I confess. 
I just took my Christmas tree down this week.

The plan was to change the decorations for Valentine’s Day and then again for Easter as I did last year. Well that didn't happen, so I’ve decided to show last years Easter tree. As I didn’t start blogging until May of last year, it is new to all of you.



The tree was decorated with a variety of eggs, ribbon, pink hummingbirds, pastel masks and of course – Bunnies!



One of my favorite vintage Bunnies by Bunnies by the Bay sits on a branch in the center of the tree.



She wears a chenille jumpsuit accented with silk ribbon and flowers.



Eggs hang next to pastel masks from Pier 1.





A fluffy ceramic bunny hides at the bottom of the tree.



Spring is coming, or so they say. But in the Antelope Valley, the month of February has had daily temps ranging from 40 to 70 degrees.

As Easter is early this year I think I better get out my bunnies now. Since the tree is no longer up I’ll have to find somewhere else to hang the eggs. Stay tuned.

Stitch at you Soon,

Dawna
Partying with :
From My Front Porch to Yours - Treasure Hunt Thursday 
Common Ground - Be Inspired Friday

Studio Sunday #10 - Candy Kisses Quilt

I haven’t posted for Studio Sunday in a while, so to start back up I have a quilt pattern for you that I recently designed.

I made a new Valentine’s quilt for this year out of a Sandy Gervais line from a few years ago. It coordinates with the Candy kisses tablescape here.



I drew up a sketch on a piece of paper. Then did a small mock up.  To have a complete picture I designed the quilt in EQ7. I downloaded the fabric images from the United Notions web page.

Blocks measure 12” when finished. The quilt is 60” square. Yardage for quilt is at the bottom of post.



Fussy cut 9 – 6 1/2” squares for the center of the blocks from the panel. 



Cut  18 – 1 1/2” x 6 1/2” rectangles.
Sew to top & bottom of fussy cut squares. Press away from square.

Cut 18  - 1 1/2” x 8 1/2” rectangles
Sew to sides of  fussy cut squares. Press away from square.



Make 72 Flying Geese units that are 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” before sewing into block (2” x 4” finished). I use the Nifty Notions Half Square and Quarter Square rulers. 

I don’t cut the thread between units until after I press. This gives stability to the seam.



Flying geese units are sewn into sets of two



and pressed open. The units should measure 2 1/2” x 8 1/2”.



Sew units onto top



and bottom of  blocks. 





Press towards center of block.



Sew cream  2 1/2” squares to ends of remaining flying geese units.



Sew to sides of blocks. Press seams open to reduce bulk.



I get really flat seams by placing a clapper on them after pressing. I have had my clapper since college. Although Bolts is a quilt store,we carry them for quilting more than clothing construction.



A finished block. I actually sewed the flying geese units on the opposite direction from the mock up. I decided this was much stronger.



Choosing block placement  for the quilt.



Cut 38 – 2 1/2” x 12 1/2” rectangles for sashings  and 24 – 2 1/2” squares for cornerstones.
Sew sashing strips to blocks vertically.



Pay close attention while piecing or you may end up with this: Oops!



So you have to rip before having corrected row.



Sew 4 sashing and cornerstones units.



Inner borders – cut 5 – 1 1/2” x WOF
Outer borders were cut 7 1/2” by 72” from length of fabric.
Measure your quilt to find your border lengths. I sewed my two borders together and mitered the corners. You can choose not to go that route. My friend Tiffany at Needle in a Hayes Stack did the quilting as I like to quilt by hand. (I write the check).



I  wonder what other panels Bolts in the Bathtub  has with 6” squares. I’m pretty sure we still have a panel with shells….

Have a great day creating.

Stitch at you Soon,
Dawna

Partying with : 
Boogieboard Cottage - Masterpiece Monday
A Humble Creation - A New Creation
Quilt Story - Fabric Tuesday
I Gotta Create - Wildly Original Link Party 
Sew Many Ways - Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party

Quilt Yardage :
1 Panel

1 7/8 yard red

3/8 yard cream

1 yard pink

7/8 yard dots on pink

1yard plaid

1/4 yard vine on cream

2 yards Kisses