I dropped off the Earth for a bit there. Sorry. There’s only been a little crochet in my life of late, as most of my every day reality has been about working with the home remodeling.
Want to see what I’ve been up to though? I’m really excited – things are coming together for the house!
Oh, and there is a new crochet pattern in the works too. Take a look below! 😀
The New Bath!
Since the last time I posted, we have redone most of the front bath. So new floor, new sink and of course the new toilet I did a couple of months ago. Yes ma’am, I installed the toilet.
Here’s the old front bath. This room used to be the front porch area until it was built in sometime in the late 50’s, early 60’s. Here we have already pulled up most of the old tile. Notice the position of the toilet, which practically sits on the (left) wall you don’t see. No one with long legs could really sit on it. We changed that.
And this is the old antique cast iron sink from the 20’s. It found a new home.
Old Elgin tub faucets. These have to go. Still working on this one.
Phone photos can be quite handy when you’re measuring and asking for help at Home Depot. Let me tell you!
There was some old water damage around the toilet, which we rebuilt and completely fixed.
We decided to keep the quaint old light and mirror. Kind of reminds me of my grandfather. There was a light something like this in his old house when I was little.
Here’s the new floor and we’re getting ready to turn the toilet so it’s not awkward like it was.
Voila! We haven’t finished painting the trim, but here’s the new look!
New Energy Efficient Windows!
We had those old wood double hung windows in here and even with an extra layer of (old) storm windows over those, it really just wasn’t very energy-efficient. Not to mention we needed to change some of the framing so we can finish painting the trim outside.
Our new windows are so pretty, and we definitely notice a positive difference in the room temperature, in spite of the 107 degree weather outside! Also, the new screens really don’t hinder the view at all. Can you tell there are screens on these windows? Oh yes, and there’s my baby grand.
The New Carpet!
We started ripping up the old carpet. It was state of the art once upon a time with its textured look, but not today. We started with replacing the kids room and the hallway carpet, as it was in the greatest need of replacement. The living and bedroom will get done later since I received quotes for $300-$1000+ just to move my antique baby grand piano to another room temporarily and back for the carpeting project. It’s cheaper to move it across town! 
The carpet company says the type we chose will be available at least through the end of the year, so we’ll plan on replacing the rest when we close and the piano actually moves out for good.
That’s the old original wood plank floor underneath.
The kids room – only the pad is in here and it already looks so much better!
When the guys put the furniture back, I asked them to turn the kids’ bed for me. It looks so much better. Our son asked to just have his mattress on the floor so he wouldn’t have to keep cleaning under his bed while we get the house ready to show. LOL. 🙂 The room has so much more space now. Amazing.
We have new cushy carpet! I never understood why people liked vacuuming until I realized it’s because my old textured carpet didn’t really let me see for sure what I have vacuumed. I can’t believe how quick this was to vacuum. I think I must have vacuumed the same spots over and over with the old carpet. Who knew that new carpet might save you time?
Some Scratched Floor Patching!
I’m amazed at the amount of people who have recently come into my house and told me how much they like the distressed floors. 😕 The white washing has worn down. I’ve even been told not to do anything to it. However, I decided to see if I could touch it up a bit. Here are photos of my test patch on one of the most distressed spots, next to the front door.
This is the after patching photo of the same spot as the other photo, turned the right way. I just touched up the white washing some since everyone keeps telling me not to do much to the floor. This was my test spot to see how it would look.
Somehow my photo was turned during the upload, but these are the hard wood floors in half the house. Lots of distressing in them.
OK – There’s Some New Crochet!
My hands only cooperate some of the time right now. But I did manage to work on a new pattern, spurred by a request on Ravelry. She’s testing it for me now. It was more writing than anything, but I think this will be a good project to use in the future to teach a more advanced technique.
Unfortunately, though, my hands are too swollen to crochet right now. 😦
Last Minute Boot Toppers Pattern, designed for a fellow crocheter’s need request. What do you think?
The New Laundry/Pantry Room!
It still needs curtains and a new lighting solution, but my goodness this is a brand new room, looking better than it did when we moved in! Andrea gave me good ideas to continue with too. More photos later as I complete the steps.
My oldest friend Andrea drove down to help me with my laundry/pantry room. We’ve known each other about 33 years. I should have taken a before photo of the room, but didn’t think to. We were so busy and Andrea is really good at keeping us on track. Teaching middle school probably helps!
I also didn’t think to get a photo of us together. 😦 Which is sad, because we haven’t been able to spend time together in a while. And I like memories of things I actively do with others in life. Those kind of photos show the stories better than a posed one at a restaurant or something.
It’s easy to be so overwhelmed in your own home and her help was one of the best gifts anyone ever has given me. She helped me paint, organize and think about things in new ways.
I plan to write more about the organizing experience in detail. I learned a lot from Andrea. Thanks so much girl!
My hair is so full of paint spatters though. My kids say I look really old now. I always talk about earning my grey hairs and I certainly earned these! LOL
So all in all, it’s been a very busy and intense couple of weeks, but very satisfying! It’s like eye candy – so much accomplishment that I can finally really see the difference.
There are always those things in life that you work your butt off doing, but don’t always get to enjoy the evidence of. Like laundry and dishes which are never, ever completely finished. They are always there to be done. Which sometimes lends to the dissatisfying feeling that they are somehow thankless jobs with little proof of value.
Well until no one does them, that is.
But there’s nothing like the tangible ability to sit back, admire something, show it off and be able to say “Hey – I DID THAT!” 😉
Hope your last couple of weeks has been great too!
Check ya later and stay cool my friends!
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Crochet Liberation Front:
Aberrant Crochet (TM) 
My you’ve been busy!!!
Hey Emily,
Yeah, just a little. I had hoped we could take a trip to Prescott this summer, but obviously, it’s not going to happen. 😦 Hopefully sometime in December again. 🙂
Hope this finds you well! Didn’t I see something about A Good Yarn moving? I definitely have to check so when we do go back, I can find it!
Blessings,
Julia
Awh. Such sweet commentary. I am thrilled that you are so pleased with the work. I have been just as busy at home. I cleaned up my craft room. Yeah. I actually feel like getting some work finished. I must remind myself not to craft and bomb. I hate messy craft rooms because the Karma is bad, and I hate bad Karma. Let me know when you are ready for round two? Sorry your hand is swollen. My hands were a little swollen too. I have a bit of cleaning to do because I have a friend from Minnesota coming to visit. Anyway. I am serious let me know when you are ready for round two. Can’t wait to see your next blog about your progress. Hugs!!!
OK I will Andrea! I really do appreciate it! You’re worth your weight in gold. Hopefully by end of the weekend, we’ll have our tub faucet stuff done. I’m working on file cabinet right now.
Love, Jules
This post just confirms what I have thought all along: I WISH WE LIVED LOCAL. I srsly need a handy friend like you, both as a crochet mentor as well as someone super handy to have for household type things!
Aww, thanks Maven! That would be enjoyable, though on the bright side we also have an excuse to travel! 😉