Probably not.

Yet, I’m thrilled to have found a moment in each day where I can knit a few rows. Why I just might finish the hexagon blanket before Elly’s 5th birthday.  Don’t hold your breath though.

The doors are painted.

The drawers are painted.

The hardware is the same. I just cleaned them up.

Next up are the cabinets doors.

It came with the house. I didn’t pick that fabric out.

When removing the current cover on the seat cushion, I noticed the horrible yellow staining and massive deterioration. Thus, the first step was to make a new seat cushion.

Of course, Elly helped.

First, I cut out a new cushion from the giant roll of foam I ordered from Joann. (I used a coupon to cut the price way down). Next, we decorated the foam with markers.

Afterwards, I wrapped the foam in two layers of low loft batting and then whip stitched it closed.

The difference is amazing. This might be the most comfortable chair in our house now.

I arrived minutes before my class started, giving the organizers a bit of a scare. But, I couldn’t resist taking Elly out in the snow. Once outside, I noticed my 91-year-old neighbor’s walkway had not been shoveled. Refusing to let her do it herself, I took my helpers over to clear her sidewalk and driveway.

I will no longer roll my eyes when Dan informs me he really wants to buy a snow blower. Shoveling snow is hard work! I fully support his decision now.

Back to my story of the Knit Out …. My class went great. All attendees agreed that charts finally made sense. It gave me such a great feeling.

Knowing I barely have time to knit these days, I did not buy any of the gorgeous yarns seen. Instead I bought me a new knitting bag.

Isn’t it wonderful? It’s handmade by Ruth Raisner. Get your Phillies bag here.

Go Phillies!

If you want to preserve the current paint or finish, then I wouldn’t recommend using the same technique. The scouring pad removed a layer of paint with the unwanted grime, but that just saves me time and effort. I can now skip the sanding step and jump straight to the priming step.

The only challenge lies in how to keep Elly occupied with her washable paints while I paint over all the avocado green. Wish me luck.

At the rate I’m going, it will take me 3 more years to finish the other 5 hexagons. It might even take me longer, since I’ve started suffering motion sickness while driving in the passenger seat and trying to work on needle crafts. The more curves in the road and the more fiddly the project, the more seasick I become. I never had this problem before. The lion’s share of my knitting has been accomplished on road trips. I feel so unproductive now.

To add insult to injury, it took me two tries to seam up the first hexagon yesterday only because I didn’t follow my own tip. I always recommend to other knitters that they use safety pins to hold the knit together while working a mattress stitch. I was in a hurry and just tried to wing it. It didn’t work. I had to rip the seam out and start all over again. The second time I used safety pins.

If you’re a knitter in the Pottstown area, I highly recommend attending next year. Unfortunately, the event is sold out this year. You can learn more about the event on its website.

Elly isn’t even 2 yet and yesterday I had to pull out the stencils and paint.

Dan promised me that this would be the last time.

The short and sweet story behind the rag quilt is embroidered on the label.

Hand-embroidered by Quilted Lovelies because I neither had the time nor the patience.

The long and detailed story can be found on my Elly Made blog.

True, it is stuck in the 1960′s but I think the outdated decor gives it charm. Besides the stove is to die for with extra space in between the burners and two ovens.

I have received lovely comments about the avocado green cabinets. I have tried to live with the color these past 6 years. I have even tried to embrace it by making a matching fan cover

(see it above the stove?) and lining the shelves in green.

Yet, the color just feels drab to me.

So, yesterday I decided to see what different colors would look like on the cabinets by painting small sections with acrylic paint. First, I tried red. It was nice. Then, I tried my favorite color turquoise.

I just stood there grinning from ear to ear. It made me so happy. This was the color for me!

Can you see it?

Source

Unfortunately, some prep work has to be done before I can paint the cabinets. There are years worth of grease coating the cabinets that must be scrubbed off first. I’m hoping Dawn will make mean work of it.