Plaster, plaster, plaster!

Plaster

After weeks and weeks of prep work, we are finally plastering.  The good news is this process is a whole lot faster than the straw-clay work, so we should make great progress over the next couple of weeks!

A Quilt for a Wedding

Months ago I began working on a special gift for my sister and her new husband.

I went to the fabric shop and picked out around 18 different, wildly colorful cotton prints. 

I began cutting, and trimming and sewing and stitching.

I made piles of squares that I eventually sewed together into 12 in x 12 in blocks.  

After piecing all of the blocks, I needed to decide how to arrange them to make the top of the quilt. 

I brought the quilt to Lily Sweeny, the "Batty Quilter" to do the professional quilting.  It turned out so beautiful!

For the back of the quilt I made a special block. 

I loved learning to applique and to work some simple embroidery stitches.

Laura and Josh were married on July 20, and I was so excited to give them their gift.  I hope they cuddle up under it this winter and remember how much their big sister loves them!

First Floor Stuffing Finished!

It is summer, and we are finally back to working on the house almost full time.  This week we finished stuffing the first floor with straw clay!  We didn't have that much left to do on the first floor, but it still feels great to have all of our walls closed in. 

This was the final kitchen wall.  Getting up into the tippy top was tricky and HOT!!

Now the kitchen has three walls! 

Jason also finished the stair treads going to the second floor.  Now we can run up and down the stairs between the basement and the second floor! 

My father came to visit for a week in the middle of June.  He worked on the plumbing for us.  Now that is all done, too! 

The Garden, July 1

Windows!

I was away from home for the majority of the last two weeks, with just a few days on the island in between two really wonderful trips.  One trip was a field trip to NYC with my two eighth grade students and my colleague, and one was a trip to Wisconsin to celebrate my sister's upcoming wedding.  It was so much fun to travel and visit new and familiar places.  But it was just as exciting to return home!  It was absolutely wonderful to see Jason and get reconnected.  I missed him so much while I was away!  Second to seeing Jason was seeing all of the work that he accomplished on the house while I was away.  He finished the bedroom roof completely--pretty nice, huh?  And he finished installing all but one first floor window (that window can't be installed until the wall insulation is finished).  Wow, what a difference it makes!  Here is the view of the front bedroom windows. 

Here is the front entrance. 

Here is the big beautiful window in the living room!  I love it! 

Looking through the big window to the backyard.  The light we are now getting in the house is just amazing.  It is going to be so sweet to live here!

Bedroom Roof!

Jason has been very busy over the past few weeks working on the our bedroom roof. 
First he needed to finish the porch to support the long overhang from the roof.  Once that was finished he began filling the roof cavity with insulation.

Here is a shot from the top of the roof looking down over the porch overhang and into the insulation cavity.  14 inches of cellulose should keep us warm, right? 

Finally, with porch and insulation finished, roofing could begin!