Kitchen Delight

It isn't every day that I can come up with new pictures, but I just had to take some pictures of my new kitchen. We talked alot about a new addition we were going to put on the garage to give me more room for my quilting frame.  By the time we got back from Arizona we had talked ourselves out of an addition to the garage.  I then made a proposal to Ron... seeing that I saved us the cost of the new addition, I think it is a small consolation to upgrade the kitchen.  He had no objections... but of course I kept my requests reasonable.

First I wanted a new range hood.  The old one just never did a good job of pulling any air up the vent.  New one is stainless steel and has a great fan and extremely good lighting.  Next item was the removal of the microwave from the counter, down there on the left under the kitties.  I moved my mixer out there where it is easier to access.  Microwave got moved into a cupboard on the other side of the room that was built with the intention of putting  a microwave in it.  We were convinced our microwave was too big for the space... it fit just fine.

You can see the microwave in the upper right of this picture.  The next on my agenda was a kitchen island.  I don't have a very big kitchen, so my island is of modest size, but it sure is a beautiful addition to my kitchen.  The table that used to be there in front of the window only collected mail.  We typically eat at the dining room table. 

This island is actually a cart... it has heavy duty casters that make it easy to move to where you need it.  Like Friday morning we made peanut butter sandwiches to take to church for the "Take It To The Street" ministry.  We rolled the island out a bit and we worked from both sides of the counter space.  So much easier than standing side by side to do the same task.

Last, but certainly not least I wanted a new sink with a fancy new faucet.  The sink is granite composite and the color is Espresso.  The faucet has copper hi-lites.  The deep sink is a single basin, but it has a raised shelf on one side where I will put a stainless steel dish drainer that is narrow and intended for smaller spaces.  The drainer hasn't arrived yet.

For a finishing touch, I decided the backsplash behind the sink was a little plain... it needed to be spiced up.  The image here shows the tiles I started out with on the top row.  We have had the bucket of blank tiles for years now, just waiting for the right project.  I used Mod Podge to cover the tile with fabric that I bought in Arizona.  Right now they are just resting in place behind the sink, but Ron will put a shiny finish on them before he adheres them in place.



I know there are lots of bigger, more beautiful kitchens out there, but I could not be happier with my new expanded kitchen.  It really is the same size it was, it just seems like it grew a whole lot.  It is just gorgeous, and we didn't spend an arm and a leg.

Spending time in Arizona

We have been away from home for a week now, and it sure would be nice to be heading back home.  We are still awaiting the arrival of new grand-baby.  I have totally enjoyed spending time with my DIL and the whole family, but we have been in the house alot since we have been here.  As a result of having alot of  "free" time here, I have completed a few projects.  There was a mystery quilt I had been working on for a few weeks and the last step was released the Friday before we left.

The instructions were to add narrow sashing strips with cornerstones.  I didn't care for that option, so I decided to add the gold squares, which meant I had added more Y seams than I wanted to count.  I had a couple of fabrics with me that I had planned on using for the borders, but the two narrow borders were purchased at a quilt shop that is just down the road from here.  My DIL is not a quilter, but she really enjoys going to the quilt shops with me.

The next project I jumped into was the Fiesta quilt kit I brought with me to finish for my DIL.  Grandson's birthday was this week, so I had some curly ribbon at my disposal when it came time to add embellishments.  Most of my quilting has been done on my Featherweight that I brought with me, but I did use my DIL's machine for the zig-zag around the applique pieces.  Considering that she does not really spend a whole lot of time sewing, she has a very basic machine, and that works just fine for her... but it does do zig-zag. 

We have had the opportunity to do things with our grandson.  Makes you realize how much you miss by living so far away.  I am famous for finding projects to work with the younger set.

 GS and I made a necklace for his Mom.  She was very pleased with her gift, and he was excited to see her reaction.

While his Mom and Dad were out, GS and I were really busy.  Besides the necklace we made a wreath.  He poked most of the fabric squares into the straw wreath, but I think it turned out pretty cool.


 Did I say that I know where JoAnn's is here and I have already been there three times this week?  Last trip was this afternoon.  My husband and I decided we needed to get out of the house by ourselves and went back to JoAnn's and bought some candles for the fireplace.  My DIL was overjoyed at how neat it made her fireplace look.  I had seen it at a friend's house and told her about it.  The banjo on the side was a gift from grandpa to the birthday boy.  We will have to see if he will keep practicing once we leave.  He says he will play a song or two for us the next time we come.  Grandpa has had this banjo for 35+ years.