I thought I’d show you a picture of the chimney and part of the roof on our house. This picture was taken about 15 years ago when we were first living here… but it shows that chimney very well…the chimney is 8 feet tall! Look at that pretty blue sky! :o)
I was busy trying to get some more painting in my kitchen done so I only have a few pictures to show you… although Isabelle wanted me to keep taking and taking them… I told her it was WAY past her bedtime and we needed to call it quits with what we had… :o)
I bought a fat quarter at the quilt shop that is closing, and decided it was bright and fun and Spring-like and Isabelle should get it. It looks a bit aqua-ish in my pictures but it’s a true mint green… I’ll have to get some outside pictures of this to show you just how pretty it is!
It would have made a beautiful Easter dress, but my life was too busy and things got in the way… Oh well… a new Spring dress! Yay!
I did my gathers with 3 rows of stitching and you can see how evenly it gathered up her skirt…
It hasn’t been hemmed yet…
I could hardly believe it but I had a piece of wool felt in the exact same color of mint green in my stash. It looks like a different color here, but it is a perfect match…
Isabelle is excited and I hope you are too… a dress for a doll… so tell all your Little Darlings to take a peek and see what they think! :o)
I’ll be sharing some Easter pictures over the next few days… some from me, some from readers…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, Jeanne, you do have a lot of different pitches and roof lines!! Are you sure it wasn’t designed by the roofing equivalent of Rube Goldberg?! LOL (For you younger folks, he was an American cartoonist who was ” best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.” [Wiki])
Oh, yes, that fabric is just perfect for Isabelle, and what serendipity, that you had the right color of wool felt for her jacket (or…???). Can’t wait to see how that goes.
I got the dresses finished for my Leeann dolls; just have to take some pictures now.
BTW, for those of you who commented yesterday about being afraid of gas water heaters, etc…..well, my husband was a “gas man” for many years, and he worked on those gas appliances for the Wash. Natural Gas Co. (later to become Puget Sound Energy)! Needless to say, we have Everything gas!!! Stove, water heater, dryer, furnace….At first, I was a little leery, too–I had never cooked on gas before. I don’t remember if I’d ever lived in a house with gas heat or not, but that didn’t seem to bother me much, it was the gas stove I was worried about. But it has self-igniting burners (pilot lights) so I don’t have to light any matches, and it’s So much faster than most electric stoves! My one complaint is that there is no true simmer; there is always a “hot spot”, no matter how low you turn the flame. However, I have a metal diffuser I lay on top of the burner when I need it to cook slowly, and that does the trick! Best of all, my stove is built in such a way that the actual stove top is about 2″ lower than the countertop level; since I am very short (4’6″) that is a real plus for me! I will probably never get rid of this stove (ugly and brown though it be) for that reason. Otherwise, I’d never be able to lift a big kettle off the stove like I can now!
And, I do have to brag a bit: My husband has kept our dryer going for all the years he has lived in this house–since 1968! Yup, our dryer is 53 years old!! And we only replaced the furnace about 5 years ago–and because we decided it was time, not because it quit working! That way we didn’t have to wait for three days during freezing weather for someone to come out. We did it in June, and set our appointment, and the old one was still working when they came to replace it!
Oh, and the explosions you sometimes hear about? Those occur when the gas lines aren’t properly maintained. If you have a gas line, and know where it runs, watch for any brown grass in the area–a sign of a natural gas leak. Ron said when he was working and it was still WNG, during “slow” times, the guys went out and looked for things like that (in an ordered fashion, so they could keep track), and there were no explosions that I heard of in that time. When the company changed hands, that changed, and Seattle had about three natural gas explosions in one year!
Jeanne, your house must be a roofers dream! I see now what you mean about all the nooks, crannies, and pitches of it, and how that complicates things. This must be the back of the house, as I recognize the kitchen window. Wow, that is a very tall chimney stack!
Isabelle’s dress is so sweet for her! You say it is green? Like you mentined, it looks like a pale aqua on my screen too, and the felt even a deeper shade of aqua. But whatever it is, it looks so springy and fresh! Good start on her dress and wonder what else is coming!
Charlotte, it makes sense that you have gas, being married to a “gas man”! But I still am wary of gas, and remember learning how to cook on a gas stove that used matches to light it. Scared me to death! I realize those days are over, but still, gas is not my thing, thank you!
Hi Linda. Thanks so much for the info on the sweaters. I found the seller and bought some for the girls here. 🙂
Oh good, Joy, so happy for you! Glad to help!
My favorite color combination is pink and green! 💟💚🌝
That fabric is so sweet. I love its dotted, has some pink, a little yellow, and of course an orangey red. So many options. But I’m really excited for you to get your kitchen painting done! I’ve gone thru cupboard painting and it feels sooooo good when its done. I almost feel like your cupboards are on my to do list! Can’t wait for some photos.
I love your house with all its character as they say. Even the roof lines. You are lucky that hubby is on board with woodworking and finishing details, like around your kitchen window and door, sewing room wall work. Tell him he’s a keeper!! LOL You two sure work well together. Thanks for brightening our days.
What an absolutely beautiful view of your home. Love seeing the porch. Even though you have the sewing room door closed off, I can still picture this beautiful spot with a little table and chairs all set for tea or lemonade and cookies with friends. It would be lovely. 🙂
I’ve been thinking about your chimney. Rather than try and take buckets of bricks (very heavy) down a ladder from the roof, you might be wise to build a wooden chute so all you would have to do is slide the bricks down to a waiting wheelbarrow below. That is our plan when we take down our 2nd level chimney. Several people we talked with mentioned doing that also. That’s another project for us. 🙂
The spring dress fabric for Isabelle is so pretty! Love it. Personally, I would go with a shorter length. Maybe just below the knee rather than at the ankle although I know it hasn’t yet been hemmed. The felt seems to be a third color. Not the background nor the leaf/stem colors in the fabric. However, when you add your embroidery magic, I’m sure it will blend in well. But, when in doubt, there is always white. 🙂 This outfit will be so perfect for spring and summer. I tried for the Ebay outfit, but as others have mentioned got knocked out of the bidding. Nothing like another chance with this soon to be completed outfit. 🙂 I did contact the sellers, and they said that they thought they had sold the bear with another outfit. Thought they had a pair of tights/socks. 🙂
After more chainsaw work yesterday at the other house, we drove out towards the coast to the little cemetery where relatives are buried in the family plot. We cleaned up there and it looks so much nicer. The roses in pinks we brought are perfect for Easter. 🙂
I love your roof — it has character and is probably part of the appeal the house had for you when you were buying. I don’t mind the chimney — I wouldn’t mind it being a little shorter. Raccoons made a home in my parents’ chimney and that made it unusable until my dad managed to get them out. I don’t know that a raccoon could climb yours. They probably prefer your trees.
I’m so glad you are painting. Is it warm enough for you to have the windows open for ventilation? We’ll be in the 70’s for Easter. I suppose it will then snow again. Time to start seeds in pots for transplanting.
On my screen, Isabelle’s dress is a pretty mint green — it may not be the true color, but it’s close.
What an adorable dress for a Little Darling. Since I have three I guess they would have to draw straws in order to take turns wearing it. It looks mint on my screen and the jacket looks a little darker but perfect. Can’t wait to see this ensemble finished. By the way, the Boneka girls think it would be cool if you would do another set of sister dresses. They are wearing the previous ones for Easter and they look so adorable. They also like the summer play sets too.
I’ve got to weigh in on the thoughts about gas. I was raised in a home that was fully gas. My mother would have nothing else. I’m the same way. My dryer is electric but everything else is gas. During the winter storm when our power was off I could still cook and make hot drinks. I did have to light the stove, and I have to admit I was a little leery at first, but I’ve lit so many camp stoves while camping, I soon got used to doing it again. Unfortunately my gas heater does not work when the power is off because the pilot is electric so there was no heat in spite of it being gas. But otherwise I’m good with it all. My problem is actually with electricity. That scares me to death. When I was in high school we lived in an older home (100 years old in 1964). It was a three story plus basement, single family, townhouse on First Ave. near downtown Bethlehem, PA. The whole street had these beautiful old townhomes. The house was beautiful and had a carriage block and a hitching post out front. Sadly they tore them all down when they put in a spur route to Bethlehem Steel which shortly after the road was completed the Steel went bankrupt so the road wasn’t really needed. Obviously the electricity was put in the house years after it was built but had still been there for awhile when we moved in. I was in the sewing room one day surrounded by a lot of fabric when there was a short and the whole wall lit up. Sparks were flying everywhere. There were two doorways out of the room but sparks were flying across both of them. I needed to get out of there because I was worried that the sparks would ignite some of the fabric. I was 17 at the time and screaming at the top of my lungs for my dad. He came running up the stairs and saw my dilemma. As soon as things settled down he took a look. He was in construction and understood all that stuff so he did what was necessary to fix the problem. It had fused my sewing machine plug to the outlet. That kind of thing stays with you, which is why I have serious issues when hubby does his electrical work. He understands it all. Unfortunately I don’t.
Our roof is low profile and pretty much consistent so not as much of a problem as yours. Sean had his redone. His is high pitched and more of a problem, but the roofer went back to the last bad storm and they managed to get theirs done on insurance. They only had to pay $1800. I should have put in for that after Harvey. Now I wish we’d gone for it. Andrea and her husband also had their roof done using insurance. Hopefully you will find a roofer who will be willing to work with you to help you get a new roof.
Wow, you do have a lot of different pitches and roof lines. The house I lived in as a teen was like that and would have been very expensive to re-roof. We didn’t live there long enough for that to be an issue.
Isabelle’s new dress fabric is very pretty. So what if you didn’t get it made in time for Easter. there are plenty of April and May occasions to wear a spring dress.
How convenient that you have the right shade of wool felt in your stash. Looking forward to seeing this latest creation.
At this rate you might have your kitchen finished very soon.
The fabric is lovely and so great to have your stash to go to and find exactly what you are looking for. I rather like the Little Darlings but can’t see me owning one any time soon. The colour looks aqua to me but it will be interesting to see the outside photos.
I love your house, It is exactly the style I like. But I do understand the amount of maintenance needed. I had three separate people tell me I needed a new roof, when I finally called someone in they showed me a piece they had taken off. It was so rusty it crumbled in his hands! I don’t think I could have blamed the earthquakes for the insurance unfortunately lol. I don’t have all the gables and pitches that you have though. Mine isn’t quite a square box but not far away so it was pretty straightforward.
I am going to make a dress today for one of the AG girls. Ashley chose the dress when Pixie Faire were selling patterns two for one. I have decided that I have to use some of the patterns I have spent money on lol. I am also going to put some of the things that didn’t sell at the market on Trade Me. So that is today sorted.
The mint green/ aqua dress is so Springy and fresh and the jacket will be perfect.
Good luck with the roof…we have had very good luck with Heritage shingles. They are somewhere between regular asphalt looking and wood. Offset and have color variation which gives a good look. Have fun with that job.
So when you put in 3 rows of gathering stitches are they 1/4” apart and then then do journey stitch on the center row when attaching to the bodice?