and then there were windows

To be entirely honest,

I've lost  track of days.

I can't tell you what happened when on this house adventure.

The best I can do is share the date the pictures were taken.

We've had a few days

where no workers have come.

(When I know it's going to be one of those days

(as opposed to figuring it out

- at say -

three in the afternoon,

that no one 

is
in fact

coming that day, after all)

I sleep in.

And I don't put on a bra.

And I feel guilty for being happy for a brief moment to breathe)

Without further ado,

here are the daily(ish) photos for the past 2 weeks

(You may remember I popped in with this big news recently, 

and here's the weekly update from the morning of the 10th)

Tues, May 10, 8:10 PM

Wed, May 11, 8:46 PM

Thurs, the 12th, 6:35 PM

Fri, May 13th, 7:14 PM

Sun, the 15th, 8:23 PM

Tues, May 17th  1:39 PM

Wed, the 18th, 4:35 PM

Monday, May 23rd, 9 AM (forgot to take Sunday evening)

yesterday, 7:30 PM

and, 

here's how it looks right now:

5/25 5:55 PM

(Right after the roofers got all the shingles on the roof,

it started storming, and the forecast was bleak

so they took off for the day,

(which turned out to be sunny after a few hours. grr.)

so the chili is waiting patiently in the fridge)

a little thing I noticed

I've got two pots of chili bubbling on the stove.

One super spicy hot,

one regular.

I'm feeding the (10 man) roofing crew lunch today.

I can't explain why;

I just had a wild hair.

And I had everything on hand to make it.

(I assume that's Providence...)

Our desire, through this building process, is

that everyone who has a hand in our house

be blessed.

Besides general kindness and appreciation,

we've offered cappuccino on cold mornings,

and ice cold water.

Generous tips.

(of the monetary kind)

Random snacks and ice cream treats.

And occasionally,

a meal

(either home-made or purchased)

I've noticed something interesting.

When I offer a meal,

they always ask,

"What was your name again?"

What do you make of that??

Let all that you do be done in love.

1 Cor 16:14

a going bag

I might have gotten a little carried away with this one.

I mean - it's a simple money holder.

My version of a card

for female graduates....

~

We've known Maddie for all but a few months of her life,

though,

so I think it's fair that her 'card'

was a little more special.

Let's see ~ where do I start?

The front of the bag was based on / inspired by
(what I remember of) a necklace Maddie wears and loves,

and is so totally her.

It's beautiful.

Happy.

It makes a strong statement,

but it's not at all flashy.

And it goes with pretty much everything.

The bag got a little big 

(probably about 10x8x2?)

because I kept finding fabrics that needed to be included.

That hut! Maddie may live in something (sorta) like that one day....  

I hesitated a few seconds 

before I added the 1 1/2 inch pieced strip 

that was leftover from the label I made for Tyler's quilt

to my little pile of selected scraps.

I couldn't use that for just anyone,

but Maddie was in his class

when Tyler taught Jr High Sunday School a few years back,

and she cemented her special place in his heart,

so I figured she was deserving of a little piece of his quilt, too.

I went with some leftover canvas and a piece of dark gray Kona (pewter, maybe?)

left over from the back of TJ and Keri's quilt

for the back of the bag.

If the front panel is the necklace,

the back 

is how Maddie dresses,

simple. understated.

classic.

My choice for the lining

doesn't go quite as well with my outer bag

as what I'd normally choose,

but it was such a perfect choice for Maddie,

that I ignored that minor detail.

Honestly,

the lining could have been the bag,

and Maddie would have been thrilled.

Her heart beats for missions,

and she longs to (literally) go into all the world and share the Gospel.

I wish I could remember where I bought that fabric

so I could get more.

(I've often thought of pinning a note to each piece I purchase,

telling me where I bought it and how much I paid for it) 

I only have a few tiny scraps of it left.

I bought it for Brandon's quilt,

but only used a little of it on the back

(aka second top...)

because it didn't go with the (real) top.

Then I used a strategically cut piece 

for the mini mini home quilt I made for Allison,

and now this.

I installed the zipper like Anna's open wide pouch,

but I've made enough of these

that I didn't have to actually use the tutorial.

(See one here, and a tiny one here. 

Oh, here are a couple more. And here's one of my favorites :- )

I added hand-stitching 

 because

- well -

I'm me.

Maddie ~ Congratulations on your high school graduation.
I hope you love your card bag

and I hope it goes with you on many adventures

and reminds you that you're loved,

and special

and prayed for.

XO

linking up with scrap star, Amanda Jean :-)

all decked out

I know.

It's not time yet for the weekly update,

but look!!

(ignore all the scraps lying about - they're all picked up now.)

It's all decked!!

Lord and weather permitting,

roofers are coming tomorrow to get it blacked in

(that's what they call it when it's covered in tar paper)
and Monday - doors and windows go in!!!

Even though it's right before my eyes,

I can hardly believe it's really happening!

I am so very grateful.

another week, another story

A week ago,

The framers had started adding the I joists 

for the second story.

As a refresher, this is how the house looked when they got here Tuesday morning:

And this is how it looked when they left:

Wednesday night they called it quits here:

If you didn't look closely, you may have missed this through the front door:

Stairs!!!

Long time readers will remember how much I've missed having a beautiful staircase,

so that addition was very exciting.

What's especially cool,

is

it was mostly built

by Brandon

:-)

Thursday

we made a few changes to the plan.

We flipped the upstairs bathroom to allow for access into attic space

so it wouldn't have to be accessed via a bedroom.

And we also did away with a storage closet by the stairs (upstairs)

so we could have a more attractive foyer (downstairs)

(It was in danger of resembling a silo. oops!)

That evening,

Tyler and I got busy with the jobsite cleanup

(kids were at TKD, so we were on our own)

and I almost forgot to take the daily photo.

It was already fairly dark when I got out there,

but this is what the house looked like 

Thursday night.

Friday

I'd taken the girls to a birthday party

(they made a boxy zip pouch and we filled it with water color pencils

and gave several sizes of water color paper pads (like the last time we gave this gift...) 

While they were sewing, I hand stitched a tag for them. 

They were so tickled to put a label on their work!

They wondered if they should point out the fact that the bag had a designer label,

but I told them we should probably just let their friend figure that out on her own ;-)

All that to say,

I was gone,
so Brandon snapped the daily picture:

Saturday

the guys were slackin again.

Tyler and I were gone pretty much all day for a niece's college graduation,

but the kids reported that they'd only worked a little while,

then left.

They came back and worked about 20 minutes

then took their lunch break.

(They'd been lunching in the shade by the hammock

(or in the hammock...)

but once they'd floored the I joists,

they brought the chairs inside,

and they've been eating in the kitchen :-)

After their lunch

(they tend to take a full hour,

or pret' near it)

they worked for another 20 minutes or so

and called it a day.

They were only here for a short time yesterday before the rain started,

so no progress can be seen since Saturday's photo:

The house work has kept us a bit busier than we would have preferred to be

while Tony and Kacy are here,

but Ton' has been able to pitch in and help some,

and he said it was really great
to be a part of the dream that our family has worked hard for,
for so long,
 becoming a reality :-)

crinkled coral kitschy coo lady skater

Thursday night,

Tony, Kacy, Brandon, and Tyler

went to see the 10:10 showing of the new Captain America movie.

Shortly after they left,

I sent kiddos to bed and bounced Hadley to sleep

and at 9:34,

I got started on the dress I had wanted to make for graduation

using fabric I bought in LA when I went to visit T&K the first time :-)

(I hate that I never got around to posting about that!! It was a dream come true)

oh my goodness - stand straight, Woman!

I used my tweaked and re-tweaked Lady Skater pattern,

added a one inch FBA (but that clearly wasn't enough)

and redrafted the sleeve.

(It works in this fabric, but I'm not crazy about it and probably won't use it again)

I didn't want a neckband

so I cut a lining out of beige tricot.

After sewing them together at the neckline, 

I couldn't work out how to sandwich my sleeve and bodice and lining,

so I went the (very) non-couture route

and just attached the sleeve to the bodice

and hemmed the armhole of the lining.

It looks just fine on the outside, 

but the guts are a tad messy.

All I had to do Friday morning

was tack the two layers together at the waist in a few spots

and it was all ready for me to wear on mothers day :-)

When I walked in to church Sunday morning,

Tyler told me I should make all of my clothes,

so I guess it's a win :-)

After church, 

 Kacy snapped a few pictures of me

(while we both laughed at my inability to pose)

then Lexi took a few of Kac' and I together :-)

while Kacy attempted to educate me on the art of selfie taking.

I still need a few more classes...

Linking up with Amanda Jean
but really, this finish is far more impressive! :-)