Sunday, September 13, 2009

hiking and packing adventures

With the sewing machine still down for the count, I thought I'd share a few shots from our hiking trip to Potato Knob (just south of Mount Mitchell). The blueberries were quite cool and delicious, though we were in the middle of a bear sanctuary, so we nibbled watchfully.

But the time has come... the Carestio family is moving uptown! Goodbye, West A'ville; hello, North Asheville. With the move, I'm thinking a little blog break may be in order, at least til I get my craft room set up and ready for action. So, until next time....

Monday, September 7, 2009

labor day (for real)

Now for something different.... There is something about buying furniture - especially the used, cheap kind - that sets my heart aglow. After months (really!) of looking for dining room chairs that didn't cost a fortune, I found these beauties (not really!) on Friday at the local Habitat for Humanity store. And the set was on sale: even better.

After some intense sanding, priming, painting, and sealing - oh, and stripping and stapling and sweating (labor!) - I have a new set of dining chairs that I absolutely love. And the fabric: super yummy. I think it's actually outdoor furniture fabric, but that's probably a good thing since the hubs and I both tend to be the spilly type. I love these types of projects - especially the transformation aspect.

Speaking of transformations, we're about to make a big one: moving from our much-loved, yet pricey rental house to an apartment. We're saying goodbye to a lot: lovely West A'ville, a superb yard, our hot tub (sniffle, sniffle)... and it's bittersweet for sure. But there are some definite positives: hello, my first ever very own craft room!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

virtual quilting bee, round #1

Here is installment #1 of my round with the Common Threads virtual quilting bee. What fun! I love the colors Amber chose... It'll make it hard come my turn. I think my favorite part of both blocks is the tone-on-tone blue stripes. I'm thinking I'll have to put that technique to use again sometime soon.

Unfortunately, these blocks have done the unthinkable: they have killed my sewing machine. Well, actually, it was probably the 20+ years of steady use without a servicing. Either way, I'm taking her in for a checkup: fingers crossed. Gosh, I never thought I would get so emotionally attached to a machine.

And I can't help but share some lovely shots from our weekend camping in the mountains. We camped at Lake Santeetlah - which was still warm enough to for swimming (oh, moonlight swims!) - and did a little bit of hiking at Joyce Kilmer. And Baby took her first canoe ride... like a champ! Admittedly, we were trying to extract one last flurry of summer fun, but the nip in the air is nice, too.