There hasn't been a lot of quilting going on but I've been busy...saving money!
Savings #1
We decided to recover the cushions on our screened porch couch. After talking to a reupholstery lady, I decided I could save a lot of money by doing the work myself. I ordered the fabric from her and she offered me advice and gave me her large spool of off-white thread so I could use what I needed! (Yes, I'll go back to her when I have another upholstery need.)
In the following photo, you can see the old cushion cover on the right - I forgot to take pictures before I tore the cushions apart.
Some of the expert advice I received: take apart each cushion and iron the pieces flat to use as pattern pieces; line up the bottom of each main piece at the same place on the fabric; use polyester thread. I followed all of that advice and you may be able to tell that the front of the seat cushions 'match' going across. (Actually all the cushions 'match' wherever you look across the couch.) It never occurred to me that I had to match the cushions with this all over pattern (which repeated every 13"). I'm thankful for experts, especially those that offer their expertise!
Savings #2
The sewing studio has needed painting for a while especially the longarm room which had a good-sized crack in the wall. (We live in a 100+ year-old house.) Ray and I had a discussion about hiring a painter after Ray fixed the crack. After we checked prices, I decided that I would attempt the job myself. I decided on a lighter color, pale yellow, and ended up doing 3 coats (the first 2 with a cheaper paint). Ray did the final coat on the ceiling while I did the walls. Here are a few views of the finished room.
The room was blue as you can see in this picture.
The room is much lighter and brighter and I am delighted. Eventually we plan to paint the other 2 rooms in the studio.
Total savings: over $1000!!!
Both projects were well worth my time. And now it's time to quilt!
