Road to California had several special exhibits and the array of quilts in Sisterhood of Scraps reminded me of what the great architect Mies van der Rohe so exquisitely said: More is More. Oh wait, did he say Less is More? But I do know he did say “God is in the details,” and boy, do these scrappy quilts have some details. Enjoy.
And my favorite:
Right after this I walked up the aisle and purchased a big stack of 5″ charm squares of shirting fabrics, inspired by this quilt. If Primitive Gatherings had stocked orange 5″ squares, I would have bought them, too. Now if I could only find them, but our house is a bit of a disaster, as we had five painters here for two weeks, scraping icky popcorn texture off our ceilings, and repainting nearly everything that didn’t move.
First they spray the ceiling with water, let it soak in, then start scraping. Let it dry overnight, then “mud” or spackle all the divots, then spray on a light texture (I would have liked flat ceilings but that cost more). I tried to sew in the kitchen the first week, but by Day 3, when I could draw a heart on the top of my Featherweight Sewing Machine case, I knew it was time to give up that idea. So I gathered up some hand-sewing and retreated to the garden, even though it was 65 degrees outside. The lower left photo shows the progression of the mess in the front/living room by the end, and the the last photo on Day 11 shows them spraying my sewing desk in my bedroom, which by now looks a lot like the living room: a disaster. My painter brought in a house cleaner for that last day, when they finished everything and took away all the plastic; I helped her get the initial cleaning finished, but I can tell I’ll be doing a lot more of it, as scraping the ceilings brings a LOT of dust.
This is currently the sewing room. Right.
I have to the let the paint cure for two weeks before I can put things on shelves, and of course, it’s appalling to see your fabric collection All At Once and in Boxes, so it become apparent that there will be some culling of the collection going on as I put things away. I plan to be fully finished before we start on our kitchen remodel.
Oh, just kidding.
Here’s your Valentine’s Day gift for today, found*here.*
OccasionalPiece--Quilt! 
“Even though it was 65 degrees out”. It doesn’t hit 65° in Massachusetts until the Fourth of July! It was 22 today, although I saw a woman at Walmart wearing sandals.
Cute quilt. Thanks!
This was a massive overhaul and I bow to your ability to endure! Every time I think “ok, it’s time to paint”, the oomph to act slides right to the floor and after following your escapade here, I know why!!!! Yep, it looks just fine 🙂 In a month or so, am sure you’ll be ready to start that kitchen reno, NOT!
Thank you for all the photos you have posted from Road to California! It has been fun to look at all of them on your blog and Instagram. It is a little overwhelming to a new to quilting person like me. How does one decide which quilt to make next? I have up to this point only made quilts as gifts, i.e. baby quilts, wedding quilt, charity quilts. How do you prioritize what is next please?
You and orange??? I can see you doing it with blue. lol
Painting and flooring are such an inconvenience. You will love it when it is all back together again.
It will all be worth it once the dust settles (or is swept away) We’ve lived through 3 remodels and it’s never easy but always worth it. Enjoy your new sewing space once you can unpack and sort. I wish I could purge fabric more easily.
I remember how painful it was when we remodeled our kitchen and your situation is bigger and worse – I feel for you. On the bright side, please give us a couple of posts on your new sewing room, how you put it back together, etc. It might help me get started on mine.
I hope there is an end in sight of the reno. Just think, you won’t need to do it again for a very long time! I love that first quilt- it’s colour and value is gorgeous!
You have me wishing I could have been at Road, but I do not miss popcorn ceilings! Bet you’ll be glad when that job is done!