House Repair: New Entryway Roof!

      Before: The railing and concrete is what was torn off
Mike decided to take this week off work so he could replace the roof above our back door. Previously, it was a concrete slab with a railing around it. Now, this did not make much sense, but, well, what can you do? Anyway, the big problem was that chunks of the concrete would fall down right above the door so it was getting to be a bit risky when you were standing there trying to unlock the door. Personally, I don't think much more could ruin your day than getting bonked in the head with a chunk of concrete while trying to get in the house, so Mr. Procrastinator was forced to do something about it.

 After they tore off the concrete, they installed chipboard
With his friend Kevin's help, they tore down the concrete (Mike had tore down the railing last yr but that was as far as he got) and replaced it with a metal roof that is sloped quite a bit more than the concrete. Which, being up north, is a very good thing. They also installed ice jacks. If you don't know what these are for, they allow the snow to melt and drip slowly rather than just falling down and burying you alive. Another good thing.

                                              Mike working hard. That's Kevin's dad supervising
So now I need not worry about getting knocked out by concrete or buried in snow. Happy happy, joy joy! Oh--the sides and gutters still need to be put on yet but I thought I'd go ahead and blog now bc those will probably take another 10 yrs to do :/

I do wonder how long it may be before Mike repaints too. New roof really makes that part of the house a bit shabby.

Finally Finished

A couple of months ago I got an order to make some baby items. The expectant mother is a friend of my niece's and she sent me a TON of Curious George fabric to make these items with: fleece, cotton, and flannel. The only requests she had were two blankets (one small, one larger), a car seat cover, bumper pads, a quilt made from the leftover fabric, and things to decorate baby's room.  All of these were items I had never made before so I had to put my thinking cap on.

 I figured the easiest thing to do would be to choose one of the fabrics and make everything I could out of it, and then continue on with each of the fabrics. So I started with fleece. I made her a crib sized blanket and a smaller blanket.

I also made a car organizer, car seat cover and snuggle wrap from fleece.

 

Then it was time to move on to the flannel. Since the flannel was the only fabric I had enough of, I made the bumper pads from it. I also made some bibs and burp cloths and a monkey blankie.

Now I was left with the cotton. I made quite a few things with it. A travel high chair, wall letters, a stuffed monkey (from a Bit of Whimsey pattern), and a toy set.

 

And lastly, I made a rag quilt with the leftover cotton and flannel.  My first attempt but it was fun and I really like how the rag quilts look.