Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Once upon a time...

a boy, a girl, and their wee one lived in a cute house in the city. The boy was a home builder who had meticulously rebuilt the 1925 bungalow they called home. Their house was walking distance from the elementary, middle, and high schools the girl attended and the hospital where she was born. The university the girl graduated from was much further away, about five miles from their city house. She had very deep roots in their neighborhood. The couple were surrounded by family and friends who lived nearby.

One day, the boy and girl had a crazy idea and wondered what it would be like to live in the country. They put their city house on the market and it sold very, very quickly. The couple leased a house about 25 minutes outside their beloved city and prepared to build a country house.

But things in the country weren't as blissful as the couple had hoped. They desperately missed the conveniences of city life and the girl was saddened by all the precious time she was losing by driving back and forth to the city on a regular basis.

A few months after moving to the country, the couple made the decision to uproot again move back to the city. But where would they go? They had sold their lovely city house.
The couple decided to take on the massive renovation of a 1940's rental home they owned in the city. After all, the boy was a home builder and they had completed this type of project twice before with great results.

So, in the heat of the Texas summer, the project began. They hope the house will be completed before school for the wee one begins in the fall. The couple are very excited about moving back to the city and are praying that things go smoothly and that they are able to stay on schedule.

OK, seriously. All sarcasm aside, I was going to start another blog to document our next house project, but I can barely keep up with one blog, so maintaining two might throw me over the proverbial edge. I hope I won't lose you if you are here for crafty things, but I'm so excited about moving back to the city and want to share our house journey with my family and friends. I might put together a post of before and after photos of our last house. I adore old houses and love that with my husband's skills we are able to give them new life. (And, I can't wait to decorate and landscape this next "old" house!)

And for those of you who are here for some crafty eye candy...
The 193 hexagons I basted on Memorial Day. I'm almost out of pre-cut papers and I still have a huge stack of squares remaining to baste. I also need to cut into my stash. I think my hexagon quilt is going to be larger than originally planned because I want to include every single one of these lovely fabrics!

32 comments:

Abby said...

I'm excited to see the progress! I had a separate blog for our house building adventure and now it lies dormant - I kinda wish I'd just kept it all together :)

Unknown said...

Oh my! What an adventure, I cannot wait to see your progress, I hope that all goes smoothly for you.

Mary Carole said...

Oh Yippee! I am addicted to those house renovation shows so this will just be the icing on the cake to have it on your blog as well! :-) Congratulations!! Oh, and nice new hexies...can't forget to mention them, they might get jealous. ;-)

~ MC

Christina said...

You won't lose me because of the house. I love HGTV! :)

I can't believe all of the hexies you made just over the weekend! I wish I was making them that quickly.

Nichole said...

how fun! i look forward to seeing your construction progress.

and your hexagon progress continues to amaze me. they look so pretty!

wishes, true and kind said...

I will absolutely enjoy reading about and seeing your home-back-in-the-city project and all of your lovely hexagons! You had a busy holiday!

Siobhán said...

I came here originally for the crafty but will happily follow the home progress. I know all about house dreaming/planning/hoping. I will enjoy watching your dream come to life!

Love your quilt top from the earlier post, too, btw. And the hexagons--S-W-E-E-T!

trish said...

I am looking forward to watching as your life back in the city unfolds. We have been living in the country for 4 years now and it sure does have some challenges. Right now, we are here to stay, but on those days where I have to drive an hour to the nearest city with stores that I can actually shop in ... that gets a bit tiresome. :o)
I absolutely love your progress on your hexagons. I have not begun my hexagons, but you are encouraging me to do so. :o)
Hoping that you are having a wonderful day.
Sincerely ~ Tricia

Islay said...

Man, i wish i had the problem of too many fabrics! i've cut into my stashed, swapped and scavenged and I'm still waaaay short of what i want. I'm determined to keep accumulating scraps though, as i so want to make the perfect quilt that's residing in my head.

Meanwhile the sunshine quilt is giving me plenty of hexagon practice :)

Valentina said...

I am along for the ride! I cannot wait to see how your new home and your quilt turn out...
Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us,
:)
Valentina

Lynz said...

See now. I have noticed in my travels about the Blogverse that us quilters generally love our homes. You know, they're not just machines to live in, they are enviroments we choose to surround ourselves with. They are US and OURS. So, most people who visit here for crafty goodness? Will be thrilled to see someone building their home. Plus, by virtue of being interested in other people's blogs? We are nosey. S'all good!

Karen said...

I will be following your building adventure faithfully! You're wise to add this to your quilting blog...that should save time and effort.

Would love to hear more about the home plans/etc.

Karen

Quilts and Cats said...

Oh, I'm excited about watching the progress on your home. That seems like alot of fun. Just throw in more eye candy and we're good to go!

Holly said...

The pics of your house building on Flickr are AMAZING!!! Especially all the custom woodwork! We're trying to leave the city here, lol, but ur city looks different, I spy trees around that house! hahaha, can't wait to see what you do! =)

Simply Sandy said...

I'm happy you decided to share your house with us. A house and crafts on the same blog, priceless!

Barb said...

I can't wait to see your progress on your new house. I promise you won't lose this crafty reader...and your hexes are stunning! Thanks for sharing everything with us.

Anonymous said...

So, I gave in and subscribed to your blog. I'd love to see things come along on your new (old) house. We remodeled our house built in the 60's from the studs. Quite a project, but lots to be proud of. Crossing fingers for you!

Terriaw said...

That was a wonderful story! I loved reading it. I can appreciate all the craziness you must have going on. How great to have projects like quilting and sewing hexagons to keep you sane.

Unknown said...

what a neat little house you sold... that's one of my fav things about living here in texas- all the little bungalow-type houses. so sweet. can't wait to see the finished re-model. i'd love for my hubby to learn to do all the re-modeling stuff! how lucky you are!!

ps... your hexies are amazing! i really want to learn how to do them!

Corinnea said...

Some crafting + a bit of homerenovation = YUM!

Dorrie said...

1*9*3 in one day! Good God woman give the rest of us a chance! Lol! Nice housing project, I love projects like this, they're so rewarding in the end.

Caroline ~ TrilliumDesign said...

The new house is going to be amazing - I'm a city girl myself, so i get it. Please do share here. Also lovin' the hexies - that is a bunch!

Cheryl Arkison said...

Ooh, very exciting! I will definitely stay tuned. Our renos are stalled because Hubby's been out of town a lot. SO I will live vicariously through you!

Lisa said...

I would love to see the progress!! My husband and I are building our first house now too!! We have the concrete slab and partial framing done...waiting on the main Timber Framing to arrive from Canada BC next week!! Unfortunately, we don't have an experienced home builder in the family, excavation and groundwork YES, but for the house luckily we have a good friend as our general contractor.

PioneerValleyGirl said...

Crossing my fingers that it all goes well for you. Renovating an old house into a home is such an exciting project to take on.

myBearpaw said...

Wow good luck with your project!
Love that bowl of Hexagons - just put that pic in to every post to keep us crafties going!

AnnieO said...

An all in one is all the better for following along on this new adventure. Wow, that is quite an undertaking. Hope all the permits, inspections, and materials go smoothly into play.

Jen BK said...

Oh, I'm so glad to be in good company. I would love to follow your progress, quilting and construction, on one blog. We are getting ready to break ground on our Forever Home and I was thinking of a second blog, but just convinced myself that one was enough.

Keep it simple, your readers will enjoy the journey!

23rdspiral said...

hey, thanks for sharing about your house plans, no apologies needed. i'm sure we're gonna find it fascinating! we live in a 1897 house and i wish id documented it's removation a little better! oh and i cant believe you based all those hexies in one day!! if craft is that quick with you, i'm sure your house will sail along!

Carrie P. said...

Wow, I would love to see the progress of your new home. Living in the city is very nice especially when you have children. I live just five miles out in the county so it seems like I am in the country.
I think it is time to start sewing those hexies together. lol

Elena said...

This is like crafty porn! lol
I think you just inspired me to start a hex quilt...I need something to do during my lunch break, so maybe in a few years I'll have enough for a quilt! :)

savvy stitch said...

I am drooling over these hexagons. Just started making some last night for my quilt and they are addicting!