Outdoor Living class at CHF

Last week I spent 4 days at the CHF Academy in Charlotte, NC learning all about sunbrella and boat canvas. What a great class. We learned how to construct umbrellas, box cushions, awnings, outdoor grommet panels, porch roller shades, and power boat vinyl seats. Boy.....am I gonna get that Sailrite hummin..........

Mini Northfield Weekend in New Bern, NC

What a great time we had........10 of us Northfield volunteers reconvening in New Bern, NC last weekend. Went sailing, worked a little in Elaine Hinchman's workroom, toured the town, ate lots, drank lots, laughed lots. SO MUCH FUN! Okay---here's the lowdown on the photos.......all 10 of us. Elaine Hinchman, Beth, Denise (a Pillsbury bake-off finalist), Laurie Canning, Sarah Dunlevy-O'Neill, Nancy Letts, Tommie Timblin, Lorraine, Susan Schurz, and Sue Sifakis. Me donning Elaine's "Jazzy Girl" workroom apron, some of Elaine's gorgeous cornices, don't ask about the next photo, and some of us sailing. Michigan in September.......oh yeah!

Florida Keys--Feb. 2010

What a vacation we had this past week.................spending the time on our friends 42' Pearson Sailboat (Providence). We sailed, motored on the dinghy through the mangroves, went snorkeling, did the bar room tour in Key West and ate the most AMAZING meals cooked by the owners of the boat (Barb & George). We nicknamed the trip the 4 B's............Barb's Bed & Boat & Breakfast.

Light Weaves Solar Shades

Another first for me............Light Weaves Solar Shades from Graber. One of my New Bern tennis friends needed to keep the summer sun & winter cold out. This is the end result. Pretty cool huh? She chose a fabric that keeps out 97% of the UV rays. Overlooking a creek that feeds into the Neuse River is her lovely home. They operate with a hold down beaded chain. The box valances cover up the roller. Not too bad to install. The box valance doubles the install time. It took me almost 4 hours solo to do these 6...........they had to be level. The best thing of all is you can still see out when they are down :)

Hard Cornice Boards

These are my first ever hard cornices for Porter's Neck Country Club in Wilmington, NC. Lots of muscle power to jigsaw OSB board, join all the pieces together, pattern match with a fabric that has a horizontal repeat as well as a vertical one........AYACARUMBA! But they turned out really nice. The install was a bear but I was able to get the club's sous chef to help me. Isn't he a cutie?

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Well, we did it! My daughter, Laura, and I sewed up a storm for 3 days! Met with the design production crew on Wednesday and installed 14 burlap drapery panels on Sunday night. They had 5" banding on 3 sides. Thank goodness they needed to be pretty for the camera and I didn't have to miter all those corners. It was definitely a worthwhile project. Here are some photos of Laura & I in the sweat shop and then after the finale. Enjoy!

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"

They're building a home about an hour from me in Horry County, S.C. Thanks to Jenna Abbott, WCAA President, I'm helping sew up some drapery panels. Lots of panels for the dining room & living room. Won't air for about 8-12 weeks but I'll keep you all posted. No photos until after the viewing........dangnabit! Did get to walk the site yesterday, tour the house with one of the designers, picked up all the fabric I needed and off to the workroom I went.............I have 3 days to fabricate 14 panels, lined, with banding on 3 sides............WHEW! Hope I can pull it off. More later.....:)

Check out the website..........www.extremehorry.com