Tag: carpet

Slowly Painting the Living Room

Marie Haigh1 Comment

The old walls are not terrible , but the 50-year-old golf-green carpet has seen better days. For 8 years, I put off ripping this carpet out. Then, a hole formed and pushed up my timeframe.

Still the rug has not been ripped up. An ugly, tattered rug like this is the perfect drop cloth.

The walls were a light yellow. It was nice, but it was also a bit plain.

I kept with the yellow theme, but just punched it up a notch. Oh, how I love bright colors! They make me so happy.


(only 1 coat of the new yellow next to the old yellow)

Only 2 walls have been painted. Both were painted with only the use of a brush. Due to the windows, front door and fireplace mantle, so much had to be cut in that it was just faster to work with a brush. There are 2 walls left to paint. Little will have to be cut in on the two remaining walls, making a roller the more efficient tool. The only reason I would use a brush is to keep the look consistent. The brush strokes are visible to me.

So, should I paint the other walls with a brush or have I been staring at it too long? Will anybody notice? Will anybody care besides me?

Once the walls are painted, the last of the ugly green carpet can be thrown out. Hurray! I will likely bake a cake to celebrate.

2012 in Review

Marie Haigh2 Comments

At first I felt as if I couldn’t write a Year in Review post. It seemed like the year had flown by and I hadn’t had a chance to do much at all, but looking back that is hardly true.

The year started off with the Pottstown Knit Out and my teaching a class about knitting charts.

Then, every spare moment in the Spring was dedicated to knitting a hexagon blanket for I was determined to finish before the dog days of summer began despite not needing it done until September. The blanket was a wedding gift to my sister-in-law and her fiancée.

Oddly enough, even though I accomplished my goal of completing the blanket before the heat rolled in, I still knit throughout the summer. Elly got a new twirly skirt.

By the end of summer, I was harvesting the best crop of tomatoes I have ever grown. I only wish I knew what I did right so I would know how to repeat it this year.

In the sewing room, I made a flower dress for Elly and a strapless dress for me.

They were hands down the hardest clothing I’ve ever made. I told everybody at the wedding that I made the dresses, even people who were just making pleasant conversation and could have cared less. Darn it, I was proud.

Right before Thanksgiving Day, Elly and I ripped the old golf green carpet up.

Girl power rules!

Of course, everything couldn’t end in smiles. The dining room wall nearly sent me to the funny farm. It should come as no surprise that the walls still aren’t finished. The wind fell out of my sails not to mention the holidays took over my life.

I have not made any resolutions for the New Year. However, I do hope to publish 2 knitting patterns, finish sewing all the curtains and slip covers that I started last year and placed on the back burner for one reason or another and continue enjoying my time with Elly for she is growing up so fast. I hope 2013 will be a fabulous year for you too!

Girl Power Removed the Carpet

Marie Haigh10 Comments

Before

After

The carpet, the padding, the tack strips and the million staples were removed without Dan’s help. Who needs a man to help when you have an enthusiastic 2-year-old?

I wanted the carpet taken up and thrown in the trash before Thanksgiving Day. Dan had promised to help a friend move on Saturday. Thus, that left Sunday as the only day left to pull out the carpet. Before he left, he sheepishly informed me that if he was too sore from moving furniture, the carpet removal would have to wait. I understood his plea, but I wasn’t happy. There was a huge hole in the carpet by the windows and more spots unraveling every day. It looked awful. I wanted it gone now. While falling asleep Friday night, I remember my MIL telling me the story of how she ripped up all the carpet in her home by herself after learning there was hardwood underneath from a neighbor. If she could do it, so could I.

So with newfound determination, I started ripping the carpet up first thing Saturday morning. Elly was excited by the commotion. She tried ripping up the carpet with me, but didn’t have the arm strength. She tried pulling the tack bars out, but couldn’t figure out how to get the pry bar under the bars. Yet after watching me pull out a few staples with the pliers, she pulled them from my hand and informed me that she was going to help.

Help she did. Much to my surprise she was able to pull out several staples by gripping the pliers with both hands and hauling back. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Four hours later it was done. We had done it. And it looked amazing.

Painting with a 2 year old

Marie Haigh3 Comments

It wasn’t my plan to let Elly help me prime the dining rooms walls. She was just that insistent. Even my pulling out the trump card, a Tinker Bell movie, didn’t hold any sway. Elly didn’t want to watch a movie or any TV show for the matter. She wanted to help me paint.

And so she did.

It didn’t matter that Elly dripped paint all over the rug because the rug is ugly and way past the date when it should have been tossed in the garbage. In one corner, we are holding it down with duct tape. In another spot, the carpet is unraveling. And in several other spots, the carpet crackles when you walk on it. It’s that old. Goodness knows, you don’t need me to elaborate on its ugliness. Just look at it, would you?

I kept Elly in front of me on the wall we were working on. That way she could draw ‘c’s, ‘o’s and dinosaurs to her heart’s content. I followed with a paint brush and evened everything out.

It also didn’t matter that Elly dripped paint all over herself. It was easy to just toss her in the bath afterwards.

Though if your 2-year-old offers to help you paint and you just happen to own a shower cap, put it on her. Even after a long bath and a thorough brushing, Elly still has paint in her hair.