SOLAR PANEL

 I watched Darrell install a solar panel on our roof today.  It will power a fan under our gazebo on the back deck.  It gets very hot under there in the summer.

THE OWL AND THE ICE STORM

 We had an ice storm this morning with freezing rain.  It covered everything in wet ice, making it very treacherous to walk on or drive on.  Almost everything was closed or closing.  The Metro buses weren't even running.

I was a little afraid to walk out to the studio, but I did.

I made the legs and feet for the Dastardly Owl and finished him.  He's too cool.  Now he just needs a name and a place to roost.

 

Here are some pictures taken in our backyard this morning.  Beautiful but dangerous.

Our Japanese Maple

So much for traction devices.

Sidewalk with wet ice.

QUILT FREEDOM WORKSHOP 14.0

 Today's Quilt Freedom Workshop with Joe Cunningham was about three color quilts.  We started off by looking at some quilts from the International Quilt Museum.

Then he had us cut and sew our fabrics in specific ways, producing parts and pieces to make into an arrangement that pleases us.

This is how I left it at the end of the workshop:

Darrell has been working on the railings for the deck.  This is the first piece.  There will be glass installed into it - it will be very interesting.

81/100

Another day of painting the rail posts on the new deck.  But, I got it done.  Two coats on them all.

I sewed up a few more triangle scrappy blocks, too.

GAZEBO UP

Darrell started doing the sub-assemblies before I was even out of bed.  After my breakfast, I went out and helped him as we put the gazebo together on the new deck.

I was busy helping and didn't take anymore assembly pictures.  The gazebo came with screens and curtains.  Victoria helped me put the screens on, but I don't think we'll use them or keep them.  Here is the completed project.  We were done by 12:30, just in time for a late lunch.

Afterwards, I went up to my studio and had a relaxing few hours piecing together some more triangle blocks from my scrap bucket.  

60/100

Wow, 60 days of working on my #100dayproject2020!  

I'm enjoying seeing my Covid-19 on the design wall, it gives me an idea of what I need and where to go from here.  

I got 7 more blocks made, all on the reddish scale.

But, before I did all that, we decided to go ahead and seal the deck this morning.  It's supposed to start raining Saturday afternoon, and not stop for a week or so.  So, it was either wait the rains out or do it this morning.  We just want to get the deck done, so we went for it.  I was fine with the color the deck is now, Darrell wanted it to get a bit darker (the sun will make it darker).  Once we seal it with the UV protectant, that process will slow down.  Putting the sealer on it, darkened it up quite a bit, so I think he ended up okay with the way it looks.  I think it's great!

First, he trimmed all of the posts to height.

Mixing up the sealer.

He painted the sides of the boards and I rolled it onto the surface.

We locked the dog door with the dogs and cats inside.  They were confused and not happy.

After it set up a bit, then he wiped it down. 

It's beautiful!

58/100

I couldn't do much of the work that needed to be done on the deck, so Darrell was again, on his own.  He made a template to cut the curve into the ends of the deck and then trimmed them and routed a round-over on the ends.

The dogs really like the new deck.

I was busy in my studio, first I spent a little time making more triangle blocks from my scrap bucket:

Then I made the binding for and sewed it onto the Baby Pi quilt.

The back of Baby Pi

56/100

Today, Monday, was a busy one.  We did our weekly grocery shopping early at PCC in Burien.  When we got home, I put the groceries away, while Darrell went out and started working on the deck.  The washing I did on the deck yesterday didn't do much.  So, today, he's going to start sanding it.  While he was doing that, I was doing housework.  Yuck.

He got about a third of it done.

Later, I got a few more triangle blocks done:

53/100

He got pretty much all of the boards on the top of the deck today.  They only ones left are the little pieces around the posts.  He had me gluing plugs into the screw holes.

As soon as I cleaned out the bird bath in the front yard the crows were waiting for me to clear out.  When I moved away one came in a started drinking.  It's nice to see it's of use.  

Jelly likes to chase the crows.

I also saw a hummingbird come in to check out the pond.

I got a couple of the triangle blocks done, then finished up the quilting on Baby Pi.