My Dream Old House Kitchen - Part 1

The Old Kitchen

Ahhh, Don't ya love the brown wood paneling?  And the white formica and floor?  

Soon after moving day we started the kitchen remodel.  The DR/LR we finished one month before.

We were a bit crazy to do this while we were living in the house, I was pregnant, and we had little ones running around. Looking back, I am grateful for having had one exceptionally easy toddler who stepped OVER the power tools on the floor without even thinking to pick them up.

Here I am very pregnant and planning the remodel on our makeshift table

We moved everything out into the LR while we worked. 

Remember the chimney removal project in the Dining Room?  The OTHER side of that chimney ran right smack through the kitchen cupboards and when it came out we were left with a hole to be patched in both the ceiling and the floor. 

looking down into the basement

Then we had to purchase a HOUSE JACK and lift a sagging spot in the kitchen floor from the basement.  This was one of the quirks we knew about from the beginning, and wasn't too hard to fix.  Old houses often have sagging floors and ceilings. 

That took care of MOST of the sag.  The rest took some floor patch.

Yeah!  The floor is level.

Then the demolition!!!

First we removed the false kitchen ceiling.  We didn't take pictures of this, as it was a pretty impulsive thing to do, which necessitated the kitchen remodel beginning so quickly in the first place.  And I should have a picture of the cobwebs that were behind that false ceiling, but honestly it was around Halloween time and it was pretty much one of the most freaky, disgusting things I had ever seen!

But here goes......

Eric, removing the upper cabinets

It was a pretty big mess. 

The Surprises

Water damage under the sink.

The ironing niche and the hot wires beside it.

It seemed a crime to cover up the pretty green beadboard, but had to be done.  Was an old ironing niche, where you'd swing down the board to get that ironing done.  What was scary was right next to it.  Two hot wires!  Yeah, basically they cut a live wire and left the ends dangling in the wall.  It's a miracle the house never burned down!

AN EXTERIOR WINDOW, in the middle of the house??? You'll see it, boarded over, in both these pictures.  Which can mean only one thing, our house, had a very different original blueprint.  It was probably a very small home, with a really LARGE addition put on, probably in the 1910's.  Mystery is:  We have no idea what the house originally looked like, or what the footprint was.  We still speculate on that, from time to time.

And Layers and Layers of Vintage Wallpaper! 

I think we counted 11 layers in one spot, can't remember if it was the ceiling or the walls.  Some were unrecognizable, others I tried to save, but couldn't get a large chunk of.  Some I did keep for a shadow box someday. 

Off the needles.........

Been one of my busier months, but still managing to get some knitting in.  It's amazing how perfect this craft is for the time-deprived, since it fills in moments where I couldn't have done anything else, like waiting in lines, waiting to pick up kids, waiting for Sponge Bob to be over, etc etc. 

I'm pretty thrilled though with my newest most perfect baby hat.

The Wurm Hat

So my knitting curse is pretty much baby hats!  They almost never fit newborns.  Mostly cause their heads are all so different!!!  You'll notice those classic hospital hats only work because they STRETCH!  So pretty much that's the secret.  If you want to fit an actual newborn, and have it fit more than two weeks you need a VERY stretchy pattern. 

I went looking, but finally found what I was looking for in the adult hat patterns.  The Wurm Hat was perfect on many levels.  First it has funky side ribs that actually match my favorite booties.  Second, it has a really unique edging that is VERY stretchy.  And Last, it's totally slouchy - my kinda hat (I may have to make one of these for me, too.)  And it comes down low enough to cover the ears really well.  A few adaptations to the adult pattern and we're in business!

I really love making baby things out of sock yarn.  It's almost all wool, with just a touch of synthetic for wearability, it's really soft, and its washable!  Best of all the worlds.  This is Paton's Kroy Socks.

My nephew - isn't he a cute model??

 Pattern link for ye knitters here, on ravelry, of course.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wurm

Capturing a Moment

 Pinewood Derby.  I so love being the mother of boys!! Racing cars is pure joy :)

Comming Soon:  My Dream Kitchen Part Two - Our black and white kitchen in the making.