MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS - *K* Kitchen Cabinet Fixes and New Rug on the loom

I am going to start off the new year with posting some of our motorhome modifications, a few at a time. I will post repairs, modifications, or neato things we have found for RVing.  I have lots of pics in my files so I will do them in alphabetical order.

Underneath that stuff, I will post my regular daily stuff..... kinda sorta fun, eh?

So here it goes, we are up to the letter K now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER K

Kitchen Stuff:

Ahhhhhh My motorhome kitchen! This is the biggest kitchen I have ever owned in an RV. In the past, I have had:

• a Coachmen Santara with a very small kitchen and almost no counter space with 3 tiny drawers.
• a Sierra pull behind travel trailer that had a lot of kitchen cabinets but not a lot of counter space, 
• and my big old beast of a Winnebago had an absolute tiny little kitchen with virtually no counter space at all. 

So I really really appreciate the kitchen in this Safari motorhome. We do a lot of cooking when we are in the RV, and rarely eat out at restaurants.  Not only do I have lots of counter space, I have plenty of cabinets in the kitchen area and more cabinets over the table and in the living area to utilize.

The cabinets in our motorhome are made of Western Alder wood from the Oregon coast. They are all solid wood and I love the glow of the rich grain. Even our side by side Dometic fridge has matching wooden panels on the doors. I wipe them down yearly with a coat of Liquid Gold to keep them looking nice. Especially if we spend any time out in the desert, I like to wipe them down again when we get home because of the dryness to the wood.

This kitchen is pretty well planned out... but you know us, we are always thinking of ways to IMPROVE it!  LOL

The counter tops in our motorhome are a Corian like substance called Fountainhead. They wear like iron and never need anything more than a quick wipe. We also have two inserts that go over the kitchen sink that lay flat, made of the same countertop material. You almost cannot tell that they are that there is a sink underneath when they are set in place. But because I have such a large amount of countertop space I really don't need to set them in the recessed sink holes. The covers ride for years on end, stored underneath the sink, never being used.

The one cabinet I do not care for in my kitchen is this goofy corner cabinet on the bottom. It has a Lazy Susan in it, which can goods fall off the backside and get trapped. I can't even reach into the back corner and have to use a big BBQ tongs to get anything that falls behind. AARGGHHH

My big problem cropped up when we were downsizing to live in our motorhome full-time, I have these two wonderful cast aluminum roasters. My dilemma was that neither one would even fit in that cabinet, and I love using them both.  I really like the larger one better, but I know I could have stored the smaller one, or even both of them, in an outside compartment. But as any cook knows, you like to have your kettles inside and clean and ready to go when you are cooking.

My RV friend Paula offered this solution. They have the same motor home with the same problem with that stupid Lazy Susan. She said simply TAKE IT OUT! Who'da thunk it?

We removed the Lazy Suzan and now absolutely everything I need fits inside of that cabinet. In the photo below the smaller of the two roasters is not in there, but believe me, it does fit.  I had taken it into the house at the time of taking this picture. We now have room for everything, including Steve's popcorn popper.

I love those big roasters. I coat the outside surface with Dawn dish soap on a paper towel and I can use it outside on the tripod over the campfire. It's very easy to clean up again from the soot and flame marks on the outside because of the layer of soap.

Because my blog is about modifications to our motorhome, this was one that may seem small to some people, but it made a big difference to me.

In our kitchen there is one spot that COULD hold a drawer if the sink had been moved over just a few inches during the planning period. Because the rest of the drawers underneath are a little wider, the recessed sink is too wide to allow a drawer of the same size in the top spot.  Soooo???  The designers left the top spot as a blank space. They just put a fake front on it. They didn't even bother to put a handle on it to make it match the rest of the cabinetry? That was strange---

(P.S. this is an old pic with the original couches, the sink covers are in place and the salesman's runner rugs are laid all over the place.)

Steve agreed that it was crazy to waste all that space that could potentially be another kitchen drawer. So what did he do? He built another drawer box only a little narrower on the one side to clear the recessed sink. He put the fake front on and added drawer slides.

We could not find an exact matching handle so we found one close enough and put it on a back bottom cabinet in the bedroom where you really don't see it. We took that original handle and brought it forward to the kitchen and put it on the drawer. Voila!

So now I have a whole 'nother drawer in my kitchen!

Storage is important in our RV kitchen because there are certain things we like to take along for cooking. Steve has this favorite item, which takes up a lot of space. But he absolutely loves it. He makes his own popcorn over the stove and has worn through a number of these over the years. 

I think this newest popper he got from the kids one year for his birthday. He turns the little crank and there is a wire bar inside that rotates the popcorn so it doesn't burn. When done, you lift off the top lid and the bottom portion of the kettle becomes the popcorn bowl, once it cools off a little bit.

This next one is my favorite! A glass Pyrex coffee pot! I believe the original name was called "The Flamethrower".  Nothing can beat the smell of perking coffee in the morning when camping in the woods.  I have fond memories of watching a pyrex pot cook in the dark early morning hours in my childhood home on the gas stove. Flickering blue flames around the bottom, bubbles coming up the glass stem a bit higher each time until they pop out the top and into the lid and down into the grounds.  Even the basket is clear glass. I remember watching for the first carmely colored swirls sinking down into the clear water underneath.

Because we have a propane stove and often boondock without hookups, we don't like using an electric coffeemaker too often. I grind my Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee beans and perk them in this glass Pyrex pot. Once the coffee is done perking, we each pour a cup and the rest of the pot is dumped into this carafe that my daughter Erin gave me. It keeps coffee hot for the rest of the morning. This solves the problem of having to go back in and reheat the glass Pyrex coffee pot on the stove just to have a hot cup later. Of course both items take up a lot of room so that is the reason why I need extra space in my kitchen.

We must keep a space in the cabinet for this pressure cooker that sets on the stovetop, because we do really enjoy pressure cooked foods.

I have now moved the stovetop pressure cooker to a back cabinet since I brought my electric one into the motorhome. We bought a larger 11 qt. one for in the house this year, so the 8 qt. one is now designated specifically for the motorhome.

What I like best is I can throw the food in and set it and not have to watch and hover over it like the stovetop one. After experimenting with recipes for a while I know exactly what to set it for what types of foods and everything comes out perfect.

I know there are a lot of electric pressure cookers out on the market now. We chose this one because of it's stainless steel inside cooking surface, preferable to a Teflon non-stick surface.

We use the pressure cooker to make soups, stews, and casseroles. Everything that comes out is just super wonderful and delicious because you add your seasonings in the beginning. The pressure cooker than infuses the flavors and seasoning into the food rather than just floating on top or in a sauce

Savory stews or wholesome casseroles (Steve's Goulash)

Some of our favorite things to make are pot roasts or turkey breasts. We toss the whole thing in while still frozen and set it for about three quarters of an hour. I release the pressure, open it up, add in other items such as carrots, potatoes, onions, mushrooms etcetera. Close it back up and cook it another 15 minutes and everything is usually done --- absolutely perfect and tender.

Pot Roast or Boneless Turkey Breast

Since I absolutely must make room for this large pressure cooker in my cabinets, so again, I rearranged everything to get it to fit. Of course we can only use the electric pressure cooker when we are either hooked up to electric power, or while running the generator. I have not used it yet just from the power via the inverter and batteries, but I will try it this summer. We can see how much power it draws by hooking up our kilowatt diagnostic tool to check the amperage draw and watts when in use.

Now to the other wall in the kitchen, we have more countertop space and a glass cabinet overhead. Underneath is another drawer plus a Uline Ice Maker. This only runs off electric and not propane litke fridge.  We only run it when we are plugged into power, but it works really fast to make cubes. Once we get a bin full, we switch them to a large zip lock bag and put them in the freezer by the fridge and turn the icemaker off again.  

It can also double as extra freezer space when plugged into power by simply lifting the bail and using the interior space for supplementary freezer area when setting somewhere for a while. 

On the other side of the kitchen are the table and chairs. When we bought our motorhome there were two wicker backed wide chairs that were kind of rickety. We passed them on to our son for his first apartment.  Stored in the basement compartment underneath there were these two folding chairs that had padded seats and wicker backs that matched. These fold up and store away for extra seating. They were okay, but again, kind of lightweight and rickety.

While Steve was working at the University of Green Bay, every month they would hold auctions of surplus supplies. Steve managed to snag these two wonderful solid waiting room type chairs that were perfect color match of the wood. We really like them for seating and they tuck under the table perfectly. We can bungee cord the legs to the center leg of the table when in transit.

Our table pulls out from the wall cabinet enough to add two extra leaves for seating space.  (or for when I'm sewing large projects).   Then we bring out the extra chairs that unfold and set next to the new green ones we bought ... now we can have dinner for four.

Remember that saying?

 Our motorhome has room for 

cocktails for 6,

dinner for 4, 

sleeping for 2!

~~~~~~~~~

Now on to Our Old House Stuff:

Last night Steve started talking, and thinking, and got out his clipboard with his own honey do list. Take note, I have NOT made him a honey do list since he retired, this is all his doing and I am not taking any blame for it!

He and I discussed things and he wrote out a list of 10 things he would like to get accomplished this summer around our old house. It's quite an extensive list, and I think you will be happy to follow along my blog as you see what we are doing, step-by-step. It is going to be a busy summer --- in between his scheduled fishing trips, driving his Old Fart Party Bus for the county senior citizens, and doing some of these projects!!!

Do not worry, we are not remodeling anything to be modern features on our old house, we are just improving things and making things nicer or making things more efficient. We love the character and original style of our home. The items we will be changing will add to it, and not detract from it. Stay tuned for the exciting new events as they happen!



I finished up a rug order yesterday and have no more orders hanging over my head right now. I grabbed some very old vintage fabric balls that have been already prepared. I started a twill rug with them and I really like how it's coming out.

It's going to be very bright and multi-colored isn't it? 

Perfect for spring.

Speaking of spring, yesterday we got out for a walk with the dogs for a mile or so. The sidewalks are clear and most of the snow is melting again. But this morning we woke up to freezing ice, rain, and snow. At least it won't last long, seeing as we are over the middle of March and heading on towards Spring.

A Fibery Saturday at the Midwest Weavers Conference in Houghton - Hancock Michigan

Early Saturday morning, at 4:30 am, my visiting fiber buddy Linda and I got up and hit the road.  Our visiting RV friends Sam and Donna were leaving also to head on home to St. Louis, so we said our Good Byes and took off northward in a very very very loaded up car.  (Yup, left Steveio home alone)

Linda had impulsively purchased a big rug loom from me, and we disassembled it the night before and pre-loaded it into the car. Donna and Steve helped us carry it out and arrange it till it all fit.  Good thing the seats flip down!  We were jammed to the max, but I had side mirrors to view behind me, and we were all set to roll.

Our destination was the Midwest Weavers Conference, called "Northern Wefts".   It was located at Finlandia University campus, 200 miles away in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan ("Da U.P." ta da Yoopers)   Our goal was to see the exhibits, shop the vendors, and attend the Rag Rug Special Interest Group meeting at 11:45.

http://www.midwestweavers.org/conference/index.asp

I know the U.P. like the back of my hand, and found side roads to get around all of the road construction by Niagara, WI to Iron Mountain, MI.  Of course the time changes from Central to Eastern as we get north above Dickenson and Iron counties, so now we lose an hour besides to make our schedule even tighter to get there for the events we want to attend.

Gladly, we arrived in plenty of time to do some shopping and bring my four rugs to the meeting.   We wandered up and down the steep hills of Hancock where the campus was located till we got our bearings on the layout of which buildings hosted which events.  The campus is built on a steep hillside and some of the roads were at 45 degree angles to get up and down.  NOT kidding!  Some houses are built with a door on the second story to access when the snows get too deep on the Keewenaw Peninsula of the U.P. jutting out into the icy cold waters of Lake Superior.

The poor overloaded car was chugging up the hills---- saying "I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN" as it pulled itself up and into the various parking lots around the campus.

Janet Meany hostessed the Rag Rug event.  I have known Janet for a number of years now, and she is quite the dynamo on the rug weaving topic.  She lives in Duluth, Minnesota and traveled over to the U.P. of Michigan to chair this gathering.  She is the author and publisher of The Weavers Friend newsletter,  

http://weaversfriend.com/

and co-author with Paula Pfaff of the The Rag Rug Handbook, 

The Rag Rug Handbook

(also available at most weaving stores and on Amazon--- ISBN-13: 978-1883010287)

Over 50 weavers gathered for this event.  We combined wolfing down our lunches as fast as we could, while we listened to stories and saw the rugs being displayed by each weaver.  I told Janet that I would take photos of the rag rug show n tell portion, which she can later use in the next issue of the newsletter.  From time to time, I write articles and submit rug project pages for her too.  Guess that means I am a "published author"?

Now, in these next photos below, I do not have all the names of each participant showing their rugs.  I was too busy snapping photos!  So if you wish to email me at pfundt@gmail.com  with a description of your rug and your clothing, I will add your name underneath your photos!


I could not post ALL of the photos here, so I have a complete set on my facebook albums...  and here is a public link that can bring you to those photos.  You do not have to be a Facebook user to view them:

Share this album with anyone by sending them this public link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2173788265049.2131579.1257067735&l=403d3f87f4

I just loved each and every rug, and each one had a tale to tell.   The photo on the left was from a gal who wove this huge runner from various shades of denims (Katie Meek)  in a traditional pattern.   The gal on the right used to live on a boat, and wove her very first rug, a denim one, to fit in the boat.  She was ADDICTED! They later sold the boat so she could have a big room to fit a loom on dry land!  LOL

Each weaver had a delightful story to tell about their rugs.

This was (if I recall right) a historical old runner rug the person got from a relative's home after they passed away.  It was in amazingly good shape after years of being a hallway runner.

Wheeee!  Loretta Stacy just wrote me with the following information about this rug-- (she is the gal in the floral top near Janet)  Here is what she wrote about the long runner:
"Hi Karen,

I had the historic rug at the Rag Rug Show and Tell at Midwest.  The rug is 3 ft wide, 17 ft long and 65 years old.  After my mother graduated from high school she worked in the local grocery store while still living at home with her parents.  She saved enough money to buy herself a new bedroom set.  

My grandparents thought it would be nice if her bedroom was carpeted.  They contacted my great aunt in Southern Indiana who knew a weaver and had rugs woven to carpet her room.  (My mother happened to have the biggest room in the house for her bedroom.)  The rugs were then shipped to Minnesota. 

While my mother was at work my grandparents sewed the rugs together and put down the "carpet".  When my mother came home from work her reaction was YUCK I hate it get rid of it!  She now says that was probably pretty mean on her part, but my grandparents obliged and took up the rugs.  

My grandmother must have cut the rugs up and made smaller rugs from them as we always had rag rugs in the back porch in my growing up years.  When a rug would wear out another would appear. I don't know where my mother had stored these rugs all those years.  

One survived at the original length as we lived in a large farm house with 4 bedrooms upstairs with 2 stairways.  The rug I showed was in the upstairs hall for 33 years.  

Twenty years ago the farm was sold to my brother and his wife but Mom kept the rug.  Last fall my mother started talking about moving into an apartment as my father passed away 8 years ago and she can no longer maintain the house and yard by herself.  

I asked her if I could have the rug from the upstairs hall.  Her reaction still had not changed that much.  She said "You want that old thing!"  She had it in her garage!  

There are two places where there is some damage but it is in realatively good shape.  She is presently in the process of moving into an apartment and she had another 11 ft rug which she gave me just last week before the conference.  It is the same age as the other.

 Just thought you might be interested in this, but was to long to write in any of the comment sections."

Loretta Stacy




I showed four of my rugs, and spoke about the techniques used in each one...  A fellow weaver was able to grab my camera and snap a few shots for me of my own presentation!  How nice of her!

These next two rugs look very complicated, but are quite an easy process once you know the secret.  See either Janet and Paula's book on the page "diamond rugs" to learn how, or google Deb Sharpee, a weaver who has also taught this method of "swoosh rugs"

The patterns, warps, materials and combinations were a treat to any weaver's heart, and we thoroughly enjoyed the presentations of the hard work and creativity that was exhibited by the participants.

Rug after rug was unfurled to the ooohs and ahhhs of the audience.  I think we show as much interest in our rug weaving being revealed as much as any fancy fashion designer of haute couture clothing!

As stories were told of the process or materials, after each rug was shown, it was taken aside to be laid out on display for closeup examination afterwards.  What a great idea!

I had mentioned during my presentation that one of the rugs had been in my inventory for sale the longest, and nobody ever bought it!  It was my favorite colors and I figured I would just rip off the tags and keep it for myself now.  But one of the attendees came up afterwards and said she HAD TO HAVE IT!   She wrote out a check right then and there to buy it from me!  LOL   I honestly didn't come to the program to sell a rug----  but her purchase paid for the hotel room I booked for the night!  haha! 

We also toured the many vendors and emptied our purses on some more bags of fiber fun stuff... tools and warp and shuttles and tshirts and supplies!

While many of the attendees then went to their scheduled classes, we took the time to unload our personal belongings from the overstuffed car and move into our waiting hotel room nearby.  Many of the attendees stayed all week in the college dorms, but we were only staying one night, so we got a hotel room to share.

After we were unloaded, we went to another hall to admire the guild displays.  Guilds are "clubs" of artists, and many of the guilds in the Midwest put up displays portraying the theme of Northern Lights known as the Aurora Borealis ...  there were many displays of scarves, clothing, home decor and other types of weaving.    Each was amazing and lovely and well thought out.

But one of the displays was of extreme interest to me, which featured a rag rug study by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota.

(I apologize for the many photos to you non-rug weaving blog readers, 

but this is like THE DISPLAY of the most interesting and fascinating rugs 

for the rug weavers among us rug weaving blogger readers) 

I liked this rug in the photos below the best! It was woven by an elderly man in their guild. 

It was folded over the display rack so it was twice as long as what is shown on the photo

It had FOUR things going on.  

• 1. the warp was graduated from dark blue along selvage sides all the way to white in the middle
• 2. the weft was in dark denim at the ends, graduating to lighter denim in the middle of the rug and back to dark again at the other end
• 3. in the darker sections, small pieces of inlay were light colors, and inlays of dark pieces in the lighter sections
• 4. the twill structure was about 12 rows in one direction, then reverse to 12 in the other direction making a wavy pattern

Each weaver has their own style, color combos and tastes.  

Some are subtle and soft, some are bright and bold.  

All are winners in my book! 

After we wandered around the displays, it was time to remove the loom parts from my car and transfer them into Carol's minivan for it's trip back to Tennessee.  It was like Fibber McGee's closet to open up that car and take the pieces out step by step and reload them in Carol's van with layers of fabric in between to prevent any scratches.  I am just amazed how much we got in that van, plus they are planning on stopping at Great Northern Weaving store and Edgemont Yarns store on the way home!!!

After the loom swapola, we hit the dining area of the middle school where there was an evening event in the auditorium as a wrap-up to the whole conference.  We joined old friends and met new friends, shared a meal and swapped stories.  It was a delightful evening and we even knew a top weaver being presented an award for her woven clothing!  (Karen York of Beloit, WI area)

I bought some CD's of weaving music by Nadine Sanders, The Singing Weaver of Straw Into Gold   who also entertained at the evening program.  I planned to listen to them all the way home, and they will be playing in my studio from now on too while I weave!

By the time the program ended, both Linda and I were totally exhausted.  We stumbled back to the hotel and got in our jammies.  Wheeeeeewwwwww what a day we had!   We fell asleep with visions of looms, fibers, shuttles and rugs floating around in our heads.