MOTORHOME MODIFICATION - Mirror Removal, Recovering Valances and New Quilt

HOLD ON - WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED BLOG POST TO BRING YOU A BRAND NEW MODIFICATION THAT JUST HAPPENED TODAY.

I wrote last week about taking the big mirror off the wall in the motorhome.  Yesterday a local gal sent her over her contractor husband with two of his workers to pick it up and haul it out of the motorhome.  It was a four man job. I am pleased to say it left all in one piece, and nobody acquired seven years bad luck.

Sadly, I didn't get any pics because I was in the house still suffering from my flu bug. Sigh.  But the mirror is out and now we can get on to the next step.

Recovering Window Valances and Lambrequins:
Last week, Steve had removed the valances and lambrequins 

(cool word--- it's the two side pieces of the window treatments--- 

I found out that is what they are called!) 

At the same time he removed the excess wiring that was hidden behind them.  See, at one time there were long single bulb 12 v fluorescent light fixtures inside of each one.  I don't care for fluorescent lights at all, much less in our bedroom!  We already have 8 other lights in there, so we really didn't need them.  Long ago, Steve removed the light fixtures and we relocated them to the kitchen instead.

Here is when he pulled down the valances last week....

and removed the excess wires.

He decided to cut the valances back along the edge that faces the mini blind. It did not need to be so *deep* of a valance box because the light fixtures were no longer inside.  Now they were shallower to the wall and did not extend into the room as far under the cabinets. 

He brought them into the house and I recovered them with matching material 

to the new king sized quilt I had made for the motorhome. 

The quilted fabric is from the leftovers of the quilt. I did the free motion stitching with variegated thread to match the quilt too.  Using a staple gun, I put each section over the existing fabric on the window treatments. It went on easily and I lined up the random pattern in straight rows.

This afternoon, Steveio said it was warm enough to fire up the furnace in the motorhome and head out to install the valances and lambrequins. OH my.... I got out of my jammies and got dressed once he had the rig warm enough. I didn't feel too well but I wanted to see the fruits of my labors. 

He started with the lambrequins, screwing each one back through the original holes he could feel through the padding. It was exciting for me to see it all come together. I am glad Steve had the energy to put them up. If I felt better I could have done it myself. But it was fun to watch him do it for me. 

I had bought some coordinating color screw cap covers a while ago, so we didn't have to reuse the blue ones that had been on there before. They help disguise the screw heads and help hold the fabric in place too.

After the lambrequins were up, then he put on the valances (I helped to hold them) and he screwed those up into place.  They are closer to the window now and room seems a little wider. I think it looks better...

They are held up into place with a few screws, but Steve needed a longer bit on the drill to reach up inside the valance.  Of course, his bifocals are not conducive to this type of upside down work, so a few cuss words were uttered!  Ahem!

TAAA DAAAAAAH! 

And now it was time to spread out the quilt.... the hardest part of the entire modification.  It took a lot of hours of work to get this done and it was a pleasure to work on.  It is hard to get the entire quilt in the picture, because it is a king size and the room is not large enough to walk backwards to get it all in.

The next step will be to remove all the old adhesive on the wall from the mirror.

We used a heat gun last week and softened up one part,

 and it rolls off like putty. 

 I think it will all come off okay, when I feel better and it is warmer, I will tackle that project. 

THEN we can hang up this lovely print that inspired the colors in the quilt! 

We bought this framed print at an auction. It has been hanging in our bedroom for a few years and I stared at it for hours on end while I was so sick a few years back. It has a peaceful calming effect on me. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year, and this print was so reminiscent of autumn camping days on a lake somewhere in the U. P. of Michigan.

I always wondered what lake it was from?

Wondered if I had been standing in the same spot?

We decided to hang it out in the motorhome once the quilt was finished. 

 It is by a Wisconsin Photographer by the name of Nick Bristol.  

His web site is at: http://www.nickbristolphotography.com/home.html

I found out that this particular image IS from a lake in the U.P. of Michigan called Council Lake near Munising. I love his work and a lot of his images on his website are from places I am familiar with. I got in contact with him and he is sending me some other images I am interested in. He gave me permission to post this information and his print on my blog tonight.

We set the frame against the wall for now,

just to see it with the quilt and the window treatments! 

 It will look a lot better once the adhesive is gone 

and we mount it centered on the wall.

That just about tuckered me out, and I used up the rest of my energy to take the pics and head back into the house and crawl back into bed.  Slept till after 5pm and woke up to the smell of Steveio cooking supper. Gosh, he takes good care of me. 

Steve's dad is still at the hospital and Steve has been running up there every day. I do not want to go back and spread my germs this week, even though I picked the danged germs up there.  He might be moved over to rehab therapy tomorrow in Waupaca, so then his dog Millie can go and visit him.  She is a trained therapy dog and certified for nursing home visits. She has a little vest to wear when on duty.  It is so interesting that his dad would take his dog to visit other people in hospitals and nursing homes..... and now we will be able to take her to visit him during his physical therapy visit! 

She misses him a lot, I can tell.  But we are keeping her busy with treats, pats and snuggles. She is systematically chewing off the tiny white manufacturing tags on each of the dog toys in the basket. She doesn't wreck the toy, she just chews off the tags! 

Plus she gets to sleep on our legs, on our bed, each night, something our own dogs do not even get to do. LOL