Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Upon Further Investigation...

So after a bit of diagnosis this morning, I'm pretty sure I've got 2 separate problems going on... First, there is a cooling system issue, of course I could not duplicate it this morning. Last night the upper radiator hose was way over pressurized, while the lower hose felt normal, so I'm still leaning towards the radiator on that. Second is an electrical issue that I've concluded is somewhere between the front and rear bumpers. I did not have time for further testing on that and need to check out my electrical diagrams first before digging in to that! I did work some more on cute baby things and start work on a fabulous tutorial.... hope to get it finished by next week. Now off to sleep for me, tomorrow I venture up north to visit my folks.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Well, I got my wish....

The intermittent overheating issue is back. So glad I have AAA and got a nice tow truck driver that didn't charge me to get over the bridge. You know, it really feels rather humiliating to be towed home - I'm jut saying. Ugh!! And she drove great for a week. I was even able to take my friend all the way across town to Joann's on Saturday with no problems. So tonight my boyfriend and I decided to take my car out to get groceries and on the way there she drove great. Then just about 4 blocks from the store I look down and notice the fuel and temp gauges are pegging again! I'm still thinking it's the radiator, so tomorrow I'll have to test out my new pyrometer and see if I can't find the problem spot(tho knowing my luck the problem will have disappeared). For now - time to sleep!

Friday, July 23, 2010

No pictures today....

Sorry, but I just can't spoil the surprise. I've been working on some items for my sister's upcoming baby shower, but I promise to post some after next Saturday. I kind of wanted to make a tutorial for one of the items - I guess we'll see. I did spend some other time moving my beads from one cabinet to another. I inherited this awesome vintage sewing pattern cabinet from my mom. I spent quite a bit of time sanding and repainting (honestly I could have done a better, but halfway through I changed my mind about the color since it was pretty much the same as it started). OH, and I lied.... here are some before and after shots of the cabinet (Please do not mind the mess - I like organized clutter in my creative space). It is perfect to house all my crafty supplies. Of course, I do have 4 of the 5 drawers filled already, but in my defense I did clear out a few bins and another cabinet into it. Anyways, here is some proof I transferred my beads into a drawer (soon to be reorganized) and lastly a picture of one of the fabric drawers that I think looks fabulous! Enjoy!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

I feel like I didn't get to a lot today. I did manage to do this, I guess that can count for something and my car made it through one more day with no problems - YAY!!! As a reward for running so nicely on our errands I bathed her, of course you won't be able to tell tomorrow - stupid sap misting trees!!! Anyways, here's an after the bath glory shot (I was having some fun messing with the colors). Now time to fire up the que for burgers and potatoes for dinner - Yum!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

It's a Good Day!

Well it seems I have fixed my car (somehow), even tho I really just put all the pieces back and fired her up. Here's a pic of the engine bay yesterday before I put back the radiator and water pump. I just have to say that intermittent problems are the worst, because it's really hard to diagnose what's wrong if nothing is wrong half the time!!! I guess for now I have to take it day to day for now and hope the problem comes back so I can finally figure it out for good. I was at least able to take her out for a spin today and she drove great - YAY!!!

In other news, I finally figured out how to quilt my latest quilt. Sometimes it's really easy for me to tackle a project, because I have a definite picture of it in my head of how it will turn out. Some projects are not that way and this quilt was definitely one of those. I had originally started picking out the fabrics to make a different design, but soon found out I would need to purchase additional fabrics for that quilt. Alas, this quilt was formed, which is quite a bit crazy (my mom jokingly called it "patchwork vomit"), but you'll have to wait until it's finished to see the whole thing. Lastly, here's a look at some cute owls my sister helped me make. Aren't they the cutest???

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

A new beginning....

Hi! First of my name is Katie and this is my blog. I figured I finally needed a place to share my ongoing battle as I restore my 1976 Toyota Celica, as well as a place to express my more girly creative side.

This is my baby. I picked her up in Vancouver,WA a little over 2 years ago and have been slowly working towards restoring her to her former glory. Already I have replaced the engine 3 times (I seem to have a bad knack for blowing up engines) and currently am trying to rectify an intermittent overheating issue, so once again she's in the "shop". More to come on that soon. :o)