Quilt while you're ahead

lights, camera... action

This is what was in the hallway a couple of days ago.

 

No, I don't take my blogging photographs that seriously, you'd be right to have me interned if I ever did that.  The think was my house (MY HOUSE) was being photographed for a magazine...

I KNOW!! How crazy is that?

A few months ago I was contacted by this lovely lady (hi Hazel) who reads my blog and happens to be a journalist and who asked me to send her some pictures of my house and the whole thing snowballed from there.  So sometimes next year my little home will have its moment of glory.  I'm disproportionally proud about this.

I spent days de-cluttering the place and filling the garage with all sort of stuff.  Stuff that is still in the garage, stuff that nobody missed and that most likely will end up being taken to the charity shops in town. (I recommend doing this... it's quite scary and a little sad to see how much we surround ourselves with things we don't need at all...)

And then the photographer brought all sorts of 'props' with him.

(pak choi and tomatoes? enough to make my kids running away from home!)

But it was fun.  Lots of fun.  And kind of strange too seeing my house through somebody else's eyes/camera.

(the orchid in front of the fireplace? not my idea.)
 
 

a rethorical question

Have you ever started a project and subsequently abandoned it for whatever reason (including boredom, lazyness, life, stupidity etc.) and then when you started it again you finished in no time at all?

And wandered what was all the fuss (and boredom, lazyness, life, stupidity etc.) all about?

Today I finished covering my kitchen chairs cushions.  All 4 of them. Yeah I know, huge number.  Four.

I didn't have to make the cushions, cheap IKEA ones who were supposed to washable.  Well they 'are' washable allright, the stains just didn't wash off... or maybe it's my children that produce particularly resiliant stains... either way, they were disgusting and needed covering.

Enter lovely-piece-of-bark cloth-which-looks-perfect-against-the-wall found at the local car boot sale... in May.  Yes, May. 

One chair got covered fairly swiftly, still drunk with excitment and enthusiam.

As I said before the last one was done this morning.  In 15 minutes (don't look too closely and the craftmanship). One five.

Doh.

Guess who feels like a wally.
 
 

T

'T' is for tomatoes (the only ones that survived the wet summer and various bugs)

'T' is for tyding up (my window sill has never looked prettier)

 

'T' is for typewriter (found for almost nothing in a charity shop - the boys love it)

'T' is for time and trends and teeth and trousers and tank tops (I must have been about 8yrs old... and I was already crafting away.... check out the dodgy needlepoint, it was a chicken and I remember it very well...)

Till next time...

Amy and I

 Yesterday I had the pleasure to attend a talk given by Amy Butler.  It was great to meet somebody responsible for so much of my Visa bill in recent years, someone whose disegn peppers my wardrobe and my house...

And here she is

 

oh yeah, and that's me - hi, ya'll - and that is no 3 who loves having his picture taken.

I was unable to find a babysitter for the boys so I took them with me.  They say luck helps the brave (and the stupid...) and they were superb.  They sat quietly for 2 hours, colouring, playing Nintendo, sitting on the floor picking their toes...

And this is Amy talking about her new line (can't wait, looks fab) coming out in the Autumn and trying very hard not to look at what No 3 was up too just in front of her.  She's a professional, she didn't miss a slide.

and, wait a moment, what's that in the background? there on the table looking splendid and amazingly finished?

but of course, it's this little baby...

which now lies in all its Amy glory in the newly painted spare room

This room used to be a VERY bright pink but after three years I had to democratically bow to the majority and get rid of it.  Nobody liked it but me.  Seriously.  Nobody.

So now it's this soft, calm, restful powdery blue (Farrow & Ball, Parma Grey).  And everyone is happy.

Including me.

we are sorry to interrupt...

the holiday programme to bring you the latest news and weather.

Actually the least said about the weather the better

 

News then:

taking advantage of the boys' absence I picked up my Amy Butler quilt from the long-arm quilter

 

the colours are all off because of the afore mentioned crazy weather we had yesterday  but I really love the big flowers she quilted all over (They're about 6" across).  Perfect.  Now I only have to hand sew 360" of binding.  Peanuts. 

And you know what I think about sewing the binding.

I've also been painting rooms and cuboards because we have new beds for the boys coming next week.  That's right, there's no rest for the wicked.

 

And new beds mean new quilts, at least for No 3 who's moving into a 'big boy's bed' - a moment of silence and sadness... my baby!! in a big bed!!! .... ok I'm fine, really.  Deep breath, get a grip woman. Cometh the hour, cometh the (wo)man and all that.

So this will be his first big quilt. 

Oh no, I just thought about it... more binding to sew. 

 

Given the huge list of things to accomplish in the next 8 days ... gulp ... I'm convinced the best course of action is getting changed into something nice and meeting my husband for coffee in town.  Right now.  Musn't delay.

Yep, that'll do it.

a weekend in pictures

finishing

  

baking

 

knitting

 

and running

 

It was hard, but it was also a very moving and uplifting experience...

 

You should try it.

ironing board cover

ironing is a little bit nicer...

the hottest day of the year...

and I'm painting furniture.

Don't ask.

sometimes it's just a case

of right time right place

 

if you want to snap up this delicious bowl

 

and dishes.

 

Or perhaps you prefer fauna to flora...

I'm running away...

... from the troubles in my life.... la la lahhh

This is my downstairs toilette

 

This is the family bathroom

 

And the en-suite is just as bad and full of men making it even worse.

So forgive me if I'm leaving.

Tuscany, here I come! 

T