Hat rooms, crochet and card making........

The 'hat and shoe room'.

So finally all the windows are in , the blinds tinkered with and rehung and the curtains met a similar fate and now we can close the door on that chapter. My now 'spare' bedroom has again become my hat and shoe room, which gives them a little more space and me somewhere to go and ooh and ahh, perfect stress relief. Now looking at the picture I can see it was more about the new window than the room contents !, the pink lampshade is now hung , the hat boxes are stacked under the stairs to the left and the shoes are on the right. I am leaving the bubble wrap on the furniture as both the desk and chair are painted, the chair also having a new pink check seat which I did some time ago, thus keeping them protected and saves me dusting them in the meantime, they can remain ready packed for next summers move.

Light weight summer blanket.

Too much wool to be a mobile project.

My current crochet project is a small light weight blanket, perfect for keeping off the chill on a summers evening when its still to perfect to come in side, I am using lots of odd balls left over from previous projects,plus a few which  have been found in the 'sale' basket and would have felt far too sad to have left them behind unwanted, thus making it a bargain blanket. I am in no hurry for this one, so pick it up as and when, have plenty of time between now and next summer.

Cross stitch and card making.

Birthday cards for a mum and a dad.

Last night was stitch and bitch, roughly once  a week we try and get together and sew, knit , cross stitch etc in company, it is a very informal arrangement, and numbers can vary a great deal as there is no set night [due to my work commitments], last night was less about sewing and more about card making...something I only do for christmas.

Card potential

Excellent gift tags.

More card decorations.

So last night I set about my card preparation for christmas, those that will not make good cards I make into gift tags, I cut them down to an image I can reuse and decorate, I have several mini drawers of ribbons,peel offs, lift offs and glitter, stage one complete.............christmas is coming ........

More windows , blinds and the end of an era...no more babies

This weekend I arrived home from work on my youngest's 18th birthday, it truely only seems moments ago since he was born, of course I know it isnt, him having outgrown me by more than a foot in the last seven years.
I do of course miss his smallness, the hand that was pushed inside mine when he was unsure, the rip roar chuckles that would eminate from deep down in his belly when he was amused, the huge smile and soft blonde hair, the months of being dinosaurs, the trees we sacrificed to keep him in drawing paper and all the walking , climbing and rock searching that being outdoors always involved.

Baby storage.

New friends.

Bo !

And now I look upto him to see a fine , handsome young man starting his journey into adulthood, it has been a pleasure, I hope he will find me intresting enough to keep me in his loop as makes his way further out into the world , but for now I am happy he is doing so well with his A'levels and hope they will help open doors in the direction he would like to take next.

It was a large cake , with many candles !.

No birthday celebration is complete without a cake with candles and of course jelly and ice cream, it was good to have all the children here, although its nothing like when they were small, I love to hear them all laughing and ribbing each other as only siblings do.

Removing the old glass.

Sawing through and removing the old frame.

New window in.

 Sunday was taken up with getting the last of the new bedroom windows in before the weather really starts to take a turn for the worst.Last weekend we had two strapping younger men to help us, this weekend the workforce consisted of my husband and I. I must say ably terrified by the strong winds....although himself did keep assuring me that the glass was not going to fall out, but my stress levels reached 'peak', and although our goals were completed, I am in no hurry to tackle upstairs windows again anytime soon.

Then came the fun part today, getting everything back where it belongs , hanging the blinds and curtains  and just finishing off. A few small outstanding jobs to do, which hopefully will be completed on these couple of days off, then I must get down to starting on my christmas presents and the house will have to wait for a while .

Windows in, recycling blinds, book buys and life.........

Bejewelled,sparkles and hearts.

In full splendor.

It would seem that this break from work has all been about windows and window dressings, for and against, new or recycle?.

The first day and a half were spent clearing the walls so the men could get
 to the windows to be able to remove them !, once I had decided what would still be required between now and when we do eventually move and what could be boxed and stored the job became alot easier.


I have decided to keep the curtains in the main bedroom as they were , they are uninique, the colours scheme has not changed, so I have just washed and pressed them so that they can be rehung

Paint splattered.

Old pillow case which matches new curtains.

 The spare room blind
which had been splattered
in paint by my over zealous
husband.

Removing the damage.

Cutting up the pillowcase.

Once all the damage had been removed, I was able to add some new fabric  [well new to the blind ...a recycled pillowcase] and choose some lace from my drawer as a trim.


When cut to size , pinned and pressed, I managed to machine without removing from the roller, not something I would recommend if you dont have a large work table , but was just about doable in my circumstances.

 Once all the sewing was complete and the roller
undone and rerolled I have been able to put the
blind to one side ready for rehanging.

Trim selection.

Completed blind.

Next was what to do with the blinds, as I work nights and sleep days it is essential that I have a blackout blind at the window, like my curtains, I have decided to press and rehang....they are still like new and to be honest despite cupboards and baskets full of fabric I dont have anything I would rather have at the window at this time.
 So now curtains and blinds are are complete and ready for rehanging, but that will not be happening until I am absolutely sure there will not be any men with either paint brushes or sealent guns in the facinity, once I am positive photos will follow.

On my various trips up to the town to buy new DIY tools etc, I found time to run into my local bookstore  to see if there were any pay day publications that I would be hard pressed to do without...so this months selection are :

The Thrifty Forager.

Lots of ideas and recipes.

Studio Life.

A sinister turn of emotion.

And "Studio Life" Jack Vettriano. Some of his work I love , I think that some of his more popular peices are so romantic, with perhaps a slightly sinister twist, others are 'real' , but perhaps a little to 'true' for my taste, these days I need to be surrounded by happy thoughts, butterflies, sunshine, bunnies etc etc  I have lived enough 'real' life , I dont need to be looking at it for pleasure, I guess thats why I gave up with television and definately dont watch any soap operas.

Dance me to the end of love.

There is nothing like the gift of fresh flowers to lift the spirits or in this case as a small tahnk you like fresh flowers. A gorgeous posy which I added to from the garden, summer in a jug.

Summer in a jug, with scent .

Winding down ready for work, everything in its place .................

Button heaven, these are my most recent finds waiting to be put in their button tins and jars.

Pattern boxes and magazine files.

Thread boxes and fat quarters.

Button tins and jars, stuffing and crimble fabric.

A sense of harmony has been restored to my work area, I have managed to shred 2 black bags of incriminating paperwork which is now suitable for the bottom of Alvin's [my pet indoor rabbit] cage. I have also recycled  a selection of boxes and 'odd' magazines where I only required articles and not the 'whole', plus of course all the non incriminating paperwork, where does it all come from?, I have very few paper bills these days , unyet I seen to have more paperwork with my personal details on in the post than I ever used to get.

Evil twin '2' in production.

Opal sock wool.

Tidy shelves =tidy mind?

3 Empty chairs.

Having a good tidy up and clear out, gives you an oppertunity to see and remind yorself what forgotten treasures you have have hidden away in paper bags and at the bottom of old boxes, it also is a good reminder of things that are not quite finished, but should be .

So now I have a new to do list, the Opal sock wool was a treat when I was away a couple of weeks ago, I have never used 'sock wool' before, so will be very intrested to seehow much better it will wash and wear , rather than using 4ply etc. Have several patterns to choose from, but think as the wool itself  is rather colourful I may go with a plain pattern.

The Floral cross stitch is the 'evil' twin to one I completed a couple of months ago and needs  rinsing, pressing and making up into a cushion cover ready for the 'new' lounge.

Evil twin '1'.

And next is to make up my lists of whom is getting a homemade present this christmas, but before I get carried away with these I must finish adding all the buttons to my completed baby knits . The main problem I can see with this christmas's production is the fact that I will be unable to share the finished items with you , as the receiver may be taking a sneaky peak here to have a look !. And of course there is the christmas card production to consider, I dont make my own cards during the year as have so much on  on a day to day basis , but I do like to make as many of my christmas cards as I physically can, I think it makes them more personal, plus it eases the lack of personally made gift, as would have to dedicate my entire year to Christmas if I was going to make everyone a present .

So I guess thats me organised for a few weeks at least, have cleared some chairs so I can of course have some company whilst stitching, stitch and bitch [a small local sewing group I hold at my house when my shift pattern allows] can begin again from next week, I have buttons to sew, crochet blanket to finish, cushion cover to make up , socks to experiment with and crimble production to start..............of course and life to fit in ........family , work ,pets etc etc ...........

Getting out the hammer and beating tacks to distract myself...............

Sometimes as saintly as ones friends are , you do feel that your grief is so large that it is blocking the sun, and that they must be bored of hearing how much your heart aches, how deep your grief is and how as hard as you try nothing seems to make it less so.

I guess that those who are not grieving for a child mean well when they say 'it will get easier', personally I dont think it gets easier, I think you adapt yourself so that the constant pain does not overwhelm you, that you try harder to see happiness, and to enjoy as much of life as you possibly can, as who knows what tomorrow may hold, and I guess ultimately we are all thankful for the blessings we do have in our lives.


Yesterday was GCSE results day, children up and down the Country were finding out their grades, as these will influence the next stage in their life, yet another milestone to be passed, it seems unreal that my youngest would have been one of them..........yet she never had great plans, and sometimes I do feel she was alittle like Beth in Little women, she always spoke of being at home,she had no great plans to travel the world or take a high powered job, she was kind, gentle, loving and could be very excited, noisy and funny, I miss all these aspects of who she was.......but she will always continue to be a huge part of who I am.

Hammered thumb!

My favorite tools , never under estimate the uses for a staple gun and hammer.

Butterfly fabric in Daisy's honour.

So especially on these days I need to get busy and do something positive to distract myself, not having quite finished reorganising all the 'craft' that has been taking over my diningroom, I decided to find my trusty staple gun and hammer and have abit of hammer therapy, which attractive results ..bar my thumb, which I forgot to move, just the once .

And now as the weather would seem to have changed, I will  think about sanding down my newly acquired pine drawers ready for painting, they will make excellent pattern storage and are a perfect fit for my bookcase, so I best get to it ..........

Creative out pourings without a stitch........

It would seem my holiday time is running out at a pace, for sometime I have had a selection of frames stacked on my dining room table,all waiting to be painted, decorated or just used . In preperation for the 'big move' next year, I had been rearranging all my photos of friends and family, putting them all into similar frames , all in shades of white and cream, I call the pictures my rogues gallery.

I also decided to take a cross stitch in hand, originally I had framed it in an old goldy coloured frame an ex-employer had given me in a clear out, it was too small and so I had to fold part of the cross stitch to fit it in, but now it is fully stretched and looks so much better, I am very pleased with the result.

Latest updates.

Friends and family.

Daisy.

Since the last time I updated the rogues gallery, my first grandchild has been born and my neice has got married, my youngest daughter missed her prom, but her best friend let me have a photo so I could still share in the experience, another neice has had a photo shoot, etc etc so all these pictures have been downloaded to disc and printed, ready for the 'new frames', I will let you guess which ones I have done myself and which ones are 'as seen' shop bought.

Now that the table is clear I have been  able to move onto my shelves, they have been collecting items ready for a very creative Winter, but before I can start any of these projects its essential for me to organise all my finds and buys so I can access them easily as required. I am particulary pleased with the two sets of pine drawers I found a neighbor throwing out, they will be my next paint job.

This morning I also managed to fit in a quick tour of a few of the local 'Harrods' shops in Bristol , starting at  Clifton Downs and working across to Henleaze. Quite a few sale items about , as the shops are getting ready to put in their Winter stock, so managed to pick up several well priced deals, plus of course my usual selection of buttons , which are too small to see in the picture, but are grey mother of  pearl and a larger card of cream ones .Am loving the pink bag with butterflies...have no idea what I am going to use it for , but at less than £2 it was far too pretty to leave in the charity shop, and so now I am off to find my next projects and get ready to start......