doilie love on a grey day

everyone around here is sick....so over to flickr for some much needed joy..

some doily lovliness from dottie angel

how fab do these doilies look and such a cute dog....i want one check out the rest of the delightful doilies here

bags of perfection always brighten the darkest of days check out Jek in the box for more joyful colour

 
 this image  from Tingella's photostream certainly brightens my day...just perfect

and if you feel like some more doily love wander over here for a browse
 
 
 

hail to granny chic

Today I dedicate my post to that institution that is 'Granny Chic'...Whilst blundering about Flickr yesterday looking for lovely inspirational photos to brighten my day came across this simply marvellous group set up by Granny Lover Emma Lamb (who also has a delightful blog I hasten to add)

Obviously I joined immediately but didn't have time to browse all that fab grannyness so to honour all things granny I decided to bake up a batch of rock buns & sneak a bit of crocheting in.....and might just wander off to my new find....

busy doing nothing

The day started with many good intentions of all-sorts of things i needed or rather wanted to do but in my usual haphazard way of things i've started lots and finished little...including a blog post, which I have decided to save for another time.

A particular 1 year old woke wearing a hat, scarf & mittens of mischief this morning and so far has managed to create havoc,

1.... tangle as much wool as she could get her hands onto,

2.... made a beeline for the dogs water bowl and had a jolly good splash about,

3.... stroked the dog to within an inch of his life

4..... practiced her remote control skills while mummy tried a go at grown up tv for 45mins for an ugly betty catch up session.....no chance

and to top it all off I am starting to feel a bit jippy so crossing everything possible that I haven't caught the dreaded bug, as sickness & looking after 3 children aren't best bedfellows I am going to sneak off to bed early with my bag of crochet and a box set of some sort.

Hopefully back soon with a more upbeat & productive post.

a day of firsts...

a first birthday

first saturday back at work

first time mummy has given me a cake spoon to lick

first party ring biscuit

first birthday present to open

first time popping a balloon

Thank you my beautiful Violet for the past year, your smiles, jinxy ways, those big blue eyes got me through the bad times & made the good times even better.

You bring joy to us all & complete our family.

Happy Birthday Jinxy Jones......xoxo 

Haarlem II....Curious Kitsch

Love the Dutch they are so into Kitsch & spots....heaven in a high street

We had a little jaunt to Amsterdam mainly to visit Anne Franks house with Tom who was rather keen as we have been reading her diary at bedtime but on arriving hadn't factored in the length of the queue. Now I know we English are superior when it comes to our queueing abilities but with a small child in tow it would have put all our skills to the test, nothing to say my inability to wait for anything.

So we skipped it with a vow to be more organised on our next visit and definitely take in the sites being first in the queue.

Our next port of call was this fab shop

Full of all manner of delightful bits and pieces including these delicious oil cloth fabrics

perfect for the breakfast table which is usually covered in cold porridge flicked from Violets spoon...

and you may of noticed my new green bowls sitting attractively on the oil cloth alongside the lovely jar for jam which definitely makes the it taste so much yummier!

and who could resist this mushroom pencil sharpener & rubber combo, there has been lots of pleading from 2 boys who had the option to buy their own but decided to buy horrid plastic guns instead so I am sticking to my guns (sorry!!!)and not letting it out of my sight.

Then as we wandered the isles of the organic food shop this little beauty caught my eye. Now those who have read of my weakness for packaging will know that I could not pass this one by...isn't it lovely and I might even succumb to a cup of Jasmine tea if I could bring myself to rip open one of the little packets! 
 

Haarlem I .....

What a great place, Haarlem in the Netherlands, beautiful buildings, friendly people, more independent shops than chain stores and the Dutch love Kitsch!!!!

We had a great week exploring the city, a day in Amsterdam hmmm but prefer Haarlem, 

walked along lots of these,

and complete and utter heaven a fabric & haberdashery market EVERY Monday filling the square, can't wait to go back with lots of pennies and some basic dutch!

and my new obsession....kitsch bicycle panniers,they are so cool got some for the pashley more of that in the next Kitsch lovin post...
 
 

and the winner is.....

Tom takes the honours of picking the winning comment...he dug right to the bottom of the cup!

Emily from Emily Hooper designs thank you so much for your posts and if you email me your details the book will be on its way to you hopefully before the strike!
 

friday stitchery

 
After a week of sewing for my new venture I have decided that Friday's should be a day for stitching & sewing clothes for the family and home (well me & Violet as the extent of acceptable 'homemade clothes for the male element of the family stops at pj bottoms!)

 

I have had this green velvet coat cut out for a while so decided to tackle it today. When I was at Art college I had an strange obsession with chiffon, heaven knows why but Velvet is as frustrating to sew but I adore it so its worth the struggle (not so keen on the chiffon now thank goodness).

 
I always pin & baste each seam because when I try to skip one of the steps it always ends up in unpicking so its just not worth it. Although as time raced on this afternoon I got a bit cocky & didn't baste the side seams or the undercollar...just used 100's of pins and the power of positive thought to will it not to slip! It seemed okay but we shall see in the cold light of the morning whether I am happy with it or i will spend the morning brandishing my seam unpicker.

 
This was my progress at lunchtime and a point that I always get ratty with what I'm making, the halfway mark where through years of experience and many unfinished projects I have now learn't to walk away and return in a few days, fresh and ready to sew.

I am hoping to get it finished in time to take to Holland with me but we'll see what comes up next week.

delights of show & tell

I picked up a copy of Homes & Antiques this month, I don't know why as its not a mag that I usually even flick through but it called me from the shelf. So imagine my delight as I came across this article.

Our very own Julia at Vintage Heaven. It was lovely to take a proper peek into Julia's lovely home & the photos were great.

I am so glad that people share their homes with all of us, it is such an inspiration & a kick up the rear for me when I'm feeling a bit gloomy about a messy corner or plaster falling off the wall.

I know some may feel it's a bit showy offy but honestly if you think that about people then shame on you look at the delights you are missing. We all take inspiration from different sources so thank goodness for those who open up and share their homes...

And on that note thought you might like to see my new pew...I absolutely love it and its my fave piece of furniture to date and yes I think I am going to show off about it!

So the moral of this post is please keep inviting us into your homes because they are wonderful, inspiring, exciting & they brighten up my day!  

ps... thanks for all your comments regarding the sewing machine I am really grateful and I think I am going to look around for someone I trust to service the old girl before I rush out and buy a new model...will be choosing a random comment on Sunday and then the notebook will be on its way.....
 
 
 

tis a sad day

After 20 years of faithful service, appalling treatment, being carted around the countryside and generally used and abused my wonderful Bernina is just not cutting it anymore.

This delightful workhorse came into my possession whilst at art college and mooning over it for weeks and thinking how on earth can i spend over £900 on a sewing machine when my car at the time cost me £250, it was the little box of feet attached to the back that finally got me.

So I handed over my hard earned pennies...oh the joy....its made so many things over the years and still has many left in her but I just can't get a decent top stitch out of her, no matter how much I tinker.

I am loathed to get her serviced (doing the basic maintenance myself over the years) as so many people I have spoken to have said their Berninas are never the same when returning. All metal, heavy and delightful they certainly don't make these machines like they used too.

So I have decided to buy a new machine basically for top stitching, nothing fancy but a good stitch quality and can cope with regular use. I would be really grateful for your comments on your own experience with today's sewing machines & your preferred models as I haven't a clue where to start and don't have the time to trawl & traipse about trying various models out.

As a thank you I will choose a random post and send you something for helping me out (details later when I've rustled something up).......and so to the bathroom

its almost finished but I just haven't had the time (or the inclination) to strip the toilet cistern & pipes so we will live with them for a bit.

I was browsing through Homebase on a farrow & ball mission when I spotted this fab wallpaper, it reminded me of the lovely wallpaper that I had admired & swooned over that Manda at Treefall Design has on her bedroom wall.

So I am pleased with how it turned out and was hoping it might inspire the boys of the house to spend more time in there washing & perhaps brushing their teeth without me threatening them first....ha no chance!

Inspired with my sort of new bathroom I decided to get busy in the dining room as a new carpet is on its way followed shortly by a church pew (very excited about this addition)

so will have a few more make over photos shortly.....also some exciting news about getting back to work & finally stocking my little store.

Edit ....share your thoughts good & bad about sewing machines and this little lovely could be yours.

will be chosing a random comment a week sunday.... 

  
 

bathroom makeover

The bathroom has been crying out for a splash of paint for ages...must admit its the worst room in the house. In fact its one of the few downfalls of living in an estate owned house that hasn't had any maintenance for probably 300 years (maybe over exgagerating lets say 250 yrs!)

So after looking at it for everyday, pretty much since we moved in (over 7 yrs ago) I have thought to myself this room really needs sorting, that victorian toilet cistern would look lovely stripped & polished and what to do about the bath hmmm

When we first moved in I had to tile the wall to stop it falling into the water everytime we had a bath & a coat of paint but thats about it, I always felt it was a bit of a lost cause and spent as little time as possible in there.

I did contemplate fitting a new suite but I quite like the charm of the old stuff, it's a nightmare to clean and the bath could really do with re enamelling but its the kind of patina you cant recreate (well that's what I'm telling myself).

So last night as you can see I decided NO MORE the bathroom needs a makeover. So I am chipping away at it in the day between am & pm showers n bathtimes & when Violet decides to have a nap....it could take some time. I am very excited about the cistern, under the paint it seems to be cast iron or something similar & the downpipe water thingy looks like it might polish up nicely.

I am going to wallpaper the bath panel as the walls would be impossible to paper, with a few coats of varnish I hope it will be water tight but we'll have to see.

I'll be able to get properly stuck in from Thurs as Keith is back from Holland and can keep an eye on Jinxy so I'll keep you updated of my progress and post some more pics as we go along.

twittering away

This week I have given into the temptation and joined twitter, I have resisted signing up before knowing that I use such applications not to get on with jobs...thinking to myself I'll just have a quick cuppa and 5 mins online 2 hrs later it time to collect the kids from school and mess is all around! You know the story...

Although there has been some copious timewasting this week I am really glad I joined and have loved twitter right from the start. It has given me the chance to get to know and interact with the people behind the blogs I love to read, cowboys & custard, vintage pleasure, yvestown, for starters plus the added bonus of finding a few new ones...swirly arts, kitschy coo, snap dragon garden and so many more which I hope to mention in future posts

it has opened my eyes to all sorts of new & exciting things I'd like to buy, hunkydory home...I will be buying one of these fabulous posters

 

been a great source of information with the links that people kindly post (or should I say 'tweet') help save bees esp relevant to my new venture (more on that later), a few famous bods Kirstie Allsopp, Jonathon Ross & Mr Oliver have made me smile, chuckle & snort more than once which can only be a good thing in my book.

So with strict rules about the blackhole that is cyberspace I will be twittering away to my hearts content (yeah yeah I know I will be wasting time but enjoying it....)

bit of a belated birthday post

I have been meaning to write this post since my birthday and now 5 days late I have grabbed a few mins to get on with it before anymore time slips away....where does it go, anyway I had a wonderful time and it was lovely to share the day with my family who spoilt me rotten...a new spotty Cath mug from my sister.

my very own Roberts...i've been wanting one for sooooo long & a cute little purse for my new phone

this delicious Vestral watch by Kat Von D (super cool tattoo ladee)

I treated myself to this Cath bag that I been drooling over for ages with the generous gift from my mum & dad inlaw

and of course i had to buy this, what kitchen junkie would be able to resist!

and last but not least these two wonderful fellas...Welcome to our home Ronnie & Reggie who are at the moment very nervous and hiding in various places around the place. I so happy to have some feline friends again & look forward to lots of cuddles

So all in all a fabulous week, I am a very lucky girly who has been spoilt rotten, become addicted to twitter, family has grown...life is good

while i was away

we had a fab week away in Wales at a wonderful campsite called Graig Wen

there were campfire frolics

pole dancin baby

nutella from a spoon!!!!

a tree bog, lots of bike riding, finding new friends, swearing when they thought mum & dad couldn't hear....lots of food Tom's highlight, spiced rum in hot chocolate (just a drop for effect) rolling out of bed and beautiful Welsh countryside.

Can definately recommend this campsite, well set up, welcoming and camp fires allowed!

blankets, bikes & things

As promised a picture of the finished New York blanket...It was a move away from my usual colour choices but I fell so in love with this yarn that I had to use every single colour in the range.

I am so sad that i probably wont get to use this yarn again as postage costs to the UK would be ridiculous ( if they sent to the uk) so I'll just have to hope for a return trip to the Big Apple...

A couple more granny style blankets for the camping stash, I am determined to use up some of my yarn mountain and have banned myself for buying anymore until it has been reduced considerably...yeh yeh I know that will never happen or I'll revert to increasing the fabric pile, that's not breaking the rules is it!

My latest freecyle gem is this delightful, delicious yummy dolls house all ready for a makeover. I have been looking for a project house to restore for Violet and wanted one that had been loved and played with but now needed a new home....enter this one made by a little girls grandad 15 yrs ago from a pattern in Woman's Own complete with mismatching furniture perfect. I can't wait to get going on it. It will be loved and treasured for years by the both of us (i always secretly wanted a dolls house when I was young) until it needs to move on. Its so refreshing to indulge myself with girly projects rather than Star Wars & Guns...sigh!

Last but by no means least the newest edition to the family.....a long awaited Pashley Princess.

I have drooled, wished, hoped for one of these for years and now I am a proud owner of my very own. I had to wait 6 weeks as each bike is hand built to order but it was worth it. Then there was the problem of a suitable baby seat.....I did not want to adorn my wonderful new bike with some red, yellow & grey monstrosity, so after trawling the internet i found this little gem

Bobike seat from Holland in all its spotty loveliness. I bought it from the Dutch Trading Company based in Hove and their customer service was excellent, quickly delivered and great with sorting out the order I can honestly say that a few more companies could take a leaf out of their book. Brilliant.

We have been out and about in all its glorious wobbliness (my particular riding style) when it hasnt been bucketing down with rain and I really need to practice getting up all the hills around here....wishing I lived in Holland!