The finished article.

Happy 12th December everyone..not long to go now! I still haven't got the Christmas spirit going..even after watching Elf last night. The sun is positively blazing outside and it was warm enough to walk to school in a cardigan..still no coat. Will it ever feel like winter?

So the weekend has flown by and I finally managed to get the cushion finished...I'm fairly pleased with it, although the colours are not bright and poppy, they do work fairly well with my new beautiful cushion and it means I now only have four more cushion covers to make for my new sofas - a fine excuse for more wool purchasing and crochet time. Lovely.

Here it is, my very first crochet cushion (no laughing now!)

Although I have been able to crochet for a short while, I still havent managed to learn how to join as I go along so my edges arent as neat and tidy as they could be and the back looks like this! Oops :S

But the front isn't too bad and thankfully the feather pad fits nicely inside and so the stiches joining each square dont show too much (phew)

To make the back envelope part of the cushion I junked an old charity shop jumper I'd only worn once and didn't like much. It was 40% angora so you can imagine how nice it feels and I am so glad I did junk it as there was loads of it left over (it was a  knee-length cardigan) and what I haven't used for the cushion I am now going to turn into fleece-lined handwarmers - yum! Please excuse the crappy blanket stitch button holes..they look better in person (probably)

So what do you think?

I can probably do better with a little more practise..however, next cushion is going to be based on this pattern here
I love how scatty and tactile it looks. Apparently the pattern dates back from the 1940s, this pleases me as I love old fashioned patterns.

Not so long ago I got an arm chair from an older lady on Freecycle. It was part of a 1930s 3-piece suite and because it didn't have the modern fire safety labels she couldn't donate it to our local community furniture donation scheme..so I, loving all things from this era, offered just one of the chairs a home, it was all I could really allow myself to have. I would have taken the entire suite but the weekend before I had donated my 3 piece suite to the community furniture donation scheme and bought myself two Ikea Klippans (my old suite was massive and Klippans are tiny!) so I had no excuse, no room and no space in my tiny car to transport said 30s suite should I change my silly mind!

Anyway, babbling aside, the chair was re-covered decades ago and it has this ugly stain where someone's head has been and it is quite gross actually (the cover not the chair) ..it definitely needs re-upholstering at some point (which I can not do or afford) so, for now, the best option is a new crochet 40s flower pillow (see above) and a throw of some sort, not sure what yet? possibly Witney wool? Actually this deserves its own boring chair-related blog - I will write it another day.

'The better-making of the Chair of doom'

(nice use of the English language there)

So.. a new day, a new project?

I still have one glove (why is making the first one so much fun and the second such a drag?)  Half a knitted rabbit and a scarf left to make before Christmas day and have the motivation of a Sloth. So I had better get on. Ta-ta for now.x

Oh - oh -oh..or, HO HO HO?

Well, Im rubbish aren't I?
(yes)
I haven't been here to make a post in forever, tumbleweeds pass me by as I type..really.

I pretty much gave in and buried my head in the sand about weddings, it's now four months to go and I haven't even sent out invitations..bah. Not to worry..these things can wait...a bit.

What I HAVE been doing in the last six months in conducting a little experiment...a rubbish little experiment I wish I had never begun..

Now, for the last few years I have faithfully sold my handmade wares on Etsy..and it has been ok. I've made some nice friends and I have made enough money to buy Christmas gifts all round..not tons of money, but enough to get by. The thing is, with making things to order I often find myself working each day from the moment I get up to around one in the morning and I always seem to miss the winter period (which I love) and then not really enjoy making things for myself. Also last winter I was busy being really pregnant then having a baby on the 23rd of December so that kinda took up most of the Christmas period. I guess I just missed having December to greedily call my own, to slowly work through and enjoy.

So, this year, in order to get December all to myself I decided, like a stupid nonce, to work in the 'real' world, selling my crap to 'real' people with real money - not like the PayPal money which is so much easier to spend (as I was soon to find out)
So I have spent the last six months working my stumpy little fingers to the bone making enough stock to drag round various fairs and sell to the fabulous craft-loving people of this world..
That sounds nice doesn't it???...yehh, it does.

EXCEPT.......
None of them bloody well turned up. I worked for months and months, traipsed round fair after fair, talking to seller after seller about how crappy the recession has made the  crafting world and how no one wants to spend money. GREAT!
I made under £150 all in..in six months. Was it worth it. NO.

So, here I am, a few weeks before Christmas, broke, with tons of stock I need to sell and no oomph for it..just a Grinchy little grizzle in the very pittttt of my belllllly.

Humph. Humbug..humphhhh.

So, in order to cheer myself up, and because I love to read the beautiful cheery, colourful works of Lucy at Attic24 (seriously I love it, it makes my whole world a brighter place) I dragged my sorry whinging behind over there and mused over the blankets and cushions and made a very serious choice..I will make something for...ME

Yes, Happy Christmas to me, no, you know what, Happy Birthday to me. I turned 32 and only ONE friend remembered and everyone ignored me all day and my boyfriend fell asleep, Baby F's big brother was upstairs in his room all day and night, and dear sweet Baby F tried his hardest to make me have a nice day but he is not even one year old so he found it all a bit tiring and so he cried then went to sleep!.. and I was ill, I had the flu complete with vomting, ear infection, throat infection and general self-pityitis..what a seriously unhappy day that was.

As a reward for being the saddest friendless sadcase (this is what happens when you dare to move 18 miles away  from 'home' and have a baby - be warned) I bought MYSELF a beautiful cushion  -it has come to be known as the 'beautiful cushion'

Beautiful Cushion is made by a rather lovely lady called Heather Miles (click on her name to see her Facebook -  Vintage Lilly) whom I happened to meet at a car boot or craft fair?? something lovely.. anyway, she is very clever and  makes wonderful items and has plenty of good and tasty vintage things for you too. Heather just happened  to have made the vintage cushion of my dreams,  and of course I have a new/old crappy house that NEEDED a beautiful vintage cushion to just brighten it up a touch! And so I begged and hinted and managed to get some birthday money from my lovely mother-in law to be and thus the beautiful cushion was MINE! muahahahahah...Amuahahah.

I have photographed it (badly, bad light, winter light hates my camera) to show you and I decided to make my beautiful birthday cushion a Happy Christmas crochet friend..

..Long-ish ago (scroll back) Lucy from Attic24 and a lovely camp man on YouTube (forgot which one) taught me (without knowing it) how to crochet. Ever since then I have been like a crochet FIEND and can't stop. I have begun to crochet a minxy little mate for the beautious cushion of joy..so here it is..

It's the start of my very own cute little squared cushion front..the light makes it look damn awful, the colours are lovely - I promise..if the sun ever comes out enough again I'll show you.

I loved the cushion front that Lucy had made and I wanted to make something similar, a little quick project that I could make up whilst Baby F was asleep and big brother was at school. Yesterday I had day 2 of the worst migraine I have had in about a year, so I made a big cup of black tea, put on a quiet film (which I ended up ignoring) placed my beautiful 50s wicker work basket down next to me and lined up Country Living as a well -deserved treat for the post woolly workload.

I then began slowly working my way through 80% of the cushion front. The quiet rythms of each tiny square really helped me relax and the satisfaction of putting it all together afterwards was a wonderful feeling..today I am left with only 12 squares left to make, then the back to put together, then I will give it (as Lucy* calls it) its TADAHHH moment.

See, it is growing..getting there. now I just have to decide which of my old jumpers is going to be killed in order to make a saucy new cushion back (can you hear them all shuffling to the back of the drawer as I type?!)

I have also found an awful lot of joy reading other blogs lately, see it's not just magazines that are worth a squizz.

I love these ones (and many more) right here:

Here: Just Me  (This lady makes me laugh so much!)
Here: Little Tin bird (gorgeous photographs and colours and words)
Here: The Brick House (Sigh..I hate the hot weather but Morgan MAKES me want to live in her house in the blazing desert heat..she just does)
AND
Here: Crochet with Raymond (God,  how I love Alice and Raymond!)

Aren't they all lovely?..and so, with that thought in mind, I have decided to stop ignoring my blog and start writing it more frequently for my own sanity and so I can keep lovely records of things that mattered at the time. Lucky you (sorry) but then again, no one reads it!..so it is a-ok!x

Well now baby F has decided to wake up and scream at me for lunch..so I'll leave you with my cat SmallFry having a lovely kitteny sleep on MY beautiful cushion - sigh.

* My freakish obsession with Lucy/Attic24 isn't my fault..everyone does it. you go there and see how you cope!

Wedding hell.

I am getting married.
*** now most girls would sqeal and do some super-stupid hand clappy jumping crap***
Not me.

I am not one of those girls who has always dreamed of being married, in fact, the thought of marriage terrifies me. I hate the stupid white dresses with tacky stones on them, I hate the stupid 'best man' I hate the stag night, I hate the first dance, I hate the 'funny' speeches..I hate the stupid dated cream car with stupid cream leather seats, I hate the food, I hate wedding cake...I hate weddings.

I have never been to a wedding I liked and now mine is only one year away I am feeling more than tetchy.

Everyone is throwing in their two penneth and I don't wanna hear it. I know that sounds mean but it makes me more and more nervous and more and more confused.

I hate wedding dresses and can't find a single thing I like, the closest I have found is this...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260773863562&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
which to be fair, IS a beautiful dress, but I am a big-chested woman and this is not for the bustier woman :(

Here are some other dresses I love and yet you have to be pretty much flat-chested to wear

Jenny Packham - I love you so much but WHY so small? Can't girls with boobs have pretty dresses too?

Temperley - OH so beautiful...so so so beautiful...but where for my boobs?

I lost the link to this pic (sorry whoever owns it - I would credit you) but isn't this a gorgeous and simple look. why so small though?

Jenny Packham again - again with the flat chest :(

How to marry a millionaire - that film has about six million gorgeous dresses in it..this one is my favourite. My ankle is fatter than Laren Bacall's waist.

Keira Knightley wears the BEST dress in the world..I am green with envy. I am also not six foot and two inches thin, nor famous enough to warrant a nice dress like this.

Two more Packham's..so beautiful but SO small and SO expensive.

Beautiful Drew. Perfect Drew..I need her chest/figure size.

So what to do? I don't like fuss, I don't like churches, religion, tradition, it would seem I only like massively pricey dresses made for skinny rake ladies with shitloads of cash....arrgrh!!!

urrgh.....URRRGH, the search goes on.

Crap.

Slack

Having been here for 9 weeks now!!! I am totally owning up to being SLACK! I have not written anything, I have not taken many photos of progress and I have been through this house and garden like a bull in a china shop.

When we moved in, it hit me hard how much work we had to do to get the house on track..it is/was wrecked. The garden was EVEN worse, if you can imagine wild jungle/barren wasteland that has been left to turn into some kind of weird jungle that has odd metal poles and tons and tons of brambles, rocks, cement, glass, bomb shelters, three metal crates the size of a skip and bugs everywhere...then times it by a squillion and imagine a shedload of cuts, bruises and stings...well that is what we have had to deal with. The pictures I am about to post were taken after two weeks of solid work..four trips to the dump and all the junk in each picture is what we uncovered in just one part of the garden!

I must confess that I have not put nearly as much energy into the house (my main passion to begin with) and I have totally ignored my knitting and crochet..nope, the garden has me hooked. We are going to ruin the shit out of the bad times and make it all new and amazing. I have tons of pictures of progress but none of the start so I will have to use them as reference points in the future...but for now, I mission on. I will come back and say hi soon and try and update about the house too...not very good at blogging about it like I said, oh well.

The back door area..when we moved in the drain was SO blocked with fat from cooking that the back wall of the house and the surrounding area STANK and flooded constantly - the estate agents like to keep lovely features like that a secret, just in case you can't help but buy the house for the sheer appeal of the drain stench..urrgh. Note the weird metal shelf screwed into the wall...why? We found the belfast sink in a 'plant bed- aka shithole' in the middle part of the garden, it weighed the same amount at six elephants and had a HUGE spider and a slow worm living behind it. Cool. All the green you see here we planted in the first week..there was nothing here before, it was truly miserable.

Opposite the back door there was what I thought was a flower bed, I was right, it did use to be a flower bed..The rose bush was so big and hanging so low that it could've killed a man in a slight gust, so I chopped it back and made it a bit more of a reasonable shape. Hung a bunch of hippy stuff off it to give it a bit more of a homey feel..then added a bunch of little bits and bobs underneath and begged my bay tree in a pot to hang out with the baddies and play nice. I love the birdcage, it's now the spiders new favourite home and therefore, I must move it away soon. See the very sexy drain poles in the picture, Our new neighbour told us (about one hundred times) that the old owners used to tip their fat down the drain ''for about fifty years'' Excellent. So that is how long I will be stabbing the fatty lardycakes down the drain then..great.

On the first sunny day after we moved in, we decided to destory a godawful 'rockery' that was against that brick wall, It was about five foot high and full of brambles, a belfast sink (the one by the back door)  and sixty tons of buried GIANT boulders..urrgh. Oh, and six fur trees, a metal post that was buried four and a half feet down in the middle of the bed and some giant root balls dumped into the mix. YES. So, we destroyed everything that was in that area, pulled out all the boulders and weeds and saved what could be saved, then, after almost passing out from exhaustion, we made the bed that can be seen above. It isn't the best flower bed I have ever seen, but it is the best make-do and mend flower bed made from entirely rubbish bits of crap found in the jungle that was the 'rockery' Note: the GORGOEUS and totally pointless double height fence and wire roll, the falling apart brick wall for soldiers to hide behind before they launch their attack?!?!?! what are these things for? who knows? The weird spidery shape wooden fence towards the back of the picture, well that was completely obscured by brambles that had been growing for about fifty years, I found sleeping beauty behind there, the dragon had died of boredom waiting for someone to get past the bramble hell so we used him as a planting feature..anyway, after 3 hard days, I found this fence. I hate it but my entire family seem to think it is nice..hrm.

Behind these dear sweet apple trees, you can see the hell that is the weeds that was the 'lawn' 150 foot of 'lawn' we managed to strim a space to plant apple trees. They are there to encourage bees and to fend off the misery that strimming the rest will cause me. Look at the beautiful upright fence, not rotten at all. Look at the old bomb shelter trying desperately not to drown in the weeds...heeellllp mmmmeeee!

Evidence of bramble wall of doom, look, I killed it dead...yeh! Also see nice six foot high mesh wall..for what reason are you there mesh wall? You know not? Me either!

Beautiful skeleton of greenhouse, included is live wire running to non-existing light fitting and potting table made of woodworm and mould and exhausted bubble wrap...too tired to bear the hell of the garden it fell down and gave up. 

There are no words. I have an old pub table I spray painted pink..I hate the colour, but I love it more than the hell hole it sits in..what IS the point of the fence..? It has since been killed. Phew.

Random metal poles..these were hidden by a world of ....BRAMBLES..yes, because you can't have enough spiky bastards in your garden if you live here...we spent 3 days ripping them all out.  I genuinely had no idea there was a bed this big here, I thought it was much smaller. We found two french door glass panes..there are no french doors here?! We turned the soil over, we hurt ourselves..we nearly gave up. It is now our veggie patch..HA! beat that brambles.

Attractive concrete hell..we have named this 'no mans land' Look at that metal sheet..isn't it the perfect feature for your garden. bleurgh

*Cry*

*sob*

*shudder*

Don't even get me started on the front garden.

I guess I had better go and get on with some more...speak soon.x

5 ,4, 3, 2, 1...

With less than 5 days to go I am starting to panic.

Everything is in a mess and I can't walk a yard without tripping over this or stubbing a toe on that. Most annoying.

Lately I have picked up some lovely little bits that I am reluctantly having to pack away today, and here are some granny squares I have been working on. Since I took this picture the squares are now rapidlly turning into a blanket for my (bigger) little boy's room. I am feeling very guilty to be moving him to a new place, new school and worst of all, a new room with no carpet or radiator - he is shocked!! The plaster is 90 years old and I don't think even one floor board is nailed down properly, we will have to work hard in there to make it nice..so, I have decided to make loads of nice little homely things for him, help him to feel more at home. Not sure what to do about the plaster though..that might have to wait..sorry little O.

It's all very exciting and the sadness from the other day is slowly passing. I am now looking forward to our little (big) move and making a new home. I also have to focus on business once I am there so hopefully lots of colourful updates on the horizon. Mostly crochet-based (it is my new passion)

Anyhowww..with a list for each day as long as a supermodel's leg, I really ought to get on. I will leave you with a lovely picture of a charming swan I happened to meet the other day..bye for now.x

Goodbye 96

I just sent my little boy off for his last ever day at his school. we are moving.

Contracts are signed, deals are done, solicitors paid and we are off..I feel a touch sad, there is a lump in my throat and my heart is heavy.

Although it is exciting to move to a new home, and believe me, I have such excitement about it, I do love this house, so much.
It's truly the first ever house I have felt is MY home. I have been here four years and in that time my son has come to the end of his treatment for childhood cancer and (so far) stayed strong (let's all keep our fingers crossed that it's always that way)
I had to start my life as a single mum here and battled through having no money, no one to keep me company, being totally alone in a big old three storey house with weird noises and doors that didn't lock.. at times I was terribly sad about being alone and how my life might always be that way...but throughout that time I found myself, I found friends to hang out with and a lovely home to throw myself in to. People would come and stay, they all felt at home here and it soon became known at Hotel 96! 

.....And then,when i was content with life and really wasn't thinking about things getting any better, I stupidly locked myself out of the house, and by doing so I ended up finding the man who evenetually asked me to be his wife, now we have a child, he has become a father figure to my other child, they are the best of friends and together we have bought a house and we begin a new path together, all of us as a little family. It's such an exciting time but part of me and my heart will definitely remain here at 96.

And so, next Saturday, at the crack of dawn, probably with a heavy heart, I will pack up my entire life made here and move it to 'Hotel 38'

A new start, a new house, a new life, a new canvas to paint..

I want to write more but I don't really feel like today is the day.



Goodbye 96. x

Hey-cro whaddya know!

Welll welllll welllllllllll-lah!

I spent most of yesterday trying and failing SO badly to make a lovely little crochet granny square. I have been determined all my life to be like my mum and be able to just produce awesome knitwear/crochet at the drop of a hat, my mum has got the woollen skills! I sadly do not and knitting is about as exciting as I get (I love it but I WANT to crochet so hard)
So after an entire day of stabbing my fingers, squinting like an old lady over a big ol' steering wheel and cursing a lot...at about four pm I finally decided that I was always going to be a total loser and ought to be struck off as an official 'woman'
That I may as well give up and go back to dreaming about crochet and making cute little blankies..sure, I can knit but this crochet malarkey is like winning the lottery for me, I know it is out there, or at least, it is for other people, but for me it is juuust out of reach..so as the evening drew closer and I really WAS going to give up and make some dinner for my poor hungry family, honest..then I suddenly got it! Dinner was going to have to wait suckers!

SHIZENYESS!

I got it!!! soon after that four oddly shaped squares sat in front of me in a drudgy shade of green, red, yellow? etc,  and I knew, I totally knew that it was love. I looked down at the pathetic little squares all wonky and proud and I went straight to Ebay and sweetly asked (made) 'him' buy me 800g of scrappy DK wool to make into horribly wonky brother and sister squares for my proud little mutant squares, and in turn, my first blanket :)

So this morning (because by now you may have noticed I can't stop with the klepto-like behaviour) I went to the local (I can't ever remember the name of the bloody place..hang on..) not green grocer, no..wait! I went to the local hardware store and there, on the 'shelf' was a fairly crap but colourful collection of wool. Now the man who was in there was new and possibly a weirdo murdery type?? - he had the look y'know slightly serial killery specs, shifty eyes and an enthusiastic comb over

But he was about my age-ish, hrm, I was sure he shaved some hair off to make his comb over..what an odd set-up, why choose to look like this?? I toyed with running away as he went to prop open the door (also known as lock the door and kill me - but he didnt) then he smiled at me in a slightly pitying way as I enquired about his lacklustre wool and told me, very kindly, that I could have 8 balls at 1.85 each, then he said actually some of them are a bit, y'know (? I do?) ..so how about today they are..hmmm 1.50?(said quizzically as if I knew the answer to 1.50?)....Well I wasn't going to argue, I only had about £7 ish quid and so I picked up 6 as I couldn't decide between them and he said, ok how about you tell me how many are there, so I said 6 but I can't afford them all, just choosing the colours. Then he said, ok well what have you got in your hand so I checked my change, told him about £7 ish and he said 'fine'

Sweet!
 
So I scrabbled around and pulled out the £7ish, thrust it at him whilst making a clear run for the very welcoming exit and yelled 'THANKS'... and  legged it home with my cheap, weird and slightly odd collection of wool. Apart from being scared shatihless in the shop that whole trip was worth it, what a kind and mostly terrifying man, and besides, I could not wait.. it was definitely probably worth it maybe.

Now bearing in mind I am moving to a new (falling down) house in two weeks and it has no storage and I don't know where anything is going to go etc, I am guessing that now is a pretty stupid time to decide to fall in love with crochet and stock up on tons of wool. Bearing in mind I have a knitting shop and a whole room full to the brim with chunky wool and last winter's scarves that are still unsold..possibly not the best timing, but PAH, whatever..I am in love and anyone who stands in the way of me and my weird little squares better watchout!

On another note I was also very pleased because the day before I rescued a (possibly very ugly) 70s raffia grass and leather (what a combo) bag from the charity shop, It was buried under some rather drab old suitcases and a crappy briefcase, bleurgh, who the hell do they think they are! pfft.
Now I knew it was cool in a kind of 70s mum kind of a way but I wasn't sure of what it was going to be for..I contemplated using it as a buggy bag for nappies and the likes but let's be honest, they go UNDER the buggy and usually the buggy bag is for the awesome bits and bobs I find out and about..so no,not for that.. then of course the wonky squares happened in all their glory and so my crochet bag was born..mmm crochet bag, you're so ugly but so cooool!

So yeh, tonight I am up to ten little rainbow squares, they are all the same (ish) shape and I feel proud like a puffy pigeon..so folks, for the first time in my stubborn, giveupperish little life, after 31.5 years and  many a tantrum, I have finally made a crochet square...I am one happy girl :) woo!x

Baby it's COLLLLLLD outsiiiiiide

Gosh, it's blooooody freezing today. After a week or so of lovely, lovely sunny spring weather we are now back to grim grey skies and chunky knitwear (I like that part) and guess what? I've got the stupid, stupid sniffles. Have been sneezing and sniffing and now I definitely have a runny nose...humph.

Today, seeing as it is rubbish and cold, I am going to learn to crochet. Have found a bunch of cool tutorials on YouTube and am GOING to do it. I went out this morning and bought a cute little crochet hook and I obviously have tons and tons of wool (not packed that just yet -can't bear to!) and I intend to learn how to make squares, then make square after square on my cold and boring nights at home (I am imagining there wont be many of those as I am moving to a house with a boiler and lots of lovely fun people and things) when I have not much else to do...ha, yeh.

Look at this beauty from Moxy Crochet

http://www.moxycrochet.co.za/index.html

...so so gorgeous..jealous/inspiration!

Right, so I am going to go and find my slippers and make some tea and then get on to making wonderful blankets using only a little metal stick and some sheepies! yehh. bye.x

Oh hello

It's been a while hasn't it.
I've been REALLY busy, squirrellllling away all my things into boxes, ready to move to the new house! It's been a chore and I'm not even half way there..sigh..this is mostly because I have spent most of my spare time walking for miles about the countryside with the dog or buying lovely old studio pottery and the likes from local charity shops (shh! don't tell him)

Work has finally slowed to a standstill, I don't think people want knitwear when the weather is this nice (stupid, stupid... ok, fair enough) I am planning to shut shop for a few months until I am settled in the new place and then I will re-open with new ideas, products and lovely things in time for summer and the festivals. It's a bit dis-heartening that I'm not doing much work-wise but I am taking it as kismet, I am meant to be working on other things and so I must knuckle down..probably.

..and so I must also be more versatile and make lovely new things..I just need to figure out what they are? Knitted tea cosies? Woollen lampshades? Woollen pillows, Garden cushions, Giant cats made of human hair? no?..urgh..I don't know. Feel so despondant.

Score of the day yesterday was this super-cool fabric for framing and putting in my new office (the understairs cupboard, I am JUST like Harry Potter)

I love the whole primary colour, naiveness of it. Do you remember the kids TV show Pigeon Street?

It reminds me of that, clearly Pigeon Street and Long distance Clara had a lasting effect on me, so now my office is going to be rocking some 70s/80s joy..LOVE. See the woman in the long blue dress and grey cardi - I AM her. She is me..wtf?! I had never noticed until now..disturbing.

Recently, me and him have be out and about jaunting, it must be the weather, I love to jaunt about the place with a pocket full of coins and a hopeful feeling in my tummy that * maybe & perhaps* exciting treasures will be just around the next corner - most of the time they are not..but out on a jaunt last Saturday, me and him were looking about one of our local thrifty places (top secret location of cheapy goodness) when we happened uponst some WICKED 70s G-Plan chairs (like these) but battered and in need of some serious love and touching.

I love them, small and kitch and perfect for the new kitchen..score! Just as I was turning around to pay for the rad chairs I saw a 1940s kitchen clock, a Jessie Tait plate and ANOTHER two awesome (Nathan) chairs. Like a ten-armed kleptomaniac I swooped down upon everything in site and scooped it all up in my cubbly little arms...mmmmmm Score, muahahhahahahahha! So we left the secret place of goodies, got in the car and it wouldn't start (shizenmuff - him in instant mood) Thankfully I just so happened to have watched MacGuyver that morning and remembered some handy tips, and quickly fashioned a new car out of elastic bands, broken teak tables and some slightly gritty lumps of blue tac (not really) but I did fix it. Winner, and on our merry way we went!

Anyway, once we got home I decided I really ought to get on with my last broken chair project of doom. Make some room for some more chairs of doom. One of my (not so secret) loves is re-covering old chairs (see below - cat not for sale, chair now finished and for sale on evilbay)

 The chair pictured with my little cat Sage, is an original 1920s Atcraft chair recovered in 50s fothergay fabric, I don't care how many people think it is an ugly fabric, I think it is a thing of beauty and it is currently for sale right now on Ebay - go  take a peek! I must've hit my stupid sausagey fingers about twenty thousand times to get this old boy back to looking pretty and nice. The fabric is taught, the chair is re-upholstered, the frame sanded and waxed..it looks like a sexy gentleman chair and whomever is tempted by is deco curves will be in love forever, I am sad to see it go, but I have more chairs and that means less room, farewell old boy.

Anyway, as I was saying, before sidetracking like a pro -  Like a phoenix from the ashes these awesome old G-Plan chairs will rise and be loved once again - I swear it! I want to do something like this (see Ercol chairs right here)

What do you think? Something bright and happy like this, whoever made these chairs look like this - you are a genius, sorry for not linking you or crediting you but I collected this pic ages ago and lost the linky info. Needless to say, you are an actual genius! So yes, like these lovely colourful beauties but with awesome/hideous fabric seats. hrm, will photograph and show you once they are done, they are on the HUGEmongous list of things I have to make/fix/build as soon as I move house.

Anyway, enough waffling about chairs.. This week (that's the last twelve hours so far - six of which I was asleep!) I have been working on a felted bead curtain for my new kitchen, I am making tons of little balls and will be threading them onto fishing wire with shells and glass and other cool bits and then hanging them in my new minging kitchen window which actually has to become prettier otherwise I may be forced to cry..have a little sneaky peaky at my felting goods whilst you're here

Bloody chip in my favourite cup, ach, anyway, those colours are awesome and will be much more awesome once they are hanging in my (soon to be) fabulous new kitchen window.

Right! I really ought to get on with my day..can anyone teach me to crochet? I realllly want to learn how to be as good as this http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/ Oh Lucy, I read your blog and am SO jealous of your lovely crochet world..sigh. such wonderous colours and shapes..one day!

All the pictures I have featured (apart from the wool balls and the cat on a chair) are not mine, I have lost the links to them but I just wanted to make damn sure that the people who did take them know I am not claiming them as mine and am super-thankful for their beauty perking up my stupid blog. So thank you and if you really aren't happy, please msg me and I will take them down. taaa.xxx

On the theme of..

..Old man paintings, I bought one as a gift today.

This blog should've been entitled 'Kindness'

This past weekend and today, I have been shown such kind ness and generosity..it is amazing how lovely people can be.
Last week a nice lady we shall refer to as C, donated her kitchen to me on well known British website, Freecycle. I actually emailed her about something else she was giving away but she read that I needed a kitchen for the new  (falling apart) house and she kindly told me that her kitchen was being removed, so would I like it? She sent photos and then informed me that the lovely, lovely kitchen fitters (who were putting in her new kitchen at the time) would lend us their van so we could transport it all..for free. So to C, thank you SO much. So much kindness and generosity.
To the fitters, also thank you for being trusting and kind.
Then, on to today..my insane art collection is going a bit overboard at the moment, and I was looking for a gift, I stumbled across a lovely painting for my fella

and emailed the (awesome) seller with an offer..it was every last penny i had and REALLY more than I should be spending with solicitors and bills and babies etc..but he kindly accepted and was so sweet to talk to. He didn't have to say yes, but he did..so to him, we shall call him K, thank you also. You are amazingly kind.

Not wanting to sound too much like a hippy, but if you can, in your life, make someone else a tiny gesture like those that were made for me, I can honestly tell you, you will make someone so happy. Please do it, I hope it will make you feel happy too.x

Shugga-duggga dooo, OOOH, Daddy.

Today I am MAD about the old man paintings you see laying about in charity shops and going for nothing on Ebay/Etsy and so on.

I am bidding on a right old pair of geezers online at the moment, I have such a  warm swollen feeling of love for them in the pit of my stomach, I can just picture (no pun intended) their awesome old man faces above the sofa in my new house. Their beautiful wise old cracked faces, concealed behind their beautiful wise old cracked varnish..mmmm, I love them. I hope they smell old, like the same way old books do (I collect them too)
Anyway, I guess this has to be a very brief post as Shutter Island is on the TV and I quite fancy scaring the shizz out of myself and hiding behind a cushion and the likes. Hopefully a more interesting post tomorrow or sometime soon..maybex

I love your funnnnyyy faccce

MMMM baaacon. Lickedy lick.

Rowan, you rock.

Shouldn't buuuut... WOULD!

Everyone has them, right?

I spent aaages last night baking a nice (if you like that sort of thing) coffee and walnut cake for my fella. Personally I think coffee is rank and walnuts are lovely but FAR too fatty, am fat enough already after 2 kids and 74 chocolate bars a week :P

Whilst baking said cake my dog, Rowan and I, listened to music and pondered over our shouldn't but woulds..who are yours?

Mine were:

Dustin Hoffman (coo coo kachoo, mrs robinson - you know what I mean!)

Liam Neeson

Griff Rhys Jones (gah..yum!)

AND

Dexter Fletcher (pictured, whom I have loved since The Press Gang in 1989 - when I was 9/10. Look at Dexter..what a silvery beauty he is)

Rowan's were:

Lassie

Odie

AND

sage, our stupid cat...he is a very confused doggie.

STILL no news about when the survery for our house will be..I have a little egg of nervousness in my tummy. BWAAAKKK..that was my best chicken noise.

MASSIVE hair.

What I wouldn't give for

1. lovely straight normal hair that does as it is bloody well bloody told bloody bloody.

2. a nice small chest to fit inside 'normal' girlie clothes instead of a matronly chest, it's not even jayne mansfield large, just hattie jaques...although not as lovely as she was fabulous.

3. a little bag full of a million pound coins to fall out of the sky into my handbag (please)

4. the money to purchase a g plan room divider to put in the house i just paid a shitwedge of money to survey before (hopefully) buying!!

5. patience to find out if the house we are (hopefully) buying, is ours.

6. a studio to do all of my knitting in, a nice one with awesome things in it.

7. a spare £140 to buy the 2 parker knoll chairs I need to match the one I already have..then another 1 to magically turn up so i have a set for my new lounge..where are you?!?!

There are other things but I am late for school and this is bad as I am the mum...I am meant to be on time, it is him that is meant to be late.

My store is dead at the moment..how on earth do you get people to visit your etsy store to buy lovely woollen products when it is sunny outside and wool is probs the last thing they need?

hrm..this reminds me, the dog needs a haircut.

love.xx