Romancing the home

Yeah! We made an offer on the tumble down house, and after 3 days of faffing about trying to scrape extra money out of thin air, we managed to stretch ourselves to an offer the owners deemed reasonable. So, the next day we (our family) and our extended family, all jumped in our cars and went to the house to look around (the poor estate agent!) We all got rather excited and the neighbouring house's curtains twitched so frequently I wondered if they were in fact trying to communicate by semaphore?

The house was just like I remembered, Tall, narrow, pale and full of potential but falling apart of the seams everso slightly...think like a vintage dress that has been loved but is just starting to look tatty enough to bin..like that. I love it. The garden is glorious and overgrown and the house is a time warp, slightly innocent looking but there is a proudness hidden under the tired old wallpaper and paint.

Upstairs there are 3 good sized bedrooms, two at the back with no carpet and radiators, plaster so cracked it could be a secret map of the london underground and some gorgeous old 1920s floral nets which will be taken down and dyed minty green and put up in my kitchen as curtains/door panels. The kitchen is a place that time forgot, the floor is sunken and the walls all over theplace with badly boxed in pipes and layer upon layer of floral wallpaper peeling back like the pages of an old, wet Laura Ashley catalogue.The poor excuse for a bathroom standls lonely just outside the kitchen walls, with only a narrow hallway to connect it, within the narrow hallway are old school hooks for coats and a gorgeous old bakelite light switch..I will be keeping that. The size of the bathroom..ok, wet room (there is no bath) isn't great but it will do for now, do for drying clothes when no one is bathing..no, showering and for washing the dog in - grubby little boy., but it will do and I have grand grand plans for it one day!

Today I have had some luck, a lovely lady was Freecycling a kitchen dresser, so of course I emailed her right away and it turns out she is also getting her kitchen removed today, she offered it to me and I have snapped it up. Not bad for one afternoon of Freecycle trawling. I hope to find a lovely colour paint, paint the units (if they aren't up to scratch - which they might be) and then go on the hunt for a nice work top for cheap or free! I like the idea of covering the one that is already in there with copper sheeting, it is such a cool look.

I also now have to think about my littlest son's new bedroom..so I had a quick search online and ended up finding this rug! (see above) Now what could be cuter than that! Then I thought about what I could do in there and my mind is going wild with ideas..I just can't wait. I know I could be jumping the gun a bit as there are stumbling blocks with regards to the sale, like the survey (it has to value the house at what we will be paying) and the mortgage company definitely saying yes...but these aren't things I am going to worry about ..I will go mad

So to combat madness I am now going out to look for some cute fabric to make hoop wall art for a room, whichever room suits the fabric I find..Will update with more news as soon as I know!

Woo-hoo, keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck!

Updates

So, as promised, we (our little family) expanded by one. Little fyfe is here and growing bigger by the day, this pleases me as he is such a bonny, happy boy. Full of smiles and love for all. Big brown eyes and pale, milky skin..he looks fragile.

He has taken really rather well to sitting with me in the lounge and hearing the clickedy clack of the knitting needles and the dulcet tones of Kate Walsh and her lovely album 'Peppermint Radio' Listen to it on Spotify! It is full of beautiful covers of old songs that have her magical, fraglie touches..I love her voice and the simplicity of her music. It is just perfect.

Anyway, my young man, he has a smile for everyone and loves a cuddle, what more could you want from such a handsome boy. The rest of our little clan is happy and keeping well, which pleases me as good health is something you really ought not ever take for granted.

This week an exciting new prospect poured over the horizon like sunshine coming up over a gloomy old hillside..

Now we are expanding as a little family, He, my lovely man..(soon so be husband, how weird is that!) told me that we really ought to get on and get this house we are living in, cleaned up and sold. So, me being me (impatient and always on the hunt for a bargain) had a little look for a house and found myself a little house that needed a lot of work but just so happened to be in our price range..so we book to see it and then decide we really aren't in the right place to look at it so we decide to cancel and go looking later on in the year.

So, some time ticks on and a nice chat with my dad results in us looking again..and guess what, the house is still on the market. So last weekend we went to look at it. It's falling apart really, no kitchen to speak of, it still has the original 1920s coal-fulled range cooker, it has no kitchen floor, a bathroom the size of a postage stamp and it hasnt been decorated in 50 years..but it has a charm.

Now, it may be true that I am a bit of a snob, but I am not too big for my boots and not too proud to build a life from scratch..afterall, you can't depend on the kindness of your parents your entire life.

So I looked into this house..it is an ex-council house built in 1926, it was built under the 'Homes for Heroes' scheme, which was a scheme made by local councils to provide affordable housing for the wives and children whose husbands has been sent off to the first world war and either been killed or wounded so badly that they couldn't afford to work. These families were left with nothing and the end result was the government building houses for these families to rent. Now fast forward some 90-ish years and here I am, a woman looking to house my family..we may not be war heroes but I am in love with the idea that lost in time somewhere is this beautiful idea and this wonderful tumbledown house could just be right.

Perhaps living on an ex-council estate in a tumbledown house is brave or stupid, but I have decided to keep a diary of it, the sourcing of free or cheap items, the renewing of such an old building..the garden..it will be cool to keep not only my work updated here but also my family and home updated too and perhaps one day it will be useful or interesting to someone else in the same position? - who knows.

What I do know is I am nervously awaiting the estate agent to call me back with the news of my offer, will it have been accepted or declined, the first was declined yesterday...not a great feeling but it could be worse..so we have gone in, all guns blazing with a new shiny offer and now we just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope they say yes..then it is all go, a life of sourcing new kitchens and bathrooms and garden items from Freecycle, Ebay, car boots, jumble sales and the tip! This house will strip us of every penny, so what fun to see how we can make it better for cheap or even free..keep your fingers crossed!

winter blues

this week has been bad.

with only 13 days to go until our new baby is here, we have all been struck down with the winter vomiting virus..and it is hell.

norovirus, go look it up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus wouldn't wish it on anyone. and although i got over mine (as in stopped being sick) on tuesday, it is now friday and i still feel like hell and both my boys have it too. so far tonight they have both been throwing up for five hours straight and neither want me to leave them - which is sweet, but, i am VERY pregnant and don't know how much longer i can stay awake, plus the scrubbing of sick out of clothes and carpets is a touch tiring now..but i don't want to sound mean. i love my boys and will stay awake with them until they are both shiny and new.

in a brief advertising type-moment. trugs have saved the day/week/year . if you don't know what a trug is then go and find out right now..there are about a squillion uses for a trug and in this house we couldn't cope without them. they are laundry baskets, plant watering devices, sick buckets, car washing buckets, planters for vegtables in the summer, toy storage...and many many more. tonight our lounge is full of sicky trugs, but they are still awesome in all their colourful glory! thank you trug! http://containerama.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=23



it does make you think about how lucky we are to have such simple things as clean water and flushing toilets. without clean running water to rehydrate you, norovirus would be a killer. so i have spared a thought and will do something this winter to support a country or town that doesn't have such a luxury..

in other news i donated a bunch of my knitwear to a 'help the heroes' auction which happened yesterday. it was a pretty impressive sale and they raised over £5000 (not all from knitwear) so they must be amazingly proud of themselves.

i finally finish work on monday for maternity leave..i shall miss it you know. a friend text me today with a possible exciting job next year. i shall say no more but i REALLY hope it will happen as it would be such a laugh and everything i could want. funny where some balls of wool and knitting needles can take you.

anyway, it is late and i have a big human man-boy and a very poorly little human boy-boy to take care of, so goodnight, keep safe and enjoy your christmas if i don't make it back to say it again by then!

love and stuff.x

Oh! it's been a while

Sorry about that... Life threw me a curveball this year, my strange higgledypiggeldy family is expanding by one at Christmas, December 23rd to be precise..a smaller and slighty more quiet version of me and he! How exciting.



So, since we last spoke..well, I had to give knitting a long break as the past seven months I have been busy inspecting the inside of my toilet bowl more often that I would've liked. In fact, I got so used to hanging upside down inside the toilet bowl I did begin to wonder if I was part-bat? Wilf got loads better, his jaw fixed and he now looks very much like a slightly fatter, smilier, slightly fluffier version of a smudgy cloud. Bean grew a whole year older and is now 9! Woah!

And to work, well I decided it was about time. 'He' (very kindly) bought me a little website to tinker with for my birthday (which isn't until the end of this month) So I can have my very own little space to list my curiosities and cumbersome knits :)

I will be updating my new site www.nooandnelly.com with new items as often as a spherical pregnant person can be doing on a daily basis... just to warn you, my head is all over the place so if it takes a little time or i accidentally knit a cat into your wintery scarf, then i am awfully sorry but you can be sure the cat will have the most perfect manners and the very softest of yarn

Until next time my woolly friends..xx

christmas is looming over us like a big shimmery snow cloud full of wonderful prezzies, ready to burst at any moment!!

the salt dough is out, shaped and painted..

the lights are up and the tree needles are wildly scattered all over the carpet like hidden stealthy soldiers bayonets, ready to stab you in your unsuspecting christmas socks at any given moment. this savage act is to remind you that they've fallen off the tree just in time to make some cunning space for those last few christmas presents you'd forgotten to wrap and place there carefully in preparation for the big day.

the bank account is looking empty enough to make you do a little tummy flip and hope that the bill people are in a kind mood this month! after all..we're all forking out this month...13 days and counting..and breathe..spend, spend, spend!!

oh my GODD, i've just remembered i am allowed to watch scrooge now, it's december! i am SO going to put that on to work to in a bit..this afternoon i am going to try and teach myself how to crochet and i am going to knit my little boy a scarf as he has been asking me for months and i am always so busy i never get time..poor old boy.

i think i will make him a wintery blanket too (if and when i get the time..i love him. i may also knit him some kind of amazing cat...yey! handmade presents are the best..is this too long to have in brackets?) and some other things like decorations for the tree.

i've just finished a big plate of steaming bubble and squeak made from the left-overs of our roast dinner t'other night..it was splendid - i must say :)

this morning we (he, i and our friends aubrey) awoke early and drove (in good time) to get to our local market/jumble sale...we fought fiercely through the determined grannies and bossy old men to get to this market/jumble sale, that is (to be very polite) held only just at the seams ..it's MANIC! it would seam that every third saturday of each month absolute lunatics gather together and race about and fight and push, and jab each other just to grab the nearest bargain..??

when we arrived (on time - about four hours too late it would seem) we reached the car park spot and a kind (obviously deranged) man in a tangerine security coat advised us to drive at great speed, without stopping so as to not get stuck in the mud (quagmire) before arming ourselves with knee and elbow pads, long swords, crossbows and cycle helmets and to get on into the kerfuffle of fighting to get a looksie at the goods.

it was like a bare knuckle fight to just get in..at one point an old man (possibly a walking christmas pudding in a wax jacket and hunting cap) used his, what can only be described as 'circumference' to wade on in and bound me out of his way like a giant waxy tweed buoy bobbing about in the sea bashing away a poor unsuspecting dinghy or a little wave that might just be quietly swooshing along BASH, CRUSH, BOOOF! good god!!..i was bashed this way and that, and at one point a small french child tried to actually climb into my womb (i am almost certain)

she appeared from between my legs as if i were the virgin mary and she was the baby jesus trying to climb back in as he had possibly changed his mind and this madness was all just a bit much.

...non, zees iz not ze way l'ittle one! get out!

i swiftly gave birth to her again and removed her from the stable and pointed her towards the woman in the blue cloak stood outside next to the little donkey - vamoosh frenchie i gots a fight to be getting on with!

a short while later i emerged from this oap boxing ring armed with a bloody nose, a broken leg, missing teeth and a GORGEOUS patchwork quilt.. hand-stitched with stunning old floral fabrics and silks, four velvet and tapestry cushions, two cute (stamped and signed) brass deer for the christmas mantle, knitting needles, crochet hooks, a west german signed planter and a wonderful gift for an old friend of mine..this must remain secret as she may read this and that just wouldn't do! 'he' managed to find a brown tank top, three nice old jumpers and a (hilarious) prezzie for his bro, before giving up and waiting at the hot meat stand..he did well, i could see him losing the will to live after about the first hour of fighting to walk around.

anyway, so i am pleased with the little swag bag of goodies we bought and in a short while i am going to dress the house in our new finds and knit the afternoon away..and possibly have another black tea and maybe put the heating on - shhh!

happy (nearly) christmas y'all..hope you have a wonderful time and gifts..

xx

busy times

I'm pleased to say that Wilf pulled through his surgery well and is slowly recovering on the sofa at home. He seemed very poorly yestreday but has perked up today and managed to eat a lot and watch some rubbish morning television and sleep a lot. He seems very pleased to be home.

Today we went back to the vet and he got to have a walk outside with me (he was in a basket) he enjoyed looking around and seeing what was going on but he didn't much like the traffic..we have decided (me and him) that living somewhere very quiet (without cars, say in the country) will be on the card for 2010.

I went for a meeting in London yesterday...at a shop called Rokit. I met with a lovely lady to talk about becoming part of the designers guild...it looks very promising. If it all goes ahead you will be able to buy my items from their online store..yey! This pleases me cos Rokit are a very popular vintage shop/label and it would be a wonderful experience..so very happy with that!

So, all in all life is ticking over nicely today...let's hope it sails on into the weekend..happy weekend everyone.x

fate - part 2

( this is wilf)

i am elated.

wilf (my missing cat) came home in the early hours of this morning..

it's funny how these things happen. i'd had a terrible day and was feeling so low and down about things and 'he' came in from recording with his band and sat on the arm of the sofa.

there is nothing unusual about this but this time 'he' left the front door open and that never happens..as 'he' sat on the arm of the sofa and chattered to me about how rubbish things were and how things had to get better soon we both heard a meow.

we thought we had imagined it...

we've both been absolutely devestated about wilf. felt like we had let him down and that we could've done a better job keeping him safe, so when we heard a meow we both jumped up...but nothing.

we wondered if it had been on the tv, lawyer film on - no not the tv.

i thought it had come from the chimney..'he' looked outside and as we both spoke about which direction it had come from we heard it again..meow

louder again MEOW

i called wilf's name and in the manic wind and rain i heard him meow louder.. 'he' went outside and looked around and finally, under some old tarpaulin, behind a bike... was wilf! i cried and my heart broke into a million pieces..his face was all smashed up and bloody and his right eye swollen to double it's size. he had dry blood all over his face and his body was skeletal..he stank of wee and was too weak to stand.

i picked him up and it was clear he had lost all of his teeth and his jaw was badly broken, he was covered in filth but i just hugged him gently and brought him inside.

wilf, being wilf, started to purr and rub his broken bloody face all over me and 'him' he seemed so so happy that we had found him and that he was ok ...i couldn't stop crying, i was so pleased to see him and so sad he was in such a way. i had been sure he was dead...he started to drink the water we put down for him and began to purr so loudly it was like an engine.

he isn't dead!!!

we rushed him to the vet in the very early hours of this morning and they said he has lost half of his entire body weight and he is dehydrated..he was sweet and calm and rolled over for the vet to look at him. we brought him home after some pain killers and the vet arranged for him to go into sugery first thing to have x-rays and operations to fix him.

i have never been so happy...he is alive

when we got in he managed to get downstairs to say hello to rowan the dog..and sage the cat. they all were so happy to be together again. it was so lovely to see how happy they were to see him

so this morning, we took him to the vet after we'd all had about three hours sleep. the vet was lovely and said that he had to wire his bones back together and take some x-rays and give him fluid and anti-biotics, pain killers and check his diaphragm, lungs, heart, bladder and brain..then he would make him stable and hopefully we can have him home later today..

so we await the news of his x-rays and operation and keep our fingers crossed that our boy is going to be better soon..

the vets bill is enormous..i am going to have to sell ten times the amount i am to make a dent in the amount, but i will, because i am lucky to have 'him' and to have wilf back home again..

now let's keep our fingers crossed and see what the news is by 2pm

x

in the words of ben from LOST......

...."fate is a fickle bitch"

bad week.

~fin~

monday monday

oh it's been a long weekend. i'm literally aching from head to toe and i have no idea why. i didn't go out..i did work on new designs until one or two am fri, and sat

............ and last night i couldn't sleep. boo

YAWN

it's been a fun weekend though..i did another photo shoot with my friend aubrey www.etsy.com/shop/nooandnelly and got some more ideas for things to make whilst doing it. next on the menu is bow tie pins and bow tie hair clips..going to make some today and see what they look like.

on saturday i went to the 'good' charity shops with 'him' and the pickings were really rather slim to say the least..but i did find 2000 grams of poodle wool dated to 1961 still in its wrapper..i jumped at the chance to get it and although it's colour isn't for everyone, i bashed out the quirkiest piece of knitwear to date and i have to say...i rather like it..in an odd 'do i like it?' kind of way

(please excuse the free light bulb i got with the wool - how random)

was also very pleased to have ordered my first clothes labels and 'business' cards

i say 'business' cos it is still just a really full-on hobby but i have a few meetings soon so watch this space...things may be about to get more interesting!

so on to work today...although not too sure how. sage, my other (non-stolen, extra-stupid) cat is sat on my hands as i type, she is furiously head-butting my hands for attention so perhaps back to work soon... :)

have a good day

grizzlepants

god, it's just limp wet fish in this house today..proper bottom-dwelling grumpy old woman land.

it's been one of those predictable wet and windy days again.

dull.

motivation should be at an all-time high but energy has been pretty darn low. i feel like a sack of potatoes left out in the rain with slugs all over it like disgusting shimmery brooches.

in an effort to gain energy and feel more productive i tidied my work space and watched the sky change from light bluster blue to dark grumbly blue (to match my mood) shortly after that it reached a defeated washed out and denim and granny-white tights colour.. then the light went away as it was too annoyed to illuminate such a crap selection of colours.

i junked another scarf today (magenta) and am adding it to the giant racing green effort i am making. strangely the two colours go together like paula abdul and a cartoon cat. i think they are really rather special (the colours, not paula and the cat) and am happy with that at least (grumble gruble..urrgh) just feel so lacklustre and grizzly, i can barely draw the energy to knit another row..wonder what is up with me?

i know i am annoying myself whinging so i shall hush now and hope tomorrow has a happier day ready for me :)

humbug........

cold feet

oooh brrrrr..


i've had such cold feet recently..it's doing my head in. actually my hands have also been cold when i'm working..can't really knit with gloves on though. hrm, might purchase some kind of wonderful feet warming devices, such as slippers or toasties or whatever they are called..? yes..





had a nice day today..the wind was wild whipping a blinder outside my window and of course the light never really managed to live up to its name. gloom danced around my house to the haunting howls of the wind down the chimney..to this soundtrack i photographed a fabulous friend in my mega chunky knitwear and a few of the not-so-mega, but nonetheless still fairly mega knitwear too. it was so dark in the 'studio' (aka lounge) that we had to put all the lights and lamps on at once, new photos are no good if you cannae see the model y'know..anyway we were illuminated like blackpool biddies under a disco ball thingy..bright! it was so hot though, i am surprised 'she' (the model) didn't melt! but she did a wonderful job and you can see her pretty woollen face here www.etsy.com/shop/nooandnelly


if your eyes aren't pleased enough by her very lovely face then please your ears here 'cos she also happens to be a bloody brilliant singer/songwriter and her name is aubrey dye. you can find her on myspace here www.myspace.com/aubreydyemusic lucky you!





i've been thinking about moving house a lot lately. i love where i live, it's quirky and higgledy piggeldy but i am starting to miss the countryside, the green grass and actually being able to see the stars at night. the sky at night is orange here from the industrial forest of street lamps and shops..it's ok i guess..? i love the view from my room, it is all dickensian, slim rows of tall chimney pots crowning the terracotta terraces ahead and a backdrop of wispy clouds that change into such greys that they merge into the slate tiles of the roofs as the sludgy weather gets ever bleaker then swallows them whole!!..but no, it's not enough anymore! i miss the smell of the grass and the rolling hills and birds..where do they live in the town? just the odd fat pigeon coo-coo-ing down my chimney as it wonders how on earth it can be bothered to fly all the way to trafalgar square from caversham..oh! it's a mere 30 minutes on the train mr, pigeon..see you at the station with the other pigeons, yes?





anyway..as i was saying. the country..but where to go?





maybe it is the forest green of the scarf i knit not precisely now, or maybe it is the twisting cunning cable pattern?.. but it makes me think of cosy country escapes, huge mugs of hot chocolate, my dog being fat by my feet and a chocolate box country cottage with a roaring fire glowing through its peeping little windows..and me inside said house with him and the boy...and there is a little tiled hallway with a very perfect space to put my newly bought slippers (for my very cold feet) next to their sleeping slippers before we all put on our warmest boots and head off out into the glorious dark to enjoy the winter sky and its beautiful blanket of stars...mmmm

strange brew

it's been an odd week.





good tinged with bad, actually..more like bad tinged with good.





me and 'he' bought a kitten when we first were together..we called him wilf. wilf was the best behaved boy you could ever hope to meet. he just slept and cuddled and was gentle and kind and wouldn't hurt a fly. this week wilf vanished. he hasn't come back..we have flyered and looked everywhere..he never left our sides for more than a few hours in his life. it's so sad. i miss him. i am hoping he has just gone to party with a lovely pretty lady-cat...but i'm not so sure.





come home wilf.. :(

and the good..life is moving on in good ways too. don't really feel like now is the time to talk about it. but positive things lie ahead. . . which is lovely. i'm working hard to keep my mind off it and i'm thinking positive..

i hope he comes home.

knit-wit?

below you can see some pictures of my work space in its usual messy state.

the black tea (no sugar) and eye watering mix of colours and patterns..the messy piles of wool and needles and cameras and computers and wires!!! the shifty old dummy...well, the dummy is called manny, it was peeling and gross and cream/mould and brown coloured when i got it. i painted it and sprayed it with glitter and it lives (reasonably happily) in my bedroom. where i only tend to dress it in knitwear and the occasional wet towel or coat if its terribly unlucky.

the mix of colours, patterns and half-painted walls in here at the moment is giving me a headache and at some point before christmas i am going to have to take a day off and paint the buggers the same colour to minimise the headspin effect. as for the patterns..that is just something i can't seem to avoid. a friend of mine says i look like i giant five year old that has rolled in her granny's dressing up box..that i give ugly betty's colours and patterns a run for their money! of course, i think this is a compliment!

earlier i read a very pretentious interview with a lady whos knitting i admire a lot..i wondered ' am i enough of a 'poser' to be doing this?'..i don't have a bowl-cut or a vast 80s wardrobe of things i hated wearing as a child..i definitely have too many boobs for fashion and my music taste is always leaning towards wrongun rather than right-on! anyway, give a crap..her work was awesome and i began to wonder if i will ever be good enough to do a ponsy posey interview of my own - doubtful! perhaps i will don some white tights and granny shoes and see if i can knit a little 'cooler'?

i'm junking a whole bunch of my early knits today. i am sick of looking at them and forking out for new wool when really i could just use their wool and make them into something new and interesting..i have an abundance of light blue chunky wool..i'm not sure i like it (i don't) might knit one big giant garment and (hopefully) get rid of it soon. was going to make a blanket for bean (my son) but i don't think i can inflict such a colour on a man child of almost double figures..he's too old for baby blue! and 'he' would look like a bear in a babygro so that's a definite no-no (although funny to think about)

i know it is common for people to start dreaming of their work once they have been doing it for a matter of time..i have now been knitting so frequently that everything i look at is turning into various stitches and colours..i can't think of yellow without describing it in my head as ochre or mustard..must take a break and immerse self in some kind of brain rest...

holiday.

edinburgh soon..will knit self a HUGE scarf to hide inside...shit! there i go again.

bloody knitting.

Oh..and a cartoon of me has been created..only thing is it looks nothing like me and my hair is blonde!!?!?!?!!? i'll post it here for giggles...i look like a seagullllll! funny!

nooandnelly

hello..

you might have noticed i'm new here..well, sort of.

before i carry on..

a confession - i'm not a fan of capital letters, i'm rubbish at spelling and punctuation and probably a little over-excited most of the time.

i'd like to use this space as a kind of over-spill of my head space (it's little in there but full of everything you can imagine) so here you will find my photos, knitting and bits and bobs about me.

you can also find me on twitter www.twitter.com/nooandnelly talking crap..and on etsy selling my wares www.nooandnelly.etsy.com

thank you for reading ..

nelly.x