Posy

Painting ...again!

 

I've been on holiday from school all week (and have another week to go..!) so I decided it was high time to get my house in order; and boy does it need it.  I've spent the first few days finishing a writing commitment and then 4 days on my hands and knees painting nearly every available surface.

 

Every floor apart from our bedroom, (which will be done tomorrow along with the stairs); the bathroom walls; the door frames, side of the staircase, the banisters, a chair, the tongue and groove which goes around in our hall and up the stairs. The floor looks wonderful now but it shows up everything else.

 I have also been inspired by Niki of Nostalgia At The Stone House, who, incidentally has written a wonderful  book.  On her blog she showed a photo of her friend's dresser which is the most beautiful I have ever seen. The dresser was lined at the back in floral wallpaper and I thought 'ah - that would be a good use of my new Cath Kidston wallpaper' ..so I did this

 

though it's hard to actually see as the shelves are groaning with floral goodness!  But it meant taking everything off and that's a good thing because I never put back as much as I take off.

 

I've been sorting and clearing out like crazy. It's funny how I let things build up and I try to keep on top of it but it just gets worse then suddenly I get this nesting instinct (just like when I was about to go into labour!) and nothing can stop me tidying, painting and hopefully improving our little nest. Long may it last I say even though I hobbled around Sainsburys today with aching arms, legs and slightly bruised knees. But I laughed when I paid for my things I noticed.. the back of my hands, still covered with white paint.

London, books, & crochet on the tube

   

Can you guess which one is me? Anth and Matthew couldn't quite believe it when I took my crochet out on the tube and settled down for a quick 'hook' between stations. We spent Saturday in London and as my companions were both male, shopping was definitely off the list - but I did insist on going to Borders Bookshop. No Christmas magazines yet but they seem to have every craft/interiors book known to man and guess what...a true miracle happened to me..I found another book with a picture of the blanket..yes, yes yes!

 

 

It's from this new book and has 3 and-a-bit pictures of the blanket and yes, I confess, I only bought this book for the 3 and-a-bit pictures. Tut, tut. I could not afford it, if truth be known, and spent the next 3 hours feeling guilty about it; but later when I had spent an hour pouring over the pictures I knew I had done the right thing. I tried to explain to Matthew how incredible it was to have found another picture of it as it must be the only one in the world and it lives in a house deep in the Norfolk countryside. More likely though it must have been the silent prayer that I have been saying hoping for another glimpse of it somehow.  So now I can probably work out approximately 30 of the 70 squares. It isn't the only book I have bought over the last week. I nearly fell over the other day when I walked in a shop and saw this

 

I didn't know Cath had another book out. It has 48 projects and 16 design templates to use to embellish T shirts, bedding, cushions etc. It looks very simple to use but I think a lot of skill has gone into making each project. This is my favourite page,

 

And back to London, (which incidentally was completely Cath-free - no lurking involved at all) - it was a gloriously sunny day and we walked along the Thames for a while and I played tourist with my camera.

 

 

 

 

But soon it was time to head to Shepherd's Bush and see Mr Stills..and before you ask I was almost the youngest there, and yes, I did crochet in the interval!

And the winner is..

The very seriousness of the occasion was etched on Lucy's face when she picked a number from 1 to 263. And the winner is, L. Rabbitt!

I will email you, L to get your address meanwhile I would like to thank you all for entering.  263 comments, I can't quite believe so many people visit my blog! It has been lovely to 'meet' so many new readers and I do hope you will stop by and say hello again.

Anth has an exam tomorrow (he's been studying for a degree in Social Work since Jan, though he won't be doing all the 7 year, part time Open University course) and after we will drive up to Winchester to stay with my youngest brother Matthew.  He has some friends who live on a houseboat at the bottom of .....wait for it...Cath Kidston's garden! Yes, can you believe it?  So I may have to do some serious lurking, but then again that would be most uncool wouldn't it, and what would I do if I actually saw her?? He has also got us tickets to see Stephen Stills on Saturday.  I am a big fan of Crosby, Stills & Nash, particularly David Crosby and early Stephen Stills, and have even seen them live many moons ago in 1983.  I'm sure I was the youngest in the audience back then and it will be interesting to see who will be there 25 years later.  And then on Sunday it is our 23rd Wedding Anniversary.

 So an action packed weekend in store for us - the chance of seeing 1, maybe 2, of my heroes and, more importantly, celebrating with my most favourite hero my greatest achievement, our marriage.

Her genius explained

Sometime ago in celebrating our eldest daughter's Maths results, I mentioned that both Anthony and I were stumped at where she got her brains from...now we know...

 

She has been having special help from Alfie!  I wonder if the examination board should know?

Another - yes another!

 

 I don't know how to tell you this but I'll say it very fast....I've started another blanket, er well more like 2, in the last fortnight.  I know, I know I have the most terrible habit of starting crochet blankets and never finishing them..ahem..first there was this one, then this, and this and finally this.  Yes, could there be anyone worse at starting and not finishing crochet blankets? I think not.  But I will explain all the same.

Quite awhile ago, the lovely Yvonne of Yvestown posted a picture of her lovely sitting-room and I spied a lovely blanket in the corner and begged her to show and tell.  She very kindly took a photo of it and put it on her Flickr page and I have drooled over it since then. Then 2 weeks ago I suddenly just had to make one too.  So I started. There isn't a pattern so I did a little working out and then off I went. It accompanied me to take Tom to Uni and it has been everywhere with me ever since.  That was until this week when I thought I would have a go at trying to join it.  Mmm, not good. What I thought was the way, wasn't, and after a few very despondent days (isn't it funny how when your latest creative project isn't going as planned it colours everything else? Well, it does with me..mmm ..what does that say about me I wonder!) I lost heart in it and then I remembered the blanket - the actual blanket that I have always wanted to do and frankly, am a little bit obsessed about.

And there is a little story behind it too which I may have mentioned before but can't remember if I did. A couple of years or so ago I saw Petra Boase's bedroom in the book 'Flea Market Style.'  Her crochet blanket has never left my mind since and I thought that one day I would make my own.  Then one day Alicia mentioned it on her blog as she too had fallen in love with it and I, not for the first time, felt that wonderful connection with a fellow blogger many miles away, who obviously has the same taste in crochet blankets!  I didn't want to start it then as she had, so in the meantime I have collected as many pictures of it as I could and just enjoyed looking at it. That was until Friday when I finally started it. Yay! 

 

So yesterday was spent cozy by the fire, books by my side, hook and wool in hand hoping against hope that this one will be trouble-free and will actually be the very first one to be finished!

 

And something tells me it might just be the one.

P.S Please don't forget to enter my giveaway- I can't quite believe how many of you have already entered...it's times like these I wish I was a millionaire so each of you could have a bag...

My Giveaway

 

Well, here it is - the bag, not the pussycat,  Aww, I left her in the picture - she was asking to come in!) It is the latest Cath Kidston, recyled Tesco shopping bag - made from 9 plastic bottles.  As you can imagine they simply fly off the shelves and I have been waiting for this one as it is my favourite out of the 5 she has designed.  So I've been ringing our local Tesco (9 miles away) and they never have it so I tried slightly further afield and they told me they had loads and yes of course they would put 4 behind for me.. yay, yay whoop whoop!   But Anth wasn't that impressed as it really wasn't slightly further, it was about 25 miles. Oh dear, I had to do the, 'but it's a Cath bag which will be gone by tomorrow,' routine.

When I got there I had to smile as they had hung them behind the customer service desk with my name on them and the number 4. Oh the greed of that Jane Goble and what's more they really did have loads.

 

 I thought it summed me up in a funny, floral sort of way.  In fact my lovely friend and colleague, Fiona, told me this week that she always knew when I arrived at school because there was an array of flowery bags dumped unceremoniously in the foyer! Well, she didn't actually say 'dumped unceremoniously' but I'm sure she would agree!  And now you too could dump this wonderful bag, perhaps not unceremoniously, anywhere you choose as I will send it to the person whose name I pick out.  So if you would like a chance to win it leave a comment and next Thursday I'll ask Lucy or Alice to pick out a number and I'll email you for your snail mail address.  And yes, I'll post it anywhere. It's as simple as that. 

A few little changes

      

I know you must be thoroughly fed up with seeing our mantelpiece again but I just want to show you the result of of one of my 'twiddles.'  Our home is always evolving, especially after my weekly trips to the local car boot sales; but this time I've done a major twiddle, which is how Anth describes my 'little-Janie- touches' but this time we are none too sure if we like it.  You see I have changed the lighting and am quite surprised at how different it has made the room.

        

We used to have a rather ugly, white clip-on lamp attached to our bookcase which did bathe the corner in a cozy glow but  I always felt that it detracted from our books and looked rather,...well, white and plastic. So when I found 2, old, brass and china lamps I thought it was time to change.

          

But it has given the room a whole different feel and it certainly doesn't feel quite as bright and is taking some getting used to. I'm thinking that I may have to balance it and put the other slightly different one at the other end - but hey, then I won't have a place for my flowers and the room certainly lacks flowers now doesn't it!  Tongue firmly in cheek!

Yesterday was a good day, and life felt good for lots of reasons but the highlight was the first lighting of the fire this autumn.

            

I had waited for as long as I possibly could and finally gave in and let those wonderfully familiar sounds and smells wash over me. Ah, autumn bliss.

Tomorrow is giveaway time but now I'm off to light this evening's fire..