I've actually failed one of my creative goals I set myself. After all this time blogging and creating, the one person I've made the least for is my husband. Making things for men is much more difficult than making things for women. Not the actual creation, of course, but WHAT to make.
It was Steve's birthday this week (happy birthday sweetheart!) and a couple of months ago I had a brilliant idea of something to make Steve. With all the demands I have to juggle I had to concede defeat. Even now (past the big day) I've only got about a tenth of it done.
Steve's disabled and needs a lot of help to get around. He's got this swanky "Dr Evil chair" I call it, which is where he spends all his time if we're not sleeping or out (or dining al fresco as of the last week - wonderful, isn't it? Shame there's snow forecast for Monday!). Regularly, we have afternoon naps and Steve's feet get really cold, so I decided to make him his own quilt (patchwork) but with a pouch on the bottom for him to put his frozen feet in.
That gave me an excuse to indulge in my favourite pass time - fabric shopping. Steve's got lots of interests so deciding what theme to go with was hard! I eventually settled on his very favourite things - cows. Photos to come in the next couple of days, it's really nice, but not progressing at all at the moment so getting it down from my den to photograph it hopefully will spur me into action a bit!
I've got some things in my home that I've been meaning to show you for a while. They are some of my very favourite things and they've all got something interesting relating to how it came to be in my possession.
The needles are for a gramophone and the cutest little tin, it's about 2/3 of the size of a small matchbox. My Nana picked it up for me a few weeks ago for 50p in a charity shop. She knows how I love tins!
She has also given me the place mats (not all that old - more shabby chic I'd say. I quite like them) the Colmans Mustard chopping board and the vintage mince meat maker. I have the original box that the mincer came in and it even has the little leaflet with it. It's dated about 1942 I think - I can't remember exactly. The Colman's board is also donkeys years old, and no, I do NOT chop on it! It's way to pretty for that!
I hate net curtains. Who doesn't, if pushed? In our bedroom I have long pretty white muslin drapes, luxuriously lolling about over my window. I don't really use them as curtains as such (there's a blind behind it) so there's a big aperture in the centre and that is where I keep my favourite two pictures. The flowers were Steve's late Grandmother's. The frame was broken and disposed of so it's now just a print pasted onto some chipboard. It's just so pretty - I could look at it all day, and of course it reminds me of Nana Maisey every time I look at it.
The Vogue one was given to me by my lovely friend Jade. She knows me dead well! Perfect for me - dressmaking, magazines and vintage all in one frame.
My lovely fireplace. Bought from the local reclamation yard and the cause of much swearing! In an attempt to save money I declined the offer from the boys at the rec. yard to have it dipped (it was painted all sorts of colours when I got it) but I ended up spending much more than the cost of the dipping on Nitromors, wire brushes and steel wool. And there's the time, of course - and effort. Bloomin' beautiful now though, isn't it?
It's in our bedroom where it beautifully compliments my cottagey theme. We don't have any chimney breasts in out house, it's about a 60's build, so the centre is painted black to give the illusion of a chimney hole, and log sections are attached to the wall. You can't have a fire without logs - even if it is pretend!
The detail is lovely on this - gotta love a dragon!
And finally a collection of my favourite soft furnishings. On the bottom, the gingham duvet cover came from my friend Marie back a couple of years ago when she gave me several sacks of linen. I'm still using it - told you it'd go to a good home! I've done all sorts with the contents including making a blind and re upholstering a dining chair with plaited cotton strips. Remember that?
The floery eiderdown is a genuine vintage feather eiderdown off of the actual 50's ish I'd say. When I bought it (ebay) the black top had been added to it to extend it's life and jazz it up. How the person who did it managed it I do not now, but it's beautifully done and I just love it.
Next up are my two 100% wool lilac and cream blankets. The warmest thing in Christendom and they are myy "lucky sleep blankets" as whenever I'm under them I have a beautiful snooze. There really is nothing like a real wool blanket to nap under.
And the best bit is that they cost me a whole £1. For both!
The cushion on the very top - the brown underneath is a section of the faux suede curtains I've done so much with and the crochet cover was 50p in a charity shop in Salisbury. It's crochet cotton and so very pretty - I've also been able to copy it and make all sorts form the circles.
Crikey - I don't half go on sometimes. If you've reached this far down, THANK YOU! You deserve a medal!
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