May Books

3 this month, & yes one you’ve seen before, Homespun Style by Selina Lake, but now I’ve actually read it. You see I didn’t realise there were words, lol. I just couldn’t get past the pictures, then I read on someone’s blog about what great info there was in the book, & I’m like, ‘There’s words?????’ & yes besides the gorgeous pics, & the blurbs for the pics, which I had read, there is actually text & very interesting text. I’ve taken a few ideas from the book & applied them to my sewing room which I will blog about tomorrow. I absolutely LOVE this book.

Book 2, ‘A Rural Affair.’ Well you know when our main character's dh gets wiped out by a block of blue ice dropped from the toilet of an EasyJet that this book is going to be a little different. I enjoyed it, I’ve read a few Catherine Alliott books now, & though this isn’t my fave, it’s good. A few little twists & turns & some good laughs.

Book 3, Jack Duckworth, now if like me you ‘re a HUGE Corrie fan, that’s Coronation Street for the uninitiated, then you’ll know Jack. This was a really interesting read, an autobiography of Bill Tarmey, the actor who played our Jack for many years. It’s a nice balance of his personal life with little snippets of the Street thrown in. I really enjoyed it. I was actually born the same year Corrie started & I grew up watching it with my mum.

A Bit of a (Long) Catch-Up

So much has been happening & I just haven’t had the time to blog it all so here’s a bit of a catch-up.

Decorating

The dining area is a lovely space with pretty windows & French doors but it was looking a little boring so I emptied it to start again.

How gorgeous is the red formica table & magic chairs??? They were inherited from my aunt who passed away last year & were sent across from Perth. It has now become a treasured part of our home & family. My aunt & uncle purchased it new in the late 50’s & it’s in fabulous condition for it’s age.

The ladder behind the table holds vintage barkcloth tablecloths which we use & enjoy. There is also a couple of vintage aprons hanging on the sides. The table in the background is one we had just revamped.

Before.

After.

With a barkcloth tablecoth & jug of flowers it gives the room a lift.

A beautiful piece of furniture, the previous owners had stripped it back to raw wood. As soon as I saw it I knew it would be lovely in white & would brighten up our foyer. I took of the old timber knobs & filled all the holes with dowel.

2 coats of undercoat & 3 top coats & It looks great!

I added some pretty ceramic knobs, all different designs.

Mother’s Day

It was love at first sight when I spotted this little bus in a gift shop. I grabbed it, handed it to dh, & said ‘Mother’s Day!’ Rowan didn’t actually see it until I unwrapped it on the day, lol. Not only is it a lovely London bus, I’m a HUGE Anglophile, it has the number 14 on it, my all time favourite number, & it’s going to Marble Arch. Mum & I spent a lot of time shopping in Marble Arch when we holidayed in the UK in 1977. I felt like it was made for me.

Emma gave me these beautiful vintage caravan placemats!!!! Aren’t they fabulous??? I think I’ll have to display them somehow as keeping them in a box in the cupboard would be such a waste!

Sewing

& I’ve been doing some sewing. I actually put this top together last month for my monthly make but didn’t get around to blogging it. This photo is rubbish but I just wanted to get it up!!! I love the fabrics, you can see them better in the cushion below.

I had some left over fabric & made this cushion, yes it’s pillow sized, I like nice big comfy cushions. The white strips looked very boring so I added the ricrac & I love it.

The back, I can’t be arsed faffing around with zippers so I simply overlap the backs on my cushions & it works fine. I leave a generous overlap & they don’t gape.

& I finally finished a birthday block for a friend. I started it years ago for a swap & then put it aside, as you do!!!! I came across it in a clean up a few weeks ago & then she mentioned it so I knew it was time to pull my finger out!!!! Her only request was vampire block, I think it works. :-)

Crocheting

I finally tracked down some more aqua wool so I can get back to my crocheting. YAY! I love crocheting, I learnt when I was about 10, but my skills are still pretty basic, but they are enough for me to make what I like & I’m actually managing to read some patterns.

This will eventually be a blanket, I discovered last night I’d used my last ball of the mauve so I’ll have to go & buy some more. What a chore having to go wool shopping. :-)

Building

We finally got started on Paul’s workshop.

This monstrosity is in our backyard, it came complete with a 12 person spa when we bought the house. We sold that & it will pay for the shed. We brought our 4 person spa with us when we moved, it’s up on the deck. It was near new being a 30th wedding anniversary pressie to each other. Anyway back to this bizarre structure. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it would look great in the right setting, but in the Melbourne backyard of a cute little storybook cottage it’s just plain random. As our friend Graeme said on his first visit, WTF???? I couldn’t have put it better. However, all is not lost, with a new roof to match the house, if we ever find a roofer!!!! & weatherboard walls to match the house it will look good & become a great workshop & will mean Paul doesn’t have to use the ‘Wendy shed’ anymore, lol.

It only took a few hours to get the beams in for the floor. Really it’s like cutting the sashing for a quilt. We’ve also put in the framework for the side wall complete with 2 windows since this shot was taken but it’s now 11.30pm & a little dark outside to take a pic.

The palms will be going too, I’m just not a fan of palms, I might put in some azaleas, they tend to like the shade.

So we have been quite busy with loads more to do. I’ve also been making my bedroom very vintagy & have some cool projects on the list for it, but that can wait till another post.

April ‘book’

Oh dear I am slipping, just 1 book this month! Lucky it was a good one. Another Marion Keyes, this time Rachel’s Holiday. I absolutely love Watermelon by Marion Keyes & this book is about the same family, this time focusing on another of the crazy Irish sisters. Rachel is a drug addict though she doesn’t quite realise it until friends & family step in & march her off to rehab. No it’s not all laughs but it’s a great book with laughs & tears & a little romance. My favourite of the sisters is Helen & although she hasn’t been the focus of either book, she plays a big role in both.

My excuse for not reading a lot is I’m tired, Paul & I did quite a bit of stripping in March, furniture that is, & painting, & by bedtime I was worn out & only managed a few pages before nodding off. I will try & get some before & after shots of the things we’ve finished, up soon.

I’m doing a bit better this month with my book tally, with 1 book under my belt & another nearly finished.

Thank You!

Thank you to all the lovely people who have sponsored Rowan for his Live Below the Line commitment. His goal was $250 & he is now up to $257. His week of sacrifice was certainly worthwhile & I think it will be a while before he forgets to appreciate how lucky he is that he doesn’t have to go hungry.

Many of his sponsors are ladies on the Oz quilt group, QDU. I haven’t met any of these ladies in person but feel I know them through the list & we both really appreciate their generosity. It just goes to prove that quilters are good people. :-)

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/rowanquigley

Thank You!!!

Live Below the Line – Day 1

I think Rowan has been looking forward to the challenge of living on less than $2 a day.

We shopped at Aldi on Saturday after talking about what would be the best value for money, & hopefully filling things to buy with his $10 for 5 days budget.

Here’s what we came up with:

half dozen eggs  $1.65

a pkt of pasta  $1.15

pasta sauce  $1.15

1.5kg of potatoes  $1.35

1 jar of strawberry jam  $1.39

a loaf of bread $1 – Coles

We still have enough money for another loaf of bread & a tin of baked beans.

The plan is that Rowan will have an egg on toast for breakfast, 2 jam sandwiches for lunch (no marg.), a baked potato with pasta & pasta sauce for 3 nights & a baked potato with baked beans for 2 nights. He is already feeling quite hungry not being able to come home to his usual milk & chockie bickies after school.

Please think about sponsoring Rowan to make his sacrifice worth while. Just a dollar or 2 would be wonderful. All money raised goes to education in New Guinea.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/rowanquigley

Thank you!!!

Yay, Parts 1 & 2 done

I’m pleased to finally have rows 1 & 2 done.

Now I can tick off December, January & February.

I’ve finished the house block for row 3 & will crack on in the hope of catching up at some stage!

This project is proving to be a little more time consuming than I had expected, but of course I’d be further ahead if I stopped playing so many games on Facebook, lol.

Live Below the Line – Challenge

My gorgeous boy Rowan has signed up to live on just $2 a day, for 5 days, from May 7th to 11th.

Rowan says, ‘I've decided I'll be taking part in the Live Below the Line challenge this year to help spread awareness that 1.3 billion people every day are living with not enough to eat to satisfy their stomachs needs. Please donate :)

If you’d like to donate a dollar or $2 (or even more :-D), to sponsor Rowan please click the link, you can pay with PayPal.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/rowanquigley

We’ve been checking out the price of the more filling foods, & living on just $2 a day, & not being hungry, is going to be quite a challenge. We’ll post a pic of the food we buy with just $10 to last 5 days.

Thank You!!!!!