Recipe for Recuperating

I'd hoped to blog regularly again after my last post but life got in the way. I'm now officially recuperating for the next month or 2 so hopefully will have more time to get back in the swing of it.

I'm currently sitting quite comfortably on my lounge, watching the Commonwealth Games, as I recover from the total hysterectomy I had last Tuesday morning. Definitely not something I had on my bucket list, but such is life. I'm not going to bore you with a blow by blow of the whole saga, yes there was stitching involved, but not of the craft variety lol. My pathology all came back clear, this was more a preventative exercise rather than a treatment, so now I just heal & it's behind me. If you would like to ask anything I'm happy to answer. I can report a positive experience, so if you're waiting on the same op, don't panic it's all ok! I feel so good it's hard to remember that I can't lift anything or overdo it.

So I now have a 6 week 'holiday' from any housework & I can craft to my heart's content. I joined a facebook hysterectomy group & so many of the women are going stir crazy as they rest, I'm looking forward to all the craft time I now have.

I have a couple of projects in mind, this gorgeous crochet blanket from Alice:

http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/the-gypsy-caravan-blanket-done/

I've gathered the wools but haven't started yet. 

Note the raggy basket handle, Molly's toothwork, lol.

I'm also still making hexies out of vintage bedsheets, I scour the op shops & vintage shops looking for more sheets or pieces thereof. 'One day' this will be a quilt for my bed. Note: I only cut up damaged sheets, the ones in good condition I use, they are lovely soft cotton & so pretty. 

I also have a stitchery on the go that I started last year. It was a pattern in Mollie Makes.

I also just signed up for this challenge, so I'm looking forward to putting my brain in gear for something new. I hope some of my blog friends join in too, let me know if you do. :-)

http://clarescraftroom.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/are-you-up-for-creative-challenge.html

I'd also like to take the opportunity to get all my photos sorted. I took them all out of their albums before we moved to Melbourne 4 years ago, as the albums were damaging them, & I haven't done anything since. I really should scan them all. I'm not into scrapbooking so it's all about getting them in order & labelling them.

It's so nice to be blogging again. Please say 'hi' if you have a chance so I know I'm not talking to myself. :-D

I'm back, with a little catch up!

It's been so long since I blogged, & it seemed the longer I left it, the harder it seemed to get back into it. Do I try to catch up all the months or do I just mention a few things? Silly really, 'Nobody cares mum,' said Rowan, & he's right. I started a blog as a diary to push me along to finish things. I wanted to be able to simply scroll down a page & see things I had done to know I was achieving something! 

Not a lot has been achieved lately, life is a day at a time experience at the moment. I know I mentioned a while back that dh & I had separated, well we spent a lot of time in counselling last year & deep down I was sure that we would sort things out. Wrong! He decided at the beginning of this year that it was all too hard, not worth the effort, so I only see or hear from him if he wants something, not often. Life is less stressful without the arguments & I have a lot less headaches which is really great! But it's hard adjusting to a life you didn't envisage. When you've been married for 34 years it's impossible not to have a picture in your head of how life will go, & now that's all changed. I like the freedom it's brought, I don't have to ask permission to do anything, I finally get to be an adult. Oh it would be nice to have someone to talk over the big stuff with, or even the small stuff, but that was never his forte so......... anyway enough of that. What have I been doing?

Well I have been working around the house, trying to finish off a lot of half done diy projects. My old sewing room is now a lovely big family room. The old study is a guest bedroom & the new walk-in pantry is brilliant. My new sewing room is working really well for me, I will take some pics of it soon. 

Last month was wonderful as ds Simon came over from Canada for a visit, just a week, but it gave us a chance to catch up. I actually had my 3 kids together for a just a day, which means the world to me.

Well my little foray into the vintage world has been ticking along, though a little neglected. By chance I saw that a stall was coming up at The Vintage Emporium, Tyabb, one of my fave vintage haunts, so I applied & was offered the spot. YAY! I have so much stuff to sell & I do love playing shops, ie. setting up & sourcing stock, without having to be there everyday to do the selling. Luckily Emma has a big work van so she drove it down last Sunday & we loaded up all my goodies & drove down to set up my new space. We had to dodge some heavy downpours but we were pretty lucky. Emma has decided to go halves with the stall, which is just brilliant. She has a great eye for vintage & decorating so I know her flair will be a real advantage. If you like you can follow my Carry On Vintage Facebook page. I don't post often so you won't be inundated with posts. :-) https://www.facebook.com/carryonvintageoz?ref=hl

I haven't been reading much lately, I've been playing silly games on my iPad instead. I will dig out the books I have read & do a blog on them soon.

Well a bit of a catch up, now I just need to blog regularly again. Well done if you got this far. :-D 

Yes or No?

I've made this table topper for my mum for her 84th birthday this Sunday. She has a round table & I thought it would look pretty when she doesn't have a tablecloth on. Trouble is, although I like it, nobody else seems to, ds did say he liked the design, but not the fabrics, so not all bad, lol. As my closest friend is about 1000kms away I don't actually have a friend to show it to, so I really need your opinion.

 I have birthed it, rather than binding it, because I couldn't find a fabric that matched to use for the binding. I quilted it more than this, but it didn't sit well, there was puckering, so I undid most of the quilting. The flowers are all 30's fabrics, the green around each flower is actually a tiny white spot, not a solid.

So hit or miss?

My 'Carry On Vintage' Stall

I finally made it out to check on my little stall yesterday & to take a few things out to add to my stock. I've been laid low by a virus for nearly a month so it was really nice to finally be able to see how things were going. I was pleased to see I've sold a few bits & bobs. I made 6 pincushions & took these 3 out to sell.

Things are looking great at Tyabb Vintage Garage, there are some new stalls & lots of great stock. I'm trying very hard not to buy any more stuff, & to actually sell some, but I was tempted by a gorgeous little kitchen dresser. I'm not sure where I'll put it yet, but I'll find the right place.

If you're in the area do pop in for a browse.
It's open 10am - 5pm 6 days a week. Closed Tuesdays.

Tyabb Vintage Garage

1546 Flinders Frankston Road

Tyabb 3913

Facebook pages: 

My page for Carry On Vintage:
https://www.facebook.com/carryonvintageoz

Tyabb Vintage Garage:

www.facebook.com/pages/Tyabb-Vintage-Garage/467122843378712

August Books

Two books this month. I recently watched the old Joanne Woodward movie, 'The Three Faces of Eve' & it reminded me of Sybil, a book I first read in the 70's. I still had the copy so I reread it. It was still as incredible as ever, 1 lady with 17 different personalities. The book covers her psychoanalysis over many years. It is certainly easy to see how her condition developed when you read of her upbringing, & sadistic mother, & aloof father. I Googled Sybil to see if there was any info on her since the book was written & I found an article claiming that the whole thing was a hoax simply made to make money. I don't know if that's true or not, but I felt the claimant, who has since written a book herself about the whole thing, may well just be the hoaxer cashing in on someone else's story. The fact that Sybil, her psychoanalyst & the book's author, have all since passed away means there is no one left to confirm or deny this person's claims.

To be honest I needed something light after Sybil as it is a very dark book so I reread 'Watermelon.' I LOVE this book, it's the first Marion Keyes book I ever read, it is her first book & it introduced me to the Walsh Family. Marion has written several books about the Walsh family, each time focussing on another of the sisters, & their lives, & I've loved them all. This is a very funny book, a real laugh out loud book. It's actually starts out a sad story, & you may shed a few tears as the main character's husband walks out on her the day she gives birth to their first baby, but the way she deals with this, & how it all pans out is very entertaining & not depressing. I just love Marion Keyes, she is an Irish author, I seem to have a weakness for Irish authors, & all her books are fun & funny.

Vote For Me, please!

I've entered a contest with the magazine Cloth, Paper, Scissors to win units for my sewing room. 

I'm currently preparing Rowan's old bedroom to be my new sewing room so they would be brilliant! 

Please check out the competition & vote for me if you would like to. The link is at the top right of the page.

Thanks!

PS You can vote daily. :-)

My Latest Venture

I mentioned in my last post I had a couple of projects on the go & this is one of them.

I've had my name down for a stall at a local vintage business for 18 months, as it wasn't going to happen anytime soon when a new place opened a few weeks ago, I made some enquiries, & booked myself a tiny space, just big enough to fit a set of shelves. Normally I'd throw myself in the deep end & take on a massive project, but this time I decided to take it slowly, hence the small space. I've been buying loads of vintage stuff for years & I really have way too much stuff to use so the opportunity to on-sell some of my goodies came at a good time. I also desperately need to downsize my craft supplies, so hopefully this will be a good place to do it.

The biggest problem was finding just the right name. I've been mulling it over for weeks & although I had a long list, & liked quite a few of them, I knew I hadn't found the right one. Then last Thursday I walked into the kitchen & read the sign over the mantle 'Keep Calm & Carry On.' Then it hit me 'Carry On Vintage.' I'm a big fan of the Carry On films, especially the early ones made in the 50's & 60's, so as Pop Larkin would say, 'perfick.'

So name chosen, boxes of stuff everywhere to be sorted, time to get moving! To be honest I've been lacking motivation to do anything  much lately, so this seemed like the right way to give myself the kick in the bum I needed!

Being OCD I had to be totally organised. I put the shelves together, my dd Emma helped me paint the timber shelves, I covered the metal shelf supports with fabric to soften the look, chose the stock & set it all up. I washed everything that was washable, catalogued it & priced it. 

Come set up day I had everything packed up by shelf, so I was totally organised & was able to set up the stall in record time, & here it is!

I need to make a much bigger sign but I was against the clock.

I made the bunting out of remnants of vintage sheets.

I painted the shelves different colours & set them up with different themes.

Bedroom shelf.

Kitchen shelf.

I plan on making things out of vintage fabrics to add to the stock.

The stall is at Tyabb Vintage Garage 1546 Flinders Frankston Rd, Tyabb, VIC 3913

It is currently open 6 days a week (closed Tuesday) from 10am - 5pm.

I have set up a facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/carryonvintageoz

Please pop over & like me. :-)

Yay a tick off my bucket list!