July 2008

July 27th, 2008

A is for…

Babychops. Or so we keep telling her. Thank you Aunty Vonne!



Kevin got my table on Saturday and so out came the sewing machine and the little room had more tidying. But it’s been so hot here I could only do five minutes work before I would have to stop and feel ill for another five minutes. Repeat for one hour. Go downstairs for shelter. But the little room is coming along nicely hot though it may be.



This week was Astrid’s first time at the new childminder’s and so far she has learnt to poke her tongue out and spin around and fall on the floor. Tonight Astrid waved. Yep, at long last we actually got not just one wave, but a full three minutes all in one go.



Because I’ve stolen her room Astrid gets the living room for toys and fun things such as rainbow mobiles, blackboards and little chairs and tables. This also means we don’t have to put her alone upstairs to play with her stuff which would just be silliness.



Hat wearing shot for Lies and Ande – she loves the hat now! Loves it!

Now it’s too hot to write. Someone make it rain. Please.

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July 22nd, 2008

My little mezzanine



When I was little I used to like designing interiors. I would design fairy houses set in huge old tree trunks and plan rabbit warrens of rooms and sketch out the furniture placement and which way the doors would open. As I grew older I did the seating plans at school – I would draw where the desks would go and decide who sat next to whom (a long forgotten fact only recently unearthed upon discovering my old school reports).



Before I reached teenagerhood I gave up a really really really big bedroom at home for a small one on the condition dad would build me the mezzanine I had designed for it. The mezzanine would have asparagus ferns and other plants hanging from its beams. My purple silk would drape above and I could pretend I was in Arabian Nights. However my plans were scuppered when I didn’t manage to stick to the other part of the bargain; and that was to keep the new bedroom tidy for three months. In hindsight they must have known that was impossible and they were in fact getting a pretty good deal – although I did find it much easier to decorate the small room and remember wishing there was a contest I could enter it into for best decorated room.



Somewhere in my flickr stream there are photos of my old studio flat – which is just over the road from where we live now – illustrating just how messy my version of nice is. As I say in one of the captions – “before Kevin came along and tidied me up“.



So, I have, metaphorically speaking, kept my room tidy now for five years and my prayers have been answered. This weekend Kevin took Astrid out and I unpacked boxes and put away and sorted and hung things up. And now I have my own dream room, complete with handbag and hat collection on the wall, a knitting chair and a proper wooden ladder leading up to my secret hideout – the mezzanine. Next I’m going to ask for some time to sit in my knitting chair or up in my hideout to read all my books and knit all my squares and plan all future decorating work.

I have also been a very lucky girl and have received some lovely lovely post from Di and Yvonne which I’m just going to have to tell you all about very soon indeed! And then I’ll also tell you about all the amazing stuff we’ve been doing and all about how I am working five days a week at an agency in Brick Lane and how I’ve seen heaps of degree shows, including Textile Design (woo!) and how we’ve been to Borough Market and Neal’s Yard and Columbia Road again. And how I’ve ordered some heirloom tomato plants and how we planted the garden last weekend at long last. And the amazing set of nested coffee tables I bought (Kevin thinks g-plan or ercol). And the fact this baby is starting to feel big. Or is that me feeling big? And my recent trips to Loop. And the knitting classes I’ve booked. And the wool I bought (oh. my.)

And and and… and I’ll take a photo and show you my mezzanine.

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July 6th, 2008

And then there was stuff

What a fun weekend we’ve had! Unpacking our stuff. And picking up the cats! We really must go out for some fresh air. No wonder I’m falling asleep. The cats just wandered in, plonked themselves down and made themselves right at home. I think we were more traumatised by their flight than they were – in fact, they’ve never looked so well.



The little sewing room’s taking shape, although I still need another ikea trip to get the smallest table they have. Today I unpacked all my japanese craft books and the fabrics. Last year really was one for stocking up on fabric. Cleverly I packed them all into plastic bags before we moved – as I now discover we’ve moved into Moth Central, North West London. Excellent planning.



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July 6th, 2008

A good reason to start knitting again

I know I’m always saying I can’t knit. Well, I can actually. I can knit little squares. No, they’re not for testing the gauge – that’s my real knitting.



This little blanket was started way way way back in time (here to be precise) and I only got half way before Astrid was born. But now I’m back in the land of being able to buy Debbie Bliss cotton DK in nice colours I might be able to revert it to all lilacs and blues and have it finished on time.

“On time?”, I hear you ask. Yes! On time. In approximately 28 weeks – that’s January to you and me. January. That ought to give me enough time to finish it don’t you think?

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July 6th, 2008

Craft again

Last week I finally managed to get myself to Cloth House. I’d been in once for a three minute scout while Kevin and Astrid had waited outside. This time I had all the time in the world. I was so amazed by the simple loveliness of the fabrics, the buttons and trims were just too much to bear so I saved them for another trip.



Ah… the hand printed indian cottons – there were two table tops with bolts stacked three high. It was impossible to decide so I just picked two.

And the voiles – a whole shelf of different colours. Not just white, cream and brown, oh no no, they have colours!

But the linens… the linens (you’ll have to look at 44 for those). The linens were just unbelievable – so many to choose from; thick, thin, rough, fine, purple, chambray, green, blue, grey, and every other colour under the sun. And then there was RED. Jeepers creepers the red linen made me want to jump right onto the bolt and fly away on it.



Now to clear the table, get my sewing machine out and make quick and easy shopping bags. And hang them up in the kitchen. That’s all. And then have another sleep. And then maybe bake the carrot cake I’ve been talking about all week. And then catch up on all my unanswered mails (sorry people with unanswered mails and comments – I really am going to have to sort myself out here). But not until I’ve had another sleep…

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