Friday feeling...

Wallpaper envy...

I am a big fan of The Works and frequently drop in on the off chance of buying a bargainous book. I'd had my eye on this one since Sarah had done some projects in Country Living magazine. 

I loved the Christmas tree made from lampshade and I did consider collecting them (oh yes, collecting, I'm good at that bit.) I even picked up one or two but then decided as lovely as it is it really just doesn't fit in with my Christmas.

I also loved the wallpapered stairs, I've always loved them but never found the 'right' wallpaper. This idea would fit in very well with my house You see when we moved in to our house we had no stair carpet and twelve years on we still have no stair carpet. With four young children quite frankly we didn't have the money for such extravagance, funnily enough with three teenagers and a twenty-one year old we still have no money for such extravagance, there does seem to be a pattern forming here. So what I did instead was paint the stairs in a chocolate brown it wasn't dark like plain chocolate, it was more a lighter milk chocolate shade. Anything paler just wouldn't have cut it with the kids and the dogs and the husband...

 

The paint has worn over the years but I do quite like it, which is probably just as well. What I would like even more is some wall paper. Even better would be some vintage wallpaper.  This is where my wallpaper envy comes in...

Such lovely stairs! I would be so thin climbing up and down them all day long just so that I could look at them and smile, well until I got too puffed out and needed a cup of tea. A few weeks ago I shaired some of the photos of the things I had got from an old lady in the village.  I didn't show you everything because we also had some furniture in the hope belief that my eldest is looking at moving out. It has all been stacked in the big shed.

Inside every drawer is a piece of wallpaper carefully cut and folded to fit.  Once I realised this I was really excited!

This one still has the maker's mark.  Made in England.

 I squealed with delight when I opened the bottom drawer because inside were a selection of roll ends.  Whilst they are not all my first choice of pattern and design, they are really lovely. The one at the back looks almost like a lining paper at first glance but having read Sarah  Moore's book she says that 'old wallpaper used to be rolled with pattern on the inside...'

  

 So I unrolled it and this what I found! I'm really hoping that this is the stair paper for me.  I feel sure that there is enough.

 So watch this space!

Great British Bake Off

I have really enjoyed this series of Great British Bake Off  and was particularly delighted that Frances won!

Photo taken from: www.harboroughmail.co.uk 

Now I feel inspired to bake...

Yarndale revisited

As a frequent reader of Attic24 I have been very interested in her account as organiser of the wonderful Yarndale.  Her latest post gives a link to the YouTube time-lapse video made by Wingham Wool Works.  My claim to fame is that at 37 seconds my friend and I have been captured! Blink and you will miss us!

If technology has gotten the better of me again then you can also find it here

The Big Knit

I don't know whether you have seen the TV advert for Innocent Smoothie hats, but the deadline has been extended to the 31st October.  I have decided to give it a go even if I only knit a few.

I've made a start and knitted two last night. There are quite a few patterns on the site for both knitting and crochet.

 

 

New magazine - Sew and Stitch

I do love a good magazine and quite honestly am easily influenced by free gifts! I happened upon this magazine by chance in a newsagents.  Sew and Stitch is a partworks and was only 99p for the first issue and came with the fabric and thread to make the first patchwork square.

 Here is the first square completed. I have deviated slightly from the instructions! I have done some small running stitches around the seaside fabric as quite frankly bondaweb alone just isn't enough in my opinion. The instructions were good and there are other project ideas included.

It does work out to be quite expensive but I don't smoke, rarely drink and don't have a daily McDonald's coffee (or even weekly!), so felt I could justify the cost as it really does make me terribly happy! And anyway knowledge does not come cheaply and the supplies are included in the £3.99 charge.  My next two issues arrived in the post yesterday so will keep you up to date with my progress. I have sewn for many years and so far I have the skills that are necessary to finish this quilt.  I'm really hoping that this series of magazines will keep me focused enough to complete a project! It also helps that I would really like to make this for my son.  He has gone away to sixth form college and I miss him terribly.  I also know that he has been terribly homesick.  It is early days for both of us. He has never been very demonstrative with his emotions but he now puts kisses at the end of his texts to me. He will be home this weekend and I can't wait - only five more sleeps in fact.

 

Thank you to my new follower, I'm very glad you could join us.

I will blog over the weekend. It has been a long day, normal day at work, then a staff meeting, then I drove some of the residential students bowling. I haven't been home very long and my bed is calling very loudly. Thankfully I have a quiet weekend as No 4 has no football match.  No 4 has been selected for the football Development Centre so it means that normally training is Tuesday and Thursday and then we are blessed with a match on Saturdays.  I've not been near my jumble sales for a while.  I do so miss them.  Anyway Goodnight!

FOOD!

Word quickly spreads in Chicken World!

 

I didn't show my purchases from Yarndale. It would have been very easy to go mad but quite honestly I have enough 'ingredients' to craft through multiple lifetimes. So I was reserved with my buying.  I was rather taken with some multi coloured yarn.  It has already been used for the project that I had in mind.  This is all that is left.

 I also bought some brown wool...

 ...and some red wool

 and before I knew it two friendly little robins were born!

Sometimes it's tough work being a dog...

I have recently been given an exciting variety of goodies. They belonged to an elderly neighbour.

 

There is something nice about tins. This tin came with some interesting sewing machine feet.

 A candlestick holder that looks good on my kitchen windowsill.

 I have a love of books and especially old ones.  They are just so interesting.

 This book came with the original patterns still inside!

 I also had a wooden box that was full of old threads

I just love the fabric in these curtains.  They are very narrow but I'm sure that they will come in for something!

 These ones too!

I'm sure she would be happy to know that her things have gone to a home that love them.

I had every intention of blogging again this evening but when I got home from work that lovely Cath Kidston had sent me her autumn/winter catalogue. Well it would have been rude to just leave it on the mat.
I really will try harder tomorrow as we have such a lot of catching up to do.

Yarndale!

I will apologise now for the large number of photographs in this post!

Yarndale. What can I say? It was the most fantastic day ever. We chose to visit on the Sunday. We were so eager that we were first in the queue!

 I just had to go and find 'The Lampshade' first! Lucy at attic24 had blogged about it here

We didn't catch up with Lucy first time around but I recognised her coat so knew that she wouldn't be far away!

 These are the houses that are very similar to the ones on Lucy's header.

These are just a few of the crochet bunting pennants that have been sent from the wonderfully kind bloggers from around the world.

 I recognise these crocheted goodies from Lucy's blog. Her poor house must have been emptied!

 I loved this take on the Yarndale mascot by Hooked by Design.

 The lovely lady was also doing demonstrations. It would be very easy to become 'hooked' too!

 At the main entrance was pure bunting mania.  The photo really doesn't do it justice.

Feeling peckish? A gorgeous knitted and crocheted picnic!

Another demonstration, this time of needle felting. I can't for the life of me remember the name of this lovely lady's stall, but she was very generous in sharing her knowledge with us.

 Yarndale was very thirsty work so we stopped for a cuppa. Another lovely lady (well there were so many of them!) took our photo for us.

These lovely angora rabbits were very content with all the people around. For those that read my blog you will know that we have a menagerie of animals, so I was wondering whether I should get some...

 I love alpacas and these most certainly are on my 'wish' list. These two were very handsome and well behaved.

 This was the main entrance ...

 and outside the yarn bombers had struck!

 I loved the crocheted baubles above and the balls of wool complete with knitting needles below were really cute!

 We didn't do the yarn walk this time for fear of running out of time. Instead we caught the old London bus into Skipton.

 Even the inside of the bus had been 'bombed'

 Sadly I didn't have any photos of the lovely Fi over at Marmaladerose but we stood and chatted to Fi's husband for quite a while about chickens and pigs.  We were disappointed that she wasn't there when we called.  Almost at closing time we were having a last walk past her stall when she walked towards us. It was quite weird because I have followed Fi for a good few years so almost feel that I know her. She recognise the brooch that my friend was wearing as one of her own and we stopped and chatted. She was every bit as lovely as she is on her blog!

Couldn't resist taking a snap of this one...

 

I think you might!