Squirrel Roman Blind

Still feeling buoyed up by the success of my first Roman blinds, this week I decided to make another one.

We've been in our new house for almost a month now - and, believe it or not, this is the first bit of sewing I've done here. Gulp.

Making this blind was my reward to myself at the end of decorating what will be the baby's room. I'm not sure what the blue and pink paint was all about, but it made this room a prime candidate for the white paint treatment once I'd finished my own bedroom.

The fairies had to go.

And it wasn't long after taking the steamer to the vinyl border that I had a moment of oh heck what have I started, as bits of the lining paper started coming away with it.

I cannot claim to have done a perfect job on this room. Far from it. But, I am learning that decorators' caulk and sandpaper are my friends, and, given the time and other obvious physical restrictions on me at the moment, I'm happy with the result.

Even if it was not without its dramas along the way. With an almost finished room, I needed more paint for the last bit of skirting board. The clear up involved after a full tin of satin paint being dropped all over the drive and pavement outside my house, as the bag it was in promptly broke as I lifted it out of the boot of the car, honestly made me wonder whether I was about to have the baby there and then.

Ever had a moment where you just don't know where to begin in clearing up mess?! With no one around to help, and littlest girl on the loose, too, as it was just after pre school pick up that the unfortunate incident happened, I had no choice but to get on with it.

An empty cereal box, some newspapers, and a lot of cans full of water and scrubbing later, the paint is gone.

There is a certain irony that the whole decorating process until this point had gone so smoothly (despite plenty of people warning me against ladders in my condition), and that the thing that nearly tipped the balance was a simple task of unloading shopping out of the car.

After all that effort, making the blind was a joy.

On other news. Our cat has been missing for 48 hours. Even after wee-on-new-bed-gate, I must admit to lying awake worrying about her last night. She has just walked in ten minutes ago with a loud miaow as if to say `Where's my food, then?'. I am happy.

And, as of this morning, that silk polka dot dress is finished. Yes, I can hardly believe it either. But, I have created a TENT I tell you.

Pictures of me in this garment for your own amusement will follow shortly, I promise.

I plan to give my new frock its maiden (and possibly only) outing when I host my grand `Fish & Chips and Chocolate Cake' house warming party tomorrow evening. Because, as my friend Pamela commented, you can never be too over dressed for fish and chips, right?

They fit!

We've been in our new house for nearly a fortnight now. And the verdict? Oh I like it. I like it a lot. To the point that, if the old place had feelings, it could well be justified in being hurt at how quickly it has been forgotten.

Roman blinds, made with Sanderson Fitzroy in Apple

Best thing is the extra space. And having multiple toilets. The novelty of cleaning them has not worn off. Yet. Although the youngest member of the family does instantaneously adopt a laughable shoulders dropped and arms swinging low to the ground stance whilst whilst loudly bemoaning the fact she is "too tired!" to walk up/down a flight of stairs each time she realises one of her sisters is in the loo closest to where she happens to be at that point in time. 

Part of the reason for the quietness on the blog front is that I have wasted no time in getting started on some decorating, beginning with my bedroom. With the opportunity of an empty room (new furniture for it was being delivered a few days after moving in) and the motivation of wanting to see my beloved green blinds up, I threw myself into painting the walls white. 

Not that there is anything wrong with lilac. But, having had to wear lilac coloured blouses everyday for five years at school, along with a purple blazer on top, it would never be my colour of choice. Photos of me in this said uniform? Ha. No chance.

There have already been lots of lovely moments to have happened in the new house - family coming to help us settle in; friends and neighbours popping round to see us and say `hello' (not overlooking receiving some great presents and cards - almost worth moving just for that); the girls having fun playing with empty boxes and playing hide and seek; and, the moment I put up the blinds and realised they were a perfect fit. Hurrah. Hurrah. 

Oh how I love love love the blinds. 

Lesson from this is that it is worth buying the fabric you really love when it comes to something like a blind - especially if it is one that you are going to look at every time you sit in bed. Worth every penny, because I am so enjoying looking at something I consider to be so beautiful.

Although, not worth every penny to the extent I have felt the need to point out to my husband how much the fabric would have been had I paid full price for it (I got an end of roll bargain). 

There have been low points too. One day, I will tell you the story of the cat and this new king sized bed. The cat survived the saga - but only because she can run fast. Needless to say, our new neighbours have almost certainly heard me shout, and I am not proud of myself.

That lilac lamp shade is going to go. (In fact, there are two of them in the room, if anyone would like them.) I'll show you my new replacement shades next time, along with simple instructions on how to make your own. Actually, embarrassingly simple.

And, a final favourite green themed picture to end on. We have a little fig tree. Very exciting.

Bakewell Tart, Crochet Workshop and those Roman blinds...

Well, I had a lovely time at the Crochet Workshop the other night.

To be fair, it would be hard not to have enjoyed the evening.

Fancy, Roff Avenue, Bedford

The setting was perfect - and it was lovely to be out in the evening while it was still light, too. Spring has most definitely sprung!

First things first, my chosen cake indulgence for the occasion was a slice of this Bakewell Tart. It didn't disappoint. Short of going to Bakewell, this stuff is the best I have ever tasted.

Then, I found myself a seat and joined lots of other ladies for a lesson on making a basic granny square.

Sam showing us how it's done

Sam is a great teacher - super patient, and oozes general loveliness, too, making everyone feel completely at ease, and ensuring that even the complete beginners amongst us came away with a completed little square.

She'll be doing more workshops like this one - both repeats of the beginners' sessions and also one on making other more tricky granny squares. I am hoping to go along to one more before baby bump arrives.

Spot the granny square!

Meanwhile, with littlest girl still having a whale of a time at pre school, I am making the most of my free mornings.  Okay, so those shirts are still not ironed. And, a critical appraisal of the state of the house work generally would not conclude this was a house in which someone suddenly had a bit more free time.

But, I am making progress on those blinds.

As of close of play this morning, the first blind now has strips of blind tape, Velcro and threads on it. Just one more to go, and then some dowel to buy and chop up and poke into the holes. And then the waiting game, until we move, to find out whether they actually fit. Gulp.

Finally (and then I must get up off the sofa and do some housework...!), here's how I have used the snuggle/falling asleep time with the littlest girl this afternoon.

Sam, if you are reading this, I have been dreaming of a giant version of the Rosy Posy squares you showed me, made into a sunflower cushion. Thanks to the powers of Google, I found a tutorial and had a go with scraps of wool I had to hand. Please ignore the wonky long side - but am pretty happy with this as a first attempt. You have converted me - thank you for a lovely evening.

The ironing and washing up can wait

Bump portrait - 30 weeks

Today was the littlest girl's first day at pre school. 

If not taking a second look back at me, hearing the sound of her laughter as I walked out the door, and beaming and talking non stop about her morning upon her return home are signs of a happy little girl who was ready for a bit of independence, then that's my girl. Oh, and she fell asleep as I was on the phone to my mum... Smug? Yes. (Well, I will be if she still sleeps properly tonight.)

Does my bump look big in this?

What did I do with my time? Not the ironing. Or the washing up. Oops. (Must try and get the latter done before too long before Lazy Housewife status is confirmed once and for all...)

This morning, I met a friend in town for a cuppa, I didn't share the yummy pastry I had with anyone, and then, I casually browsed in a few shops. Alone. And, having pinned down the only shop in town to sell maternity clothes, I tried on (yes!) a top with butterflies on and bought it.

Whilst there, I also tried on and nearly bought a stripy jersey dress. What stopped me? The horrendous mismatched seams at the back. Even at the bargain price of £14.99, and with a fairly flattering fit, I could not bring myself to buy it. I blame growing up with a seamstress mum, and also, the recent influence of the Great British Sewing Bee, and Stuart's lantern dress. It has planted the idea of possibly making something similar myself, as I think the construction was pretty straightforward (it was basically a long t shirt) and the garment would come together very quickly on my overlocker. Watch this space to see if my "I could make that!" moment comes to anything.

Sanderson fabric ready for my Roman blinds

So, what did I do with my bonus time this afternoon? I got off the phone to mum, and scuttled off upstairs for my fabric. There are two challenging makes I am going to try and manage in the mornings the littlest is at pre school over the next few weeks - those being my silk polka dot dress and two Roman blinds for our bedroom in the new house.

Having been talking to mum about the dress, I was a good girl and washed the lining first. I have decided to go with a very light weight floaty Egyptian cotton muslin, as the only other things on offer in Singers were made of polyester, and, well, I just didn't like the feel of them and thought they would just make me feel even more hot as they stuck to my skin on a summer's day.

The lining for the dress is drying outside in the picture below - right in front of the pile of shirts not getting ironed.

The next hour and a half or so was spent ironing and measuring, and then very, very tentatively cutting out the first of the two Roman blinds for our new bedroom.

Some may well look at this fabric and see Julie Andrews and the curtains in The Sound of Music. I love it. No, I absolutely love it. It has my favourite shades of green all over it, and, seeing it spread out across the table just makes me feel uplifted. That and the beautiful sunshine coming in from outside.

I hope the finished blinds please me as much when they are up and I am looking at them (as I sit and drink that relaxing cup of tea in bed as the sun streams through the windows...!).

In my mind, I can picture how I'd like these blinds to look, and how I'd like the rest of the room to look, too. Simple. White walls, an old wardrobe and a bed (of course there'll be a bed). Maybe even an old chair that I have lovingly restored and reupholstered with some more gorgeous (perhaps red?) printed Sanderson fabric. Not that I have any of the skills needed to carry out that last project, but the optimist in me thinks I could have a go and make a decent attempt. Ha, ha. It might be fun trying.

Anyhow, back to the blinds. No sewing got done. And I am not even confident that I have made an accurate enough job of cutting out blind number one. The kitchen table was just a bit too small. The lesson of today has been that this project is going to take longer than I had anticipated.

Not far from my feet as I worked were more green things - my mobile nursery!

The runner beans are growing quickly. A bit too quickly, as, now the move has been put back a couple more weeks (sigh), I am wondering whether they will be okay for a bit longer in their temporary homes.

I have been a neglectful gardener on the cucumber front. The ones I planted are dead, due to leaving them outside over night when there was a frost. Oops. And worse, the girls are well aware of this reason, and keep giving me gentle reminders and helpful hints about doing a better job of looking after the rest of the green things.

All is not lost though - as well as runner beans (which no one really likes), we still stand a chance of eating home grown peppers (which the biggest girl loves), and, maybe one cob of sweetcorn (they all love this, and so fights will no doubt happen if we get just one cob) before the summer is out.

On the flower front, Borage has made an appearance. Quite exciting. I have mentally named it `Boris' after the Mayor of London. I wonder if the plant will suit the new name I have given it. And, the sweet peas and sunflowers are still alive, too. Plus I have planted more sunflowers, and may even plant more tomorrow just to finish off the pack and increase my chances of a front garden full of them. I do love sunflowers.

And, to round off a nice day, I have just been to a brilliant workshop, learning to crochet basic granny squares at Fancy. Here I am wearing the crocheted scarf my friend Iciar made me for my birthday a couple of years ago, by way of inspiring me and getting me in the mood for some crocheting of my own. More about that another time. Bed beckons!