Just a few more things

Ok..bit of major update on what i've been up to ( and not neccesarily in this order!) or very tidily blogged either

SEWING
Last year i dabbled with some Free Machine embroidery
Heres a couple of bags i made for people..a combination of appliqué and fme really. I used an open source pattern called the Charlie bag from http://www.burdastyle.com/

My Aunty was really happy with it :-)

Going with the same theme.. i made one for a friend who has a beautiful name and is Maori..
I used a nice stiff cream calico, some rich black yummy velvet and lined with some zebra fur i had already.





PAINT EFFECTS
I havent quite finished the French style Boudoir..but heres what I've done so far...

Starting with my old pine bed and cheap wardrobe.. i just gave lots of coats of white emulsion paint..about 4 or 5.. then gently sanded off edges here and there to give a slightly distressed aged look..then stuck on some fancy bits and ..Ohhh la la..a very cheap version of shabby chic.

My Son cut out some MDF shapes for pelmets and i gave them the same treatment as other furniture. The curtains were made from embroidered dress fabric ( cos i couldnt afford real silk!)
and i lined them with bonded interlining to protect them from sunlight plus it gives them that rich padded texture.

Ok.. i cheated with the chest of drawers! When looking for inspiration on the web i fell in love with the legs and all the fancy carving so i bought it ready made. I think i deserved that after giving the wooden floor 6 coats of paint and varnish!

THE BATHROOM
In Feb this year we did up the bathroom. This was a complete luxury for me as we didn't do any of the work apart from a bit of painting. I commissioned a very talented artist to make the mosaics ( i could never have had done those myself!) See Freshwater Mosaics website her work is stunning! So I became project manager in effect (not a job i would do in a hurry again) But i really enjoyed all the sourcing of materials and pretty light effects.
Here's the results.




Below is the LED 'Northern Lights' show! hehe.. i know its completely ott..but i couldn't resist going for a full on mood effect. It can be programmed to cylce through lots of colour combinations so with the white tiles i can have any colour bathroom i want!

SOFT FUNISHINGS FOR BOAT
Making set of curtains for a boat was a bit of a challenge! Luckily i had the previous ones as a template, however the shapes are so akward and there were 7 sets to make! But I'm pleased with the results.

I cant actually find a pic of them hung up from the inside.. so here's one of the outside. Thats me attempting to fish for pike!



THE KITCHEN PROJECT
This summer we decided to bite the bullet and get the kitchen done. Most credit goes to Son Jon..who is an excellent carpenter and did a great Job. As with the bathroom we paid a plumber tiler and a sparky to do the other bits and me and Ed did the painting and i did a lot of shopping and had great fun choosing stuff. As we already had the welsh dresser and range style cooker i decided to keep up with the country cottage look and just threw in a few contemporary bits. The washing machine and dishwasher are integrated into the cupboards and i just love em!
Catherine from freshwater mosaics is making me an amonite shaped clock..its going to be a real wall piece and she'll be using stained glass that complements all the colours in the kitchen.. i can't wait!




JEWELERY
Sometime last year, things were a bit stressful..so to relax in the evenings i started to make jewelery. It certainly helped and now i have caught the bug! I don't follow any set patterns, just buy beads and wire that i like and come up with a design as i go along. Its nice not to plan anything for a change.

I'm still working on this one..


Time to go pack now.. Maybe update in another year?!