Nonnie

Making a come back

Hello, yes it's me, I'm still here!

Gosh this has been difficult to do. I've been feeling like getting back to my poor little neglected blog for about a week or so but I seem to have had writers block, or should it be called 'bloggers block'? I feel like a do when I've had some time off work and you come back and feel totally out of it. Like everyone else is in a secret gang and you're not a part of it.

Anyway, today I decided to take the leap and start again.

And in a sense I am starting again. I've decided that I want to take the blog in one direction only and that is to share all things pretty and creative with you all. Not that I won't occasionally tell you what's going on in my life, but I feel the blog had become far too much about my personal life and not enough about my creativity which is why I started it in the first place. So with my website coming on extremely well(nearly ready to show you all!) and a new house and garden to develop, I shouldn't be short of material.

But for those of you that are curious, just a little catch up on life in general. In the last month I've moved from my little flat in Kew to a little house in Oxfordshire. To be more precise, the house of my lovely boyfriend Simon! I couldn't be more happy and content and still have to keep pinching myself to believe that my life has changed so much since the beginning of the year! Recent weeks have seen us take a lovely(and very romantic) trip to Paris and a very lovely weekend in Ieper in Belgium which is my new favourite place in the whole World.

So back to being creative again. My work space is not really up and running yet, but I did manage to carry out a commission for a lovely reader of my blog, Sally-Ann, who wanted a cushion for a friend to include the initials of the friend, her husband, and child. I was a little nervous about this one as she really left it in my hands as to how it would look and what fabrics I would use, but I was really pleased with the result and luckily so was her friend!

So the job this weekend is to get a lot more sorting done in the house and hopefully I'll be able to set up my little sewing area and then I can finish off the website. I'm also hoping to get out into the garden and I want to share that with you. I'll be back again next week so in the mean time, hope you all have a good rest of the week and it's sooo good to be back with you all again.

xxxx

Details

Ooh I've been having a lovely pottering few days. Not only have I been sewing lots but I've been having a major spring clean and move around of bits and bobs in the flat. Above is the new look sideboard. I've gone all neutral apart from the little spash of red on the lampshade. I've really got a thing for cream and white at the moment. A lot of my frames were already either cream or white but those that weren't got a coat of paint. Even the lamp base got painted! My Christmas twigs are still going strong but while I'm in the Cotswolds at the end of the week I think I'll be raiding Mum and Dads garden for some branches with buds to force. Going to need them to hang my Easter decorations on!

The bookshelf has been re-done as well. Absolutely everything came off and went back on again in a totally new way. Only white or pale blue paperbacks were allowed back! Oops, just realised you can see the ugly sofa without covering in this shot. Better get the cover back on quickly.

Ah, that's better. Actually the blanket above is a new purchase. I popped up to the big yellow and blue warehouse yesterday and got some great bits and bobs, this great crochet style blanket being one of them. Oh, and the little cream tea light holders you can see in the first picture. Obligatory tea lights, a new wine rack which was super cheap but very smart and a couple of picture frames. Not entirely sure why I chose half term for a trip to Ikea? It was packed but I knew what I was looking for so whizzed round quickly and was back home in no time.

I love re-arranging objects. I really had fun colour coordinating my books.(a little obsession of mine!) I've been arranging the bookshelves of a certain supermodel lately(sorry, I'm such a show off!) so it was nice to be able to spend time doing my own. Especially as my books and objects are so much nicer!

Well time to get back to it, the hall is still full of clutter that has come out of the sitting room and there's more sewing to be done and orders to be prepared. Not to mention a new website to be worked on. Did I say I was on holiday this week?! x

 

Positively Patchwork

Remember this? For any of you who have been reading my blog from the start back in August 06, you might just remember that I started this patchwork quilt back then. I'm slightly ashamed to say that it is still not finished! It lays folded over the arm of one of my sofas pretending to be done and every time Hamish comes to visit I have to put it out of the way because it is full of pins. Infact I keep thinking that I need to buy more pins and then I remember that I have at least 30(probably more) stuck around the edge of the patchwork.

So having read Mia's post today about the fact she is starting another patchwork quilt, I am setting myself a challenge here and now to finish the one that I have started. And you lot are all my witnesses to this personal challenge. You can nag me about it if you like. Say around the middle of February. Feel free to say, 'hey Fiona, is that patchwork quilt finished yet?!'

The crazy thing is that it is so near to be finished. The patchwork bit is actually done. It's the backing that is half finished. I'm actually just backing it with vintage white sheet without any padding inbetween as I don't want it to be too bulky. What is taking the time is the fact that I am hand stitching through the two layers along each patchwork join, in one direction. I'm doing this in red embroidery thread so that the white side will not be plain but will be decorated with rows so little running stitches. I'm about half way through this process. I then just need to put some sort of binding around the edge. So it's really close. Just got to get on with it instead of thinking about new projects.

Well it's the weekend again. After a dull, wet week I'm feeling really ready for it. I have a lovely day planned tomorrow as I'm going over to Marlow for lunch out with Mum, Dad, Sis, Brother-in-law(John) and wee Hamish. It's John's Birthday on Monday so he decided he wanted to have lunch out all together. Marlow is such a lovely place to go to so I'm really hoping the sun might shine. On the way over there I'm planning on popping into a craft shop my Sis told me about to pick up some new bits and bobs for getting creative.

Hopefully Sunday will be the day for being creative. I hope that you all have a lovely weekend whatever you're doing. xx

The Tree!

Finally pictures of the tree. It's been kind of a hectic week so finding time to show the pictures has been difficult. Thanks for all the lovely comments on my Sitting Room. It is my favourite room in the house at the moment.

You might spot the glass of sloe gin on the table under the twigs! I've been enjoying a glass most nights this week!

Tomorrow I have a day off work to spend Christmas shopping with my Sister. We're heading into Marlow which is a lovely place to shop, especially just before Christmas. My Brother-in-Law is looking after dear little Hamish so we'll be able to really take our time. But I'll look forward to spending some time with my lovely Nephew when we get back home. I had a chat on the phone with him today. Can hardly believe he is only just two! He was telling me that he was going to the Mum's and Toddlers play group to play with playdough and that Nana and Gramps(my Mum and Dad) were taking him to John Lewis this afternoon. Unbelievably for a two year old he loves going there! I think it's the lure of the great toy department and the lemon drizzle cake and juice that he always gets with Mum. Plus at the moment he is very impressed with the Christmas lights and tree that adorn the shop. He finished the conversation saying "Have a lovely day Aunty Nonnie". Oh he's a little lamb!!

This final picture below is of a gorgeous little berry heart that I received from Joanna of Higgletypigglety. I ordered one of her lovely prints recently as a Christmas present and she popped this and a lovely card in the parcel too. What makes it particularly special is that she made it from berries collected close to Chichester Harbour which is a place that I am very fond of and which she and I often talk about. I really love it and it looks so sweet hanging on the sitting room door.

Now I'm off for dinner at my Managers house who had left our company today. He lives close to the office but has given us all strict instructions not to arrive before 7.15 as he needs time to prepare! All I need now is a bit of a makeup touch-up and I'll be ready to go!

xxx

Before the tree

I'm really stretching out the build up to the tree pictures aren't I? The light in the Sitting Room was so cosy on Saturday though and it was all looking so tidy and lovely that I had to take a few 'before the tree' pictures. I'm really loving my little Sitting Room now that I've got it just as I want it.

I decided to put some of my unsold cushions on the sofa to add a splash more colour. There's a major red, white and blue theme going on in here now and even the Christmas decorations coordinate with everything else. I actually decided that apart from the tree itself, I'd quite like to keep everything as it is in the new year, meaning keeping up the twigs and decorations and the bunting below. Or maybe that's a bit silly. Perhaps I'll just keep the bunting and mix some daffodils or tulips in with the twigs on the 6th January. I always love that, don't you? Going to buy some spring flowers as soon as the tree comes down. Makes it seem a little more bearable. But I shouldn't be talking about that yet, Christmas is still two weeks away. Two weeks today!

Last night I got all my remaining parcels of orders wrapped up and ready to go. So those of you who ordered cards and decorations should have them in time for Christmas. I even finished all my Christmas cards and parcelled up the one present I have to post away. Very organised! And feeling a little bit virtuous!! I think I deserve a night of doing nothing but watching TV and sipping sloe gin this evening! I'll probably need that after braving the post office queue at lunchtime.

Did anyone see Nigella last night. Gosh, I'm sad that series has come to an end. Going to have to get the book. I'm absolutely dreaming of the chocolate and pistachio fudge she made last night! I was even thinking about it on the bus this morning. Some of that is definitely going to get made at the weekend.

I hope wherever you are today it's as perfect as here in London. Very cold and crisp with stunning blue sky and sunshine. Really lifts the spirits after the gloom of the last few days. Have a lovely day and I'll see you again tomorrow. x

Starting to decorate.

This weekend I had a lovely calm and relaxing time at home. It felt like the first in weeks. The flat was a bit of a tip so I concentrated on getting it sorted and starting to get the Christmassy feel going. I had planned on getting my tree on Saturday but woke to heavy rain so not idea for carrying a Christmas tree down the street! So instead I braved the weather to go to the garden shop in the middle of Kew to at least reserve and pay for the tree. I was determined I was going to get the size I wanted this year after ending up with one which was far too big last year due to being determined to be traditional and leave it to the last minute. So I ordered the tree and went home to get some other Christmassy things out.

I still had the lovely twigs left that I took to the fair last week and a few of my felt decorations so I decided to set these up with some of my red boxes and a cute little wooden tree I've had for a few years.

The little table I've put it on is normally my sewing table but as I'm not planning on doing a whole lot of sewing for the next few weeks I thought I turn it into a display table. If I get the urge to sew I can always use the kitchen table.

I added a couple of tealight holders for a bit of candle light under the twigs.

What with all the tidying it's starting to look rather festive. Yesterday I picked up the tree. It's looking really cute. Pictures of that and my now very cosy looking sitting room later in the week. x

Cupcakes and Cushions

I was up early on Saturday morning baking lemon fairy cakes for my dear little Hamish and his Mummy. I love the smell of freshly baked cakes. It was lovely to be pottering in my lovely little flat listening to radio 4 and looking forward to them arriving. Of course the cakes had to have candles for the Birthday boy.

We had a lovely day together, starting with a picnic lunch in the my living room, then a trip accross the road and through the gates into Kew Gardens. Hamish dropped straight to sleep as soon as he was in his push chair so Catherine and I took full advantage and headed for the lovely gift shop first as we knew we wouldn't stand much chance of a look once he was awake. Hamish likes shops as long as they contain toys, or unless it's John Lewis, which is somewhere he loves to go to with his Nanna! We both started a bit of Christmas shopping which made us both feel quite virtuous! Once outside again Hamish woke up again and had lots of fun running around, looking at the geese and ducks by the lake and helping Catherine and I to collect some beautiful leaves. We've both been inspired by this months Country Living so I now have leaves being pressed between pages of books at home and will be doing something creative with them in the coming weeks.

Yesterday I had a very relaxing day. The weather was so miserable it was a day to be inside. So I took myself into Richmond to the cinema to see Stardust. What a great film. I guess it is really aimed at children, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I returned home late afternoon, put on the lamps, made myself a hot chocolate and got out the sewing machine. I've started work on some new pieces and I'm going in a slightly new direction with my work. More details to follow but the general idea is that I'm going to be creating more 'one off' special pieces rather than working like a production line and selling a set range of items. Having given it a lot of thought, I'm not factory and don't want to compete with the likes of Laura Ashley. I've decided that I find it boring to create simple designs that I can replicate and make numerous amounts of. Even keeping it simple, it's difficult to compete on price with the high street chains, especially when selling at craft fairs.

I'm excited by this new direction and hope that it will allow me to be much more creative. In the next couple of weeks I'll be adding new pieces to both the little shop and my etsy shop so keep a look out for announcements. Obviously I'll also be testing these new items at the Christmas fairs in Bath and Bradford-on-Avon in December.

I hope the sun is shining on your Monday as it is on mine here in London. xx

The view from the sofa

As I sat curled up on the sofa last night I started to quite admire the view I could see. I've been working pretty hard in the last couple of weeks getting the flat starting to look something how I would like it. I'm starting to like what I see. I've got into a routine of lighting lots of tea lights and candles on the sideboard as soon as I get in at night. In the absense of a real fire it really makes the place so cosy and warm.

I've got a very special Birthday boy coming over tomorrow with his Mummy and later on(when he finishes work) his Daddy too. It was Hamish's second Birthday yesterday and stupidly I didn't book the day of work in time so missed out on the Birthday lunch they had with my Mum and Dad. So instead they're having a trip to Kew tomorrow. So tonight I'll be wrapping the Fireman Sam set and other goodies, baking fairy buns(with candles) and blowing up balloons! We're going to go into Kew Gardens which he will love as we can go to see the ducks and swans on the lake and there is tons of room for him to run around. I suspect my Sister will like the gift shop the best, which really is lovely. I spent ages in there the other week!

Sunday will be spent going to see Stardust and hopefully getting on with some sewing. I now have a nice long break until my next fair so plenty of time to get creative.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. See you next week. xx