Nonnie

Absent

Sorry I've been away for a little while. Life has been rather hectic of late, and exceptionally happy! Do you like the tulips? Aren't they gorgeous?

They were a gift from my gorgeous new man on Satuday and now have pride of place in the middle of my newly painted kitchen table. And yes, there is a gorgeous new man. A lovely, sweet and caring new man! I'm going to keep him to myself for now but I will tell you more before long I'm sure. I will tell you though that as well as feeling like a giddy teenager, I am also happier than I've been in a very long time. Would it sound crazy to say happier than I've ever been?

I am finding the odd moment to plough on with the website though, but I fear it may take a little longer than I had originally thought. Sometimes the good things in life just have to take over from work!

I will be back again soon, but please forgive this short absense knowing that I am a very very happy blogger! Nonnie xxx

 

A Saturday in pyjamas!

I've been fabric shopping again! I know I said that I was using up my fabric stocks, and that hasn't changed, but I felt I needed something new as well. The website is well on track and I am busy turning the stock of fabrics into to 'one off' items that will be for sale. But I also want a section in the shop that contains a small range that will always be available to order. So I needed some new good basic fabrics.

Actually, these new fabrics pictured here don't completely fall into that category, but I just couldn't resist them. Just look at the cute little Babushka dolls. So sweet. And the kitchen utensil fabric is gorgeous too. I have a number of plans for this little lot and have a blissful few days of sewing ahead of me.

So I'm sitting in the kitchen and the sun is pouring through the window. I've decided that today is a pyjama day. After all, it's far easier to get on with sewing when dressed so comfortably. I have food in the cupboard and a bottle of wine for this evening as well as two DVDs borrowed from my friend Nadine last night. So I'm settled in for the day. Tomorrow there will be more of the same but I might go for a walk in Kew Gardens as well and I am going to the cinema.

I've become a bit of a cinema regular recently. I've signed up to a pass from Cineworld which means that for £15 a month I can go as regularly as I like. Last night I saw Juno and I can heartily recommend it. It is the cutest film I've seen in a long time and the performance by Ellen Page is surely deserving of a Best Actress Oscar.

Time to go and make those Babushkas into something beautiful. xx

Sunshine and Spring

I'm relieved to say it's been a less stressful week than last. More early nights and less time spent at work. Not a lot to show creatively as it's all going on behind the scenes at the moment. I'm working on a couple of orders and making good progress with the website. Having said that there's still a lot to do on the website. So far I'm just getting there with the overall look and setting up all the different sections of the shop. But I think it's going to take some time to get the shop full, especially as I lot of the items that are going to be in the shop are still just sketches in my note book, or bits of pinned together fabric draped around the flat! But I'm feeling pleased with progress so far. I'd love to think it might be finished before Easter but I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself, expecially as Easter is early.

It's been a gorgeous sunny week here in London. Today the sky is a gorgeous blue, the sun is shining brightly and it's even quite mild. It really lifts the spirits when it's like this. I've had a smile on my face all week. The little pot of cute daffodils Catherine and Hamish bought me last weekend have even brought a little bit of Spring into my Living Room too.

So it's the weekend again. I'm planning a fairly relaxed one, although I'm out tomorrow evening over in High Wycombe. Tomorrow will be spent finishing the orders and doing a bit of pampering before my evening out. There's nothing nicer than spending Saturday afternoon relaxing in the bath and getting ready for a nice evening out. It's just what I need.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. See you again next week. xx

Nostalgia

 

Hello dear friends. Well I didn't really expect to be away from the blog this week, but work got the better of me and not only have I not had time to write, I've barely even visited any of you. I'VE MISSED YOU ALL!

I've had a totally crazy week work wise ending on Friday with a 16 hour day where I was in the office until just after midnight! We have a very important presentation tomorrow and it was all hands on deck trying to get everything finished in time. Tomorrow I have to be in for 7am so it's early to bed tonight as that will mean a 6.30 tube! But hopefully the rest of this week will become calmer and I'll have some time for myself at last.

As a consequence, absolutely nothing has got done around here. Catherine and Hamish came over for the day yesterday which was lovely but there was not a scrap of food in the cupboards so I had to take them shopping as part of their day out! But we had a lovely walk down by the river as the picture above shows and did lots of chatting. Hamish kept us busy and amused as usual!

I have so much I need to do. There are piles of half finished designs all over the place and a website to build(only the home page done so far!) and I ought to have been getting on with them today, but you know what, sometimes you just have to stop, say no to yourself and do absolutely nothing. So that is exactly what I've done. Nothing.

Well that's actually not quite true. I am feeling in great need of music at the moment. I think it's because I'm feeling so ridiculously upbeat and happy. So this morning I looked at my CD collection and found it rather lacking. To call it a collection is quite misleading. More a small selection of CDs, non of which had anything particularly upbeat within them. I needed something I could dance around the flat to because that is how I am feeling today, despite being a little tired. So, as funds are a little lacking and I couldn't go crazy on Amazon, I logged on to Youtube and started creating a playlist for myself. I spent so much of the afternoon doing it and became so engrossed that it took my quite by surprise when I looked up to realise I was sitting in semi darkness! But what a list I've created! It's definitely nostalgic and very definitely a weird old mixture containing, AHA, Abba, Duran Duran, The Smiths, The Jackson Five and Girls Aloud to name but a few. Put it this way, I've really been going back to my teens and early twenties for inspiration with a bit of current stuff thrown in for good measure. It's been such good fun and I swear I must have lost a pound or two as I've danced my way around the flat! And now I have some great music to listen to while I'm getting on with that sewing and website building this week.

I'm going to attempt to catch up with you all this week and hopefully I'll be back myself again before another week goes by. xxx 

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

Busy Busy

Sorry I haven't been around much this last week. I have to be honest that I've been very unmotivated to blog just lately. I have too much going on in my head and with work, life,etc. I will be back properly once I get the next fair out of the way a week on Saturday although I might manage a post inbetween. The light has been just awful for taking photos which doesn't help. I managed to get just a few photos last Sunday when I took a very quick and VERY cold walk in Kew Gardens. It was one of those days when the rain feels so icey it almost hurts your skin as it hits your face. I hurried home very quickly for hot chocolate and a warm bath. So here are a few images from the cheerful little flowers that are blooming away in the Alpine House.

Oh, I nearly forgot about something that made me smile while I was in the gardens. As I walked along a quiet path I noticed a series of humps and holes in the nearby rough grass and a sign just next to them. I stopped to have a read and discovered that there are quite a number of badgers living in the gardens and this was one of there sets. When I'm visiting Mum and Dad in the Cotswolds it always saddens me just how many dead badgers I see by the roadside as it seems their road sense is really not too good. So I'm pleased to know that just over the wall from my flat there are families of these cute black and white creatures enjoying the safety of Kew. I just hope they don't venture out from behind the wall!

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

A walk around the Gardens

Sorry it's taken me over a week to take you on a walk around Kew as promised last week. I've spent the last week off work and away from any computer due to the fact that I developed a really nasty inner ear infection which made me extremely sick and dizzy. I even had to cancel doing my second fair in Stow on Saturday. I felt very sorry for myself but luckily my lovely Mum and Dad came to the rescue on Thursday with home made soup, chicken casserole, cake and flowers. I'm still a little wobbly on and off, but back to work and hopefully normal again. I think what I need is a holiday! No chance of that unfortunately so instead I will remember my lovely walk around Kew Gardens over a week ago. Come along with me.

I hope you enjoyed the walk. I don't know about you but I'm rather tired now and in need of a good cup of tea. See you later in the week. x