The week that was........

......was a gentle week. It was a week spent enjoying many things.

Enjoyment in early morning walks with Miss Maisie, walking along dusty country roads, meeting interesting characters along the way.

Having a li'l pow wow; secret animal business, me thinks.

Some members of the family aren't really into long country walks. Some are a little terrified of the bovine you meet in this part of the world, both the four legged kind and sometimes, even the two legged kind. =) Yes, some much prefer to nap on bedding fit for a queen; obviously a fellow of exquisite taste.  Have I introduced you to our Boo??  He is a rather aloof fellow. If someone perchance, should drop by he is out of here quicker than quick, heading for dem dar hills. He always considers strangers with a certain amount of distrust, a little suspicion. I don't know why.......I have a theory about black felines. We have had two who have lived with us in our home, and both have been rather aloof and have followed the beat of a different drummer. Besides, when not dreaming of a life without Miss Maisie, he is off catching creatures of the pesky, rodent kind. Boo understands perfectly I hate meeces to pieces!!

This past week has found much enjoyment in knitting my cabled woolly, delighting in it's progress. Progress is still slow, but I am loving all the lovely aran texture. The back is finished.....hip hip hooray! Now for the sleeves. Maybe, just maybe come Winter, this pretty will be hanging from my frame as I gad about town.

Enjoyment also, in planning another tarted up jacket. I was gifted an inspiration-filled book written by Mandy Pattullo for Christmas. Mandy Pattullo is a textile designer and artist who creates beautiful collages from vintage fabric and quilts and a plethora of other pretties. I have loved her work from afar for a while now, so when I saw this book in a book shop I hinted rather longingly that it needed to make one of our many burgeoning bookcases, home. This jacket has been sitting on my dress form, in the corner of my sewing room for much too long....two years if my memory is correct.

I am going to use old tapestries that I found at a market many years ago, and other bits and bobs. As it has been an age since I tarted up some pretty, I am looking forward to playing again.

A delicious jumble of needlepoints, ribbons, laces and a little bit of this and a whole lot of that. Probably too much of a "whole lot of that" for these neck of the woods.......but who cares. Not me. Eyebrows aren't raised heavenwards any more when I am seen out and about in an eccentric, tarted up pretty....it's kinda expected.

Of course, I have been strolling through the garden cutting flowers for vases. The roses are in their last flush and  the Dahlias are still winning the prize for sheer lusciousness.

Are you ready for some floralicious delight?? Again, there is photo after photo overspilling with sumptuous, floral exquisiteness......old habits die hard. Besides, soon they will be no more and I will have to sit out a loooooong Winter without any blossomy prettiness. I am not looking forward to Old Man Winter returning to our happy li'l isle, armed with his arsenal of frigid tricks, one little bit.

The Dahlias. Those vivacious, vibrant, flashy Autumn showoffs of the floral world. 'Tis hard not to be filled with joyousness at the sight of these flowers. There is nothing demure about these beauties, they trumpet "look at me, look at me"!!

Of course, vivid, rainbow-filled, embellished to-an-inch-of-their-life, hexie quilts demand your attention as well. =D

As I say, one can't help but be feel a heightened sense of joyousness at the lusciousness of the Dahlias, or indeed "queenly" hexie quilts.

Then, there are the roses, in their last flush.

Soft, pastel-painted, with sunlight-kissed petals.....roses.

For those of you who are wondering if the heavens opened up this week and sent lightning bolts filled with creative notions on what to do with my au naturel lampshade......alas nothing. Not that I mind, as my imagination has been swirling and swirling around with other pretties. Thank you lovelies for your comments re this conundrum. It seems half of you prefer the cream shade to be left just as it is and the other half have decided it is sadly lacking in a li'l pizzazz and is in need of a little embellishment, a li'l oomph. This jury.........is still out on this "the-world-will-stop-spinning-on-it's-axis", problem!

Until the next time...........a l'il love sent from me to you, this lovely day.

Of lamps, shades and pretty things.

Is it my imagination or have I been enjoying more restful slumber in my boudoir of sweet dreams?? It truly is the most delightful room. Me thinks one day, I just might spend all day in there. All day to lounge in bed and perhaps, knit, read, nap, stitch, drink tea and think nothing but frivolous thoughts. All day to just be. All day to  escape the world and it's tedious toings and froings. I know, I know, 'tis a shallow gal that I am. =)

"Cute teapot", I hear you say. I know......isn't it just the most darling thing. I fell in love with it at first sight. The strange thing is, would you believe there isn't a single  red design teacup in my humble abode. Unbelievable!! I will have to remedy this li'l dilemma, and fast!

But I digress. The point of this post is to wax lyrical about another new pretty. With a 'need' for a new lamp for the boudoir, and whilst out and about last week, I happened upon a pretty which would fit perfectly in the boudoir. Of course it came home with me. I have been looking for a lamp with a botanical theme for a while and when my beady li'l eyes spotted this pretty I knew it would be perfect.

The base of the new lamp has trailing vines and flowers and sweet birdies resting amongst the blossoms. The shade which is a cream one is perfectly acceptable....BUT......I thought a li'l machine sketching incorporating a vine or two trailing around the top of the shade,  overspilling with flowers with perhaps a bird nesting  among the flowers, could look rather winsome. Nothing too busy just a little vine or two.

The sweet birdie and flowers camouflage perfectly with my flower-filled feature wall.

Well.....I thought a li'l machine sketching would be spiffy but after a ridiculous amount of time dreaming up something that was half acceptable and then sketching flower after flower, vine after vine, with the odd birdie, I decided the lamp base can happily exist with the cream shade for a little while longer. Ordinarily, machine sketching is the most relaxing and fun thing for me but after beginning to stitch the design, both the design and the colours I chose, didn't sing a melodious song at all! Obviously my mojo is visiting elsewhere! How dare it!! So for now I will forget about gussying up the shade for a while and maybe think upon it another day. Or maybe....just maybe I will leave it!! What!! Did I say leave the cream shade au naturel!! Oh my goodness....what is happening to me!! Have I come down with some unidentifiable malady of the mind?? Have I gone stark raving mad.........!! Hope oh hope this affliction disappears sooner than soon!!

Maybe I'll find a little inspiration knitting my pretty, cabled woolly.

Yes indeedy, I have picked up my jumper yet again, and started to clickety clack away. Summer is fading down here so a little knitting is the order of my day. Mind you......not that knitting this woolly is terribly relaxing. There is much too much cranial gymnastics involved with the knitting of this pretty, but my fingers (and mind) have finally slipped into a rhythm where believe it or not I haven't unravelled any mistakes, at least not in the last day or two!!

Speaking of Summer fading into a bittersweet memory, I must say our Hydrangeas are changing into the palest of hues. The deep blues are turning into pale blues and greens. They truly are beautiful. For four months now the Hydrangeas have not disappointed.

The Summer garden, though it is beginning to evanesce to a beautifully, muted autumnal state there are still some flowers that will not give credence to the thought of slipping away. The Dahlias are still showing off their vivacious and flashy faces and the Cosmos......well.....they just do what they always do.......delight with their bright happiness.

"You looking at me!!!!" Upon getting a little too close with my camera to this fine fellow, he "put up his dukes" and proceeded to come at me. I am supposing he didn't take too kindly to me or my camera.

Upon closing......here's a thought, perhaps if some Shakespearean character could fill the boudoir with mellifluous strands of soft music........maybe......just maybe my mojo would return!! =D

Until the next time, may you have a joyous week, with a sprinkling of a li'l floralicious delight.

Sweet Dreams

Hello lovelies, welcome to my flower-filled boudoir. Yes indeedy, the boudoir, the place of sweet dreams is finished (well.....with just a few little things left to be done); it is in full dress so to speak.

Just to let you know I am now standing upright......all five feet nine inches of me. When you last visited my place I had the bearing of Quasimodo but now all is well, I am standing tall once again.

I have been busy these past weeks finishing my quilt, stitching a curtain and tarting up the boudoir here and there. With the exception of the stitching of a few cushions and some pillowcases, together with a li'l machine sketching of a lampshade, it is the place of my sweet dreams.

The curtain took an age. You've heard the saying "measure twice, cut once"........well I measured my curtain throughout the stitching, over and over and over again, but still in places they were not even. It seems to me my linens took exception to being cut and stitched, but after a dizzying amount of time and endless unpicking of seams they are finished and now hang ever so prettily at the window. But....before I give you a bo-peep let me begin at the beginning.

As I intimated before, I decided to fashion the curtain out of more of my embroidered linens which I have been acquiring over the years. Before stitching could begin, first all my linens had to be washed.

Love, love, LOVE the vintage trolley and washing basket. I happened upon these relics in a second hand store with a "NOT FOR SALE" tag on them. So.....how did these vintage beauties happen to come home with me?? Mmm...I wonder if tackling the lovely proprietor down to the ground and pummelling her on her chest till she gave in, had anything to do with it!! =)

All those lovely ladies hanging in in the sunshine do surely make my heart sing.

Though I washed all my pretty ladies, I decided to only include this lovely southern belle encircled in a pretty ribbon and lilacs. With  the linens washed, dried and folded, the 'FUN' began.

I facetiously say FUN as the stitching of this curtain wasn't at all pleasant. I encountered so many problems with it but it is finished and hanging at the window, so all is forgotten.

I love the finished curtain at the window. I can hear your thoughts ticking away......but what about your husband.....does he mind having all these lovely linens draping the window?? Believe it or not, he loves it. The southern belle smiling at him rather serenely doesn't seem to bother him at all. =) Besides, because the curtain is made of vintage linens with mostly backgrounds of cream or white with embroidered flowers here and there, it creates a lovely calming ambience. Also, as the curtain is pulled right back during the day, it disappears into a blur of pretty pattern.

With the gorgeous flowers on the wall singing the most lyrical of songs, the ripping up of carpet and the painting of the floor done and dusted, the painting of furniture with a lick or two of chalk paint, the stitching of the curtain; and the last quilting stitch on my scrappy quilt having been stitched......let the room reveal begin!

From very early morning, Old Man Sun trickles his rays into the bedroom like a warming caress, and as the momentum of the day journeys on, engulfing this most delightful room with bright and happy sunshine. Although his beaming smile is always welcome, the sunshine does perish the quilts that rest on the bed. The hexie quilt that I fashioned years ago has perished a little and requires a little tender loving care to repair it. Therefore, I change the quilts often.....hence the reason why a smattering of quilts rest in the pretty cupboard beside the bed, and even more reason to stitch some more pretty quilts. The Cathedral quilt is my next "to do" pretty. Hopefully it will be singing a hallelujah chorus, resting ever so prettily on my bed, before my pretty scrappy quilt fades into anonymity. :)

The boudoir is a most enchanting room filled flowers and sunshine which beams through the windows all day long. It is a place of quiescence and the dreaming of sweet dreams. It is a delightful place, both day night to luxuriate in. It is a place to enjoy lovely lie-ins, sipping a cup of tea and reading a devotional before the busy day ahead. Yes indeedy, me thinks the boudoir is my new favourite place......but then there are a few of those around here.

Until the next time..........

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