Almost time for a little Ta-Dah...

But

The Frilly Frou Frou knicker lampshade is taking longer than I thought to finish.  

Granted a horrible bout of tonsillitis has knocked me off my feet this past week but...

The Charleston trim came, went on and is slightly whiter than I had thought it would be, not major just not what I had hoped or expected!  

When I finally stopped sulking about that long enough to actually pin it onto the shade it turns out that the colour isn't as bad as I had first thought...but once it was pinned it was clear that something else was needed and I think after a little potter about today I may have solved that dilemma!!

But when I will find time to attach the trim and finish Im not sure.  

For I have 2, yes you heard me right, 2 lovely little china display cabinets...already taken back to the bare bones, washed and primed they are looking quite yummy already.

Like buses I waited aaages for 1, then in 2 days I find 2!?  

I still hold that what's meant to be will be so I knew I just had to keep my eyes and mind open...then 1 would find me.

1 of them was an obvious choice, but the other was looking a lot more shabby than chic and took a leap of imagination as to what a good wash could do.

However I waffle...

So not to tease or bore the pants of you I will stop this waffle, apologise for the lack of before photos on the cabinets {I get so excited I start stripping down and washing as soon as they get out the car} and apologise for the no Ta-Dah today...

but...

Cross my heart that I will get myself along for yet even more Broderie Anglaise for the shade and finish it!

However

*I can not be held responsible if we have sunshine this week and I am forced to take said cabinets outside and paint them*

***

PS 

just wanted to add that the dressing table was sold this week to a lovely lady who does the MOST amazing cakes!  

Lillibet Bakes on facebook for any cake lovers out there...

Crafting Goodness...

I refuse to accept that I am the only person who struggles to find the perfect finish!  

I uhm and ahh over the small stuff.  Finding the right, the 'perfect' trim for the frilly fru fru knickers lampshade is taking time...

However I may just have found the right one, a lovely 6" Charleston trim!

...alas for me though it abides in a shop where I get my crochet yarn from.

This can only be a sign from the crafty goddesses that I should make an additional purchase - right?

So I find myself with a lovely bundle of yarn 

{acrylic - functional not fancy}

as well as a couple of metres of trim.

I shouldn't have, but I did!

Whoopsy

So what will I do with this bag of wool?  

Well a couple of the balls are due to make a dent on my 'Fortnum and Mason' blanket...the rest however...

  

I think I will start a new ripple blanket for one of the older kiddos, probably one for my eldest.  

They all keep nagging me for their very own one, my eldest son has declared the 'super duper' blanket I made last year to be his on the cold nights, truth is we all fight over it!

This is the blanket folded in half!

It's approx 7' wide by 6' long

I used the Attic 24 ripple pattern and found myself doing a line or two a day, every day for quite a while.  

Each colour row used a ball of yarn.

Im not a great crocheter, I mean I love it, I love crocheting, but in all honesty I've never really tried to follow a more complicated pattern.

So next week should see a little tah-dah post on the frilly fru fru lampshade.

Fingers Crossed!

***

Rebel Blogging...

Round after round of lurgies swept through our family, just as one got slightly better another dropped ill.  Once we were all feeling slightly more human another bug hit the house.

And what started as a bloggy break from my family blog turned into a full blown 3 week Internet Vacation!!

I'm not returning a bronzed Goddess, not even a pastey Goddess; But I am returning a slightly more refreshed happier mama.

Not so much Rebel Blogger, more along the lines of over whelmed, tired, ill mama.

Real life creeps into blogging sometimes, not just the good bits but the bare bones of it.

This is not however a sad, poor old me post!

Ha you thought I was still whinging didn't you?

Well I am happy to report progress here.

Soooo...

Do you remember this?

Wouldn't surprise me if you didn't!  

I was doing a very poor job of trying to ignore and forget about it here.  

I uummed and aahhed over the fabric choice, worried without need over the cutting/sewing, shied away from attaching the sewn pieces to the frame and once that was done I popped it on a stand to check out the alignment of the seams and there it sat for simply ages.  Lighting up our dining room, casting a very lovely warm glow over the room...

but it was all the time quietly nagging me.

Finally I could take the nagging no more!  

Got of my derriere and went for the final push.

But then there was more choice...what trim to use, what colours to choose??

Should it be cream?

Pretty yes?  But not quite right {thank goodness I only pinned it on}

But then in a flash the decision was made...

Were you expecting that?  

I wasn't!  I thought it would be pale blue but after a few days trying to find the 'right' blue I could see it wasn't going to be.

Then I spotted the purple, it has two tones to it, neither an exact match but both happy.

Now you'd think I would be happy to settle with this, I thought I would be, but turns out like so many things in my life it was a 'feast of famine' thing.

So another old slightly tired lampshade that has been waiting for a bit of love has been put in the beauty chair and the transformation has begun...

This is the mock up...

what do you think?

Too late if you're not that keen as I'm halfway through now and it is looking very frilly and fru fru!  

It reminds me at the moment of frilly can can knickers!!

I have one last old lampshade that is in need of a dollop of TLC, I have a vision in my mind, whether I can translate that into the real world remains to be seen!

It's not been all sewing though, there has been a bit of painting too...but enough for one post.

Didn't expect to see the words frilly can can knickers here did you?!

Happy to be back and looking forward to popping in for a virtual cuppa around all my bloggy friends...

xxx

A show and tell Ta-Da...

Finally...a break in the clouds and a chance to snap a couple of photo's

Sadly this is what Im most excited about

my rescued bike/shopping basket...

I LOVE the colour

Simple things and simple minds 

This is the first time I've put the lampshade onto a base and Im surprised by how much I like it!

I'll explain...I thought it would be too high up on the stand, but although it is high with a 2" trim at the bottom I think it will work

I mentioned before that I had sprayed a couple of other bits...

Im planning a turquoise, red and white Christmas next year and sprayed the hearts to fit

And I have plans afoot for these...

***

The tutorial that I vaguely followed for the lampshade recover can be found over at Shingle Cottage Blog, as can lots of inspiring photos of very pretty pink things!

Lampshade...

Part two

{no photos though}

Sewing Heaven or Hell?

The sewing of the lampshade has begun...

Eeeek!!

Truthfully?  So far it isn't so bad as I had thought it might be {phew}...

The seams match up quite nicely to the frame which will look tidy once it's actually on and the lamp lit.  I'll hold my hands up that I could have left more of a seam allowance to trim back to make life easier but at the time of cutting I didn't want to waste the lovely fabric.

So that's the heaven but I can't help but feel that hell is just around the corner, chuckling to itself at what it is waiting to unleash.  

I'm not a seamstress and this is so far turning out better than I had hoped.  As I tap away the cover is sat half hand stitched to the frame and I think I may have made a bit of a boo boo....but then again I may not have.  It is late and my eyes/mind are tired so it's not the time to go and take a look...

as I said it I could be sewing heaven or I could be be in sewing hell by this time tomorrow night.

On a side note I did pick up my copy of Granny Chic from the works yesterday for a fantastic price of £5.99!!  Pop down to your store and if you don't see it ask them as mine wasn't yet out on the shelves.

Almost wishing I had the book before I started this project as I may have given their glued patchwork method a go on this shade, as it would have been a perfect one to use.  

The one I have waiting in the boot of the car {they are so big I cant find space for them both indoors!} is definitely a strip and recover one.  Just waiting to see how the first one goes...

I must get to the charity shop tomorrow as there was a super large drum one in there the other day but I ran out of budget to pick it up when I saw it {isn't that always the way?}

Apologies once again for the lack of photos Lolly's camera is out of battery and by the time it charges I shall be tucked up in bed, dreaming of finding Vintage fabrics.

Lampshade...

part one

Poor pictures but pictures at least

In the beginning there was a rather outdated 1980's floral shade

trim was removed and then the stitch n rip came out to unpick the seams to make a pattern for the new covering

Material was cut and no I didn't do the sensible thing of making a trial one first

and this is where it is at the moment, sat on my ironing board

my sewing machine came home this morning and Im hoping to get a chance to start the actual making of it this week

Im also a tad scared as it is looking tricky and Im worried a degree of precision might be needed!

Seeing how....

well the recovered Vintage suitcase turned out I have the urge to play with fabrics a bit more,

which is handy seeing as it is so cold out in the shed for painting!

Having not found another Vintage case to recover I have been hunting out dusty and unloved {some might even say hideous} large standard lamp shades...

but you know what?  Even they are hard to source!  Yes I know you can buy the frames new but that really does defy the idea of what I want to do *shrug*

So I have managed to find the grand total of 2!!

1 is really quite dusty, grubby and unpleasant whilst the other is a plain white {and lined which is a bit of a bonus}

I have been tempted by this months Country Living magazine to turn them and others that might wander into view into an uber funky Christmas tree malarky....but the chronic lack of space has out a damper onto that idea {for the time being anyway}

If you've read any of my previous posts you'll know I have a bit of crush on Amy Butler fabrics and have the perfect ones lined up...firstly though I think I should give it a go with a good old fashioned sheet {save any expensive mistakes}...that said Im not known for my patience, I do like instant results, so will more likely dive head into chopping up some of Ms Butlers gorgeous fabrics!

Once again the lack of camera is making for very dull blog posts and the distinct lack of before n after photos'

if I do manage to get a photo I will add it at a later date

***