Don’t let my quiet blog fool you!

Hi all,

We have had such a busy week!

Doing this -

And of course I forgot to take before photos…we are putting new carpet in our bedrooms, we have had a concrete floor in the main bedroom for about 4 years and the carpet in the boys rooms is about 30 years old so it is long overdue!

So these are the boys rooms. We think the house was an owner build because it is pretty dodgy…so we are redoing all the skirting and architrave boards. And then we need to paint before the carpet goes in.

This morning I meet mum at Spotlight and we used our $40 vouchers to get curtain fabric for the new rooms too.

It is all happening!

 

I have managed to squeeze in some sewing time though. This is the backing for my How far will you go? QAL quilt. Kind of an improve stacked coin look. It is a lot bigger than the actual quilt size and I still need to trim the edges.

I had to order some more fabric for my border so I thought I would make the backing while I waited. I ordered the fabric from Perri at Stitches from the Bush, she has a great little online shop. And I snuck in a Noteworthy charm pack, I am so in love with this range!

Renovation = magic in slow motion!

Hi everyone!

Be warned there is no sewing in this post!

This morning has been spent cleaning floors and decluttering junk from everywhere! While it all looked quite good and clean I thought I would take some photos and show you how the tiles look.

I will start with some before photos that are a bit scary!

This is the kitchen that was in the house when we moved here….sort of….we had redone the splashback and taken out some cupboards to fit in the dishwasher and put all that junk on the bench before this pic was taken!

Oh and we had redone the ceiling….imagine the timber cupboards on the ceiling - That is what it looked like! Yuck!

Then the kitchen was taken out, we built in the hallway to make a walk in pantry and walls were removed, rebuilt and rearranged!

All this work in the last 2 photos happened in the 2nd half of 2010. So, believe me this did not happen over night!

We moved here in November 2004. The extension for hubbies parents was started in 2007….everyone hoped it would be finished before BW was born in July 2008 but it took longer….I think it was 2009 when their part of the extension was completely finished.

We are still working on finishing our place off. This is what it looks like now!

The kitchen (cabinets were put in November 2010)….just needs a few finishing touches now…painting and tile edges.

This is the lounge and front door, which used to be the dining room.  The cathedral ceiling was done as part of the extension and this room was made about 4 metres longer.

A few more finishing touches to do here…the linen cupboard needs doors, walls need painting and skirting boards.

This is the dining room, which used to be the sitting room with the fireplace where the bakers stand is now. Confused?!

You can still see a lot of the old house here – the paintwork and architrave which will all be updated so a bit more work needs to be done at this end of the house.

The doorway into the kitchen is where the stove is in the very first picture…because we built the hallway in to make the pantry the only way to get through to the dining room and bathroom etc is through the kitchen so we have tried to keep it wide and open.

There is still lots to do – inside and outside! The sewing and office area still has a bit of tiling to be done….

Really are renovations ever truly finished? I hope so….but I know it will be a while yet!

Pantry shelf mats

Hi all,

I have been busily crossing things off my list. Today I want to show you my pantry. I LOVE my pantry!

We have been renovating and have put in a new kitchen and built in part of the hallway to make a walk in pantry. This is my fantasy pantry!

 
We painted it all with Dulux 101 which is apparently the best paint you can get. Colour is Pebble Bay.

 
To stop cans and what-not sticking to the shelves I made shelf mats. I used “Cherry Baby” and “Cherry Toss” by Lakehouse Drygoods for the tops and “Tapestry” in black for the backing.

The best thing about these is that I can throw them in the washing machine when they start to look grubby and then use them again…over and over!

What have you been doing this weekend?

Reverse sewing….

Hi all,

Just letting you know I am still around! I have been franticly working on my entry for the Sew This and That Quilt Challenge….

 
But don’t you hate it when this happens? Luckily I hadn’t quilted too much before I noticed – otherwise Vreni might have heard me saying naughty words all the way over in Singapore!

So out came the ‘reverse sewer’! Anyway, it is nearly finished so hopefully I can reveal all very soon!

Another major thing happening right now is our renovation. The kitchen is in, but because we are trying to do most of it ourselves it is taking time…

Here is a sneaky peek of the kitchen for you! I love the recipe book holder, it is a anniversary present from my folks, we have just passed the 10 year mark!

Have a great week and be happy,
Jess 

Ps. If anyone is waiting for updates on our little goslings – unfortunately silly mama goose built her nest too low and it got flooded in all the rain we had a few weeks ago. So there will be no goslings just yet. Never mind, nature taking its course and all that, apparently she should lay more eggs early next year so we live in hope.

Before & after - my creative space!

Hi all,

I haven't got much sewing to report....what I have done I won't show yet as it is for the recipient of my quilt in the quilt swap!

But I have been very busy tidying up my creative space. You may remember the before photo...

After a week of sorting and throwing stuff out, it was a real sewing mojo killer, this is what it looks like....

I'm disappointed - it still looks messy! But it is a million dollars on what it was before!

This is a vintage sewing pattern tin that was my grandmas. Imagine 15 cents for a pattern!

Now that my space is tidier I seem to have some of my sewing mojo back, so I will have something to show you soon!

Be happy,
Jess

More fete - book bags!

G'day mates ;)

These are some of the letters that you saw in a post a couple of weeks ago....

Excuse the dark photo - I seem to leave taking photos til it is getting dark!

This is one of the eight (yes 8!) book bags that all those letters are now gracing! They look very cute, I think!

I used raw edge applique to sew the letters down, and the bags are seeded homespun. The idea came from somewhere in blogland, I can't remember where right now but if I come across the blog again I will let you know!

My creative space has been literally turned upside down this afternoon ....

We are finally doing some serious reno work on our house, it will take a while to get it all done (the list is long!) but I am very excited that we have taken the first step. So every now and then you will see some before and after pics.

As you can see I need to do some organising, things have gotten out of hand with all the fete sewing and now it has all been thrown in a pile in the middle of the room! I have my work cut out for me!

Be happy,
Jess