A long way to go

It has now been two years since my cancer diagnosis and I am pleased to say that, so far, my recovery has gone well.   I am so thankful to my doctors and family who have all supported me through a difficult time.   Now that my energy levels are returning, I realise just how  draining the whole experience has been and how low my stamina had become.  I did manage to keep my creative life going but sometimes I had to push myself to achieve small things.  However, I am so happy that I now have the desire as well as the energy to throw myself back into what I love doing.

As I look around me, I see all the things that I have been wanting to do, but have been putting off because they were just "too hard".  Recovering these chairs was one such job.  

One of the reasons it was "too hard" was because I couldn't find the fabric I wanted.  I knew that one day I would find it and, sure enough, a trip to the Columbia Road flower market in London of all places, elicited just the fabric I had been searching for.  Tucked away in a small side street I found a shop selling furnishing fabric so once we had stocked up with tulips and hyacinths, I stocked up with my new elusive fabric.

Once home in Australia, I didn't waste too much time before I applied said fabric to the chairs and I think the result speaks for itself.

I can't believe I had to travel so far to find something so simple.

Two bites of the cherry

Last year, when I ticked off my bucket list a visit to Petersham Nursery in the UK, I didn't for a minute contemplate that I would be back again within six months,  However, that is just what has happened during my blog absence.  Daughter A and family have gone to live in London.  I would like to say for a short time, but I suspect that it could be for a few years.  Lovely for them, but very sad for me.  The upside, of course, is that I now have a good reason to visit which I hope to be able to do regularly.

It was wonderful to return to Petersham in the winter and how different it was to my last visit during the summer.  I felt a bit sorry for these little primulas with their blanket of frost.

The fountain which had been splashing happily in the greenhouse on my last visit was now covered with icicles.

As usual, the displays were stunning and temptation was everywhere.

On our last visit, we had afternoon tea in the greenhouse.  This time we treated ourselves to a lovely lunch in the cafe.

I don't suppose many people get to tick something off their bucket list twice so I think I am very lucky.  Who knows, now that I have more reasons to visit the UK, I might even have three ticks against this item.  Now that would be greedy!

Unseasonal

Outside the temperature is heading towards the high 30s.  Inside I am packing for winter as I am soon to leave for the northern hemisphere.  Reports on the television news indicate that the temperatures there are very mild and I wonder if this eternity scarf which I have just finished will be needed.

It will go into the suitcase anyway just in case the temperature decides to plummet and then I am sure its warmth will be welcome.

I wish everyone a wonderful, healthy and successful 2016.

The pattern for this came from The Purl Bee site.  The instructions are for a scarf but I turned it into an eternity scarf by sewing the ends together.

Queen Anne table makeover and a recipe

It's been a long time since anything received a makeover and I was beginning to worry that the tin of white paint might have dried up.

Mum gave me this little Queen Anne side table some time ago and it has been waiting patiently for its makeover, which, as you can see, it is in dire need of, or should that be - of which it is in dire need.  

Very dark and dreary isn't it.

It has a tapestry under glass which sadly has seen better days.  Mum did the tapestry during the second World War when tapestry wool was impossible to find and she used regular knitting wool. The moths have been enjoying it and the table has provided a home for various other creatures.  I hate to throw the tapestry away given its age and provenance, but can't imagine what I can possibly do with it it.  Mum has told me to get rid of it, but despite that it survives.



My first task was to take the table apart to see what I was dealing with.  I didn't want to keep the glass top and I thought this might be a problem which proved to be the case when I had removed it.   I needed a piece of wood but the one currently on the table was too big to fit under the frame.  This wouldn't have been a problem if I had the right tools for the job, but as I think I have mentioned before, the tools in our shed are extremely basic and do not run to fancy saws.  I don't even know what sort of saw I needed for this job, but whatever it was, it definitely doesn't live here.

Using the piece of glass I measured the size I needed on the plywood and then started looking around for something to cut it with.  I remembered  that I had a knife in the kitchen which was supposed to cut anything, even metal.  It was one of those promotional products being demonstrated at the supermarket one day and I got duped into buying it.  You never know when you might need to cut a coin in half as the demonstrator was doing.

So I got out the knife and started sawing.  It cut but oh so slowly and I thought I would be there until doomsday so I had a rethink.

If you are a professional DIYer and you know your way around a toolbox, look away now.  Yes, I got out the pruning saw.  Well, they prune wood don't they and I needed to cut wood.

Again, it cut but very slowly and made a terrible mess of the edges.

I had made a super healthy slice a bit earlier and it needed to go into the oven.  As I thought I would soon be in need of some sustenance, I went inside to cook it and brought the timer outside with me so I wouldn't forget it which I have been known to do.

I went back to my sawing hacking and happened to glance over at the piece of tapestry which I had removed.  What an idiot, it had been attached to a piece of wood exactly the size I needed.  All I had to do was remove the tapestry and I had my table top.

Not pretty!

It was definitely time for a tea break. The slice was out of the oven and was smelling good.  Filled with healthy goodies, puffed rice, chia, pepitas, LSA, almond butter, pine nuts, it would give me the energy I needed to keep going.    All that table top pruning had worn me out!  Recipe here .

Then it was time to put everything back together.  For some reason, I didn't take any photos.  I must have been so energised I just wanted to keep going. A couple of coats of white chalk paint and a light distressing and my little table was looking a lot happier.  I took her inside and put her in the white corner where she provides a wonderful resting place for a jug of roses and a cup of tea.

She didn't turn out too badly for such a rough job and let's face it, roses make anything look beautiful.

Now I am looking around for the next victim and and I don't have  to look far.  They are practically queuing up for a fresh new look.  I just have to find the time.

Playtime

I love nothing better than arranging flowers in a vase.  Well, that might be a slight overstatement, but it certainly does give me a lot of pleasure.  So when the time came to make the final block of my China Shop quilt, I knew it was going to be just like playtime.  After fussy-cutting the largest fabric flowers I could find in my stash I played for ages placing  them in their vase until I was happy with the arrangement.  

When I was satisfied (although I could have kept playing for hours) I dabbed a little bit of glue behind each flower to keep it in place and then started to free motion stitch them down.  I have never done raw edge appliqué before, mainly because being the neat freak I am, I can never get my head around all those frayed edges and loose threads.

The latest issue of Homespun magazine has all the instructions for putting this huge quilt together. After almost 12 months work,  I am really hoping it all comes together without any problems.

 

There is one thing I will say for this quilt, it has forced me to try many new techniques which I might otherwise not have attempted.

Christmas challenge

It's been a while since my quilting group has had a challenge and so this year we decided to each make a Christmas table runner.  I find it very hard to feel very Christmassy until much closer to the big day but thought I had better make a start on something.  I searched Pinterest for ideas and found this Christmas tree which I liked because of its simplicity.  Then I found some fabrics which were also simple and not too bright and made three little trees.

I finished it with some straight line quilting and it was done.

I can't say I am delighted with it because I am not and I think that maybe I haven't put enough effort into it.  I know that the other members of  the group will produce table runners which are lot more interesting and look more Christmassy than mine.  However, I am not really into table runners of any season and I even wonder if I will use this one.  Ho Ho Ho, or should that be Ho Hum.