.There is someone coming to take some photos of my shed this week, so, I realised i might need to tidy it up a bit. Then i remembered that i had not painted the floor properly in the beginning {I just slapped on some emulsion and then walked on it before it dried, leaving a grubby footprint, doh} So i decided to empty my entire shed contents into the garden and paint the floor. I should have taken photos of this because you will not believe the amount of stuff that came out of a 4 x 6ft shed! Then i thought, I've got too much stuff, i got all ruthless chucking things in bags, one for the bin and one for the charity shop. It was a spectacular event. Anyway, i painted the floor, re-arranged my desk and shelves to different places, put all my bits of fabric neatly in the shelves, sat back with a cuppa tea and thought 'yes, this is how i want to live my life' minimalist {well, kind of}. ok, so I know it might not look that different to you, but to me its 100 times better, oh yes indeedo. But, anyways, GUESS what!? Nao has bought his own little shed too! Its going to be his leather workshop as he likes to find nice old leather bags in the market and make them all like new again. It will be the same size as mine but I am sure it will look a tad more masculine. We are thinking up some kind of intercom system, like, baked bean cans and a bit of string. Maybe we might not ever see each other again? Might have to lure him out with a slice of Victoria sponge cake. I will keep you posted. Also, keep meaning to tell yous, but in April and a bit of May, we raised just over £2000 for Kesennuma school for autistic children that was washed away in the Tsunami. We are still gathering money at our Tokyo shop that is many time more than this, so we will really have a good wallop of monies to help get the school their own new building. Thank you all so much for buying our Sakura necklace, we actually ran out of stock within one month! Fantastico! Hopefully I can let you know the grand total from Tokyo soon. All of Nao's family are doing well all things considered, and Nao's little nephew, who was born just days after the tsunami, is so unbelievably cute and hopefully oblivious to all the nasty things that happened, his mum timed it well I think : )
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It is the time of the year when I start to get in the mood for tidying and making changes to our life and home. Every year I do a clear out of my sewing shed, last year I painted the exterior too. I love my shed. This year is it's 7th birthday! Can you believe it? It is a little weatherbeaten and has a few multi-legged residence which I regularly vacate. But, it's had a few coats of paint inside and out and still looks bright and welcoming to me. You can see it brand new here and in it's second home here. It now resides in it's third and final home on the Isle of Wight. I really enjoyed having a day to myself to clean it out and rearrange it a bit. My lovely new shell picture from Everly Vintage is a new addition. My philosophical looking hare, has been watching me these last few years but I can't bring myself to hang anything on those ears! I'm also rather fond of my 1970's bamboo cocktail trolley 😂 Makes a nice spot for my fabrics and wool. By the way, I have moved all my fabric into storage tubs and keep them in the greenhouse to give me extra space (my fabric stash is ever growing!). I'm going to use these plain fabrics next, linen, double gauze muslin, canvas, jersey and vintage cotton sheets 👌 That is my ironing table above and below is my new Overlocker (for my birthday!) which I am dying to try out. And a different chair! We found a stack of four at our last trip to Kempton market. My bumblebee door knocker is the home to a happy spider, so don't knock it! Next door is my mister's shed and beyond that is our greenhouse! You can see it new here. We have just fitted in a little jewellery making bench for making samples for our company RUST Jewellery Our main workshop is in London where we both go every two weeks, but sometimes I'd just like time to work on some ideas at home too. So this is a sort of scaled down workbench for light soldering and such. It is such a nice place to work, the light is very uplifting! I had to put up some blinds so that the sun over heat anything. The wooden lamp stand is the mobile stand that both my children used on their cots! I have my desk space for designing (and for cutting fabric too). So that's the end of the tour 😂 Having extra workspace is perfect for us because we have a lot of different interests and love making things. And it's good to have some time by yourself too eh!
Today I'm linking up with Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch and Home Goods for the "Mom Cave contest". Here are the rules; Well as soon as I saw this challenge my competitive spirit came out! Not only because I think I have all five components of the challenge and would love to win a $250.00 gift certificate to Home Goods, but I think I have the best "mom cave" in the world...well maybe even the universe...just sayin'. I'd like to invite you to read the history of how this room came to be thanks to my hero, Mr. La Bella Vie. Its a fun story, however I don't want to lose my audience with text, instead I'll hold you captive with eye candy pictures of the sweetest "Mom Cave" I have ever been in. Come on in... First rule; a place to sit. This is where I do hand sewing, reading, listening to music and yes occasionally napping. Its cozy, quiet and right by a sunny window, it just doesn't get any better... this sunny bank of windows is on the south side of the house facing the back of our property, the chair sits right next to it (do you see it, bottom left corner?) Second rule; space to organize your stuff. I am an avid quilter and fabricaholic (among many other collecting addictions) and these are a few of the ways in which I organize my junk stuff. This is just one side of the room. This a bit picture heavy but I just couldn't help myself and besides, Susan said she wanted lots of pictures and lots of close-ups:) pull out bins for fabric storage... (click to enlarge "wall words") my custom display shelf built by my hero, Mr. LBV for my toy sewing machine and pin cushion collection... reflection in the vintage mirror is the opposite side of the room Below; one of my pin cushion dolls; "Miss Rose City". I made her as I have with many of my pin cushions. Most of the pin cushion dolls I've made are embellished with my mothers old jewlery... vintage thimble boy... shoe and boot pin cushions... now for the other side of the room... This bookshelf unit was built by Mr. LBV. Behind the antique Double Wedding ring quilt is a Murphy bed for the occasional guest. You can see it in action below...isn't that the coolest thing! below is my felt covered, cork board design wall on the shelves... a CD player for music books for inspiration sit next to Tiffany bear (she's made from an old quilt block)... a few of my antique quilts... Third rule; the place we do our craft or hobby, in this case my Koala sewing cabinet and table and craft/cutting table. These pieces are huge when open and fold down to just a fraction of their original size. Fourth rule; a place where your girlfriends can visit and do the hobbies we love. OK so this isn't the best picture but I had no idea I would ever need a photo for blogging! The Fifth and last rule; to post pictures of what you would need from Home Goods online to "beef up your mom cave" so here they are...lamps, lamps and more lamps and lighting! I thought these would be adorable in my Mom cave because I really do need more light for when I'm in there in the evening and another chair for girlfriends day, oh and a tea set and tray for nibbles would be nice too and a couple more storage baskets...I could go on and on but don't want to sound ungrateful for what I already have! Thanks Susan for hosting another fun Linky party, you're the best hostess!!
