Decorating (with a Dodgy Back)
My back has now been diagnosed as being a prolapsed disc. While I wait to be summoned for surgery (I can’t wait, as then I will finally be out of pain!), I have been decorating.
My daughter and I moved into a newly built flat just over a year ago. We weren’t allowed to do anything to it for a year, while the new building dried out and settled. But now we can decorate! The whole flat is white and beige, it desperately needed some colour.
Of course, I am still broken and am very limited in what I can do. It’s taken quite some time to paint 2 door frames and a door as I can only do a little each day.
My daughter has planned a complex mural for her bedroom walls, but we started with her door. We painted the middle sections with blackboard paint and the outside with a pale purple. When the walls either side are also purple, it will look quite good (but at the moment all I can see is a giant exclamation mark!)
The hallway proved to be more of a challenge. It has no natural light and it quite narrow. I decided to refresh the white walls (I’m trying to find a light-enhancing paint!) and paint each door frame a different colour to reflect the room inside.
So far I have painted the 2 bedroom door frames, I’ve still got to paint the main room’s frame green and the bathroom purple. But as this amount of paint has taken me almost 2 weeks, it’s going to take a while.
I am also looking forward to painting the kitchen cupboard doors, as I really don’t like beige. We have about 4 more weeks of the summer holidays, let’s see how much painting I can do in that time!
As I am currently on my Easter holiday, I thought I would take advantage of the time to make some clothes to wear to school. I like wearing pencil skirts, especially high waisted ones. So I thought I would have a go at making the Charlotte Skirt from By Hand London. They have a fantastic set of tutorials on their website.
So I picked some bi stretch fabric (I’ll find out the specific type later) from my local haberdashery and some skirt lining. By making my own skirt, it means I can have any colour I like (instead of the sea of grey and black in the shops).
I spent the day preparing my pattern and fabric. So I washed the fabric and while it was drying I traced my pattern.
Although tracing takes longer than just cutting the pattern, I think it’s a good idea, as then I can always make another size later. So armed with a pencil, ruler and tinned spaghetti hoops I traced the 3 pieces.
I always iron my pattern paper first, that way it doesn’t have any creases that change the shape of the pattern. Plus there is something very satisfying about ironing huge sheets of tissue paper – and normally I hate ironing!
I pinned out and cut my pattern pieces from the fabric and transfered all the dart templates using tailors tacks.
So now I am ready to start sewing the skirt shell (but I might cut out the lining before I get out my machine, otherwise I won’t have any table space!).
The other day my (now ex) boyfriend turned to me and said ‘are you making something again’ (this was said in nice way!). It occurred to me at that point that I always seem to be creating something. If I’m at home then I’m cooking or knitting or sewing. If I’m at school then its metalwork, woodwork, 3D printing.
So I thought I would start this blog to document the different things I am making. You are very welcome to have a look, suggest improvements or provide inspiration for my next project.
So here we go…..
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A 2022 Embroidery Challenge
4 February 2023
I’ve been watching people making temperature quilts on social media for a few years and really liked the idea of making one. But I knew I would struggle to carry such a large project through to the end, plus the idea of knitting a blanket in the heat of summer wasn’t that appealing. Then I […]
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Little Life Update
3 February 2023
I finally caught COVID, and while I am curled up on my sofa feeling sorry for myself, I thought I would check through things. I realised that I haven’t written anything on this blog for ages (gulp April 2021) and so much has happened! The problem is that Instagram is so much quicker and easier […]
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Alison Glass Lumen Quilt
19 April 2021
In which I attempt to make a giant quilt, for the first time!
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Cactus Embroidery – Slow Sewing
6 February 2021
It’s taken just over a year, but this embroidery is finally finished!
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Mushroom Ragu – Vegan and Delicious!
1 January 2021
It's new year's day and I'm making Mushroom Ragu.
-
A 2022 Embroidery Challenge
4 February 2023
I’ve been watching people making temperature quilts on social media for a few years and really liked the idea of making one. But I knew I would struggle to carry such a large project through to the end, plus the idea of knitting a blanket in the heat of summer wasn’t that appealing. Then I […]
-
Little Life Update
3 February 2023
I finally caught COVID, and while I am curled up on my sofa feeling sorry for myself, I thought I would check through things. I realised that I haven’t written anything on this blog for ages (gulp April 2021) and so much has happened! The problem is that Instagram is so much quicker and easier […]
-
Alison Glass Lumen Quilt
19 April 2021
In which I attempt to make a giant quilt, for the first time!
-
Cactus Embroidery – Slow Sewing
6 February 2021
It’s taken just over a year, but this embroidery is finally finished!
-
Mushroom Ragu – Vegan and Delicious!
1 January 2021
It's new year's day and I'm making Mushroom Ragu.
-
A 2022 Embroidery Challenge
4 February 2023
I’ve been watching people making temperature quilts on social media for a few years and really liked the idea of making one. But I knew I would struggle to carry such a large project through to the end, plus the idea of knitting a blanket in the heat of summer wasn’t that appealing. Then I […]
-
Little Life Update
3 February 2023
I finally caught COVID, and while I am curled up on my sofa feeling sorry for myself, I thought I would check through things. I realised that I haven’t written anything on this blog for ages (gulp April 2021) and so much has happened! The problem is that Instagram is so much quicker and easier […]
-
Alison Glass Lumen Quilt
19 April 2021
In which I attempt to make a giant quilt, for the first time!
-
Cactus Embroidery – Slow Sewing
6 February 2021
It’s taken just over a year, but this embroidery is finally finished!
-
Mushroom Ragu – Vegan and Delicious!
1 January 2021
It's new year's day and I'm making Mushroom Ragu.