Tra la la...

Oh hi there!  Who me?  I've been here all along, didn't you notice?  I'm not one of those crap bloggers, who pops in every 6 months and promises to blog more often, oh no, not me! 

Ok that's enough...I'm giving up mentioning how long it's been since I was here last, apparently the more I talk about it the less I blog...it's been a whirlwind few months, so much has happened that I should have shared here but somehow I just wasn't in a blogging place.  Never mind, here's a quick catch up...

We got married (I drank a LOT of prosecco!)

 
I got a studio (here it is in the middle of a tidy-up!)

We went to Barcelona...it was brilliant!

I continued to be obsessed with vintage fabric (well that wasn't going to change was it?)

There, that's all the important stuff...to be honest although I haven't been here I feel like I keep in touch with a lot of you via Instagram and my Facebook page, but I do miss being here too.  At the risk of jinxing myself, I'm going to say I'll be back soon...I'm planning some big changes and an exciting announcement, so I really will see you again soon, I promise! 

Rachel xx

a blank piece of paper...

Woohoo it's 2014! Um, excuse me while I hide under the duvet for a few days, before I emerge full of mild trepidation and good intentions...like my lovely friend Modflowers, I find the turning of the year to be a double edged sword...exciting but scary, like staring at a blank piece of paper waiting for inspiration to strike. 

Illustration by the wonderful Pilgrim Lee, via Pinterest

It is easy to start the new year feeling under pressure, to be better, thinner, tidier, more organised, harder working...these are all things that I could do with working on, but I'm a natural rebel...as soon as I see a 'should', I start running the other way!  So for now I'm going to potter on as usual, and avoid any attempts at big changes...I don't want to sabotage those good intentions by piling on the pressure. 

So I'm just going to look the other way while I say this...(whisper) I do want to blog more, so I'll be back soon!  If anyone's still reading after my long absence, thank you, you're lovely...and if nobody is, ah well, that's my fault...I'll be back soon anyway, cause I've missed blogland.  I hope you've all had lots of fun over the festive season.

Rachel xx
 

making plans...

Hello!   

I'm not even going to mention how long it's been since I was here last, let's just pretend I've been here all along, ok?  

The last few months have been busy, lazy, happy, sad, calm, crazy, all change, same old same old.  I just needed some time away, and now I'm back.   And rather than look back, I'm looking forward.  I am planning something exciting....

This is my partner Frank.  I don't talk much about him here, partly cause he's a very private person, and partly cause he's not covered in vintage fabric (he's not orange either, but I love this photo of him glowing in the light from our campfire in Cornwall this summer).  He is great, and after 14 years together, and 2 kids, we have decided to get married!  

This doesn't mean what it means to a lot of people...I didn't grow up imagining fairytale weddings and frilly white princess dresses. I was brought up by a strong feminist single Mum who taught me that a woman doesn't need a man, but that they can be nice to have around.  I never thought I'd get married, and I was fine with that.  So I'm not obsessed with sugared almonds and seating plans.  

We are keeping it cheap and simple, and we don't want lots of time to plan it.  On November 23rd, we will be standing in front of a select group of friends and family and saying our vows.  It's not about the day, it's about the years ahead.  But it will be lovely to celebrate with those who are special to us...and I must admit I will enjoy dressing up a bit.  I am buying a frock...it is not princessy, and it is not white.  But it might be a bit frilly...

I will pop in again soon...in the meantime, I'm now on Instagram, if you are too then let's follow each other! I'm Rainbow Vintage Home over there too.

Rachel xx

summer stitching...

Hello lovelies! First I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who commented on my last post...every one of your comments was appreciated...lots of them made me laugh, some of them made me get a bit teary, and all of them made me very glad that I blog, and that you take the time to read what I have to say.  You are delightful and delicious and I would love to give you all a hug, or make you a nice cup of tea if you're not that keen on hugs from random people that you've never actually met!

We're on holiday in Cornwall at the mo, and my menfolk have gone off to watch a medieval joust at a nearby castle...of course I could have gone too, but I have been to a fair few castles in my time, and the lure of a pile of magazines, books, and DVDs was strong!  So I am 'home' alone today, and while I lounge about waiting for my freshly painted toenails to dry, I am planning a new crafty project.  I used to do embroidery and applique quite a bit when I was younger, but in recent years my obsession with vintage patterned fabric has overtaken me, and it's been a long time since I did anything fancy with a needle and thread.  Then recently I saw this gorgeous piece of vintage embroidery over on Lazy Daisy Jones's lovely blog, and realised it's time to get stitching again. 

I love the details of the different stitches...

So here I am, with some white linen, a rainbow of embroidery thread, and an urge to stitch. Here are a few more pictures that I'm finding inspiring, all from my 'Sew and Stitch' Pinterest Board...some vintage...

and some much more contemporary...

Takashi Iwasaki

Takashi Iwasaki

Mariposima: I can see music Via happy crafts tumblr

by Smallest Forest

Right, my toenails are dry, and I'm itching to get stitching...hope you're all having a lovely week!

Rachel x

have I left it too long?...

Hello (waves tentatively)...I'm still here!  I really don't know why I have fallen out of love with blogging...it's not you, it's me...it's complicated.

I'm putting this picture in to avoid that dreaded beast, the text-only post. It has nothing to do with what I'm saying, but I made it, and it is pretty, so I thought you might like it.

I have been lurking, catching up with some of your blogs, but mainly just getting on with life, which has been the usual mix of delightful and dull, fun and frustrating, creative and crap...though always, on balance, far more of the good than the bad, thankfully.  There has been plenty going on that has been worth sharing, but I just haven't felt like sharing it...here are a few of the reasons why.

1. I am really not that interesting.  I know, I'm still the same person I was last year, when I was blogging  away like a very bloggy thing.  But I am somehow finding myself far less fascinating than I used to (this is probably a good thing).  I think it partially stems from coming across a few amazing and inspiring blogs, which are being written by people going through immensely challenging times.  Blogs like this one.  Somehow, wittering on about vintage fabric just doesn't seem that important after reading about stuff like that.  That's not to say I don't still enjoy reading your blogs about all those lovely vintagey, interiory, lifestyley, scandi-y things, I do.  This sense of mild pointlessness is directed squarely at myself, possibly because...

2.   I feel like a fraud.  I am starting to wish I had called my blog something different.  Like, um, my tiny messy home.  Or my teetering pile of crap.  Or my disorganised life.  Don't get me wrong, my house is full of lovely, colourful vintage things.  That bit is true. But it is even more full of the daily detritus of 4 messy people living in a tiny house.  I am not a tidy person; I do not like housework.  Although I love looking at gorgeously spare, airy interiors, I know that after a couple of weeks of me living in them, they would look a lot like my home does now.  MESSY.  I can aspire to minimalism, but I know I am incapable of achieving it.  This results in my life feeling quite un-blogworthy sometimes!

3.  I am a rubbish blogger.  Not just in terms of posting regularly, and writing interesting posts, but in terms of joining in all the lovely bloggy things that make blogland such a great place.  You know, linkys, awards, sharing the blog love, all of that.  It's not that I don't want to join in, it's that I am either too lazy, or too disorganised, or too shy to join in, so I don't.  And then I feel a bit crap about that.

Here's another picture to reward you for reading this far...it's not even a very good one...I told you I'm not much good at this!

4.  Most importantly, I was getting the balance wrong.  Too much time at the PC, not enough time living in the moment with my  gorgeous kids.  My youngest will be going to pre-school in September, and I did not want to waste my last few months at home with him sticking CBeebies on and farting about on Pinterest, or Blogger, or bloody Facebook.  I love all those sites dearly, and my Rainbow Vintage Home facebook page has been keeping me busy with fabric sales and likers and making lovely new online friends.  But I needed to take a step back. 

So we have been playing, and singing, and camping, and cooking, and making, and I've been buying fabric, and selling fabric, and making stuff with fabric (like the quilt at the top of this post).  But I have been very crap about keeping in touch with you lovely readers, and that has made me feel sad.  Because I genuinely like you, and have really enjoyed meeting you, and sharing with you, and I'd like to carry on doing that. I'm hoping that now I've got all this mildly discombobulating stuff off my chest, I will find it easier to just pop in here a bit more regularly, and share stuff with you without it feeling like a big deal, you know...'Oh now I need to write a blog post about that, what shall I say, oh it's too late now'...

If anyone has stuck with me all the way down to here, thank you, and here's another nice picture for you... 

As you can see, I'm as crap at ironing as I am at blogging!

I really hope you're having a lovely summer, and enjoying this amazing weather that we've been having.  I am going to go now.  But I'll be back soon.  

Rachel xx

Bye bye Google Reader...

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Happy Weekend!

Hello lovelies! Just popping in briefly to share some happy pictures with you, I hope they'll brighten your day a bit as they have mine.   

Here's my latest happy-making fabric purchase, I saw a picture of this design on Flickr years ago and have been hoping to find a bit ever since, and yippidy-doo-dah I found it!! I'm such a sucker for these cheerful naive 70s kids designs, sourcing this totally made my week.  

as you can see I haven't ironed it yet...

or taken very good pictures of it!

It only arrived this week so I haven't taken  my scissors to it yet, it tends to take me a while when I love a bit of fabric this much!  As I can't bear to cut into it yet, today I am playing with some other lovely bits...

I could spend all day arranging and rearranging fabric like this, but at the end of it I feel guilty for not having actually achieved anything...so I'm off to get the scissors and sewing machine out.  I've got a couple of commissions to do, and I haven't done any sewing for a few weeks, so I need to polish my stitching skills!  

Just want to say welcome to new followers, thanks for reading and joining me here.  And to everyone who comments, thanks so much...I am struggling to reply to all every message but I love reading your comments and will try to get over to your blogs to leave a message for you there!  

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Rachel xx