a job well done...

Well here we are, the weekend again, and the Easter school break has started - 2 weeks of no school run, and hopefully lots of time to play out in the sunshine (though not much evidence of that yet today!).  It has been a busy week, and here is one of the reasons why....

I have made a lampshade for a friends' 40th birthday present, from some rather lovely 60s Heals fabric (called Conifer, designed by Gay Dulley).  It's not a massive job to make a lampshade, but it is a fiddly one, and if you mess it up it looks rubbish and isn't easy to fix.  I've been feeling tired and not really in a crafting mood, so I had to keep doing a bit and then putting it down to finish later...well I got there in the end and I think it looks pretty damn good.  She likes it anyway, and that's the main thing (she had chosen the fabric in advance, I wouldn't have risked it not being to her taste!). 

I do love the feeling I get when I've finished making something and it looks lovely; hopefully I'll get a chance to get back into my sewing over the next couple of weeks.  I have an urge to do a bit of patchwork, maybe another cushion cover, or maybe I should start something a bit bigger like a quilt...it might be nice to have an ongoing project to dip into when the mood takes me!  After all, I have got a fair bit of fabric to choose from.....

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Rachel x

not enough hours...

What day is it and what's going on?! This week I feel like I'm running to stand still - I love my life and it is full of lovely people and nice stuff to do, but it's a bit like my house - there just isn't enough time or space for it all!  Ah well, must remember to just stop and breathe and enjoy the sunshine....

 

Everything I do is my choice, none of it is being imposed upon me by someone else (apart from my children and their constant needs for snacks, stories, nappy changes, being taken to or picked up from school etc - and I chose to have them and love them more than anything!), so I am very lucky.  I am going to stop moaning and go and get on with it all! 

Hope you have a lovely day and manage to find time to breathe!

Rachel x

holy moly, not another giveaway!!

Happy Monday! Hope you had a lovely weekend.  Mine was busy but Sunday was by necessity low key, due to having had a bit too much fun at a friends 40th birthday party on Saturday night - I'm so glad I've got the hang of alternating boozy drinks with glasses of water, as I only felt mildly delicate rather than the day long vileness of my youth - Hurrah for growing up!

A favourite blog find of the last week or so is the beautiful dandelion and olive, and true to form there is a giveaway going on at the mo, with a chance to win one of these lovely necklaces, which can be seen along with other gorgeous handmade silver jewellery in their Etsy shop here....

Although I don't feel particularly in need of extra luck at the moment (see previous posts regarding winning giveaways - 3 last week!) I would have to choose the horseshoe, partly because I love the texture of the silver, and partly because my older boy is slightly pirate obsessed, and would snaffle the anchor away at the first opportunity! 

I was a bit worried that people might think I was being cheeky entering more giveaways after my winning streak, but several lovely bloggers have sent very encouraging messages, and Col at hello olive thinks I should enter every giveaway and competition going and see how much I can win in a year! So I shall carry on, and will probably find that last week was just a freaky cluster of lucky moments, never to be repeated, which is fine - although if I win the horseshoe necklace it will be a great wearable reminder of just how lucky I feel right now, in many ways.  

I don't really know what I expected to find out here in the blogosphere, but I have definitely been pleasantly surprised at what a truly friendly place it is!  I am really enjoying discovering so many wonderful creative people, doing their own thing and sharing their creations and the challenges and joys that make up their lives.  I hope you enjoy my own little contribution to the blogging universe, if you do and you're not following me already please join me, and when I get to 50 followers I will do a giveaway of my own and you will get the chance to choose a special piece of fabric or two from a selection of colourful mid-century textile treasure.  

I hope you have a lovely day, thanks for stopping by!

Rachel x

another giveaway!

Ok, so I know I said I wasn't going to enter any more giveaways for a bit, but how can I not give myself a chance to win this.....?

To give yourself a chance, go to this lovely blog and follow the link to their sponsors' facebook page, like it, and leave a comment on the blog itself to say you've done it.  (Not on my blog, I don't have sponsors who give me cameras to give away - maybe one day!)

I was planning to pop to a new vintage market today with my camera today, but a friends 40th birthday shenanigans last night have left me feeling a tad delicate, so a lazy day at home is about all I'm good for.  Hope you have fun whatever you get up to.

Rachel x

NO WAY!!!!!

EEEEEEEEP!! My post this morning was about a giveaway on the lovely Jen's blog, little birdie - well, I won it! Outrageously lucky week, feeling slightly freaked out... think F would have preferred a lottery win, but I love the squirrel tea towel so I'm happy! Won't be entering any more giveaways for a bit, winning any more would just be rude.  

My new lucky number (which I've always been fond of).... 

I think I should do one soon, it's time to spread the love!  What would you prefer - some vintage china, a piece of vintage fabric, or a cushion cover in your choice of fabric from a selection? Let me know and I'll start planning - I'm up to 30 followers today, when I hit 50 I'll be sharing some rainbow vintage loveliness with a lucky winner or two.

Hope you all have a lovely, lucky day!

Rachel x

another chance to win!

Welcome to the weekend!! 

to celebrate the loveliness of a sunny Saturday I am sharing a lovely giveaway that Jen at little birdie is doing over on her lovely blog.  She is offering the chance to win one of these tea towels...

The squirrel is called 'Use my Tail' and is by Donna Wilson and the other, 'Blue Geo' is by Fine Little Day, they're both gorgeous, I'm afraid if I was lucky enough to win one I wouldn't be able to use it!  Hop on over to Jen's blog to give yourself a chance to nab one of these lovely treats.

And have a great weekend - if you're in Bristol there's a vintage & craft Magpie Market on Sunday at M Shed museum, doors open at 10.30, I'll be there with my camera (but not my purse, I'm trying to be good!) so hope to see you there.

Rachel x

what a week - peacocks and sunshine...

Wow what a week, a bit non-stop but pretty much all good thankfully.  Unbelievably I have won another treat, only a day after winning these!  

Bristol artist Rebekah Leigh Marshall had a giveaway on her Facebook page, and I was the third name out of 3 pulled out of her hat - I got to choose a print, and I have chosen this (with input from F, who has to live with a lot of things of mine that he wouldn't choose, so I thought it fair to involve him in the decision for once!) ...

Isn't it beautiful?! Go and check out her Etsy shop if you haven't seen her work before, it's got some gorgeous prints and cards in it.

And now the lovely Lou has given me a Sunshine Award, which involved answering the following questions and passing them on to another 5 fabulous sunshiney bloggers:

Colour: The point where blue and green meet, variously called teal, turquoise, or aqua depending on the tone -  
            although I'm currently very keen on yellow!

Animal: Cat or bird, depending on my mood - cat for lazing about, bird for freedom (& nest building!)

Non-Alcoholic drink:  Strong coffee in the morning, Earl Grey tea in the afternoon

Facebook or Twitter:   Facebook cause I have a lot of friends who live far away. I have never tweeted, don't think  
           I would know how (or why!).
Getting or giving presents:  Giving, I love choosing just the right thing for someone. When it comes to getting, I  
           prefer to choose for myself cause I'm such a control freak - isn't that awful?!
Flower: Apple blossom
Pattern: bold 60s floral, geometric, spots, stripes - very hard to choose this one!!
Passion: colour & kids, fabric & family, pattern & parenting - variations on a theme!
Number: 5 (same as Lou, another thing we've got in common along with mid-century mania!) 

As you can see I am no good at choosing one thing when 2 or 3 will do! and now I pass these questions onto....

Caroline, Siane, Jo, Karen and Jenny

I don't know any of you lovely ladies well, having met over t'internet through enjoying each others' blogs, so I'll be interested to see what you all answer, and who you link to next...

Hope it's sunny where you are, thanks for stopping by!

Rachel x