Since when is it Christmas?

Christmas has really taken me by surprise this year, which is probably what I say every year. I have not watched any festive telly or done any Christmas grocery shopping. I have been so absorbed in painting my cottage that I have not thought about anything else. I sent half a dozen Christmas cards and was horrified at the cost of stamps. My gift shopping was a bit half hearted if I am honest but this year it is going to be all about being with all 3 of my children for a few days.

I put some bedding on the top half of guest bed - now it needs a nice quilt. The whole room is a bit bare but soon it will literally be full of junk. I got a couple of extortionate quotes for moving my stuff from the barn so hopefully I will find a man and van cheaper somewhere else. My house is tidy because it is mostly empty but soon I won’t be able to move and it still needs more “character”. 

I did not bother to decorate for Christmas since I will be in Scotland but I did unearth a couple of the kitsch ceramic trees but no batteries. 

I spent the work week figuring out a project that got more and more elaborate. It is a hanger for embroidery machine templates with pockets. I forgot to take photos apart from the revolutionary overlocker piping because it was all a bit intense but when it is finished I will write instructions (retrospectively, of course!) 

I am not one for New Year resolutions but… I must take more photos next and get back to posting on social media.

Happy Christmas 2024 to anyone who actually reads my weekly ramblings xxx

At Last - Painting is DONE!

It was Fergus’ 23rd birthday this week and he had an important gig in Glasgow but I missed both. It felt a bit weird not to be with him on his birthday for the first time and I did not make a Dalek shaped chocolate cake. At least he got to to spend time with his sisters - they are all so close at the moment which is lovely.

At work I finished a couple more customer quilts that will go to their recipients by Christmas. 

Speaking of Christmas, I had a long weekend and did some festive shopping at last. I did rather well in the Oxfam bookshop and the local health-food store but I have not completed my mission and I forgot to buy stamps. 

I went to retrieve some tartan blankets from the storage barn, where to my dismay, everything was damp and mousey. I must get it all shifted in the New Year before everything gets totally ruined. 

On the DIY front, I put some shelves up and they are relatively straight. Considering that I did not have a spare pair of hands or a spirit level, I will take that as a success. 

I am happy to report that all painting jobs are now complete as I tackled the bathroom and lobby. They were not very big but a bit mouldy and the old paint did not want to be covered up. There will be NO more painting unless I have to do touching up or damp patches reappear. I was very grateful to get help from a work friend fetching a guest bed from Facebook Marketplace. Now I have somewhere for visitors to stay so my chums can book themselves in for a visit to Devon:)

When Nessie met Santa Paws

Not only was it a busy week at work finishing a hexie quilt, supervising part two of the DIY elephant quilt and being on hand to help with classes, each evening I forced myself to paint my bedroom. I had to keep shifting the bed out of the way to avoid getting paint on the quilt which is protected from Nessie by an old, cotton bedspread in dire need of a good wash;)

There was a big blowy storm and I was worried that the roof might leak onto my new paint but so far all is well. I can still see where the bad ceiling patch was and a professional decorator would find my ceiling painting efforts a bit streaky but it is all so much fresher. 

There was supposed to be a Dickensian Evening on Tavistock on Friday but quite a few of the outdoor activities were cancelled due to the weather. I took Nessie into town and we had a look around the market and nicely decorated shops but got utterly soaked and the festivities were pretty soggy. She did get to meet Santa Paws at the Doggy Deli. She sat still enough for a photo before getting her treat but I should have told them not to switch the lights off because she is almost invisible in the dark.

It is such a relief to have finished painting the 4 main rooms of my cottage. I have some shelves to go up then must work out how to move my junk in. It is really tidy now because there is very little in it. Let’s just say, it will not be difficult for me to go for the cluttered Victorian look!

DIY, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

 

I had a busy week supervising a DIY quilter whose first ever quilt was an ambitious foundation pieced elephant. She did really well but did not quite finish after 3 days so she may have to come back to finish the job. She left me with a family heirloom hexagon quilt to complete with a dense feather design.

Each night I went home, got changed, had leftover spagbol, took Nessie for a walk in the park then painted the rest of my sitting room green. It was a tricky job because bumpy wallpaper makes it difficult to cut in neatly along the ceiling line. I put masking tape along the ceiling but when removed, it took away the ceiling paint so there was a lot of fiddly touching up to do. 

An easier job was to apply tile stickers in the kitchen. I don’t know how well they will last but they look cool.

I cleared my room, shifted the bed and proceeded to paint the empty end. There was an old damp patch on the ceiling which I tried to seal but the paint fell off so I have ended up removing the dodgy area and hope for the best that I will get new paint to stick. I am determined to complete it by next weekend which will be 4 freshened up rooms. The bathroom and lobby can be done later, or sooner;)

On Sunday I had a day off painting, having scrubbed myself clean apart from filler encrusted into my fingers. I went on an outing to IKEA in Exeter which was fun, wandering through the room sets. I bought some shelves but need to glean more information from the Screwfix staff on how to attach them to the walls without pulling the house down. 

Now that it is December, I should try to put DIY on hold and do something about Christmas cards and shopping…

I got a Drill and I'm not afraid to use it!

 

I have been keeping myself busy at work long arming and doing some tuition, as well as making teas and coffees for people on courses. In the evenings I put on my DIY dungarees and have been continuing to tart up the cottage. I am slightly dreading moving my belongings in because they will just clutter the place up.

I was meant to meet Mel from Looe and visit a Christmas Fair in Fowey but the weather was stormy so I had a 3-day DIY weekend instead. I painted just about everything I could see. The back bedroom is finished and totally empty at present. The kitchen was far easier as it has flat walls. It was not bad to begin with but as soon as I started slapping on white paint over cream it looked so much fresher. I put up a lobster poster, simply because the colours were right. I am considering Delft style tile stickers to make it more cottagey. 

I got myself a very basic drill and added knobs to the old dresser. Maybe I will attempt shelves, after checking for cables and pipes;) 

White paint is all very well but I am craving some colour so I got a tin of Arsenic green and want to do one wall in the sitting room. I can always paint over it when I move out. Obviously, I don’t have to paint the whole house before Christmas but it is so much easier when it is half empty! 

Have I mentioned that I HATE painting?

Get a scruffy cottage and give it a lick of paint… I can confirm that after 3 days of painting using a huge free tub of white paint, I am over that notion. I ran out of paint and energy before I got to the bedroom ceiling. I have just had a quick look and it looks like it needs yet another coat, groan. The problem was that the room seemed to have wooden walls, covered with a textured wallpaper and some damp spots. It does look better but I obviously have more to do. 

I had better success with the shed. I pulled off the ivy from the front and slapped black Cuprinol onto it which has smartened it up no end.

I looked for a second hand electric lawnmower but it was cheaper to get a new one. I have cut the grass which now looks like it has been liquidised but I guess it will grow back in the Spring;) 

My three day weekend has been non-stop DIY apart from a trip to the supermarket. I must try to get out more!

I was thrilled to receive a parcel from the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles containing “merch” that it is selling online inspired by my quilt, “Help ma Boab”. I will be taking my mug and coaster to work and filling up my tin with useful quilting goodies:)

Cottagification

I am gradually “cottagifying” my new place. It really needs a lick of paint but even just moving things around makes all the difference and I have not even got much of my own stuff here yet. My chum, Mel (who moved from Banchory to Looe) came for a visit and we mooched around the Pannier Market, posh shops and charity shops. I found some useful curtains in the Sue Ryder shop.

I had help to strim my overgrown grass and had fun getting a bit carried away with a pressure washer. I ran up some basic gingham curtains for the old dresser and strung them onto curtain wires because I hate glass cupboards. 

I seem to have a bit of an RNLI (lifeboats) theme going on in my kitchen. I ordered 4 folding chairs in blue and orange and wondered if the orange ones looked a bit like cement mixers. Now that I have stuck blue and orange flowers onto the fridge, I think it looks OK. 

 

I did actually go to work as well this week and completed 3 customer quilts, including a fab string quilt in African fabrics. I hope to have more quilts coming in this week.

If the dry weather continues next weekend I want to buy some plants for pots, attempt to cut the grass if I get a cheap mower and maybe even get my poor wee car cleaned up. 

A Room of One's Own

It has been long time since I had a room all to myself that was just for sleeping in. I had a room in Scotland but it was also an office, sometimes a music room complete with piano and drum-kit plus a sewing machine.  

I got the keys to my Tavistock cottage on Monday then had a dreadful, dark drive back to the caravan in the rain so I decided to throw some things in the car the next morning and just move straight in. It is fantastic just to have a 10-15 minute commute to work. There is a park just across my road full of squirrels that Nessie loves. 

Moving in immediately was not without some drama. The gas meter was full of water, I ran out of metered electricity and there was quite a lot of an ex tenant’s stuff under the stairs and in the shed. I love the cottage, even though it needs some titivating. I collected a few boxes of things from the storage barn but cannot work out where to put anything in my doll’s-house sized kitchen cupboards. I need to move everything that could might get nibbled as there were definite signs of mouse activity.

It is a good job I am getting busy with pre-Christmas customer quilts at work, otherwise I would be yearning to be “at home” decorating, weeding and taking a shed full of junk to the dump.

Nella's 21st Birthday in Norwich

I drove 8 hours across country to Norfolk at the weekend, joining Freya and Fergus in celebrating Nella’s 21st birthday. The weather was like summer and we sat outside in a student beer garden on her birthday. We took the birthday cake to the beach at Sheringham and Nella declared it her best ever birthday. We had a lovely time, catching up and sharing many laughs. I made it back to Devon in just 7 hours, despite the autumn clock change, driving the last few hours in the dark. 

I am so excited to get the keys to my cottage in Tavistock so I don’t have to drive a 40 minute countryside commute in the rain and moorland mist!

MIA at Malvern

 For anyone wondering where I have been... I was working this weekend at Malvern Quilt show - will post properly when I get time! Nessie had a lovely holiday with friends. Did not get slow worm house but will take the wee cottage in Tavi;) update to follow xx

I now know lots about the Accuquilt cutting system and think it is great. I bought some cotton duck fabric for my new kitchen - woodcut style whales and sardines. I am not exactly sure what to do with it but have not bought any fabric for ages and just fancied it!

Here are some pics taken at Malvern and of Nessie's holiday:)

Can I Look After Endangered Garden Animals?!

I spent Sunday morning being interviewed by a prospective Landlord and am now having second thoughts about a house that I thought was ideal. I have to make sure that the endangered Slow Worms and Newts in the garden thrive. I am not allowed to paint anything even if it is scruffy and can be evicted at short notice if the garden is not correctly maintained. On the other hand, I also saw a Bedford Cottage in Tavistock which is rather small but the Landlady is considerably more relaxed;)

I don’t actually need to rush into anything at all but I would like not to negotiate the rural lanes in winter and would actually like to stop living out of a suitcase.

I had another busy week at work with my first 2 customer quilts, making Overlocker samples then making a Publisher presentation about the settings for a project class. 

In my spare time I trawled Facebook Marketplace, fantasising the junk furniture I could buy to replace the treasures that I sold before moving. I  bought a £10 hat stand, ostensibly for the house with the endangered species but I guess it can go anywhere. 

I met cousins at Hound Tor for a lovely, autumnal walk and spectacular views of Dartmoor. I was worried that I might run out of fuel on the way back to civilisation and be enveloped by mists then hunted down by a Hell Hound. Fortunately, Nessie and I made it safely back to re-fuel at the supermarket in Tavistock!