villa renovation part three

I cant seem to upload photos to my computer to give you anything crafty at the moment. So ive been scrolling through some more of the shots from our villa renovation that I had saved for a rainy day.

 A glimpse of the finished rangehood that isnt yet constructed in the shot underneath.

We attached it to the wall and then built around it, much easier than having to measure.

 We had no electricity for ages so we had lamps at night which I think gave it a really nice frenchy glow.

 The tiles were big 600 by 300 travertine which I cut up with a grinder into 5 smaller tiles (I love my grinder)

I wanted the effect of handcut tiles, and adore moroccan tadlekt in particular, but they are NOT CHEAP and we needed 6 metres of them so I decided to give it a go. Afterall, it was either going to work or it wasnt.

This is the bad photo of a photo that has taken all this time for me to find and im now wondering if it was worth the search.

This is the best I could do but nothing can make this kitchen look good.

The floor sloped by a whole brick height from one end to the other.

The stairs were built across the window.

The electricals were never done ie. the stove was plugged into a powerboard under the sink!

It was a challenge.

If you are doing up a house at the moment please leave me a comment as id love to check it out.

the wedding singer

our first hug after the ceremony

Theres no substitute for a Singer sewing machine when you need to make things for an event as important as a family wedding. I have my dearest nanna's archaic but trusty, vintage Singer as my constant companion and was happily sewing away making the dress for my son's wedding when I broke a needle.
This sort of thing wouldnt normally have deterred me from finishing what im working on. I keep a constant stash of back-up items for when things like this happen. I have an extensive range of needles for overlocking and twin stitching, ball points and denim. What I hadnt banked on was the fact that my kids have been sewing gloves and mitts and fingerless armwarmers.
Its been a busy couple of weeks at Textured Leaf Central.
No-one has told me theyve been breaking needles. I had none left but the thick denim variety. The dress I was making was silk. Denim needles dont sew through silk. They shred it and pucker it. I had one seam to go and I dont even know how, when I broke my last decent fine needle.
I had 40 minutes to go before we left for the airport and I still had to dye my hair, shower, dress, check the boys had everything, do a last minute run around check of the house, you know the drill.
So I gave up. The dress making I mean.
It shouldnt have been that bad. I had promise of a machine when we reached Perth at Nanna Muriel's who is a quilt-maker. I was told she had a studio with everything at my disposal. It should have been an easy decision to quit sewing and jump in the shower in the nick of time, but it wasnt. I had a funny nagging feeling that things could not be that easy. I love the way my nanna's Singer can sew through fine silk to thick quilts without even changing the settings. It seems ive been spoilt all this time. And my fears were well founded.
After a few days of meeting the new in-laws and socialising I finally found myself at in-law Nan's. She made me feel right at home and showed me the gorgeous quilts she was working on. Shes an accomplished patchworker and it was very inspirational. But her machine sucked. Like, it literally sucked my silk into it.
I was considering wearing another dress, (yes. I took a back-up) but I persevered and got there in the end (after sneakily adjusting her machine tension while she was making cups of tea) and a teeny bit of hand sewing.
It took me around an hour to sew a single line of stitching down the front of a dress.
Theres nothing like a Singer at a wedding.

Other wedding disasters included:

Locking the house keys inside before we'd even left for the airport and climbing back in through a window that shouldnt have been left open, (lucky)

Adelin (the bride-to-be) having to work up until the wedding when I was supposed to be designing and fitting her wedding cape and fascinator (feathers were flying right up until the final hour as the cape had large ostrich feathers falling from it too)

Navarh's buttons falling off his jacket 30 minutes before the ceremony and having to quickly sew them on

Navarh having an unknown bug from his overseas trip to Thailand and Cambodia (as a last minute bucks present with my husband) and not being able to eat at his own wedding. He's a budding chef and had chosen a menu with Wagu beef and Salmon, poor thing

Other happenings where youll have to just, simply, trust me

found

loft

A while back I posted about our house renovation. I was new to this and began the post hoping to inspire someone, anyone, with the transformation only to discover I couldnt find the complete set of photos in order to give the full impact. Well, I found the photos under my sons bed while preparing for my recent overseas and interstate visitors! So here is the first installment of a better attempt at the power of white paint. 

Now, you need to know that we were pretty gung-ho with our approach.

When we viewed the property for the first time we knew it had to be white from top, where ill begin, to bottom.

You can see why.

This is a photo of the real estate brochure ad so its pretty poor quality sorry.

I wont post them all today in case youre here looking for an update on Malis quilt,

(its coming along nicely thanks for asking)

Hope you had a lovely sunny weekend

so gorgeous!

How nice is it when someone loves your makings and then thinks to send you a photo of their little one wearing his new clothes? Well I just found out. And its really special. Thanks so much Zofia and Zeb. You made my day!

P.S. Isnt he just so gorgeous?

my creative space

This is my pile of fabrics, scarves really, for some cushions for the lounge. I was a bit too quick to rant about the change that should have taken place back here. I didnt end up doing the cushions. Weve had one or two mismatched cushions on the couch ever since I relinquished the others to first the washing machine, then the linen cupboard. Even the recent onslaught of visitors didnt urge me to finish anything.

Today is the day!

Be sure to pop in to Kootoyoo for some inspiration.

P.S Im loving MonetPaisleys upcycled sweater post.

simplicity

 

Im looking for inspiration to make my dress for Navarh's wedding.

This is an old book ive had for a while and I love it so much. It reminds me of when my mum used to teach me to sew and the older methods that are somewhat lost. I like to browse through its pages. It opens up possibilities of different finishes and hems.

for instance theres

french dressmakers hems

shell hemming

 overhanding

overcasting

back stitching

slip stitch edging

not to mention whipping

So many stitches, so little time.

Im looking forward to trying a couple of new ones when I begin the dress.

Oh! Ive decided on the colour RED.

etsy shop update

Yay! I finished all my current custom orders for Etsy.

I feel like celebrating.

Its been a busy and demanding week here at Textured Leaf Central

with family from overseas and interstate staying.

 Everyone has been sick, but are on the mend now.

We have a wedding coming up.

Our son is getting married in Perth in 3 weeks and its fast approaching d-day for finding suits for the boys and ill be making something wonderful to wear (I hope).

I have absolutely no idea what yet. I dont even have my colour chosen, (I normally glean the design inspiration from a colour). It can narrow things down inside my head, you see. Then whenever im somewhere, it catches my eye and off I set with a design or a fabrication. An ambient thought.

Its time to update the autumn glassware on the mantlepiece to welcome the change of seasons.

I need some berries, and perhaps some oak leaves from the tree in the backyard.

                                                          Wishing you all a cosy weekend

my creative space

This week saw me having a good clearing ready for winter in my creative space. Boy did it need it. Ive had school uniform tears and sleeping bag rips, t-shirt resizings, not to mention some important Etsy orders.

The quilts are gone from the end of the table and im going to have only one in my studio at a time as they are doing my head in. And before you all sigh with disappointment, Mali's is the first one allowed to enter my new, clear space. Im still working on it and should have something inspiring to show you by the end of next week.

I have hung this on the end wall finally.

This is how I store my washing powder and the idea for using an old, beautiful but sadly, chipped cup to dispense powder was taken from a Cath Kidston book (without wanting to sound tossy). Again, the things I need to use everyday must be purposeful but gorgeous. My mum brought me up using velvet soap like the father in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' used windex. This oversized cake/block is from a shop on sydney road. Its huge. I almost need two hands to wield it.

Birds eye view. The tins are full of buttons, curtain fixtures, zips, buckles, hook and eyes, embroidery threads, labels, sewing feet I have no idea how to use, etc.

 The three piles you see are paramount to how I 'work'. Currently here is my winter mending and upcycling for my family as the seasons have just turned icy.

The first on the left is overlocking waiting nearest the overlocker. The middle is 'to be cut out'.

The right hand pile is for straight stitching and is usually ordered in cotton colours.

More importantly, I have some things to show you.

This is the pin cushion I made for Gail @ GladyandFlo for my giveaway.

 I managed to 'fussy-cut' the base. My first ever foray into this highly esteemed way of patching.

Something I played with today are some feathers I bought from Darn Cheap Fabrics. These are for a head piece for my sons bride-to-be in a couple of weeks. I have no idea what im doing and must have stared at them for half an hour before deciding to do nothing until I feel more confident.

Check out Kootoyoo for true inspiration!

Thanks Kirsty for being a lovely generous hostess.

bubbles

here it is

Well, alot of you girls have been waiting for a large picture of the quilt for Mali in all its unfinished glory. Here it is! But you can see why I hadnt posted it up yet. It doesnt look how I want it to. In fact, in taking this it shows up how far I havent come. Back to housework. Im giving myself the gift of cleaning my studio today.
Wish I was giving myself the gift of sleep.