Friday, November 11, 2011

ikea survey

After getting very roughly quarter of the way through the latest makeover here at the Textured Leaf studio I need to ask a few questions. If you had a certain idea for a room but then went browsing the local Ikea store and there were four options staring you in the face, would you

1. choose the piece that holds the most because hey, you know you will fill it with stuff anyway?
2. buy the one that was your original vision even if it only stores half as much and youll need to delete a few long held onto scraps?
3. go ahead and buy what youve had your eye on for ages regardless of how little it will solve your storage issues?
4. throw caution to the wind completely and get the most expensive but impractical thing because you simply love it?
or 5. defy your husband by making something secretly in the shed?

Well ...which would it be for you?
What do you think ill choose?
I was definitely leaning towards number five but after visiting Ikea this afternoon with girls only company it has led me down a different path. You know, I had always gone to Ikea with the Mr but boy was it different when we werent speeding through, I could take my time and didnt get the usual head ache.

Oh and I sewed another eskimo when I got home. I only wish I felt like doing more but maybe once I get a grip on the studio...

Thursday, November 10, 2011

time for a change

Its already necessary to change things around at home and at this point in time we have the whole weekend up our sleeves. The studio/sewing room needs a big makeover now that two of us are sewing most days, so that means switching furniture around to make room for what im taking out of there to make space. I never got this room how I wanted it when we moved I kind of just made things fit. After doing some building the other day ive got the furniture making bug and have decided on some pigeon holes.

This is the before. 
Ive begun emptying the cupboards and now im going to take a big deep breath.
Wish me an easy, fruitful night?

shop update - wrap dresses

I think I told you how this above is one of my favourite fabrics of all time.
Well ive decided to part with a small amount of it for some dresses for the shop in a limited edition.
This is the first. I think, given the nature of the print they will be suitable for a special occasion. 

womens size 10

womens size 12

I have a small amount left of this green and olive leaf cotton to make any size from 8 to an 18 and thought I would mention it seeing the response this fabric got when I first showed it.


womens size 14


womens size 10


Im beginning to use the larger (more plentiful) doileys in different ways by cutting them in a splice across the back and im loving the results. A different sort of elegance but still ultimately wearable for day or evening which is the aim. 

In home news, ive had am emotionally draining week. My mums husband had to go in for eye surgery and we were not sure of the outcome as he is diabetic so it was high risk. He could have ended up completely blind as the surgery was on his 'good' eye, (he had lost sight in his other eye while waiting for three years for an operation). But then the bandages came off yesterday morning and he could see! Its been a bit of a bumby rollercoaster but we opened a couple of bottles of champagne to celebrate. Sometimes I dont realise how much ive taken on until its over with. 



Monday, November 7, 2011

mums kitchen, day one


 Im one of those people who, if they organise something, it will never ever go to plan. Ive tried to change this in many forms over the years but I give up. These days im just letting things fall where they land. I can say honestly that I like this about myself, and on the hop problem solving comes easily now that ive given in.

This is the corner we had aimed to tackle, possibly deleting the stove
if my son in law could be there on the day, which he was.

The plan

1. pick up oven, leave in back of van in case we needed measurements
2. drive to Bunnings to purchase flat packs in easy seperate modules
3. head home before lunch, build flat packs
4. place oven in oven tower ready for electrician
5. kick back with a cider in the evening

Number one went okay.
We got to Bunnings to find out we needed to special order the oven tower so had to rethink what we could possibly achieve without having it as our starting point.

At this stage we thought we were just going to do the corner so it wouldnt interrupt life too much. The oven
door glass had collapsed so it had to go, forcing us to start the kitchen in the first place. We were just about to do the bathroom, actually.

The other half of the kitchen was staying until later in the month.

Mum would still be able to do dishes and have running water.

The fun began as soon as we picked the oven up. I, of course, took photos of the day seeing as this is the first new kitchen mum has had in fifty years. Oh, I had half attempted the one at the old house but never finished.

I got stuck for quite some time waiting for a guy called Bruce in the plumbing aisle, long enough to think of getting the camera out. These guys were such good company while I tried to figure out what a female compression elbow was? I purchased the wrong one so next time im buying one of each and returning the ones that dont get used.

After much pricing of the individual carcasses, we bought a flat pack on sale for $749 (doors and handles included), saving what would have cost $700 (not including doors), plus a corner unit at $210 and a bench top at the last minute for $99. All up we were at Bunnings for over three hours even though I thought I knew exactly what we wanted. 

I think these boxes are meant for tray tops or utes. They do not slide sideways very well.

 Mum had done a supermarket run by now, and was holding a bag of chocolate and drinks. She had disappeared right when we needed to pay for it all so it took a few minutes longer again. We had a good laugh about this later. 

 I got involved at this point.
These guys were good natured about a woman directing.

When we got home it was all systems go so I dont have many shots of that in between stage. Riley rocked up soon after us and because of the extra modules in the flat pack, we took out the sink because there was no room to store the cupboards once they are made up anyway. Something I hadnt counted on. 

It was easier and faster to take the plasterboard off the wall than remove the tiles but this makes
 way for that spice cupboard mum always wanted.

I really enjoyed the instantaniousness of putting the pieces together. Not my usual choice but super easy.

Mum might be doing dishes in a bucket or the laundry sink for a couple of weeks but by now she was getting excited about the room taking a new shape.

Even with all the stuffing around it got to this stage. I made up some drawers to fill the hole in the evening, not bad considering I was plodding along taking my time so as not to make mistakes.

 
I went to bed thinking that we were going to achieve even more the next day but unknown to me the Mr had
other plans and booked a cabin to go away for the weekend. For the love of all bad timing!

The light through mums very expensive ugly blinds was really pretty at days end but im left
wondering is my neck really this thick?


Friday, November 4, 2011

waiting for tomorrow

As I fall asleep this night my thoughts are full of tomorrow. Today was the oddest, funnest, strange in so many ways day. If I began by leaving home for mum's place in the country at 6:30 it was most likely always going to be. Lately the only day of the week that feels normal to me is  wednesday spent at market.
Being home all day feels strange now. Only, im not home,
im here, in the most snuggly bed in the world, (my mum makes the best beds), waiting for tomorrow, when they will all arrive and see what we've achieved in a day.
The kitchen she has been dreaming about for a lifetime. I hope she realises how much fun im having making it with her.


Thursday, November 3, 2011

my creative space

I was able to get one lonely girls wrap top done today before loading the car with the tools and heading off to mums place in the country.

girls size 10 top

Im loving the square common doileys right now as they can be turned into pockets so easily.

Someone can sit up all by herself now and is nearly crawling really weirdly. Shes going to be an individual alright.




This is one of my Kitten Caps I made for the market table a few weeks back.
I dont often use the word cute but...she is. so. cute! I want one in my size.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

house tour - joe and helens

If sometimes I mention we will stay in the city for the night, most likely it is at Joe and Helen's.
Their home has its own atmosphere of age and my midnight snapshots dont do it justice. One day soon I may remember to get the camera out before the sun goes down, but I like it just as much at night. Ive never thought to ask about why there always seems to be a huge bowl of enough tomatoes to do an italian chef proud.















They will soon be renovating this home in big way which was half my reason to capture it how it is.

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