Feeling a bit sluggish? Get yourself gardening

Ok, it's a snail but I do love a pun. 
I think I'll call him Clive. 
I have to admit that I'm normally lobbing these little guys over the wall and away from my precious plants but this one was so tiny and shiny that I've let him be.
The garden is looking good after a weekend of landscaping and muscle-crippling grunt work.  I re-set the path, weeded absolutely everywhere, gave the soil a good turn over, and planted a few new plants that are going to create a nice little rockery area.
The vegetable seeds have been sewn and have had a good start in the greenhouse, and the peas and red onions are ready to go into the ground.  My next project is going to be trying to make a support for the peas out of old branches from the garden.  More heavy duty grunt work!

Peapod Doorstop

Need something to hold the door open while the fresh Springtime air breezes through the house?

Look no further!

[Pic by P Bell]

Beautiful Bouquet

Happy almost Mothers' Day and nearly Easter.

I thought I'd try to create an alternative to the standard bunch of springtime flowers... so here's a handmade version! 

This one is filled with polyester at the moment but I think it might evolve into a weighted doorstop.

It's a work in progress. 

[Pics by P Bell]

One, two, three, pouff(e)!

A little pictorial tale of upholstery for you today.

This started life as a much loved (I'm sure) cream- coloured pouffe but it has fallen to me to give it a new lease of life... as a dark blue-coloured pouffe.   

After taking some measurements and cutting some lengths of blue fabric, I set to work on the square cushion top.
Pretty basic stuff, really.  All that's required is two squares of fabric and four rectangle panels for the edges.  In order to keep all the seams and messiness on the inside, I halved the second square, sewed a couple of seams with some velcro attached, so that the cushion cover became an envelope-style.  Easy removal for throwing in the washing machine, if necessary.

 

The bottom half was covered in much the same way.  There are casters on the bottom so I only needed one square of fabric for the top.  The four rectangle lengths were hemmed so that they covered the casters.

And here's the finished product.  All shiny and new.

This is Tonto

He is a very obedient and well trained doggy doorstop.
He knows all the essential commands like stay...stand up straight...and will bark (very, very quietly) in response to the phrase  "don't let the door hit you on the way out, Tonto".

Tonto is a patchwork breed with fireproof polyester stuffing and a couple of bags of rice in the soles of his paws.
Luckily for Tonto, he is already destined for a new home in Edinburgh but if you would like to adopt a doggy doorstop of your very own, please get in touch.

(Apologies for the poorly lit photograph of Tonto, but I'm just heading out the door!  He's not as peely waly looking as this, and is actually a beautiful mix of reds, browns, creams etc.)

A Literal Embrace of New Technology

I have been commissioned to make a carry case for a Kindle (other e-readers are available!) and this is the result.

I opted for a kind of jewellery roll design with a button/strap finish.

There's a pocket for the Kindle to sit in but I might add a strip of elastic above this to keep it secure. 

I like this material.  It reminds me of the classic Chanel check.  (Is it Chanel I'm thinking of?  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!!)  The grey lining is a nice match and the thin layer of foam lining in between will provide a little extra protection.

Let's start as we mean to go on

So, the new year is upon us.  The over-indulgence must end, and back to normal we return.
My Santa candle has been binned (his poor head melted) and the Christmas decorations will be shelved once again.  I say shelved, I mean shoved into the hall cupboard, not to be tidied away properly until the shame of one too many disapproving looks from the gas/electric meter reader forces me to act.
I have decided to tidy my workspace today.  I should have taken Before pictures to compare with the After but I haven't been that organised.  I only started the cleaning operation a couple of hours ago and I've already managed to stop for lunch and write this post so you can imagine the breakneck speed with which I am tackling this overhaul.  I feel like I should do something bigger like rearrange the furniture or the pictures on the wall, but even as I type, I know I'll not get that far.  Can't be faffed!
Sigh, I should probably get back to it, there is still major de-cluttering to do. 

My next task is to sit down with the calendar and plan some craft fair bookings for this year.  If anyone's out there reading this (anyone?) with advice/suggestions for fairs to look out for, let me know.

Happy New Year, I hope 2011 turns out to be a good one!