radio days

As you may know if you read my tweets, I am a huge fan of the radio.

I usually have BBC Radio 4 on all day in the background. I make time to sit down and listen to the Archers and when possible, the afternoon play.

And I love to drift off to sleep to the gentle burble of a late-night comedy.

I can also be tempted by vintage offerings on BBC Radio 4 Extra and even occasionally by BBC Radio 6 Music. Although when it comes to music I generally prefer to choose what I listen to, rather than have someone else’s choices forced upon me.

And I can’t abide radio adverts.

My partner’s the same. He also favours Test Match Special, which always reminds me of my dad.

I have a copy of the Leicester Mercury from 1953, which includes this photo of my parents emerging from church after their wedding via an archway of cricket bats:

When I was a child, summer had truly come when cricket-mad dad was in the living room in his shorts, curtains closed, watching cricket on telly with the sound turned down and Test Match Special on.

I can still remember the spectacular whiteness of his legs, which never really saw the light of day.

Anyway, what I was going to say is that this amazing vintage valve radio arrived as a present for my partner’s birthday the other day, courtesy of his brother.

It has been restored to working order, although we think it needs an aerial as we can’t get much out of it so far other than a distant crackling.

But it is spectacularly nice, nonetheless.

It glows gently and gets warm when you switch it on.

Even if it never makes a sound, I will be happy to have it there, adding it’s vintage good looks to our living room.

Whilst I listen to my favourites via digital radio, courtesy of the much-less-photogenic telly

spring cleaning

It all started with a spot of spring cleaning.

It’s amazing how, when the sun comes out, you notice things that have eluded your eye all winter. Like dirty windows.

We live on a main road. We have a coal fire in our sitting room. And we have no window cleaner.

For some reason, nobody seems to want the job of cleaning our windows. I’ve asked several burly men I spotted with squeegees in hand around the local area, but they all said no, they were too busy to take us on.

So I got out my e-cloth and had a go myself. Wow! What a difference! It was like someone had turned the light on!

And then I got started on the cobwebs.

And then I noticed the state of the curtains…

We have white curtains. Probably not the most practical choice, but I like them.

After I’d got over my disgust, I had a sudden burst of energy and enthusiasm and got them down for a good wash.

But whilst they were drying… I remembered that long ago in the dim and distant past I had thought, briefly, of changing those curtains.

I had even got as far as actually buying something on ebay with that end in mind.

I dug out my purchase, a pair of vintage Osman Terylene and cotton sheets in exactly the right colours for the room: turquoise, purple, green and white.

The design is by one of my fabric heroines, Pat Albeck and is called Flores.

I have hung them temporarily onto to the curtain rail gliders with safety pins until I can get some curtain tape to sew on.

I rather like them.

So I am temporarily spared the job of ironing my clean white curtains.

Which means that every time I look at my newly adorned and spring-cleaned bay window, it gives my lazy heart a double dose of joy.

faith and generosity

I may have mentioned before – I absolutely love the internet and the lovely people you can meet there.

When I left my job a couple of years back I was sorely lacking in faith in people. I felt severely bruised and confused having been on the receiving end of a bad situation.

How things change…

Yesterday my cheerful postie delivered a parcel from bloggy friend Bee, of The Linen Cloud.

Inside was this beautiful book… a most unexpected gift!

I have followed Jane Brocket’s blog for ages. Her photos are so perfect.

And coincidentally, I had been thinking of asking for this particular book for my birthday.

Bee noticed that I had pinned a couple of images from it to my quilting and patchwork pinterest board and as she had a spare copy, she thought of me!

Take a look at some of the beauty within…

Praise be to the internet and the restoring of faith in people.

And huge and heartfelt thanks to the generosity of a friend, whom I have yet to meet.

grand plans & daydreams

You may remember my grand plan.

I haven’t actually done very much towards making my new sewing room – yet.

Apart, that is, from plotting and planning and daydreaming quite a bit.

And gathering inspiration. Although, it’s been surprisingly difficult to find pictures of sewing rooms that aren’t just that bit too twee for my liking.

I have, however, done a fair amount of sighing over the picture above.

I know it’s not actually a sewing room.

But that table! That orange chair! That parquet floor! THOSE PIGEONHOLES!

I don’t have a parquet floor to work with, but a sewing machine wouldn’t look amiss perched on that table… and those pigeonholes would look lovely stuffed with fabric scraps and sewing equipment.

So I’ve compiled myself a wish list:

• a big sewing table
• task lighting
• storage for fabric
• a comfy sewing chair
• white painted floor
• cushion storage
• equipment storage
• inspiration board / wall
• ironing board

I’m not sure I can fit all those things into our small spare room. But I’m going to have a darn good try!

Here are some more of my sewing room inspirations…

All of these images are gathered on my sewing room inspiration pinterest board. If you happen across any sublime sewing spaces that you think I should add, do let me know, won’t you?

Hopefully, before too long, my sewing room dreams will be ready to move out of my fantasies to become reality…

How exciting!

pretty thing of the week

Table mats. They’re a necessary evil, aren’t they?

I’m a fan of a vintage fabric tablecloth, which brightens up our grey and white kitchen no end.

But vintage fabric tablecloths and mucky boys do not sit happily together, so table mats are essential.

Mine are cheap Ikea cork ones, now somewhat the worse for wear. They get caught in the drawer and bits keep breaking off.

If I had more funds I would invest in some of these beauties instead.

Designed by Gillian Blease, these are quite the nicest table mats I have seen.

They also come as coasters and trays.

You can find them for sale at Jenny Duff and see Gillian Blease’s prints on her website.

 

a grand plan

This was the waist-high pile of interiors magazines that I decided to throw out yesterday.

I amassed them over the past eight years or thereabouts. I was fanatical about them at one time.

But then I discovered the internet, and blogs, and digital magazines. And I haven’t looked at them much in ages.

They were taking up valuable space in the spare room, so it was time for them to go.

This is our spare room at the moment:

It is a bit of a mish-mash space really. It acts as office, cushion storage area and occasional guest room.

Most of the space is taken up by two single beds pushed together. We got them when my sis came to stay.

They are very comfy, but rarely required. They’re just not earning their keep.

So…

I have a Grand Plan: to ebay the beds, paint the floor, fill the cracks in the badly-plastered walls, put in some suitable storage and a sewing table and… move modflowers’ operations upstairs to a proper dedicated sewing space.

The room below is where I sew at the moment. It’s looking unusually spick and span here I might add (this photo was taken a while ago and I’d obviously just had a major tidy up).

I am excited – and not a little daunted – by the prospect of The Grand Plan.

But sewing is starting to impinge on our living space, which is not relaxing for anyone.

The pointing out of this fact is key to selling The Grand Plan to my other half; a necessary task, but one to be approached with a little caution and a lot of gumption.

Possibly after a spot of Valentines Day softening-up.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Wish me luck!