Blog Parties

Good morning,

Part of the world of blogging is sharing what you do with other guys and gals out there in blogland.  So I put my little pinky in the water and 'shared' my drawer makeovers with these 2 blog parties this last week. 



There are so many talented people out there doing amazing things.  You should drop by and check some of them out.  ENJOY!!

Cheers

Kate.

Martinborough and some furniture re vamps

Good morning all,

The second Martinborough Fair seems such a world away now.  It was another good fair day, although a bit of a slow start due to rain.  My husband and I met some fantastic people and everyone was very supportive when they knew we were from Christchurch.  It was actually a little weird leaving the city and our children (with my sister in Blenheim) and a little emotional as well.  In the end it was good to have a wee break away, do some shopping in Wellington with my cousins (who are fab people by the way!) and just enjoy good food and a few beveridges.  But it is nice to be home again and have some sense of normailty.  The children have really enjoyed being back at school and all their activites.  We are very lucky on this side of town to be able to return to 'normal'

I decided before Martinborough that becasue the last 6 months had been so hectic with all that had gone on, that I would take a break from sewing and concentrate on a few things around the house.  so with that in mind and the pressure off, I set to work on a couple of sets of drawers.

The first was a queen anne style that I purchased for my daughter.  This turned out to be a bit of a mission.  I purchased some varnish remover and set to.  What I then got was a sticky sticky mess and not much varnish coming off.  So I washed it down with soapy soapy water and left it overnight.  Now it looks like this.......

Unfortunately it was still very sticky is some places and I could not sand it down as the sandpaper was getting stuck to the sticky mess.  Frustration was creeping in and I nearly gave up at this point.  I decided to put a coat of paint on and then try to sand it  (once it was dry of course!!!)  this did help a little and one very tired arm later I had managed to sand it down.  It did actually look very cool at this point and my daughter liked the heavy distressed look but we decided it might not look right in the bedroom.  So moving onwards and 2 coats of paint and some decoupaging later. Now it looks like this....it just needs some knobs........

Looking pretty amazing if I do say so myself.  My daughter love it.  Thank goodness.  I had to do some major distressing on it because of the sticky mess I had in the beginning but in the end it worked out.  YAY!


Next piece was a chest of drawers that my husband and I bought before we were married.

 It had been sitting in the garage for some time.  I got a bit of inspiration from Kristine at The Painted Hive one of my new favourite blogs.  This one was easier to get the varnish off but still a little sticky.  I then mixed up walnut and charcoal stain.  But when I put it on the first drawer I did not like it.  A bit too poo brown (can I say that!).  So I sanded it back!  I was not sure what to do stain wise and so I diluted what I had mixed up with some meths and then added a bit more charcoal stain.  I tried it on the back of the drawer until I got something I liked.  Trial and error were definitely visiting our house that day!!!  I wiped the stain on, left it for a while and then wiped off with a damp rag.  I did remember to use gloves thank goodness.  I then put on 3 coats of gloss polyurethane ( no mean feat in the back hall at night).
Now it looks like this........

don't you think that looks fab.  Such a great bedside table.  It has even made our bedroom less cluttered by giving us some more storage space.  Fantastic.

I have also been stripping the purple paint off the trim in our house.  this is a horrendous job as there are 2 coats of purple, one coat of peach and one of cream.  It is taking forever.  Here is a bit of progress. 

It is amazing how much brighter it looks already.  The bathroom ceiling has had one coat of paint and the wallpaper has arrived from the UK.  We have decided on flooring and are hoping to get it all finished by next week.  I can't wait to show it off.

My next job, which I have also started is getting my showroom up and running.  I have one coat on the walls and am heading back there now to put the next one on and sand my treasures I bought.  You can read about those here

Best I get my little self moving or I won't get a thing done today.
Bye for now


Cheers
Kate

How life changes in an instant

The harsh reality is that that instant will forever be etched in the minds of Cantabrians and that instant has tragically happened twice for our city.

On Sept 4th 2010 our lives were forever changed when we were awoken from our beds at 4.35am by a massive earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale.  It was frightening on a level that no one can really explain.  There was large amounts of damage to some areas, including our central city.  Buildings were demolished and homes were left inhabitable.  There was a little luck on our side in that no one died as a direct result of the earthquake.  For my family it meant the sudden and tragic death of a much loved grandmother and in the midst of dealing with upset children and so so many aftershocks, we buried her.

Life slowly moved on and the people of this province had returned to work, school and hopefully some sort of normality.  We kept telling ourselves that we were lucky, that it could have been so much worse.  The aftershocks slowly settled, although some caused more damage and frayed nerves again (Boxing Day comes to mind).

But as the re-building of not only homes and buildings but our lives took place, the unthinkable happened.  Another large quake.  This one not so strong, 6.3, but closer to the city and at half the depth.  This time, luck was not on the side of our city.  This one happened at lunch time and much more frightening than the first for so many people.  This one devastated our city, more homes are destroyed, buildings have completely collasped and lives have been lost.  More lives than we even know.  Many more are still missing.

What has touched us as a country is the amount of help pouring into this city from our international friends.  The amount of work that is been done by these people and our very own emergency personnel is absolutely outstanding.

As I sit in my home with the sun shining in and my children playing happily outside, I have much to be thankful for.  All friends and family working in the city managed to escape safely.  Although some were trapped for a time.  One friend was buried for 5 hours and others around her did not make it out.  Our home is not damaged, we have power and water.  I feel so removed from what is happening a few kilometres from my home.

Yet I crave some normality.  So I have thrown myself back into my work.  I feel quilty and it seems really selfish when all others want is their loved one home, but it is what I need right now.  What my children need.  My husband (builder bob) has been out helping friends and family with their chimneys etc.  What a good man.

There are many many people not so lucky as me. Not only from our fair city but from all over the world.  My thoughts and prayers go out to those people.  We are still carrying your hopes with us.

Our city will smile again.  We will rise again to be the beautiful city that we were.  It will take time and much more heartache but we will get there.

Keep safe everybody.

Kate xx

A holiday, a fair and a workshop

So a few exciting things to tell you about.  Because I am just about the worst blogger in the world, there has been a few happenings in my world.  I am not sure how others with these amazing creative talents can manage to make all the things they do, organise their families AND write a blog.  They are definitely super talented and super organised.  As I look around my house that looks like a tornado zone, I just don't know where to begin.  So I decided to leave it just now.... oh I know I will pay for it later.  At least I have managed to have a bit of a tidy up and put some washing on the line.  Some where between organised and chaos, that is where I roll.....

Let's go back a few weeks and start at the top of the list..... a holiday.  In other words, a much needed break for our family from the routine in a place we absolutely LOVE!  I have to admit though that the journey did not start well with us leaving a few things behind and having to turn back twice!!  Thankfully neither time we were very far down the road.  So on the road at 6.30am instead of 5am..  Are you stark raving mad I hear you say.  But our destination is 6.5 hours away and leaving early not only means the kids sleep in the car for the first few hours but we miss most of the traffic.  Not this year though....bummer.  Keeping our stops brief meant we kept ahead of it a bit and by 2.30pm we were in the heat setting up the tent.

Unfortunately the weather was a bit hit and miss in the first week.  A bit of rain did not stop the kids from having some fun................

Overall we had great weather and a little bit of this.................

and this.......................

and this.................

Oh it is so hard to come back home again.  But one must as the work awaits to be done for the Martinborough Fair.  Which brings me to the next item on the list.  Martinborough is a gorgeous wee town 1 hours drive over the hill from Wellington.  A bit if a trek for me.  But well worth it.  The fair is held on the first Sat in Feb and March and so I make the trip twice.  My sister comes with me in Feb and my husband in March.  It is a very long hard days work.  The fair is held around the town square and there are 400 stalls.  Shoppers start arriving by 7am!!!!!  This equates to a very early start and we are down at the stall site by 5am setting up and yes it is dark.  At 5pm the day is done we are packed up and heading back here........

for a well earned beveridge and to put the feet up.  I am a happy camper as most of the stock has gone and everybody has loved my stall and my products.  A friend asks if I feel proud.  My husband and sister are extremely proud and I am relieved

I have to tell you that even though I have done a few fairs now, I still get very nervous in the morning and can never eat and have to try very hard not to snap at my marvellous band of helpers.  Not because they are doing anything wrong but just because I get myself in a bit of a stew.  I over worry that the stall doesn't look right and that no one will buy anything.  I really should not worry so much.

So home to order more fabrics.....yummy.  It is getting very hard to choose.  Make a heap more stock and  to sort out making a reading folder/book bag that I promised a few ladies.  I also have some change purses I want to get done, men's sponge bags and more cushions.   Oh no it is that time factor thing again and the mess in the workshop, oh the mess!!


Which brings me to the lucky last item on the list.  The workshop.  What a god send it is being able to have all my work out of our little house.  Unfortunately we have been so busy that we have not managed to get it fully organised yet so it is a bit chaotic but functional.  It is heaven I have to say, even in the mess it is in.

So after the March Martinborough fair, I will be getting a little showroom ready.  A bit of painting here and there, a bit of flooring put down and these treasures I purchased on trade me (which I am going to paint and put new fabric on) to jazz it up a bit. 

It is only a small space but I am really hoping to have it looking great and a place for people to come and see my wares.  Watch this space


There it is.  A rather long post.  I hope I did not bore you all to tears.  I must get better and writing more often says the worst blogger in the world.

Bye for now.  See you after Martinborough.

Cheers

Kate

Since my last post.........

Which was forever ago!!!  Life here with my family has just been overwhelming and a bit crazy.

 I managed to get enough stock sewn for the fete in Southland at the end of November.  It was supposed to be in Nokomai but had to be changed to Acton Downs just north of Mossburn.  I left on the Friday morning with my husband and friend Trudy.  Such a long journey down to Queenstown and such a hot day as well.

We stopped for ages at some road works and I got a bit carried away with taking photos of the lupins on the side of the road.  They are everywhere in the Mckenzie Country and Central Otago.  It is amazing and beautiful.



The sun shone hot and bright until we reached Cromwell where it became cloudy and decidedly cool.  I of course became a bit anxious!!!  Rain is not good on market days.  But as there was not much you can do about that I decided to just try and enjoy myself.  Starting with the view out the window form the apartment.  The Remakables and Lake Wakatipu.  Stunning......

Then it was time for me to do a little bit of work........

sitting on the floor in the corner with the glue gun



An early morning start in Queenstown on a beautiful already warm morning.  I am my usual bundle of nerves and sit quietly in the back seat.  the nerves get worse as the weather gets worse.  Colder, cloudy, bit of drizzle and some fog!!!!  I have had all weather on market days now, except snow.  (oh I probably should not have said that).  But on with the show...........



Turned out ok in the end even though the rain did come.  It wasn't really cold and thankfully the people still came.  So home to Christchurch the next day.  Another hot day for travelling and an amazing view of Mt Cook across Lake Pukaki.  WOW.........



So home to a bit of an enforced break from sewing.  Not because I wanted to but because I had too.  You see we had great excitement in November in that we bought a house.  Yipee!!!  Here is our little gem............

if you look closely that is the new kitchen bench on the porch!



Such a cool wee house with an awesome feel.  So it was onto the henious process of moving.  Going from a larger 4 bedroom house with 2 living rooms to a smaller 3 bedroom house with 1 living space was always going to pose a few problems.  So a massive clean out was in order.  We did as much as we could until we just ran out of time and had to get everything moved.  I literally despise moving.

In the midst of moving my Dad became very ill in hospital with pneumonia fighting for his life.  My Dad has been a fighter for the last 5 years battling cancer.  He has been absolutely amazing and our family is constantly thankful that we still have him. This time was very scary but once again he has battled through and came home 2 days before Christmas.  Go Dad!

The move was also made a little crazier by the fact that we decided to re do the bathroom before we moved in and then the kitchen was done the week after we moved in.  Most of the old kitchen was ripped out (was a bit gross with mouldy cabinets).  So that meant no kitchen for a little over a week.  The kids did get sick of filled rolls for tea!!  But it was worth it.  Here are some before and after shots. .........







The bathroom is still waiting to be finished but it is functional.  We are having a bit of a time deciding on flooring and a wall colour.  Oh the decisions.  Do you realise how many different shades of white there are?????

The kitchen was finished on Christmas Eve just in time to have my husband's family for Christmas day.  Which was a great day but I have no photos!!!

So Christmas has passed for another year.  The decorations are packed away and the sewing life has begun in earnest again.  Because our house has no extra space for 2 businesses (my husband has his own building business)  we have leased a warehouse with a front office.  I am now sewing there and will make 3/4 of the office a showroom.  I must say it is nice to have all the business stuff out of the house and actually have somewhere to go for my work.  It has taken a little bit of adjusting though especially with the kids home on school holidays.  But the workshop is still a novelty for them and they haven't minded too much spending a bit of time there.

We are away on our annual summer holiday to Golden Bay on the 15th.  We cannot wait.  It is going to be bliss!

So there is my life in a nutshell for the past few months.  It is a little less crazy, thank goodness.

I hope you all have had a great festive season and the new year has started well for you.  Good luck with everything you do this year.

Take care

Kate



Time is flying buy........

Something we are all saying to ourselves and before we know it Christmas will be here.  I know,  I shouldn't say that!!!

So another successful fete has been completed.  Hunters Garden Marlborough Market Day in Blenheim has been and gone.  It was another beautiful sunny day and plenty of shoppers came out.  My family of helpers was in full force again.  On the day my husband and brother in law were up early with me and down to the market to set up.  Here they are......

After their compulsory coffee, they tootled off home and dropped my sister back down for the morning shift!!  What a great family.  Here's some pics of the stall all set up and ready for business...





in this photo is my spotty chair that I bought from the local recycling store, and resanded and recovered her.  She is up for sale but the more that day went on the more I kept thinking that I would just keep her.....

I am quite happy with how the stall is looking but still think some minor tweeking is needed!!!!  I can hear my husband cringe from here.

So one more fete before the end of the year.  Off on a massive journey to Southland.  One hour south of Queenstown.  More sewing in store to top up the stock pile (which is currently all stacked up in our bedroom  ahhhgh....).  Then I will be able to shop for some more fabric....... ahh bliss.

Right now though it is off to bed otherwise I will be dreadful getting up in the morning.  Although I might just take a sneak peek at my favourite blogs.....................

Happy happy days

Cheers

Kate

The fete and other things

Hi All,

I have been so busy sewing for the Culverden Fete that I have not had time for a post.  I managed to get quite a bit of work done in the end but there were a few late nights.

My friend Pat and I travelled up the night before and met my Mum up there with her car full of stuff as well.  We set up the gazebo and all the shelves and tables.  Then off to the pub for a great meal and a couple of drinks.  They were well deserved!! Mum Pam tootled off home and Pat and I walked along the road to the B&B.  Such a lovely place to stay and the owners were very accomodating and great hosts.  We had a fantastic full cooked breakfast in the morning.  Yummy.  All set for the day, a short walk back into Culverden to be picked up by my inlaws and back to the fete.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and the shoppers came out in the truck loads.  A very steady busy day and following the pack up and a wee glass of wine, I drove away a happy little sewer!!!

So no it is onto the next one.  The Hunters Garden Marlborough Fete in Blenheim.  We take the whole family and stay with my sister so as well as making a few sales it is a fun weekend.

Apologies again for no photos.  I forgot to take my camera again!!!!  I will get some at Blenheim.  Promise.
So must go and sort out Molly with a bath.  she is home with the chicken pox.  Oh what fun.  Poor wee mite.

Need to try and get some work done to add to the stock.  Some things are quite low in numbers.  A good problem to have.


Happy happy day
Cheers

Kate