Reclamation yards

Does anyone else love trawling round reclamation yards? So many ideas.. so little time.
I don't always find the bargains though and I lost some sleep recently over the table in the picture. I very nearly bought it but decided to sleep on it and realised in the cold light of day it was probably a bit big as a coffee table for our lounge plus it was quite a bit of money (understatement).
What I love about it is the legs are remaniscent of 1950s design but with the wood on the top it looks like old floorbards which gives it a georgian/victorian edge. Really clever and would have looked great in our Victorian house with a mixture of modern and old furniture.
I have been thinking that I can probably get someone to make some similar legs and a frame and I just need some extra wide floorboards - watch this space!

Our new fireplace...

As you may know, i'm a bit of an ebay queen.... which to be honest has probably saved my marriage! I'm constantly falling in love with things in shops and magazines then trying to recreate them for myself in a much more um thrifty fastion!
Recently, we had a quote for our difficult fireplace in the lounge (victorian replaced by 1930s). The quote was for nearly £1,000 for slate hearth, surround and fitting. I nearly died - literally! The fantastic fireplaces I had been looking at were around £1k but we didn't want to go that far as to be honest if we took off the mantle the likelihood of the plaster falling off the wall was quite high - don't you just love Victorian houses!!
Well I trawled ebay and found a hearth and surround that would work with some expert fixing and tweaking (OH!) We are thrilled with the result - it needs a bit of final tweaking but at the end of the day weve spent no more than £150 so we are quids in!

Allotmenteering

With the beautiful weather at the beginning of this week, I felt very spring like and decided to put some work into my part of a shared allottment. It doesnt take a lot, just some compost and seeds (creating the bed is def. the hard part!) Luckily my OH helped out by carrying the manure and compost down there so all that was left was weeding, putting on the compost and planting - to my mind the nice stuff!

I've decided to be ambitious this year as previously I've grown easy things like tomatoes and peas. Now I'm attempting to grow carrots and parsnips aswell as the usual peas, beans etc. I'm also going with beetroot, potatoes, sweetcorn. Watch this space - I'll update my blog with my progress - successes and failures!

Whilst I was there I noticed that there was a group of 3 girls all working on an allotment together, they were having a ball laughing and joking in the sunshine. I thought what a great idea, a good way to hangout with your friends and get organic vegetables at the same time! I just need to find a couple of mates who are happy digging in mud and live relatively near - any takers?!

Spring Clean Challenge

When Liz at violetposy set hares running with the spring cleaning challenge I thought NO WAY, not for me but.. after sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea and a pack of partyrings, I decided that she was right and by breaking it down into bite size chunks I should take up the challenge! Did you see that Liz – I said you were right!

I am herby promising to sort out and clean (yuck) the coat, DIY, charity shop cum dumping area. As you can see it’s a bit of a state! I am also going to get round to decorating it too as its still pink from when we moved in 5 years ago!!

So here is the mess - I'm embarrassed to show you! I’ll endeavour to clean it up and post a spick and span photo when it’s done – I wont wait for the decorated version as that will probably be in another few years!

Garden thinking..

It's the time of year when I need to get my head into gear about the garden and allotment. It's my first proper spring for the allotment and the garden has been in need of an overhaul for a few years and I'm determined to start it this year!

I've been thinking about the design and scribbling away for a few months - on and off and now I think it's settled. The hardest part starts now as I'm planning to do a scale drawing and planting plan to ensure I don't keep randomly buying plants I like the look of or feel sorry for at nurserys and to keep a close eye on the cost.

The RHS magazine this month came with loads of great inspiration and I'm very jealous of the borders at Wisley. I'm currently thinking of going for a perennial border mixed with vegetables like peas and french beans, blackcurrants - a sort of informal potager. Watch this space!

Vintage fever

Well, I can be a bit impetuous but when you fall in love, you fall in love. After all it is valentines week!

We have a lovely local vintage shop in Clifton Arcade, Bristol and I stumbled across the most gorgeous black 1940s evening gown. Unfortunately as is usually the case with vintage it wasn’t even nearly my size!

I continued browsing around the shop and came across a fabulous cocktail ring. Now my friends would tell you that I've been in the market for a glamorous cocktail ring for quite a while so when I saw it I nearly shrieked. Its silver with a lovely smokey brown quartz stone. The price also didn’t send me running to the bank manager. I thought I’d share with you the loveliness that is said ring.

Crafting a success

I've been wanting to write about a particularly amazing craftsman called Eddie Doherty.  He is based in Ardara, Co. Donegal, Ireland, and in his words 'he is the last of a dying breed'.

Eddie has been weaving all his life and continues on his hand loom today.  Apparently he cant get an apprentice for love nor money and he is the last person weaving by hand like this in Ireland.

Picture courtesy of handwoventweed.com

However, that said - business is good.  He works and sells from his small shop/workshop on Main Street and has a vast array of products from tweed to hats to wraps to blankets etc.  Over the last few years he's made quite a name for himself with Irish interior designers who use his beautiful blankets in boutique hotels.  The blankets are warm, colourful and reasonable priced compared to what you are able to buy in the shops in the UK.  I bought a lovely raspberry colour blanket in the sale in August last year for 50 euro and decided a month ago that I needed another one.  We chatted and he said he was going to do another batch for spring and hey presto I received it on Friday being sent by Fedex for 77 euro.  The picture is of a more expensive thicker blanket and its about 120 euro.  These would definitely cover most of a double bed.

He loves giving tours and showing how his loom works, so if you are ever in the area - do pop in.  He gives you a proper Irish welcome!

The website has limited stock.  If you have something you are looking for give him a call, he loves a chat!  www.handwoventweed.com