Achievements, celebrations & the mundane
What a week it has been! We’ve done more home improvement in the last month than we have done in the last year! That’s Parkinson’s Law for you.
The biggest achievement (and a huge weight of my shoulders) is the completion of Richard’s office. It’s a small room attached to our garage and basically had bare brick walls, a concrete slab floor and a dodgy light. Richard installed down lights and put new power, telephone and TV points. Then we spent the entire last weekend painting the brick walls and ceiling, which by the way is very hard work! And on Friday I laid down the new vinyl flooring all by myself. Yes, me! I rock!
Richard has set up his office now and he is a very happy hubby. Only 2 more weeks before my new house mate moves in and I’m starting to feel nervous and excited at the same time.
On Saturday, we celebrated our nephew’s 9th birthday and there was a bit of fooling around when the sparkles got lit on the cake! That’s the uncle (Richard’s brother) grabbing his nephew’s face. Haha… no harm done I promise!
Now for the mundane part of life. Charlie had one of his showers this week and was happy to show off for the video camera. He LOVES it and gets all excited when he sees the spray bottle.
[Video link]
I’ve also bought yarn to start knitting a charity Christmas project. I won’t say what it is just yet.
Has anyone started their Christmas knitting? I can’t believe we’re only 4 months away from 2011!
Purrfectly organising my WIPs
Since Olly claimed my WIP* box as his a few weeks ago, he has settled right in and shows no sign of moving out. You will find his furry little chin hanging over the top of the box almost every single hour of every single day. He made it purrfectly clear to me that I had to find a new box for my knitting projects.
While wondering through Kmart in search of a replacement, I chanced upon this. Look closely at the white tag on the box…
Eureka! I’ve got my new knitting WIP box! I parted with my $10 far too quickly and excitedly for the under-enthusiastic cashier. But what does he know? He isn’t a knitter. 
I love it when it all comes together like this.
And I must also add that
Thank god there’s only two of them running this household!
Well, I better go fluff up their pillows now. 
Toodle-oo!
*WIP = Work in Progress
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Olly’s Office
My Craft Space
New & Improved Craft Space
A Garden Surprise
It started with what looked like a weed growing between the compost bin and our beloved banksia tree. On closer inspection, Richard discovered that it was actually a tomato plant! We didn’t plant it and our neighbour grew her tomatoes in pots. How on earth did it get there?
We decided to just leave it alone and see what happens. It’s right next to the compost bin so it’ll get plenty of nutrients. Richard told our neighbour about the mystery tomato plant and she gave him a stake to help the plant grow. That’s all we did for weeks. We staked it, watered it rarely and let it do it’s own thing.
And I think the plant did very well on its own! Look how big it is!
There are little green tomatoes now too!
And even more coming soon!
I’m very excited. I’ve never eaten home grown tomatoes before but everyone tells me they taste better than anything you get from the shops. Can’t wait!
P.S. It’s summer here in Australia.
P.P.S. Does anyone know what variety of tomato this is?
My Craft Space
I have organized my craft space and I’ve kept it clean and tidy for a few weeks now. Hard to believe that my new system stood up against overly enthusiastic stash enhancement shopping sprees and even more yarn acquisition from a generous friend and the dabbling of yet another craft hobby and most importantly, “I’ve-got-a-great-idea-that-I-must-do-it-right-now!” moments!
Computer workspace
Ifa, my female cat, pretty much lives on the printer. The only time she gets up voluntarily is when I’m cooking or eating or when it’s her dinner time. I normally kick her out of the room halfway through the day so that she can get some exercise.
Craft workspace
It’s so good to have a table just for my sewing and crafting. The white board and stackable storage boxes helps keep me on track and in check. Cats have learned to keep off this area, otherwise, Mummy goes psycho!
Store related containers
Two of my 50 litre containers hold my store related materials, stock and yarn. My thinking is that if these boxes are overflowing, I’m not selling enough products quickly enough. Time to re-think a few things.
Yarn stash
The largest of the containers is 57 litres and it holds all my stash yarn. I really can’t afford to have any more than this much yarn. I don’t have the space or the money to let this grow any bigger. I have enough stash yarn to keep me knitting and crocheting for at least one year! Although, I will make allowances for free yarn. I’m not that silly!
ECO-FRIENDLY & ORGANIC YARN FOR SALE
I would like to talk more about this in detail next week. But if you can’t wait to enhance your yarn stash now, CLICK HERE to grab a one off deal from my shop. 35- 50% off!
Knitting WIP
I have Shawl Collar Vest [pattern] and Feather & Fan Comfort Shawl [pattern] on my needles now. I am almost finished with the vest and I’m obsessively knitting it every chance I get.
Crocheting WIP
These are hot off my crochet hooks. I’m just waiting on a delivery to put the finishing touches on them. Watch this space for my new Christmas crochet pattern. Coming very soon!
Did you like the voyeuristic peek into my craft room? I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours.
Make a Head-turning Corkboard in 30 mins
This daggy corkboard is in desperate need of a makeover. It’s in Richard’s corner of the office and its terrribly boring.
30 minutes of crafting later… Look at the difference!
Here are the materials I’ve used:
1. Ikea fabric remnant
2. Dressmaker scissors
3. Staple gun
4. Upholstery tacks & hammer (optional)
Step 1: Place corkboard face down onto wrong side of Ikea fabric. Cut fabric to size, leaving a 2″ allowance all around.
Step 2: Trim corners to reduce bulk when folded.
Step 3: Fold fabric along the edge of the corkboard and staple into place. Staple the opposite side that you’ve just done and keep fabric taut by pulling it tightly before stapling. I stapled the long side egdes first, then the top and bottom edges.
Step 4: (Optional) Lightly tap the upholstery tacks along the edge of the corkboard. To stop the paint from chipping off the tacks, cover the head of your hammer with fabric or felt and use a rubber band to hold in place.
Now proudly display your corkboard in the room of your choice.
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