Well Slap My Wrist!

Thought it was a long time since I updated my blog last time, but this time i've been even worse, can't believe it's been nearly 2 months!  I just don't know where the time goes!  Well I do, it's called life!  We've had weddings, birthdays, etc. and just general life and mundane things in general!

I'm still on my weight loss kick and have now lost 5stone 13.5lbs, and that's been keeping me busy, although I don't really know why!

Anyway, enough excuses, what has been happening?

Well Lobster Pot Cottage is finally on it's way to my bestest friend Paula, I know it will be well loved and given a gorgeous makeover when she gets her hands on it!  I sort of lost interest in it when I moved the tea rooms to Cove, and it just sat in the middle looking very out of place!  So i'm not really sad to see it go but very happy that Paula is going to love it!

I've decided that no more dollshouses for me, ha, well that was until I spied Paula's pretty pink shop, so am in a quandary now!

I did actually buy some bits and pieces for Beacon, the downstairs is going to be a haberdashery/wool/craft shop.  Just bought the furniture, have got to pretty it up as the dresser is bare wood, so needs painting and papering and generally making it look nice.  As there's not much room have just got a counter/display in the middle with a few white wire shelf units to put things on, there's not a vast amount of room so have to be careful, i've got a wicker chair in there at the moment as well, mainly because I didn't want to get rid of it, but not got anywhere to put it either!  Got to make a heap of little boxes to put things like buttons, cottons, etc. etc., in and can't say i'm looking forward to doing that all that much, that sort of thing doesn't float my boat!  But on a tight budget so got to be done, sure i can find template for the right sort of box, I can never work these things out!  I did get some pretty papers (not dollshouse, but think they'll do) in a "freebie" from hobbycraft so hope to make them out of that, they don't need to be strong boxes just strong enough to make things in, if not the paper can be stuck to the card and the boxes made out of that.  Anyway here's a picture of Beacon so far

Think i'm quite happy with the upstairs, and to be honest there's not a lot of room for much else up there lol, so it's just the downstairs.  I've still got to sort my little shabby shop out again, now i've rescued it from the cats, it's just sitting under a table at the moment, i must sort it out though.  Just reminded me seein the doll in Beacon cos i'm pretty sure she is from the shop and that i just rescued her from the shop and she ended up in beacon!  Still nothing in the little annexe for beacon, still don't really know what to put in there, there's not much room at all in there so it can't be much!

I seem to have been busy knitting bears and baby clothes recently, not had a lot of time for mini knitting or quilting.  Did a little bit of mini knitting (my worst nightmare doll lol, and some xmas stockings) and that's been about it on the mini front.

The rest of my time has been knitting baby/reborn baby clothes.  I am quite enjoying doing these, but the reborn dolls that I spent so much on, I have to say have remained in their boxes in the wardrobe!  I am seriously thinking about selling them, lovely as they are, not much point in keeping them if they are in their boxes hidden!

These are the reborns and I have to say they are amazing!  All handpainted and have rooted hair, beautiful really.

This is the latest bear that i've made, he was a custom order to co-ordinate with a bedroom.

These are some of the baby clothes i've been knitting (and yes i am trying to justify my time away from the blog lol)

Well that's enough of that!

I have a yearning to make a new mini patchwork, not sure what, but probably a pretty flowery one or a cath kidston one.  Will finish the custom baby outfit i'm doing and then may give it a go!  Think i'm being inspired by myself lol, fingers crossed a "how to" tutorial I did at the request of DHMS magazine should be in the November issue, well it was meant to be in the October issue, but they had to put it back, so it might not be in November's, it could be next year or it could be never lol, but i was very flattered to be asked to do one, I was just going to start on a quilt for a lady so I used that one in the tutorial pics.  I thought it would be easy, how wrong was I!   Not that easy to explain in words, so whether it will make real sense or not remains to be seen!  Anyway I will let you know if it does get printed.

Right, well it's getting late and i seem to have been rambling for yonks!  Must not leave it so long!

OMG That Long!

Well naughty me, can't believe i've not updated since April, good job Paula gave me a much needed nudge!

I haven't really done that much dollshousing I have to confess, i've sort of run out of inspiration for it at the moment, as you will see Beacon is still very empty!

I did have a little move round of my bedroom so get the houses all in one place, unfortunately until i get some new furniture they are all a bit higgledy piggledy, but hey ho there it must be a very hilly street!  I've still got the little shabby shop which is in the kitchen but i'd like to move it as it's getting ruined as the cats seem to think it makes an ideal bed!

Her are closer views of Cove Cottage Tearooms and Beaon together

Still my favourites Driftwood Cottage and The Boathouse, inhabited by my favourites Bill & Maggie

Last but not least, Lobster Pot Cottage

Now for the inside of Beacon, as you can see it's a really tight squeeze in there!  The sofa I bought really is too large, will have to have a rethink, I was looking for something that could double as a bed, but really there just isn't room, think it will just have to be a comfy armchair in there, it's only a small property to very hard to try and fit anything in and the sofa, to me just looks tooooooooo big!

The downstairs and annexe is still empty, just lacking inspiration for them at the moment, the downstairs is meant to be a shop, but I have to say it could end up as just an ordinary house with a bedroom upstairs, living/kitchen downstairs and loo in the annexe, but that's very boring, so i won't do anything yet until i find where my inspiration is hiding!

That's really about it on the dollshouse front, not terribly exciting and it's very boring not getting packages from the postie!  I do miss getting new things, but at the moment money is very tight so there's not a lot left for dollshouse stuff.

I seem to have been busy knitting baby clothes at the moment, not even done any mini patchworking!

That's about it for now, if you find my inspiration please send it back lol.

Few pics of Beacon

As promised here's a couple of piccies of the upstairs of Beacon.   I've pinched most of the stuff from the Pavillion Holiday let, which unfortunately has been languishing unloved on a table, and mainly used as a hat, gloves and scarf peg!  I've never really been a fan of the pavillion, have redone it and still don't like it, so unfortunately it is in the dustbin now!  The windows and doors had broken and it really wasn't any use for anything, so out it must go!

Anyway, as you can see have most of the things in Beacon and the rest of the stuff i'll be selling on my fb page or ebay, seem to accumulated a few bits and pieces and now I'm trying to sell Lake View I really don't need them.

Anyway, back to Beacon!

The upstairs i've turned into a sort of bedsit, well more a chair sit really!  Couldn't fit a bed in there or the settee, it's quite a narrow little property so not that much room, but we've got a bit of a kitchen, table and armchair, plus the lovely little boat shelf unit that Paula made for me and of course the gorgeous doll, who I can't decide on a name and i must knit him some more clothes as well!  He must be quite smelly in the same jumper day and night!

The downstairs is still bare as is the annexe, i'm hoping to make these into a shop and workroom for handicrafts, but need to sell some stuff before I can buy some shop units and shelves.

Here it is anyway!

More Mini Quilts

Seem to have been busy with making the mini patchwork quilts just recently.  Have just completed these two, one for Paula and one for a lady she knows, they will be winging their way up to Scotland tomorrow when I get down to the shops.

This is the pretty pink one for Paula

This is the one for Audrey

Otherwise I haven't really done that much else!  Started knitting another of my favourite teddies, I love knitting these and have got quite a collection now, shame they're not mini as they take up quite a lot of room!  I will have to get my act together and get them on ebay!

I've just got another order for another mini quilt so will be starting that next week as well.

Still got Lake View and the Garden Room as nobody seems to want it, typical now that i've decided I really don't want to do it and just want it out the way.  My listing ends tomorrow so I shall stick it on again, but will offer a courier service as well, it looks like it will cost about £30 for all 3 boxes together, so hopefully that won't deter people too much!

I have had a little play with Beacon this week and will take a pic and post it later.  I've kitted out the upstairs as a little bedsit, the downstairs I haven't started on.  I think that will be a sort of handicraft shop, taking in all the various little crafts that I do, e.g. knitting, patchworking, cross stitching etc.  Once I've sold Lake View i'll be able to buy some counters etc., hoping that I can make most of the things that will go in the shop, the little annexe will still be a workroom (I did try and fit a shower etc. in there, but it's not really big enough) so a workroom it will be!  Was quite nice having a play, seem to have been neglecting things recently!

I dismantled my holiday let (the pavillion) as it's just languishing on a little table in the hall and i'm afraid i'm in the habit of dumping bags, hats etc on it, i've never really liked it to be honest so i took everything out and most of it is in the new bedsit!  A few other bits I managed to rehome in Lobster and Driftwood, and there's just a few bits that are too big for Beacon, mainly a bedroom set so they will shortly go on ebay!

That's about all my news for now, will try and take some pics over the weekend of Beacon.

Bye Bye Lake View

Well, as you may have guessed from the title, Lake View will never be making it out the box now, I've decided due to finances and space that I really don't have the time or the money to do it, let alone no space to actually put it if I did complete it, so have taken the decision to try and sell it, i've put it on gumtree and a local facebook group in the hope that somebody will buy it.  Haven't put it on  ebay yet but no doubt it will end up on there on their next free listing day, hate ebay as it costs so much.   Don't think it would be viable to actually courier it anyway as it's 3 huge boxes which would cost a fortune to post, so it's got to be somebody local, just hope that I can sell it!

Anyway, had a little break from mini patchworks, all patchworked out, but made a gorgeous teddy bear, who is so soft which unfortunately you can't see from the pictures.

No idea what will happen to this bear, probably end up on ebay!

Just doing some little mini knitting, a baby romper suit, hat and bootees, not finished yet so will post pics when it's done.

Anyway that's about it for now, nothing new happening here!

More Mini Patchworks!

Have been busy making 2 more mini patchworks for my dear friend Paula, have now finished them and they will be making their way to Scotland next week!

They do take a long time to make as I still make them the old fashioned way, cutting squares then cutting papers and tacking the papers in the squares then sewing them all together and taking the tacking and papers out (not my favourite job!) and then backing and binding them.  I do think they are very cute though, each square is approx 0.75cm and it takes an average of 170 to make a single sized quilt!  Now that's a lot of hand sewing!

And here they are!

Should really be starting Lake View now, but it's still sitting in the cupboard!  My excuse is I need the kitchen table tomorrow for a family Sunday dinner lol.

Still haven't done anything with Beacon either, but lack of funds is stopping that.  Oh I wish I was rich!

Anyway I had bought some wool a while ago and am knitting a teddy (full size) at the moment, now I never know how they are going to turn out, so time will tell!

That's about it for now, back to the knitting, it's quite nice to be able to do something without having to wear my glasses, that's the good thing about full size stuff, not quite so reliant on glasses!

Another mini patchwork

Have just finished another little patchwork for Julie (the lady who makes the lovely dollshouses) for one of her little cottages.  She saw the one I did for Paula and asked if I could do a similar one, I am quite enjoying making the little patchworks at the moment even though they are fiddly and time consuming I do get a certain satisfaction from seeing them completed and in their new homes.

Here is the finished quilt

Just as well I'm enjoying quilting at the moment as I've got 2 more to do for Paula!