Long time no see....

I thought I would come here to update you all regularly on how the renovations were going, and possibly to show off some of the latest photos of things I'd made, but the truth is, I haven't made a lot recently, and mostly we are just hacking holes in the house...or so it seems! Of course, I do forget that we have also built two new extenions also!
Of course, we are in fact sorting out loads of boring stuff...the whole roofline of the house has had to be sorted. The window openings have to be remade, including new oak heads being put in.
We stripped the roof of all of it's slates and felt, only to find that the roof timbers which we thought were good, were in fact completely eaten by woodworm!
The quarry tiles in the hall and kitchen have all been lifted one by one....lots of them are broken...that was rather heart-breaking. They had been covered in concrete for years, and when they were uncovered, I had hoped they would be good, but as I have lifted each one, most of them crumbled. We are saving what we can.
We have a stone-mason working at the moment, and so far he has used 6 tonnes of lime mortar! That is just to rebuild stone walls....He's still not finished.
The roofers have the whole roof almost ready for putting the slate on next week...I can't wait.
The attic is looking so cool...I have ear-marked one room for a home cinema!
Today I saw samples of the cast iron gutters and down-pipes we are planning to use. They will most likely come primed and I will paint them.
Colm is raking out the joints in on gable wall, ready for repointing. He calls it therapy!
I spent yesterday scraping paint and bagging up rubble to carry it downstairs.
The two (4 flues) chimney have been taken down and rebuilt from the bottom up. The two for downstairs have been fully relined.
So you see...there is not a lot to show you...no big "ta-da" photos yet. I could show you lots of photos, but really, they would be just random bits of wall or roof, or floor.
This photo was taken just after the roof was stripped, and the new timbers were put on. The tarp you can see is covering the (restored) stairs!
I really find it hard to even take photos of these seemingly backwards moves...I know they end up as improvements in the end!

All in all, we are enjoying the whole process.


We had a family wedding at the beginning of April, and I made outfits for all of the children.
M got an Oliver + S Fairytale dress in Liberty Tana lawn.
T got a tweed wool waistcoat, shirt, cords and tie all from various Ottobre magazines.
R and B got Liberty O+S Music class blouses, and corduroy Music box pinafores.
I also made myself a capelet, but thought it would be hard to wear...how wrong was I! I loved wearing it, it sat nicely all day, and kept me just warm enough, whilst my arms were free to take photos, and sort out kids.


 






It was a wonderful day!
It was a great chance to get scrubbed up and forget about phoning people, ordering stuff and overseeing people at the house, although we were right back into it the next morning!

Renovations...The Stairs

A while ago we had some work done to the farmhouse that we are restoring. Work on the house has been slow, but we are now just about ready to plough into the bulk of the work, or in reality, choose someone else to plough into the bulk of the work!
We decided a long time ago that we should have the staircase restored and then protected in advance of the main work, because it seems to be the original staircase and dates the house to 1760 to 1780. The Balustrade is quite unusual for a country house, it has remained intact...amazingly, and is what dates the stairs.
The top step had parted company with the main landing on the upper floor (first floor for us, second floor for you Americans) and the top step was starting to collapse. It was not able for any traffic, let alone heavy building traffic.
We found a carpenter who specialised in restoration, through our Architect. He is Danish, and has been living in Ireland for 10 years, and quite unlike most people you meet! He is so full of, and free with knowledge!



Anyway, the plan was to save as much of the old wood, and structure of the stairs as was possible, but as is typical on this type of project, we found that some of it was worse than we had expected. Woodworm had made mincemeat of some of the pine...and all that could be done was to replace it. Flemming (the carpenter)  turned treads into risers, and so on, he did the best he could. Overall, we are very happy with the end results.



The stairs goes up through the centre of the house, with a room either side of it at each level. It goes up half way and then turns, and up the rest of the way. On this part the "going" is very easy...long shallow steps make it very gentle to climb, or even run up, two at a time.



Then there is a door, with stairs beyond it, which leads to an open attic, again turning half way. This stairs is steep, and enclosed, it was only ever meant for bringing up things to store, or perhaps was used by staff in the house for sleeping quarters...who knows, but it was not meant to be seen by all and sundry.
When it came to the restoration, this part of the stairs was in the worst condition. It was given completely new treads and risers.

 

We are thrilled at how well it has turned out...we did not want to lose all the character and age of the stairs. I hope we didn't! Sadly, as soon as it was finished and the oil was dry, the whole stairs was covered from tip to toe in plywood to prctect it from the traffic it will get during the main buiding work...I am looking forward to seeing it again soon, and to one day using them....hopefully.

The Great Goodship Dress

A little while ago, I found myself (yet again) on the blog of Karen LePage, which is called OneGirlCircus...Karen is one of those people whose sewing I have been inspired by, ever since I started sewing for my kids, over 4 years ago now. Karen sewed Ottobre patterns, and quite often it was for her son. She made the most fantastic shirts, jeans and jackets, that encouarged me to sew for my boy, and not to forget the little details that you only get the chance to add in as you sew...something you don't get to choose with shop bought stuff.....so anyway, I found myself on Karen's blog one day, and I notice a place where you could register as a pattern tester. I was extremely surprised to get an email a little while later asking me to test her new pattern, The Goodship dress...I have never pattern tested before, and to be honest, I am not very good at making things that I "have to" make, and seeing as we are in the middle of house renovtions...(I know, again!)..but I said I'd give it a go. I am so glad I did!

I wanted to use something stiffish, so I chose some purple-y coloured cotton, and I had some gingham that was a good match, but the gingham was very floaty, so I added a layer of white cotton underneath the gingham on the front panel, and treated them as one.

 

The pattern is a PDF, and it is really well done. Each size has a different coloured line, and there are only 3 pattern pieces on it. You also cut a couple of other rectangular pieces by measurement.
So, I went about sewing it up, and taking notes as I went along. Anywhere I scratched my head, I wrote a note! I found the whole experience of testing very interesting. The dress comes together beautifully...Karen has an amazing knack for designing a garment, that just sort of appears before your eyes, like magic, as you sew up the last seam!

It also has pockets!


I made a size 5, for my girls, who are 4. but that size fits them longish now, and will just be a bit shorter as they grow taller...it would look good either way. The width of this dress is easily adjustable, with the bow.

The pockets are a big hit!
 

It is great to sew, with only a few pieces, but the results are excellent. In my opinion!
We have a very exciting family wedding coming up soon, and this dress is a front-runner for the dress I will make for the twins to wear. I am thinking of blue chambray, and red chambray, with matching red/blue floral Liberty for the inside of the pleat. This dress would be equally lovely in summer fabrics, as in winter corduroy, or wool, worn over a top/blouse.

This pattern is being released today, October 15th, on One Girl Circus.

Castleton Caravan

Yesterday we went on a little road trip. We went to look at a caravan...it was advertised as being suitable for anyone watching cows calving, or ewes lambing. We only saw a photo of the outside, and the add said it was about 25 years old. (yeah, so am I!) I expected it to be dirty, and well worn inside.
Anyway, it was not a lot of money, less than the price of a playhouse for the kids...even a little cheap one!
We spoke to the seller, and he seemed very genuine, he seemed keen to leave it safe to tow home. He replced a tyre, checked lights, did all that he could. That meant a lot to us...we had a 3 hour drive with this, if we bought it.



I have to say it was love at first sight for me (and for Maeve). All of us piled into the perfectly original 2 berth Castleton Rovana caravan, dated 1970 from what we can see. It is nicer inside than outide.



Everything is inside it, including the brochure, with the price written on it. The instructions for all of the appliances. There is a canvas awning under the seat, and...well... just everything is still in it! Can you tell that we love it!?



The only problem now is, that I had great plans before I saw the inside, to paint it all pretty colours, and to make some dinky little curtains, and to cover all of the cushions etc! Now I'm not so sure...I kind of like it!
I think I will make some patchwork curtains for a start though, because the ones on it are well worn and faded. I will decide what we should do after that....



The door needs some repairs, and the fixed windows need new seals, but otherwise it seems sound. It was planned as a playhouse, but depending on how the awning looks when it is taken out, this little caravan may still end up going on holidays with us sometime!
As for it's role as a playhouse/den...so far, since yesterday evening, the kids have spent several hours in there...the two little ones and I even had our lunch in there today! I am seeing some bunting in there too....hopefully I'll get some sewing time tomorrow!

If you click on the photos, you'll see them on Flickr, and see the notes I've added.

Holiday

We were away.....we are now back...sometimes I wish we were still away!

It was raining when we arrived...


Then the weather got nicer....










We had fun...can you tell!

Van Katoen Summer Dresses

I made the two girls two dresses a little while ago. They come from a Dutch company, with Dutch instructions. (I don't speak Dutch!) Unfortunately the pattern is no longer available, but it was a Van Katoen pattern. Both girls chose their own fabrics, and both seemed especially happy with the wonderful pocket at the front!
For those of you who don't know, my girls do not like wearing dreses, but they do understand that there are times when dresses are really needed. These are their only summer dresses, so you needn't expect any more until Winter!

They did however want to try them on for me as soon as they were finished, so I could take a photo.

Today they had reason to wear them, I wish it had been for a happier occasion, but sadly funerals are sometimes the only time when extended families, grown up cousins, and their children get to meet up with each other. We compared children's ages, facial features, heights, eye colours, personalities, and it is always lovely to see how many traits pass from one generation to the next....it is a pleasure to have married into such a lovely family, hopefully there wil be a happier occasion to meet at next time...

Figgy's Zephyr

I remamber when I was about 10, really wanting a "Jumpsuit", you know, an a one piece trouser and top thingy. I don't know where I got the idea, maybe my friends had them, or maybe I saw them in the shops, but anyway, my mother bought me one for a school trip. We weren't very well off, but the school trip was always an excuse for a new outfit, a bit like Christmas or Easter.
The jumpsuit I got was turquoise, and I remember we stopped at a nearby castle enroute to the main attraction we were going to on the trip, and I slipped and got a huge grass-stain on my jumpsuit! I remember being pretty annoyed about this....funny the things you remember!

So a little while ago, Maeve started asking me for a "Playsuit"... where this idea came from, I have no idea, but sometmes a mother just has to go with these notions! I had been hoping for an excuse to buy some of Figgy's new patterns....(I have been trying not to buy any patterns or fabric while we are working on the farmhouse), so I bought the Banyan and the Zephyr...but since they only go up to 8-9yrs, and Maeve is a slightly shapely, tall 9, almost 10 year old, I had to alter the pattern.
I added an inch to the centre front and back bodice pieces. I added an inch to the bottom of the bodice, and an inch to the bottom of the shorts.
Maeve had reservations about the opening at the front, so we agreed to make the straps opening instead, so she could pull it up and on. I used the pattern piece for shorts tie bands to make the straps. I made them knit and woven, like the ties.



When it came to making the waistband, I sewed the top and bottom together as per the instructions, but I made a circle of elastic, the size I needed, and I zig-zagged it to the seam allowance, and then turned it over, and zig-zagged it down to the bodice...(you now how I love to zig-zag!) I could see myself having problems making the channel...my knit kept creeping ahead of me, and puckering when I sewed it. It didn't happen with the woven to stabilize it, but the waistband is knit to knit..



The other change I made, was a real after thought! When I got to the band at the bottom, I attached them the wrong way, and ended up with the contrast on the outside, but I liked it, so I left it! But when It came to tying the ties, they didn't seem to sit well on her...so I pinned them down, and then got the idea to leave them like that. I decided to put buttons on too....well why not! I love them like this. As it happened, Maeve spent the whole time fiddling with the hem, so they surely would have untied a lot!



She wore it on a trip to the zoo the other day, and she looked so pretty and comfortable in it!