Thursday 4 October 2007

My Tidy Sitting Room

As you will all be well aware I am a really, really, really untidy person. But today I tidied! Then I took photos to prove it! (because I know how quickly it will be messy and it may be another couple of years before I get round to tidying again)
So here is my tidy sitting room:


Now my friends always laugh at me because my pictures are wonky. Last week Alison said it looked like I had shaken the wall! I replied that I never got round to straightening the pictures because the rest of the room was so awful. Today they are fairly straight - and Alison is coming round for a drink later!

Monkee Maker will like this post because she admits to being nosy and wanted us all to show where we did our knitting. I objected that this was discrimination against stitchers so she said we were included too. So here is where I sit to do my hand sewing.

These are some of my creations - except for the little Noah doll (bottom, middle) that was made by a really talented girl called Maria. (by the way, don't my Mummy and Daddy look lovely??)
I am always really impressed with other people's photos of their homes and then look at our house and think "Eurgh!" but I'm pleased that today it looks OK!

Now, back to being creative. I have been having trouble getting down to doing things even though I now have quite a few orders. I think it is because I have loads of new fabrics and different projects on the go and can never organise them clearly enough to be able to pick something up and get on with it. (Alternatively it could be because I'm just not getting on with it!) Anyway, assuming that it is because I need to be more organised I treated myself to these little suitcases to sort all my different current projects into - don't they look nice?
Have I produced anything since I bought them yesterday? No, of course not! I was too busy tidying!


When my friend Michelle asked me to make her pink elephant wallet this is what I came up with.

Fortunately she loved it, unfortunately her daughter really loved it too and there was a very real danger that Michelle might have lost it. To prevent this tragedy I made Eleanor a little elephant purse - this is the lovely Thank You present she gave me.


When I read the note inside I was really touched so I thought I would show you that too - doesn't it make creating things so worth while when you get real appreciation for it?
Finally I need to tell you how clever I am! I can make crumble!

I have never liked crumble as a pudding (no matter what fruit there was in the bottom). I didn't like the way it "clagged" to the roof of your mouth when you ate it.

But those days are long gone (and so is any hope I had of finding my waist!).

I can make crumble - and it is yummy!

So far I have made rhubarb (from the allotment) crumble and apple (from the garden) crumble. But the best to date has to be "Gran-Gran crumble".

No Monkee Maker, this doesn't mean it is made from little old grannies. In fact it is made from blackberries (from the allotment) and apples (from the garden). It is called Gran-Gran crumble after my wonderful Granny who died a few years ago, just 6 months before her 100th birthday. I always associate blackberry and apple with her - partly because she used to make the best jam and also because I can remember blackberrying with her in the woods near her home before she came to live with us when I was 7. The apples I used were special to her too as they came from the tree I planted on what would have been her 100th birthday. Granny was a truly wonderful person and I grew up with her as my best friend - how lucky we were to have her living in our garden! (she did have a cottage there, honest!) I really miss her but feel very privileged to have had her for so long.

So here is a photo of my Gran-Gran crumble - unfortunately I burnt it a bit but it still tasted delicious!

18 comments:

Mrs Moog said...

Yay - another member of the crumble club! I know what you mean about a tendency to clag but you truly cannot beat a good one especially with such a lovely story attached. Happy dieting ;-)
Beautiful wallet BTW & very sweet letter. I'm right there with you on the so much to do but not doing it - I have three notebooks of projects I want to do - thank goodness I don't have actual orders! Good luck Mrs Lovely Lounge xx

Thimbleanna said...

Wow, so much to comment on! Everything looks so lovely all tidied up. I see Fred's dragon pillow way over there at the other end of the room -- you know how I love that pillow. And would you look at all that embroidery you've been doing -- I love all of that too. Then there's the wallet and all the other goodies -- is there no end to it??? Do you sleep??? Crumble anything is one of my all time favorite deserts -- claggy-ness and all! And did you see Leanne's blog today? What was that I said about blue and mauve??? Isn't that too funny? Cancel what I said!!! LOL.

trash said...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Crumble! Mmmmmm!

Annie said...

Lucy Lockett, thanks for visiting my blog, and what a wonderful blog you have too. I was interested in the sound of your "allotment" - and how lucky you were to have Granny in the garden. I never knew a Granny when I was young, so my mum is very special to my kids. I'm glad you now have a taste for Crumble, as I think it's yummy!

Annie said...

PS - one the cake comment, I didn't make 10 cakes, but rather a stick and a circle shape to make the number 10 - had to be on seperate plates to fit! Make sense?

est said...

haha! guess i better spend another minute looking at yr newly tidied room since it would dissapear and need to wait another couple of years??!! & i love the suitcases!!

hey lucy, nuno + is having some big sales!! watch yr wallet! :)

piecemaker said...

I just love these kind of posts, I am just a nosy so and so.All those stitcheries on your wall look brilliant grouped together. Where can I get some of those spotty, dotty cases ?

dutchcomfort said...

Lovely to have a view at the places in your home! It looks nice, warm and cosey! And you made Eleanor a wonderful purse!

Mrs Moog said...

Hi Lucy - ouch!- I imagine it took several G&Ts to deal with that one! I've already had a reply about my sewing machine and will be posting a link later - lovely lady sells bits for old machines and also has a great textile blog - fingers crossed I can get the old machine sewing again,xx

Monkee Maker said...

Heavens to Mergatroid, what a brilliant post! So much to look at!

Your lounge looks lovely; I love the big picture window letting all that light in, and all the pictures make it very cosy - wonky or not!

The wallet is fab as is the note you received from your friend's daughter :)

And I LOVE crumble!! Except in our house we have arguments over who has more topping - mmmm all that sugary sweetness ; I'd quite happily just have a bowl of the top stuff!

Suzie Sews At DOTTY RED said...

Yer...get the crumble going!!!
Suzie Sews

Anonymous said...

Well done, is it still tidy?

Gran Gran would have enjoyed the crumble especially the carbon to aid the digestion! Hope you had lashings of cream with it.

Hope the picture was worth waiting for even though I didn't know I had sent it - its my age or technology or both!

Lissa Jane said...

Lucy
You didn't burn the crumble.. some cheeky restaurant would of scraped that bit off and served custard with it! you have been super busy with the tidying.. I am still leaning towards the 'bomb site' look.. kids, cat and a messy DH make decorating super hard! I always think the sign of a tidy house is a boring person.. by the state of my house? well I could definately not be called boring! :O)
Lissa

Nicky said...

i'm glad that your creative buisness is going so well, who's got time for cleaning when there is stitching to be done?
Nicky

Jodie said...

Love the suitcase, Love the organisation and love the crumble. Every year on Grade 5 camp we have apple crumble - thats the only reason I go !

Knot Garden said...

I love the way the style of your home reflects what you do. We have a stripped wood floor very like yours. So much nicer than fitted carpet I think. All your dolls are adorable.

Leanne said...

Hey Lucy,
Tidy is great when it stays that way. I say to my kids the reason that I love to garden and sew is that they are the only 2 things that stay done in this house. I wash the floor some one spills something on it- I wash clothes they end up back in the laundry basket. My sewing stays sewed and no one goes out in the garden to mess it up. How ever I have banned the boys from playing footy on the road they must go onto the circuit to do that - the road is tooo close to my garden.

weirdbunny said...

I double clicked on your photo's, and you either have a janet bolton original or a janet bolton ispired picture on your wall ! Please put it on our mrs noah site .... thankyou !