Overwhelmed

Don't worry, no tears are about to erupt, I'm not going to lose the plot mid-post. I'm talking about overwhelmed in the inundated and feeling engulfed with too many things kind of way. In a good kind of way too - I think?

I've felt overwhelmed by a too tired kind of tiredness for a few weeks (anaemia probably).

 

I also feel overwhelmed by wanting to do everything at once. On my days off work I get so excited about this huge lump of me time stretching ahead. I plan all the stuff I want to do and then I get overwhelmed by tons of other stuff. I find it really hard to choose which of the many lovely things I want to do when I know the clocks ticking and my day is running ahead of me. Sometimes I manage to make the most of that time - like today - and that feels good.

You see, I made these cushions today. Well, this morning to be truthful. In just over two hours the fabric was chosen, trims selected, squares cut and off I went with my very dusty machine.

 I planned to sew over the Christmas holidays, but it didn't happen for good reasons. Ever since then I've just felt dead tired on my days off work. After all the everyday stuff is done for another day I usually collapse on the sofa with yarn and a film.

All the same new cushions (and lots of other stuff that could overwhelm me if I let them) have been jostling about in my head.

Then I bought some new tea towels from Miss CK the other day and they spurred me on to blowing the dust off my sewing machine.

These tea towels are such a bright jolly print and they're handy sized for cushion and bag making.

I took a while having a think about what would go where.

 In the end I chose a soft French floral cotton mixed with some stripy skirt fabric. Usually the girls good clothes go straight on ebay once Miss Rosey and then Little Bun have had their turns with them. This Noa Noa skirt is made of fabric that I just couldn't resist cutting into and I'm so glad I did as I love the two together.

The tea towels got further dandied up with some white and blue trim.

Then I added my favourite red bobbly trim.

Cushion No.3 was a much needed thing. The chair cushion was all ripped and torn from too making bums on sitting on it's soft barkcloth. I chose a piece of fabric sent to me by Jenny. Everything finally finds what it will become and I'm gl\d I always remember where each piece has come from so their stories aren't lost.

I'm so ridiculously happy with my three new makes. Sewing was a joy and if I could have done, then I think I'd have stayed on my machine stitching a few more cushions.

This is where I'm really happy, where I feel most me.

Now I have an even cosier sofa to rest my poor old achey hip on. A war wound from the Man and I getting too daft and into the dancing at a Ceilidh at the weekend. In fact it's been a weekend of being overwhelmed by great friends, laughter and the joy of life.

 And while I'm still on the subject - I also get really really overwhelmed by all the stuff out there. There are so many fabulous books, magazines, newspapers, blog posts, films, plays, exhibitions that I want to see and take the time to enjoy. Not just rush through before the next lot comes rushing at me. 

My head feels like it's fairly spinning you know just thinking of it all.

 Time for a lie down most definately.

I'll be back very soon to let you know which book I'm reading for February and how I got on with my January book for The Year in Books. I finished reading Instructions on a Heatwave on the last day of January, I had a goal and I kept to it.

Let there Be Light

Like most of you, I really fancied getting my hands on a copy of this here magazine, book thing. I got the last one, I kind of liked it, but I wasn't as impressed as I should have been. There was far too much of a re-hashing of the same articles that had already appeared in Mollie Makes to make it anything truly new or exciting. This time around, I'd had a sneak peak and liked what I saw, plus lovely Jane was in it and I fancied seeing more of her pad too (because - like most of us I'm nosey ok).

 

Apart from buying it online, I just couldn't find the darned thing anywhere. Then having a quick sleepy time shuffle through Instagram (where I've sort of joined in as Bobobun68) I saw that Jane had pointed someone in the direction of Hobbycraft. That was me sorted then. After dropping the girls at school I whizzed off for a quick food shop and then patiently waited for the HC doors to open.

Back home in time to truly enjoy a Monday off, I threw together my favourite breakfast, gathered my latest hooky thing and my newly found magazine.

I only looked at the pictures this time round. Words will follow later when I'm in the mood for them. I did have to stop to read a few words near the back mind you. There in the back pages are instructions for recovering a lampshade. I've wanted to re-jig all of ours for a while now, but couldn't get my head around the instructions in the books I have. These seemed really straightforward. Easy enough to jump in and have a go right now I thought as I binned all of my other plans for the day.

For my first ever attempt I decided to use some small scraps of a precious barkcloth. I've had it stashed away as I only have it in small pieces, too small to make most things with, but perfect for cutting out small lampshade panels from.

Once I'd stripped all of the red gingham fabric off the shade I got on with the easy to follow instructions. First off I made a pattern.

Then I chopped up the eight panels to cover the shade.

Once stitched together they came up a bit bigger than I needed so I did a bit of extras stretching and stitching and there it was fitted all snug pretty. 

After handstitching around the top and bottom, I really wished I'd bought a glue gun the last time I was staring at them. No glue gun at the ready, so off I went with my stitchiness to add a zig zag of

red for a finishing pzazzzz.

There are a few Heath Robinson bits in this make, but what the hell. I can't believe I've actually got round to covering a shade and it looks ok

Do you know the lampshade making even went so well that I still had enough time to make a couple of the cushions I'd had planned.

I bit the bullet and used two of my most favourite fabrics that I've been saving for goodness knows what really.

Other than wishing there were more hours in a making day, I'm really really pleased with how it's all turned out. More lampshade and quick cushion making will most definately be happening.