Moving On

Longer days set me looking to the future

Wishful thinking that Spring may be just around the corner.

Moving interrupts service

After much planning and a good deal of dreaming the time has come to start dismantling the home, for another move that I hope will be the last for a good while. This time going back to where we started, back in the last century. 

I have an idea that although I have been back much, there is a lot that I have no idea how to do (topping up an Oyster Card for one!) -  it will feel a bit wierd not being the indulged foreigner, and I will have no excuse not to understand aparently simple and obvious things. 

But that is all in the future, and now, yes now, all I have to do is take things of the shelves, wrap them and box them, reflecting on how we gathered just so much stuff. So many souvenirs and memory triggers that make the packing so slow.   

All this means that posts may become a bit more intermittent than I had hoped  for 2014. If you have the patience keep with it - I have great plans for the autumn. 

Frank finds his love  

Great news on the canine love front - out walking last weekend we bumped into Frank's mystery girlfriend, and after a wonderful walk (OK, so he introduced her to the joy of jumping into sulphurous smelling river mud, resulting in sticky black paws and legs, but no one's perfect). In any event, they did get to share a sunbeam in the garden together afterwards. I think that they make a splendid couple. It's a good job you can't smell the mud from the photo. 

 

Retro Stencilled Tea Tray

All this packing has created a general mess everywhere, but the is a corner of this house that I have preserved for the all important therapy of making stuff. Quite pleased with how this one turned out. 

 The tray came from the Danish flea market on Refshalevej 166 ( See my post on it here). The lovely graphic was from Graphique's Etsy shop and I made the stencil using sticky vinyl and the Cameo Silhouette. Especially pleased with how the tea pot turned out.    

Upholstered Swedish "Papa" Chair

At Last !!!!!!
This fine Swedish version of the famous "Papa" chair (designed by Hans Wegner) came to me in February.  The chairs'owner was a patient person, having made the trip to a Danish flea market every Saturday for a year to find one of these examples and being a patient person was happy to wait to get the reupholstered version back. Her only stipulation was that all the original stuffing and cover should be removed owing to their very, very unpleasant smell. So, many months later, with our own home in store and with a few weeks break until we move into our new home, I had time and space to "do the chair".. Words cannot tell you how very very pleased I am with the result. 

These chairs are just lovely ! I would love to do more, but there aren't that many around.

  
Here is how we got here....

Side arm  

Inside back and bottom

Coming together, with side arms. 

Outside back

New foam and that wonderful thing.. the "flexi-curve" 

 There are loads or tutorials online to show you how to fit the metal back tack strip. I like the one by JA Milton in the UK who also happen to supply me with my upholstery materials.

Side arms needed to be slip stitched to finish

Market Frenzy

Much, much, much longer than I wanted since my last blog. Mental fog seems to have got in the way. We got the news last month that we will have to move house again this summer, and looking for a new place to live has put a spanner in the creative works for a bit. There was no alternative but to seek a little retail therapy in the many and fine Loppis and markets around these parts. "But what are you doing ! you will have to pack all this extra stuff won't you? Are you mad?" ......... Yes, well they were very nice pieces.

Finds from the local Loppis......

And... I actually managed to turn one of the items into something useful...... 

This my friends is going to be turned into a lamp stand... honestly! Inspired by the "My Repurposed Life" blog. 

And I hoped this one too........... 

A splendid time capsule, just sitting by the cash desk and a bargain at 10 DK 

Check out this link for Danish Flea Markets, they are wonderful therapy and so much to choose from. 

But I did at least manage to make this guy in February before my little world caved in.. Things are looking up, we have a couple of places that could be OK, so hopefully I will back on form.