Going Vintage

Chaos has reigned once more on this little house of mine.  After labouring to clean all of the linen in our hotpress, or airing cupboard to everybody else, after the builders left the house caked in cement dust, my heart sank this weekend to discover that the pipes in the house next door had burst and the water had seeped into our hotpress and destroyed all of the contents once more!  Much screaming and pulling of already thinning hair ensued!
So to cheer myself up a little, I headed off to the local antique fair.  And with my beady little eye I found a beautiful set of dessert plates just begging me to bring them home.  They may not be perfect with their little chips and cracked glaze but I love them more for their little imperfections.  I shows that they were well loved and used plenty.  And they are certainly going to be well used here too.

This is the cake plate.  It may be a little cracked and warn but just look at the beautiful detailing on it.  Who couldn't just fall in love with it!












There are five cake plates in total and the design on each is completely different.








I was also going through some of my material stash because I've started my chrimbo present sewing and I found an old tablecloth that my mother used to use in her house a lot when we were growing up.  Because some naughty little mouse had a nibble one or two corners of it, it was put aside to be made into a bag of some description.  But when I saw it, it brought back a lot of memories and I no longer have the heart to take the scissors to it.  I love it just the way it is.  Perfect!

Well obviously it could do with a bit of an ironing!  But I never did say that I was the queen of the rubber glove and feather duster brigade and I am severely allergic to the iron.  Well that is what I tell the Hubbie anyway!

I also finally managed to finish my purple waistcoat from the pattern by Kyoko Nakayosho.  I really struggled to find a button that I really liked for it.  The only problem that I had with the pattern was that the number of stitches for the arm ribbing was very small and I had to rip them back and pick up extra ones.  Other than that it was a great challenge and now I am quite happy with the final result.

The light wasn't great today so sorry that the pic isn't that good.

Oh and one more thing I forgot to show you the finished mittens.  I really love them.  I knitted them in fine merino and they are so snug and warm.  I'm wearing them all the time.  I decided to cast off the top and thumb a little snug on them so that they don't get all baggy and loose because that is one thing that really drives me batty.  So far it has worked!

Well that was my weekend.  Eventful as ever.  Hope that you had a good weekend too.
Rosie xx

The Best Ever

I'm just after having an absolutely brilliant night. Today after school I dropped the kids and the dog down to my mothers house and myself and the Hubbie headed off on the two hour journey up to the O2 in Dublin to see the Liverpudlian comedian John Bishop. It's not often enough the we get to spend some quality grown up time together, so we stopped off on the way for a gorgeous dinner before tackling the horrendous traffic into the city. But the frustration and if I'm honest a little bit of road rage while sitting in traffic for over a hour, was all worth it. I laughed so much at the show that by the end my face and stomach hurt. And as they say laughter is the best medicine so I was determined to squeeze every drop out. Afterwards the Hubbie, who slept all the way through the second half even with a hyena like me laughing wildly beside him, was too tired to drive home. And even though I was nervous about driving two hours in the dark, I'm proud to say I managed it with no problems. Two years ago I thought that I wouldn't be able to do something like that again because of the effect of my meds on my eyes. I'm clapping myself loudly on my back just as I type!
When we parked outside my mums at 1:30am Molly, the dog, was sitting at the kitchen window watching and waiting for us. She cried and squirmed and jumped like a mad thing when I walked in as if she hadn't seen me in weeks. She didn't settle down until I let her give me a lick on the ear ( her form of a kiss). I know you're probably thinking 'how gross is that?' But she's my little buddy and never leaves my side, even though she's really my daughters dog.
So Rosie actually has a full weekend planned. For a change! I'm going to see the gorgeous Jack L, the Irish singer with a voice like honey, on Friday night with my sister-in-law. And on Saturday night I'll be going to dinner with a good friend that I only see about twice a year. So there'll be lots of gossiping and nattering going on. I'll probably be hoarse after it all but I can't wait! Roll on the weekend. Do you have anything nice planned for this weekend? I hope so!
Lots of love and giggles,
Rosie xx