Friday 28 February 2014

Vintage sheet-aholic

Hi, I'm Xanthe, and I'm addicted to op-shopping.  Particularly for vintage sheets.

You see, when I find a vintage sheet, or even a pillowcase, I just cannot help myself.  I'm sure it's not all my fault.  They beckon to me.  Truly they do.



Vintage sheet:  "Xanthe... oh Xaaaaaaaanthe....come and feel my beautiful soft cotton... you know you want to... I know you can't resist my retro florals...  And did I mention I have practically NO washfade, nope, not me, I'm not just any old vintage sheet after all... You KNOW you want me!  You KNOW you do!"

Xanthe {with arms out like a zombie}: "Must buy vintage sheet...."



See,  I told you.  It's just not my fault.  I pretty much have absolutely no control over my capacity to make coherent decisions when it comes to vintage sheets.

And so it is, that I find myself writing this blog post today.  Because one girl can simply never have too many vintage sheets.  At least, that's what I tell myself whenever I find myself in the aforementioned scenario.


Alas and alack, my sewing room is simply not big enough to store them all (ok, now i'm really starting to sound like a loony - it's really not that bad).  But, it is time to move some on.  I've told them it's time.  And believe me, they've tried their darndest to make me keep them, teasing me with their potential.

Vintage Sheet No 1: "But look at my pattern - can't you just see me randomly placed amongst other vintage sheets in a retro quilt???"

Vintage Sheet No 2: "Honestly Xanthe, I can't believe you're even considering getting rid of me.  In all my time I've never come across another vintage sheet in as good condition as me.  Nope.  Not ever!  And, boy, am I old!"

I know, I know.  But sometimes there's just TOO MUCH potential, and a girl needs to do something to regain her focus.  To take a step back from admiring and actually DO.


I have considered that by selling some of the sheets I may be encouraging a similar addiction in someone else, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?

So, check out my Etsy shop.  You won't regret it!

Monday 24 February 2014

Housework

I always feel like I'm buried under a pile of housework the size of Mount Everest.

I can never seem to get ahead of it, or on top of it, if we're sticking with the Everest analogy.  So, I'm trying out a Housekeeping Checklist.  To start with, I trawled through Pinterest, hoping to find one to match my own needs perfectly.  I know, I know, extremely unlikely.  Believe me, there are lots out there.  But if I'm going to follow a housekeeping program, I want to know that at the end of it, the needs of MY house are met.  I want a thoroughly clean house.  I want the odd jobs included, the things that I don't even think about day to day, like washing windows.  Because, if they're not included, well, they just won't get done, darn it!  

So, as you might expect I had to come up with my own, to suit my own home (fairly standard four bedroom, two bathroom, two living areas, rendered brick).  If you're lucky, and you have a house about the same size as mine, two kids and a car, you could probably use this one too!  But in the likely event that you can't, feel free to leave a comment with your email address and I'll be happy to send you through the Word doc so you can make your own changes, additions etc :)

To clarify - I don't expect to get every task on this list done everyday.  It's a guide, and if I don't get something done one week, I'll try to start there the next week.  Obviously some tasks will be done everyday, like cleaning up the kitchen, or wiping down surfaces with spray; but others, like tidying the car or the fridge, may get missed every so often.  I'm not too worried.  My house is standing at the moment, despite the enormous pile of 'filing' sitting on the desk.  Needless to say, it's one of those messes that sends me to my 'happy place' ;)

Whatever happens with this checklist, I'm pretty certain it won't be worse than it currently is!


Monday 10 February 2014

A new pincushion {Feeling Sentimental}

My Dad passed away on the 22nd of January.  So, as you might expect, life is pretty sad at the moment.  I just returned from my home town of Emerald, where I spent a week with my Mum after the memorial service.  It's times like this that I feel every millimetre of the thousand or so kilometres between the Gold Coast and Emerald, and I really wish I could just get Scotty to beam me up when I need to see my family.

Over the past couple of weeks there have been many tears, sleepless nights, ratty kids and even rattier parents, lots of cuddles and, surprisingly, a significant amount of laughing as we have remembered our Dad, husband and friend.  I loved the time I got to spend with my Mum, siblings and their families.  They were truly precious moments.

I am glad to be home now though.  The kids needed to be home.  I needed to be home.  And I just needed to make something.  Something fast and useful.


I am too embarrassed to show you the pincushion I have been using.  It was sad.  Something I whipped up in a moment of 'I NEED A PINCUSHION NOW!'  But this one… well, it's just lovely.

The cross-stitch was done by my Mum and given to me with all her sewing odds and ends a couple of years ago.  I've wanted to do something with it for ages, but never really found the right use for it.




I'm glad.  Because this was just what I needed.  I was feeling a bit sentimental.

I'm pretty sure the stitching's original purpose was a jam jar cover, but I think this is much nicer.  And less sticky.  Or maybe not…. considering it's a pincushion!





























Pincushions must be the thing to make at the moment - check out this little lovely over at Down Grapevine Lane - Sedef's a magician when it comes to creating!