Moving on....

Hi ladies

I have moved. 

Sadly things haven't quite gone according to plan this year and life has been really quite difficult since Christmas. I was constantly tired and cold and those around me thought I was loosing my marbles and becoming quite erratic. Specifically, I couldn't decide what to do about the shop. I had been going to leave to marry Phillip before that all fell apart and I think in my mind I knew I was exhausted. But at the same time I was trying to be realistic and it paid my wages. Deciding what was best was a real problem for me. I loved doing it, well most of it, but I knew I was really tired all the time. I woke up tired. One of my best friends Sarah thought I was depressed and although I disagreed at first I did start to wonder. My other best friend just said I was a pain and said she didn't want to be around me anymore, which was horrid, really hard to hear and just about finished me off at the time.

At this point I thought I'd better go to the doctors. When I told her what had happened in my life recently and that I was tired, cold, irritable all the time and also what my friends thought, she said she agreed with Sarah. She diagnosed anti-depression pills. I went home and cried a bit. Then I decided to move. I knew I couldn't manage without the friend who wasn't my friend anymore, mentally I just couldn't cope with her assessment of my worth and physically I couldn't manage either. And my mum said she was worried about me, why didn't I just go home and get better and then see what would happen next. 

Aren't mum's ace? 

So thats what I did. I packed up and moved within 2 days. All my family came and helped pack, my brother used his huge HGV to shift the stuff and I cried through all of it like a wet lemon. It was very hard and I still wasn't sure. At my age not knowing what you are going to do next is quite scary. But most of all I just felt very, very tired. 

When I got here I had to register with a new GP. As part of this process they take your blood pressure and mine was quite scarily high. I went back later and it was still high so they monitored it over a few days and then did an ECG. Apparently high blood pressure over a long period can cause damage to your heart. My ECG wasn't right and my tiredness down to this. I know I should be upset by this but I'm really pleased that I am not depressed. I was quite depressed by the thought of being so depressed my friend didn't like me anymore. That upset me more than anything. Now I know what is causing my problem I can work on getting it fixed. I am so pleased I moved, I may not have found I had a problem until it was too late. 

So I am at my mum's for now. The shop has gone, I am not working, I am resting as they say. I should start to feel better soon and then I will decide whats next. I do actually feel better already, making the decision to move lifted a lot of pressure from me. And it is obvious now that I couldn't have manage to work for very much longer. I still feel really tired but its getting better, well I'm pacing myself better, and I am loosing weight. I have made a new blog - gettingbackbrahms.blogspot.co.uk - and I am leaving this one in my past. I hope you will drop by the new one. The title is a book by Mavis Cheek, I love her books, they laugh at themselves. This one is about a lady whoes failed love life stuffs up her life and ruins her enjoyment of all the things she enjoyed before her life fell apart, one of these being listening to Brahms. It sort of sums up what happened to me and how I feel just now. Most importantly it has a happy ending and much as I really, really miss my friend who isn't, life goes on and I am hoping for a happy ending too.

Love Karen x

PS - Thank you so much for all the reading you have done here in the past, it has been lovely to look at the number of views and think someone is at least a bit interested.

All the very best, Karen x

Busy days

Hello, ladies. I'm sorry but it has been absolutely ages since I have done a blog post, I just never seem to get the time these days.

I have a blog for my pretty shop - Milkchurn Cottage The Shop Blog. In that blog I natter about whats new and what I'm painting or sewing or just what new vintage things I have in.

I also have a Facebook page for the shop - this is mainly just pictures of all the new stuff which I update every week (normally.)

With these two I seem to run out of time and things to say when I get to doing just my blog (this blog) and as a result it has been neglected lately.

On top of that I have just started a new business - Raindrops on Roses Vintage China Hire - catering for weddings, tea parties and any other event. This is where all the pictures on this post are hopefully going to end up. I have just created a Facebook page for the new business too, so if you'd like a peep I'd love to know what you think up to now.

Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I am writing this to say thank you very, very much for reading my ramblings up to now. It amazes me that you do, it makes me smile and it is really nice to now someone is interested. However, despite that, I just don't get around to it often enough so this is my final post on this particular blog. If you would like to follow me on the other blog or on either Facebook page I would really like that very much. In a small business every bit of interest helps and although you may not want anything from me, someone who links into me through you may do. As they say - every little helps. And knowing someone follows me makes me think I'm at least in the right ball park in some way!

So thank you again for reading my stuff, I hope you are all happy and healthy and live gorgeous lives (mine is a bit frantic but gorgeous in my head) and hopefully I will see you again somewhere else

much love, Karen xxx

Makes and put togethers

Hello ladies, I hope that you are all happy and well and that the sun is shining on you.

Today's post is a bit of a mix of makes that I have made and makes that I have put together, so not really makes, but almost. These lovely Primulas in this 1950s boat vase are a great example.

This vase has been kicking around unloved for ages. I'm not sure where it came from but it has never really had a proper home with me. I just kept moving it around in the hope that it looked right somewhere. But it never did. I almost threw it away on several occasions, but I just hate throwing things out so it survived. Then, last week, I bought some stuff for the shop. In it was a really pretty Victorian tureen missing its lid. I had alos bought some Primulas for my pot outside and I popped a couple of them in the tureen to carry them inside and was amazed at how lovely they looked, so planted them up.

And, amazingly, they sold almost straight away. Well, that put me on a roll - not that I'm money mad, you understand. But it is nice when something you thought no one would want suddenly becomes desirable because of something you've added. Especially when its this easy to do.

Next I put. a white Cyclamen in a blue and white tea pot that was missing its lid. This had been in my cupboard for years (too pretty to throw away, too useless to use) I wish I could show you how lovely it looked but it sold before I got a picture. And at the same time I put this purple Cyclamen in this pretty Flora Dora pattern sugar bowl.

That one sold straight away too.

And this lovely yellow Primula went into another vintage sugar bowl. I was so pleased with the simplicity of these - in my job I get lots of oddments of really pretty china and it really hurts me to throw them out, but I have no storage and only a few kitchen cupboards so I can't keep everything. Its so nice to have found something pretty to do with all these 'lost soul' bits.

Anyway, these little success' are what inspired me to try to pretty-up my sad unloved homeless boat vase. And I'm so pleased I did, for the first time ever I like it and it has a home. So those are my put togethers, not really makes, just stuff put together for a new lease of life in the light and out of the cupboard at last!

I have been lucky to have managed a couple of days sewing this week. I am not good at an hours sewing, I am quite greedy and like to have a good run at it so it has to be a whole free day for me to get anything done. This week I was really going for it and had 2 full days. It was lovely. Very relaxing.

I have had this gorgeous vivid pink toille for a while now and have got a huge floor cushion almost done but kept forgetting to get a 45 inch zip, so couldn't do anything more to that. Except order the zip - which I have now done. So instead I made these huge lavender and wheat hearts.

And these smaller lavender and wheat hearts.

They look lovely stacked together and smell divine.

I also made some more wheat bags, with just a bit of lavender in, otherwise I think the wheat smells a bit, well, wheaty.

And some straight forward just lavender bags.

Then cos I was getting a bit bored with the toille by then I made a couple of lavender bags from a vintage dressing table mat, prettied up with some pearlised buttons and gorgeous ribbon.

I think these are so pretty.

And finally I made this lovely bolster cushion. This is a really gorgeous white cotton cut work tray cloth. No one uses tray cloths any more so they just languish, which is sad. The back of this is just two napkins, they were the same width and just the right size to overlap enough for the cushion inner to go inside and be properly covered and secure. This was the easiest of makes and looked super. I put it in the shop and it went the same day!

I love it when I have days when I feel like I've actually produced something. Most days I work in the shop and I enjoy it, but I love making things. I wish I had more time to fit my to do list in!

Well thats it for today, I hope you've enjoyed it and it doesn't just sound like a smug list. I enjoyed doing it and a lady today told me she put a single pansy in a tea cup so I'm off to try that now.....

Have fun, Karen xx

Grand children and my "I don't want to do this' list

Hello ladies, gosh this has been a busy week. I have been trying to get some sewing done to use some of the fabrics I showed in my last post but life just gets in the way.

Last Wednesday I decided that I really must stop putting off everything I didn't fancy doing. On the very top of my list was a replacement seat cover for the seat of a lovely Lloyd Loom chair I had in the shop. I had this fantastic Sanderson 'Tree Peony' print (the one in the picture) ear-marked in my mind for this project. The chair had been sitting in my shop with the most disgustingly dirty faded seat, casting an air of gloom over the whole shop. Well, praps not, but certainly making the chair look undesirable when it should look inviting and sitable-in. The main reason that this was on my 'don't want to do this' list is that it needed piping and I had never done piping before. These sort of seat pads look badly home made and bodged without piping and piping inspired a kind of fear in me. But, needs must so I bit the bullet and gave it a go.

I love these 1930's Lloyd Loom chairs, they are such an iconic design. I still don't like piping but I am pleased I gave it a go and am happy with how it looks. But if anyone has any tips to make going around corners with the piping cord I would be most grateful. I have another two of these to do and I fancy doing cute piped cushions to match, but the piping is still putting me off actually getting on with it.

So that was one job off my list and I felt quite smug, but then my lovely daughter asked me to have my equally lovely grandson for a few days. I was working, but as I live on the premises it wasn't impossible and isn't that what families are for?

This is the three of them - the child I had to stay is on the left, looking like he's up to something! Mind you, they all look like they're up to something, dont you think? He arrived on Friday morning and was as good as gold while I worked in the shop all day. He read, colored, played with the dog, watched a bit of TV and talked to me between customers. Luckily at this time of year I'm not too busy so we were fine. He tired the dog out tho' and tucked him up on the sofa with a blanket, not quite what he's used to but he took it well. And the poor baby slept all day Saturday.

Not the grandson though! On Saturday morning my friend Karen collected him to take back to her farm. She has a little boy the same age and thought they would get on. I was quite envious when they left. It is lambing time here and Karen was trotting off to another farm to collect a spare lamb. Sadly a lot of sheep are lost during lambing, sometimes the ewes just don't make it and their babies become spare lambs. And sometimes the lambs don't make it and the mothers have lots of milk and no babies to feed. If the spare lambs can be re-mothered quickly they stand the best chance of survival so the farmers do their best to make sure this happens.

This was why Karen was trotting off. She came back to her farm with a freshly orphaned lamb to put to her baby-less ewe. And Karl got to go with her and nurse the baby on the way back. I so wanted to be him - sometimes is just no fun being grown up. But I'm making light of it. Lambing is a hard time for farmers, it is a labour intensive period and it must be heart breaking to loose such adorable babies, especially if you've been up all night trying to make sure it doesn't happen. And obviously the financial implications are pretty naff too. For those of us not involved its so nice to see the lambs out in the fields jumping around like mad things. You can't help but smile at them and it shows that Spring is here.

My lovely grandson had a fab day at Karen's farm. He came back full off his new friend, rabbiting on and on about the lambs, their evil cat, the dogs, playing out -v the whole thing was a new experience for him. I love the fact that my townie grand children get to see all this, so many children these days only get to wear their wellies on the few days that it snows. I will never forget my youngest grandson (the other one in the earlier photo) when his shiny new red wellies got covered in mud and he realised that not only was this allowed but this was what they were for! He squelched with such glee, I loved watching it. I even found the picture!

I'm a firm believer that children should get dirty every so often. How else will they build up the immunities they need to survive in towns?

I do love these children, despite the noise and chaos that accompanies them!

On Saturday night my grandson and I were invited to my friend Sarah's for tea. Sarah has a lovely little girl who is 5. Karl is 8 but I knew Esme would be able to cope! She is so like her mum. Karl wasn't too keen at first, he'd had a busy day and for an 8 yr old boy a 5 yr old girl holds very little appeal. However he's smaller than me and the things that you don't think you'll enjoy quite often turn out much better than you expect, don't they?

He had a Beano! Esme certainly gave him a run for his money and Sarah cooked toad in the hole with her own free range eggs. All my grand children love Yorkshire Pudding so this went down really well - he had 3 helpings! His face painting left a bit to be desired though. Needless to say he slept really well.

My Sunday was taken up with taking him home so I didn't get chance to take anything else off my 'don't want to do this' list. But I had a fabulous week. I loved having him and he had a great time. I have 3 grandchildren and I think I was made for this!

Next week I'll do more, I promise

Take care

Karen x

Fabric Feast

Hello ladies. I hope you are suitably impressed by this - it is less than a month since my last post! I am trying really hard to get into a more acceptable bloggy rhythm. Once a week is my aim, but fortnightly is better than my recent hit rate. Anyway, today I wanted to tell you all about the collection of fabulous fabrics I seem to have accumulated recently. Like these hens, they are so fantastic! Just look at them! Oh the things I have planned for these little beauties! This is a lovely french linen and the hens and eggs are just begging to be cut apart and stitched onto cushions and draught excluders and pictures and book covers and door stops and, well you get the picture don't you?

And to go with them I bought this...

Homespun heaven!

Look how well they go together.

I just can't wait to get started on my list!

These are both Annie Sloan fabrics - French country chic at its best. I hope to stock these in my shop soon, I'm saving up!

And then there's this

Isn't it pretty?

This is a lovely vintage piece I bought while on holiday in Norfolk. I love it and am savoring it until just the right project comes along.

And for something completely different, what about this?

Isn't this cerise amazing. I have seen Toile in loads of lovely colours, in fact I have bought Toile in lots of lovely colours. But this stands out. I am in the middle of making a huge circular floor cushion from this. It is 3 foot across and 8 inches deep! Well a statement fabric like this deserves a statement project, wouldn't you agree? I'll show you when its done.

And talking of Toile, I have this

Laura Ashley, lovely pinky red on cream.

I have nothing planned for this just yet, but something will pop up later, I'm sure.

And this, I love this. Its so delicate and pretty.

I have made loads with this.

Wheat bags with Lavender to smell nice.

Draught Excluders.

Cushions.

Little Lavender Bags.

Oh and a gorgeous wall hanging tidy thing that I forgot to take a picture of - typical really cos that was the best. I'll have to take one later. And there's till loads of this left. I like stuff that lasts forever.

And on a more modern note, there's this

This is a Sanderson print. I have just 3 meters of this and half of it is almost a bean bag. Well, it's cut out and tacked up and the inner is done, so it is very nearly a beanbag. (Dogly enjoyed the bit where I filled the inner with the beans. I didn't see him eating any at the time, but they were there in his deposits later, so he must have done.) My friend Sarah bought some of this too and had it made up into roman blinds and seat pads for her kitchen. It is a fabulous print.

And that's it for now. I do have more, I am a hoarder of fabric, my stash is quite scary really and dates back quite some time. This year I have promised myself that I will USE it. It is not just to look at and stroke. In order to be able to indulge myself in yet more purchases I have to actually make something with it. So this is me, trying.....

I hope you have enjoyed sharing my secret stash

(well some of it)

See you soon

Love Karen x

Lots of new things happening...

Hello ladies, I know it is ages and ages since my last post but I have been amazingly busy. I sometimes can't believe where the time has gone. As some of you know in my day time life I run a very pretty, girlie little shop in Hawes - right in the center of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Well things have been happening there that have cheered and inspired me, but have taken all my time and energy and blogging was neglected as a result. I actually closed for 6 weeks to decorate and do my tax return (I'm rubbish at paperwork so this took the whole of the first week) Also I needed to get some R&R before the start of the new season. And I wanted to do an Annie Sloan painted furniture course. So that's what I have been doing whilst I have been away.

I have been painting furniture for years - long before I started selling it. When my children were small I got divorced and went back to university. Obviously this meant there was never any spare money for nice furniture, in fact when I look back I'm amazed we managed to eat, but we did. Anyway, I started painting furniture because I have this need for pretties. I get quite claustrophobic (moody, tetchy even, some would say) if I am surrounded by ugly things and much of the furniture I lived with had lived with others before it came to me and was well out of its prime. So I painted it, usually with what ever paint was around or hiding in my dad's garage. I had some disasters initially, but on the whole had quite a few successes and have been painting furniture ever since.

When I took the shop on two years ago I wanted to sell this sort of thing - boring ugly furniture that had been transformed by a simple paint job. This 1930's chest on chest looks gorgeous now, painted a soft country grey, but look at how it looked last week.

It just doesn't look like the same piece of furniture, does it? And all its had is a coat of paint and a wax. I love this, I like doing it and I like the results. So when I started the shop I wanted to do my painted furniture, but I just never seemed to have the time. A small business like mine means you do most of it yourself and you can't paint and serve customers at the same time in the same space. So it just didn't happen. But this year I have made plans. I have decided that we (me and the shop) have needs and that this is what we both need so it must be achieved somehow, by hook or by crook.

I have always been influenced by Annie Sloan. When I first started painting stuff she was the lady in the know, she wrote books and taught courses and I thought she was ace. Annie has now written countless books on the subject (the latest being Creating The French Look - and I'm in it!!!) and is still the lady in the know. If you watched Kirsty's Homemade Home, Annie appeared in one of the episodes. Anyway, cutting to the chase, Annie has developed her own paints specially formulated for painting furniture and which cut down on the preparation work needed and are gorgeous to use. I decided that if we (me and the shop or more strictly speaking - the shop and I) were to go down this road we should use only the best paints and should stock them to sell to others as well. And that is what I did (just me - the shop is a bit static in that respect.) I contacted Annie, who was delighted to have a prospective stockist in the north, and went down to Oxford to meet her. Her shop is amazing! As well as the paints she has a range of fab fabrics - very French Country chic! (Hopefully I can stock these later)

I attended one of her specialist paint courses for retailers, which was so inspiring! Annie runs courses for the public too, but the retailers' course was so that I could teach her techniques myself to my customers from my own shop. Although I've been painting furniture for years, her approach was so laid back and easy and she had some different methods and taught a couple of things I'd not done before. I loved it and came away all fired up and raring to go! So now, not only do I sell her paints in my shop - I also run painted furniture courses too! As you can imagine, much of my supposed R&R time was swallowed up by these new developments and the rest of it was swallowed up by me painting everything that stood still. And I still had the whole shop to re-decorate, new lights to go up and a new carpet to go down.

It looks OK tho' - don't you think?

All in all it has been a bit manic, but so worth it. I hate pushing my shop on people - but please have a look - not particularly because I want you to buy anything (although I won't stop you if you do) but because I'm soooo proud of it now. Its a proper, real, all growed up shop and looks so posh it can't really be mine.

Click here to have a proper look.

Well, that's it for today, I hope you get chance to look at the shop, but if you don't thats OK, I'll still love you all anyway

See you soon, Karen x

Snow and a newcomer!

Hello ladies. I have been busy here in the arctic north;

squirreling away in my pretty shop trying to get ready for Christmas and hoping and praying and begging and reasoning that it really couldn't and wouldn't snow until after Christmas.

My shop more or less grinds to a halt for 2 months after Christmas anyway so I really need people to shop with me for as long as possible before then. Snow just panics visitors, they think the roads will be bad and they may not get home and also that they may just freeze (this point is valid actually - it is blinkin cold) so they just don't come. Snow this early is very bad news for me. But just look at it, isn't it beautiful?

How can something this pretty be this bad?

It is just stunning.

But bad. Very, very bad!

And look what else I have had to keep me busy.

This is Mac. He is new. He has no qualms about the snow. He just loves it. He turned into Tigger; bounce,bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce.

I don't know if he appreciates the stunning scenery, he tears up and down with his nose as close to the ground as possible, so prob not, but he loves the space.

This is our morning walk.

Do you think he likes it?

He is 7 months old, a black Labrador big puppy. I have had him almost a month now and I have already got this big place for him in my heart. How do dogs do that? He has become my child, its so weird.

I think he likes it here.

Don't you?

I can't say I blame him though, it is a bit special.

Blinkin' cold though.

See you soon, I hope

Karen x