Blind DIY

Remember the other week I was talking about crafts using Hessian fabric? Well I gave my bathroom blind a bit of a make over.

This is what it looked like before. It was about 10 years old and incredibly faded. After I put it through the wash to see if it could be saved. I managed to get rid of the icky mould build up, I decided it would be ok to use. 

I carefully unpicked it all and took the backing and thermal lining. Used the old piece of fabric as a template and cut a new piece of fabric from some upholstery hessian. I chose this type because it has a large open weave so it could still let some light through.

I machined-sewed the bits that held the hardware on but to give it a nice neat edge I spent most of the day hand stitching it. 

My rubbish attempt at stich invisible stitches.

And here it is finished! I managed to hang it wonky to boot. I really needed another pair of hands to help me do it.

Business and preparation

Autumn is definitely upon us now. It is cold and murky time, a time to cosy up inside. Firing up the central heating which has been named Clunky. To chase away the cool, dampness that has been hanging around for the past few days.

The nights are drawing in too, it makes the day seem so short. Many times I have felt myself longing for bed around 8pm, which is far too early. Last night I gave in at half past 9. 

I felt that was acceptable after a hard days work. Yesterday I had to repair the chicken coop after the feathery ladies escaped. Luckily there was no Mr Fox around, so everyone is safe and accounted for after their adventure.

I have also been working on the decorating. Still going! Although it was all the boring white gloss for the wood work. Now it looks fresh and clean. I also need to make some soft furnishing for the living to help with the cosiness factor. Maybe some curtains just to help keep the warm in a little more. I came across some ideas for burlap (or hessian as it is called in the UK) curtains.

Here are some examples I have found on Pinterst:

The colours I picked for my living room are brown and purples anyway, so hessian would fit perfectly.  I would post a picture of my living room but it is about to chuck it down so has gone very dark!

Digging around further on Pinterst (as I am sure users of that site are well aware how often this happens!) I came across some pretty interesting combinations of hessian and lace:

 

Some possible future projects maybe?




I have also made mayonnaise. It was a very stressful thing to do and I managed to use eight, yes eight egg yolks! Now I have a whole bunch of whites sitting in the fridge ready to be made into meringue.