The Manky Cabanon

So are you wondering what happened to my summer project? The old cabanon tent that I'd bought for £35? Lovely looking tent! We used it for a 4 day camp at our local site. Didn't bother with the bedroom inners after all as they were too small for our airbed!

It certainly looks nice from a distance doesn't it?

Nice and spacious inside, although there wasn't really room to cook in there once we'd spread our beds everywhere, so the cooker stayed outside!

I was given a lovely wardrobe unit by my friend. Much neater than bags of clothes all over the floor, and ideal in a frame tent. Won't be much use in the pyramid though!

 But look a bit closer and you'll see the problems! Oh look, is that window taped closed with insulation tape??

Ooh yes, nice!!

Because the insect mesh was so perished it crumbled at the slightest touch. I had to tape the window down to stop a gale whistling through the tent!

 And is that a large repair down the side of the window? Yes - it is cotton webbing used to patch a large tear, but the fabric is so perished that it is tearing where it has been sewn!

 I think one strong gust of wind would have shredded the tent!

 Another hole? Yes, but a large piece of gaffer tape rendered it waterproof.

 

 Somehow we missed getting this canopy pole into it's pocket. Which lead to another hole as the canvas ripped when we tried to sort it out.

It was mostly waterproof. Except around the bottom edges where it soaked through and wet the airbeds.
To cap it all, when we were taking it down, the poles bent. I think they had been bent and straightened in the past as it didn't take much at all to bend them!
So sadly, the now renamed Manky Cabanon has been recycled. The poles were claimed by a colleague of my son who wanted them for some project or other.

The Canvas walls are too weak to be used for anything else so will be binned, but the roof material is still good and strong so will be utilised for windbreaks.
The curtains have been sent to a friend so she can use the curtain hooks for her newly acquired Cabanon.
The inners have been cut up to make smaller groundsheets and the roof lining made a great dust sheet for decorating. And I have all the clips and guyropes in my spares box, so nothing has gone to waste.
So worth a punt, but sadly not to be and at least it wasn't a complete waste of money, after all we got 4 nights accomodation out of it!

Busy Busy Busy!

I've just realised how long it is since I last posted anything here! I do apologise :0)
Well in my defence I have been working hard - several days of 'real' work this month, combined with trying to get the greenhouse up and running, the allotment, hen parties and a craft fair this coming weekend and I have been busy indeed!

The allotment is coming along slowly but nicely. Not as well as others on the site, despite my early start, I have lagged behind. But I've noticed that those who have dug over the whole plot in one go now have couch grass reappearing. I have been adding raised beds slowly as I have obtained wood. My Dad has also been building me smallmetre square beds and bringing them over when he can. As I put them into place I dig them over and go through the soil literally with a fine tooth comb to grub out the couch roots. This large bed in the foreground was dug over, thick layers of newspaper applied, then a layer of compostible material, then a layer of topsoil. It is currently growing onions and broad beans. The idea is that by the time the newspaper has composted, any couch roots wll also have died.

The large bed on the right is waiting for some rain to soften the soil so I can tackle it. The deeper bed in the background on the right has also had the newspaper treatment and just topsoil added. It has now been planted with carrots and parsnips.

There are three more small raised beds in that area that are in the process of being dug and sifted. One has already had manure added ready for the courgettes.

At the far end, in open ground, are the spuds - coming up nicely. That was the first patch of ground I manured and I planted the potato tubers in two trenches. I noticed that the other plot holders have also used trenches for their potatoes, but theirs are planted in the ridges, rather than the furrows. Hmm, I wonder if I'm doing it right!

Down the right hand side is another manured strip which now houses raspberries and gooseberries and a rhubarb. I still need to work on my paths - the ones between the raised beds are done, weed suppressing membrane and bark chips, but this side still looks messy.

As well as making some bags for commissions lately (see the Recycled Bag Lady blog!) I have been busy with some projects purely for myself. This was a mystery quilt project posted on the Omlet forum. I love how it is turning out! I still have to back it and add hanging bits, but for now it is sellotaped to the wall so that I can enjoy it!
And this is a new cushion cover from a piece of fabric I bought on ebay. No technical skill required here - just a simple envelope flap on the reverse. But it does look lovely in my lounge!

On a sadder note, I had to make the hard decision to part with a couple of my hens this week. Pom was one of my original Omlet hens and much loved, but she was an old lady and had gone off her legs :0( Cinnamon was younger, but was a feather pecker and had developed a massively impacted crop that would not shift. RIP little ladies.

Mad Sewing Days!

I think I'm drowning in sewing!

The quilt is taking shape. I only get chance to do any work on it on Wednesday evenings - it isn't a priority when I'm at home! The colours are looking lovely - very rich and autumnal. I just need to get my lounge redecorated so that it will match when it's finally finished ;-)

I found some lovely fleece fabric on ebay - I wonder who might appreciate a nice warm hat and scarf with Thomas on?

And I struck gold on Wednesday night at Patchwork class - someone getting rid of two large boxes of offcuts of curtain fabric. After a donation to a cancer charity, it all came home with me! The timing is perfect - my Folksy site is doing well, I've sold 4 bags this week from there. Plus I sold a couple of bags at the last two craft fairs I did. I've still got 3 days of fairs before Christmas and my stock is running dangerously low! Despite a huge bag of fabric in the dining room, there is nothing currently in there that is calling me to make something with it!

This little stash however, was just crying out to be made into bags! As soon as I got it home I spread it out on the dining room table and started to drool. Silk, satin, chenille, damask, brocade, cotton prints; and lots of lovely autumny/wintery shades - perfect!!

Some fabrics just demanded to go together and in no time I had a stack of cut material that now just needs sewing up.

And these are the first ones to come off the production line! At the rate of two bags a day (if I'm lucky!), it is hardly a speedy line though!

More sewing!

After building up all my bag stock for the Preston Craft Fair, and only selling a fraction of it, I've been getting itchy fingers! Pointless making anymore bags just for the sake it - better to wait for inspiration to strike.

I've had some lovely chicken fabrics sat around for a while, so put them to good use as Kenwood Chef mixer covers.


Then I managed to make another Jean Genie bag out of some old levis - the denim is lovely and soft. But I wasn't happy with the top stitching, so I kept it for myself - all in the interests of product testing you understand! I'm glad I did because I've realised the handles are far too long! So now it has a knot in it as a temporary measure while I decide how to make adjustable handles!

I've also started a patchwork class in the evenings - run by a lovely lady called Jenny and based at East Carlton Park, near Corby. Jenny not only teaches patchwork, but is a font of knowledge on all things fabric related. She's taught me so many little tips and wrinkles - even how to find out whether a fabric is man made or natural by setting fire to it! (I had great fun experimenting, I can tell you!). So far we have done some hand pieced hexagonal patches and have now started on some Japanese folded patchwork. I'll post pictures at a later date!

As if that wasn't enough, a friend sent me a pattern that she couldn't get to grips with, on the proviso that I made the first lot for her! It was for chicken pot holders. So I had to invest in some decent wadding, and voila! More chickens! Must admit I am really pleased with them, despite them needing a little more hand sewing to really finish them nicely.
These will be winging their way to my friend, and I've put a pic of them on my shop website - I may do them to order only, unless I am desperate for something to sew again!