Just when you think you are finished!

I promise, I have nearly finished, but this decorating has turned into a full-blown marathon.  It started with me removing some fake beams on the walls and ceilings, to fitting double doors in the lounge, making blinds for all the rooms, recovering the headboard.  I then covered the seat pads to the chairs in my kitchen and sort of decided to paint the kitchen cupboards Friday evening, which are looking good but would benefit from another couple of coats of paint, and now I need to repaint my table and chairs (which I painted white about 3 years ago and now look dull compared to the new paint on the cupboards) - oh dear.

The trouble is, when you start it shows up anything that looks a little worn but its amazing with a bit of hard graft what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.

Here are some pic's
 Here is my poor son (a carpenter builder by trade) who was doing all the building work for me - you can just see the shape where the old beams were previously located.

and here is the finished result after the plasters had been in and I had painted the walls and ceilings. 

I am delighted with the results - the whole lounge looks light and airy now as do the other rooms, it is lovely to sit in the lounge and watch the little birds land on the bird feeder.

I am desperate to get on with some sewing because I have seen so many lovely patterns, but I really want to have a good clear out of my sewing room first - I am also guilty of prioritising sewing over clearing up (like many of my sewing buddies) but I am sure, in the long-run, I will achieve more if I can have a good tidy up, sort out my patterns and stash etc so I can lay my hands on everything rather than wasting time looking for things.

I have been doing all these projects for around 6.5 weeks now - but you know it is sort of cathartic, and makes me think perhaps the old-fashioned concept of spring cleaning really is something we should try and achieve each year (its about 3-4 years since I last decorated).

At the ripe old age of 52, I have managed to accumulate a lot of possessions around me - some of which never see the light of day especially as this cottage used to belong to my parents and I inherited lots of their possessions, which while they wouldn't be something I would buy for myself, I find it difficult to dispose of.  I bet some of my readers also have cupboards with stuff in that has not been moved for years.

I have spent  little time surfing all the differnt blogs I follow and I was particularly impressed with one of the girls who posts lots of thing on The Stitcher's Guild who showed pictures of some hand-knitted jackets.  I can knit, and have made a few bits over the years and feel very tempted to buy a nice pattern and some wool and start again to add to my home-made wardrobe.

Last but not least I think I must be in a complete renovation phase of my life because my next project will be a big time weight loss.  I have promised myself to start tomorrow (1st June) and want to try and loose at least 20lb, but preferably 28lbs.  My current work involves lots of flying around the world, meals out etc etc and not enough exercise (despite the non-stop decorating).

I have a wedding in September and my lovely Chanel fabric that is waiting to be made up into something wonderful.  I just know that I will not be happy with anything I make while in my current mind set of feeling so overweight, so I intend to do a weekly announcement of my progress. 

Wish me luck.