SUNDAY THE THIRD OF MAY

Well it's Sunday and also May! Usually a lovely conbination, however with this lockdown it's hard to remember just where in the week we are sometimes.

  I thought I'd start with this photo of one of our Abutalon's that is looking full of colour in the garden.

How what I have been up to...

I had intended to spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday in my studio getting that sorted out and cleaning up further along but Friday just seemed to vanish in a blink of an eye, so very little achieved and none of it studio based.

Saturday  I fully intended to spend the afternoon and early evening in the studio but I'd only been in there about half an hour when Paul called me to come look at his B&Q order. I'd left him with the task of ordering the wood etc that he'd needed to make the shelter for the outdoor seating area. This was the second time we'd tried to get the items we needed, the first time was just as the lockdown started and they had everything but the posts! Which was no good as the posts are of course essential! So we gave up, then you could not even get onto the site when they closed the stores. But they had just reopened to allowing customers to attend the stores, so we figured we could now order what we needed.
So Paul called me in to decide on a few things and once we had everything in our basket we went off to the checkout.. only to find that this time they did not have several main components !!! So again we walked away but this time I decided to go looking for a gazebo style unit but in kit form.

The choice is amazing and in every available structure!, fabric, wood, metal thin , metal thicker, too small, too big,too cheap and  too expensive.

I then checked the site we bought my studio from and they had several to chose from in a reasonable price range, dearer than making it ourselves but saving lots of time and effort.

We found one we liked but was slightly larger than the area it was meant for, but then we saw that the next size up was only £100 more and resolved where the post would stand ( in the smaller one it landed right in the middle of the entrance to the garden from the patio) which then entailed a long discussion and measuring , tweaking, should we ? shouldn't we ?  until finally we cast our cares to the winds and ordered the bigger one!!!!!! so three hours, yes three hours after I left the studio I was able to return and since it was now the better part of 7pm, I just collected a couple of items and locked the door!

So the worktop still looked like this but..

 But this part of the top shelf had been tidied and rearranged.

So today started wet and cool , it did brighten but not really warm up.After a morning of faffing about I eventually set off for the studio.

I decided that my plan of action for today would be to clear that worktop and get everything on it, away where it was meant to be or could go for now.

and it started to make a difference! Lots of walking back and forth, to put things in their correct place or to find them a place. So a good exercise routine!

More labelling of drawers, that are not at this angle that's just how I seem to like taking photos.. I didn't want to label too many, in case when I resort some of them, I want to move them lower or higher depending on how often I'll need the things in them. Although I can just remove a drawer and change it with it's matching higher or lower colour, there could come a time when the matching drawer cannot be moved and I must keep them in their correct colour range!

 Finally down to the last few things.

 amoungst everything I found were these kits from the Sasha weekends that I have put down and then totally forgotten about!

 Along side them are other kits I intend making once I retire...

 So I have packed them all into the goodie bag that I was given at my first Sasha Weekend visit, along side it a kit for a tapestry dolls house carpet that again I have still to make, so yet more treasure!

 I also found loads of knitting needles and stitch holders and some cotton! I've already taken about five or six cottons into the house! That's also another of the SCW kits still to do!
So now it's just down to sorting out the things I've left on the room settings while moving things, then a bit more of the floor and then I can play!! Leaving the fine sorting for another time.

I went in search of a large box to keep all my needles in, It needed to be a good length but not too big, well I found a box , which I then had to go through..... and it appears I have been very lacks in my kit makings...

 Yes just a few more unmade kits from the SCW ! Along with a couple of soft toy kits I have purchased and then lost in the mess!

 So now the bag  looks like this! I'm either going to have to do a couple of these kits every month , or have a kit making weekend for all my SCW kits!

These two I'm taking in to do, the spot card is for a bag! and the apron will come in handy with everything that's going to be happening soon in the village!

Finally a clear, well almost clear worktop! I discovered I have not even put anything into the little cupboard on the right of this photo, so that will be a nice bit of extra space to use.

 The dinning room still needs a little work.

 As does the kitchen but not too much.

This cupboard is looking fuller and I could probably get a few more things in with another rearrange.

 So from this on the 24/04 to ..

today and more to the point, I've sorted it out and labelled it up as I've gone along not just shoved it all into the cupboards just to get it out the way!
So I am feeling very happy that now I should be able to start using this space over the coming months.

Well I wish you all a happy healthy week ahead, don't forget it's the Fifth on Tuesday, doll shelf /photo day, so get those photos in, so we can enjoy looking at what others are up to.

Dee