Less pleasant is the smell of school buses. I have been on plenty of school trips with my kids over the last 10 years, being a full-time mum, and any that involve a bus trip are a little more challenging than the others. I have to firmly push down the urge to gag sometimes, recalling bus trips back in the country district that I grew up which involved nearly an hour of extremely windy roads. I'm sure my siblings and I were the most unlucky students, as we lived only 7 km from the school, but as it did a large loop and finished at the bus-driver's house, he dropped us off last, 1 hour later. I tell you, all us students in those days were lucky to be alive. My mother would occasionally relieve at the school also and has reported to my father once she returned home, having taken the school bus, how the bus-driver, bless him, had gleefully shown her his foot flat on the floor with the brake pedal - he had no brakes and was only using the handbrakes on these hair-raising hills and corners. And that was not at any slow speed either. I'm sure it would never happen now, but somehow kids were a little more dispensable then possibly? ;-)
Lately I've been back in my grandparents 'attic'. At least, in my mind. My grandparents sold their house of 30+ years last year and built themselves a little granny flat on my aunty's property, but their last house will be forever etched in the minds and hearts of my family and me. The attic was not an attic as you would imagine one - dark, dusty, cramped. Their attic took up the whole area above their garage, accessed by the customary steep, narrow staircase, but carpeted, light and airy. Three low, narrow beds were lined up against the far wall, covered with quilts and feather pillow from Bali, Norfolk Island and England. Some of them were probably 60 years old but they were all so cosy for us when we stayed with them.
Over one side of the room stood a large, high table covered, enticingly, with pieces of coloured glass. My grandfather made lead-light lampshades and windows there. Of course, we weren't allowed to touch them and amazingly, we didn't! In another area stood my grandfather's desk, with his desktop computer and printer. He had got into computer programming and mucking around with it back in the 90's and often spent an evening up there with a little heater by his feet. For many years his big home-made loom also stood there. He had tried to teach me how to use it when I was about 14, but it's not a skill much in demand these days! But the most fun area was the one closest to the stairs. It held a huge big wood-bound chest which they had transported their belongings in when they immigrated to New Zealand in the 60's, and which now housed the dress-ups. How we loved to dress up in them! The favourite was my grandmother's wedding dress - an embossed satin - and my grandfather's black lecturing gown - great for being the wicked witch!
And finally on another table stood Nana's sewing machine, the cause of this walk down memory lane. You see, I've been sewing and the fabric I have smells like Nana's sewing room. On looking back I think maybe the smell was the wool rugs and loom-work in fact, as the fabric I'm using is a natural linen, but sewing was something Nana taught to Mum and Mum taught to me, so I make that connection without even realising it.
In fact, I'm very excited that I'm back sewing again. The focus for so many years has been purely structural things, like walls and doors. Then it's been painting, painting, painting. How I hate painting! But finally I have decided I'd get back into some sewing. I bought a nice machine a year or so ago, and it's been wonderful! A couple of months ago I ordered 4 metres of some fabrics from Cabbages & Roses in the UK which is just gorgeous. I'm rather precious with it as it was not cheap, but it's been so worth it. A cushion is a great evening project if you haven't got time (or the room) to do a big project but just feel the need to feel good about yourself! An affordable source of inners is a must though, I have decided.
As we approach winter, several things have occurred. One is the money is running out. For some reason people don't buy plants when it's winter. Go figure. The second is that it gets cold. And the third is that it gets very cold in the lounge as I built 2 walls and a door around it, cutting it off from the fire, which now roasts the rest of the house. (I still maintain it was a good decision!!). And the fourth is that it gets very, very cold in the lounge as I took the old curtains and blind down to paint it and refused to put it back up. There are 3m french doors and a 2.4m (very old) window in the room and probably very little insulation. Ouch, cold!
The outcome of this is that I have had to get creative with the curtains that are needed in there. The fact is, there is no way we can wait for spring and it's accompanying stampede of customers wanting to give us their money. In the past I have had curtains made by professionals as they do such a great job and I was quite intimidated by the prospect. I had given up on finding a beautiful, vintage fabric in New Zealand so had priced up 28m of a favourite from the UK and it was almost $2000 just for the main fabric. Just in the nick of time, a friend mentioned a wholesale fabric shop in Wellington city was worth a visit. And wouldn't you know, I found several gorgeous fabrics. For a good deal less than the price of fabric from UK I got a beautiful floral linen, thermal lining, interlining (for the ultimate in warmth!) and thermal lining for another unlined curtain I had at home.
Unfortunately, I find that the best part of the sewing process is the point where it's all nice and neatly on a role. Full-stop. Once it's unrolled, it's all downhill baby. However I have found this time to be surprisingly un-downhill. I admit I haven't used a pattern as, well, how hard can it be to make a curtain, right? And it's amazingly all come together like a dream. The only problems are that I don't have any floor areas large enough to lay out a 3m x 3m piece of fabric, and the carpet is so filthy that I wouldn't even if I did! I am fortunate enough to have a large dining room table and a king-size bed, both of which have been invaluable. And it's amazing how much of a curtain you can actually sew while it's hanging from the curtain rod!
This morning I found the perfect curtain rods: right colour, right diameter, right lengths, right style, right price, and even came in 2 pieces each so I could fit it in my car! I've got one pair of curtains up ready to be hemmed, and so far the curtain rods haven't fallen down. Fingers crossed they last 15 years or more. I am absolutely thrilled with the effect, and can't wait to make the second pair - the bigger ones, gulp. The room is finally coming together.
I just need to scrape the paint off the windows, recover 1 and a half couches, make up about a half dozen more pillows, frame and hang about 10 more pictures and have a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookshelf built including an attached ladder... (Before photo below)
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