Moving down.....

The Bastle landing is more or less finished now....

 Just need to put the iron thumb latches back on the doors.

Natty LED lights in the wall to guide you down to the staircase,

Some remnants of old lime plaster on the walls,

And exposed beams and purlins add to the atmosphere.

Looking back to the bathroom with the angled window above the door.....

 

which provides welcome light into the hall from the garret window,

Now high up in the bathroom.

The two bedrooms are almost complete and just require the emptying of tools, left overs and an awful lot of dust.

Then I will be in to touch up the paintwork and think about the furnishings....The best bit!

All the windows have shutters but I think curtains will be going up in the bedrooms for a cosy feel.

Down the stone steps onto the new staircase and it is a very different story....

The 'soon to be' kitchen with the exposed stone walls, more beams and towering ceiling have taken a lot of our time.

Good job Mr CS enjoys being on the scaffolding as I don't do anything over 2 metres.

Unfortunately he hates painting,  but we both agree his plastering is pretty damn good.

Putting the insulation, battens and boards on at that height was neck breaking...so pleased it is done.

Looking back to how it was three years ago, I think we can safely say it is an improvement even if there are no kitchen units!

Julie x

Cat and mouse....

As you probably know, Monsieur Oscar lives in a bijou apartment in Paris with his doting human parent.... My daughter.

Beautiful tabby, totally spoiled and in her eyes, can do no wrong.

That was until the other weekend.

Having been let out for his usual wander round the courtyard one morning...he returned...highly vocal, vocal enough to ring alarm bells that something was a little different this time.

She opened the door and in he ran, pleased as punch with his "prize"

Straight into the bathroom he went and with quick thinking she shut the door on him.

Plucking up courage, she eventually peeked her head around the door, to find he had dispensed with his prey....which was now lying motionless on the bath mat.

But what to do with it?

She rang me!

"I can't pick it up... What should I do?"

We finally agreed rubber gloves, kitty poop scoop thingy and a plastic bag to tip it into would be the answer.

Dispatched to the dustbin outside and it was gone.

Result.....One traumatised daughter, one chuckling mother and a very bad cat!

Julie x

String and things....

Joyous find at Hexham Antique Fair on Tuesday .... 

A box of Irish linen thread in many colours from Henry Campbell &Co Ltd, Belfast, Ireland.

Unused and bundled together in 1/2 oz knots

As I have never seen anything like these before, I was wondering....what were they used for originally?

Any ideas?

I could use them for tying gifts, or threads for my labels instead of string....or by engaging my creative side, make delicate strings of tiny vintage keys, buttons, paper ephemera to just hang and look pretty.

Other buys included these lovely 19th century clock faces,

Hand painted with a faded makers name, however, I think someone decided to start cleaning the rose one, then gave up... A little patchy, but still shabbily attractive.

Finally, a busy weekend is on its way for me. 

A two day Gift and Food Fair at Rheged, Penrith, Cumbria, so I have been busy painting small pieces of furniture,

Mirrors and chairs too have been painted in off-whites and my new colour of the moment...duck egg blue. 

Fabric pictures made and the usual decorative Cloth Shed pieces all packed and ready.

Little gold cherub candles in fluted, pastry tins should help things along, as we all know it is the start of "The Silly Season"

So I am thinking....all over again, 

 Table decoration ...tureens, silver plate, glassware, linen, napkins for the Fair this weekend.

How this year has flown.

Julie x

Bastle bathroom.....

Well the purple bathroom seems a distant memory now,

First the rotten ceiling boards were replaced and the old cracked plaster removed from the stone walls. In fact, the building has been taken back to its basic structure, removing the 1980's makeover and allowed to "breathe" once again.

Black treacle beams painstakingly cleaned and left au naturel.

The tiny attic room window now exposed to allow light into the once windowless bathroom...chimney breast and walls lime pointed....and a new cathedral style ceiling installed revealing the roof timbers.

Limestone tiles on the walls and tumbled mosaic on the floor....

A "Magic" mirror that illuminates when a hand is passed over the sensor,

A rain head shower...

And my favourite...

A rustic chandelier suspended from the ceiling.

Which at night creates shadows on the wall....

 and a new, intriguing light source in the village.

 To think, 400 years ago, when Northumberland was in conflict with Scotland, this little window would have been the look out post for marauding Reivers coming down the valley, intent on stealing their neighbour's property.

I have sat at that window many times during the renovation and often wondered who had sat there before me all those years ago....

Julie x

Shopping distraction....

A visit to the historic market town of Hexham, Northumberland involves a pull up Hallstile Bank from the main car park to the Market Place. 

Tuesday is market day and the best place for good fruit, veg and fish.

Thankfully I can now stop halfway for a breather and visit a new shop.

Chatelaine run by an extrovert Scots lass called Helen. You never know what she is going to do next....Certainly not the shy, retiring type.

The shop is a mix of nice knitting wool with an earthy feel, American inspired fabric and a good smattering of vintage things all displayed beautifully in a lovely 18th century building. 

Think beams, old fireplace, whitewashed stone walls, sea grass flooring....a nice shop.

Shop aside,

Spot the "surprise"....leaping off the old push chair... 

Helen's new addition to her family.

Little Robyn spaniel....

Very wriggly and quick on her paws....hard to get a good "un blurry" photo of her, the little tinker.

9 weeks old and totally gorgeous.

Did I buy anything? 

Yes....

A clever, needle felt hare with the biggest ears and maddest eyes...

Which now incidentally,  has pride of place on my Winter granny coat ready for the colder weather.

Of course if I could, I would have smuggled little Robyn out in my bag....

Who wouldn't?

Julie x

A surprise gift....

I came home the other day to find this on my doorstep....a huge frame.

I had been talking with a dealer friend a few weeks ago and said I really wanted a large frame as a statement piece. He said he thought he had one in his barn and true enough he delivered this.

Missing some pieces and a broken fillet, old woodworm on the back....but still beautiful in a battered way.

To paint or not to paint..... So I did.

Annie Sloan French Linen with dry brushed Old White over the top for a chalky, shabby look.

With a quick fiddle and shift around of favourite pieces, it is now propped up on the grey cabinet.

Love it!

Then this weekend he said he had another one....

A little bigger and in almost perfect condition.

Exactly the same mouldings, perfect fillet, still a bit of woodworm...

But this one will NOT see the paint brush..... as firstly I am under pain of death from Mr CS and also I am quite liking a bit of gold bling.... It is quite dramatic.

Of course. I now have to find somewhere to put it.....wall? floor?

Decisions....

Julie x