I could use your help!

Hello, my friends!

I could use your help! Remember this...? I started a cushion for the sofa  that would go well with the new wall and picture colors while we were in the north (not working very fast, I must confess...) and was planning to have the squares in the front and the granny square in the back...

For some strange reason I always end up mimicking nature's colors!

But as I got back and the work went on I changed my mind--one cushion was not enough and I wondered if I'd love it to pieces the way I thought originally... 

You see, we do use the cushions--with 4... errhhh... 3 boys and 1 man in the house it's hard to convince them NOT to lean or sit on the cushions so they definitely WILL get some use! 

Plus our climate is quite moderate so there are more warm days than cold and the crochet part will not feel so comfortable in the summer. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to change the current ones (they're embroidered in "petit point" in wool so they're quite warm and become uncomfortable). 

So the idea was to use both pieces to make 2 different cushions. I will be making a fabric back for each of them. I considered a knit back using Lucy's tutorial at Attic 24, but I really don't have a sweater I want to give up in the right color and it wouldn't solve the warmth problem...

I went fabric shopping and saw a lot that I liked (forgot to take the crochet along so I kind of had to guess) and of course came back with more than I needed :( and yet I can't make up my mind!

 

Finally these seemed to be the best options...

This one particularly pleases me because it's a piece of fabric I had stashed for a long time--you see, when I got pregnant I had this feeling I was going to have a girl... so off I went and got this pretty fabric with green, pink and lavender stripes and pink flowers, made the curtains for the baby's room and a ruffle to put around the baby's bed... and then found out it was going to be a boy! Lol

I still liked the fabric, kept the curtains on for a while after he was born (poor little Paulo :) ) and then one day changed them and saved the curtains for a rainy day... Maybe one day I'd have a girl (didn't happen...)

Well, what do you think about these 2 combinations? Would they be your choice among these fabrics? I probably could find another that matched better... but I'd probably end up with a lot more fabric pieces... 

Like these... Just couldn't resist!!! They won't do for these cushions (too different from the yarn colors) but they probably could set me off into trying a little patchwork... with some matching polka dots, stripes and squares and solid colors... Ok, ok, I'm daydreaming already!

 

Please do tell me what you think. I'm still tucking ends in in one square and making a couple more rounds on the other one, while I wait for your comments :) and I have a feeling I may be making an African Flower front with the bits of leftover yarn...

Hope you're having a wonderful week! 

xxx

My new kitchen :)

A while back I promised I'd post some pictures of my kitchen after all the work we had done there. 

We had an infiltration to the appartment downstairs (nasty stuff :( ) and when we began fixing things up I thought it was time to redo it--it was my least favorite area in this entire house! 

And now you'll see why...

This was my old kitchen. As is traditional over here, tile flooring and walls, but I absolutely hated them--how ugly could they be?! 

But then there was no real reason to change, it was still functional and it was expensive to redo it... but the insurance company chipped in too :) The stove was in desperate need to go as well as the water heater...

A lot of work, replacing all of it...

But it was worth it!

I kept the top cabinets to reduce costs (they were still in reasonable shape) as well as the table and chairs and liked the idea of a slightly separate laundry area, so we created that glass wall that keeps the clutter of folded-clothes-waiting-to-be-put-away-in-the-closets out of sight while letting all the light come through. 

I chose a neutral shade of tiles for the floor and walls (yeahhhh!!! got rid of those ugly ones!) and put a granite counter top--is that what it's called?--that matches both the cabinets and the walls and is VERY sturdy... That way I can create different looks by varying the dish towels and curtains without having to redecorate the entire thing again!

Most people were a bit sceptical with my decisions, especially keeping the top cabinets, but when they saw the final result everyone had to admit it looks good :) (don't you just love the splash of color that beautiful potholder gives it?) Nothing hanging on the walls so far, I dread making holes on the new tile lol...

Now I just have to find time to get the fabric for the curtains to add a bit more color...

What do you think, do you like it? 

xxx

Camping!

It's such a lovely day out that I decided it was too nice to stay indoors. 

So what should I do? I feel like working, and should stay out of the sun... That's it, I'll camp out on the balcony! It's a bit of a garden, there's no sun right now but a lot of light, and I can enjoy my work while not feeling trapped indoors. 

It took me a little while to bring everything out--the chair, the stool pretending to be a side table with my lunch, the laptop, the camera, the crochet bag...Did I forget anything...? Hmmm... easy enough, I'll just step in to grab it.

Now, the next question... what shall I work on? I brought a few things along... my knitting (oh I soooooooo love those colors! Can't wait to finish and wear it!) an old crochet magazine and a few balls of cotton yarn... 

Probably one of these lovelies, for a change of pace! 

Pantera thought this whole situation was a bit odd... she's not used to seeing me here for a long time!

... but then decided to help out with the gardening and started trimming the lemon grass :)

Well, off I go to start something new, hopefully something pretty. Catch you later!

xxx

Just a quick hello...

So much going on around here these days I haven't had a minute to stop by to check on everyone... so while we go through elections and my radiation treatments are about to come to an end (HORRAYYYY!!!!) and the kitchen is finally finished (leaving me with all the tidying up and reorganizing and all) and we are moving back and forth from one place to the other, I just wanted to leave you a little bit of sunshine and sand by the Tagus River :-)

Be back soon, my friends!

xx

New kitchen...

This is where we're staying these days--Alcochete, on the other side of the River Tagus, accross from Lisbon.

Land of kings and queens, as my husband says--where our King Manuel I, the Fortunate, was born in 1469. My grandmother was born here too :) so it certainly is an important town for me!

Couldn't wait... this is one of my favourite meals in the summer! Charcoaled sardines with tons of tossed salad with grilled peppers :))) The sardines are still tiny but they tasted oh so good!

So... why are we here? Well... a while back we had some icky news. There was a water infiltration from our appartment to our downstairs neighboor, in Oeiras. The insurance company came to see the problem and discovered the plumbing was in bad shape. So... instead of only fixing that part of the kitchen (I confess... I truly HATED the tiles in that kitchen!) we decided to replace the wall and floor tiles (yessssssss!!!) 

And this is what it looked like last week.. (help!!! there's no turning back now!)

...this is what it looked like today, when I stopped by to see the work progress... (begining to take shape!)

...and this is what I'd like it to look like by the end! My kitchen is a long, rectangular one so it won't look quite like this... but I know it will look so much better than it did before!

Right now there are kitchen cabinets in the living room, a fridge and a freezer in the hallway, the drawers with their contents in the boys' room and the washers and dryer in the bathroom aside from everything else...and it's completely impossible to live there while they're working, with all the dust and everything!

These have been busy days, between my treatments, running around to buy the stuff we need in the kitchen, chosing the new cabinets, deciding on so many things in the new kitchen and not having my own place to stay during the day (I stay at Mom's and then meet hubby to come back here) it seems time is so much shorter!

I'm so anxious to see everything go back to normal--but a so much prettier normal! :)

xx