Winter Warmer

There are not many things that will stop us making stuff together but this latest spell of cold weather very nearly did!
Anyone who has paid a visit to Halfpenny Home during the winter months (which last year seemed to run from October 2009 to May 2010!) will vouch for the fact that it can get pretty chilly there at times. In the past we have persevered, gritted our teeth and just got on with it but this year we have teamed up with Jane the landlady of the Rampant Horse Inn.

I first approached Jane with the proposal that the group of us who knit together on a Wednesday morning come to the pub for coffee and cake and she agreed to take us in! Platters of cakes and fresh coffee was laid on and everyone seemed to enjoy it, the regulars found it amusing when they popped in for their lunchtime pints!

Jane has also let us take over the restaurant on Monday evenings so the Sew and Crow ladies also get to craft in comfort and it's so close to HH headquarters (you can just about see our sign on the wall from the pub) which makes it the perfect alternative venue as we can just nip back to the shop for supplies!

ONE DOWN. HERE COMES THE BIGGIE...

Here's hoping that your Thanksgiving was a time of gratitude and family togetherness. The leftover's are dwindling here and we have begun with the adornment of white lights (natch) and grapevine deer grazing in our front garden.

I had intended to have the trees up today, but a weird injury has sidelined me... Don't ask me how, but on Friday I was lying on my stomach on the floor with my granddaughter while coloring and I twisted to the left to reach for something when I felt and heard a "pop" along my left rib cage. I'm positive it's soft tissue and a sprain but all the same it hurts like hell and has gotten worse over the last two days. So hauling trees around and getting tubs of ornaments down is on hold.

In the meantime, I want to share a redo of the guest room with you that was inspired by a cute little dresser that was given to me by my mom. It belonged to my great~grandma and has been living in Indiana with a family friend who bought it at the sale they had years back. Mom decided she wanted me to have it and bought it back from her friend and they were nice enough to bring it to me on their last visit. It was stained brown so of course it needed a facelift, but the glass knobs are original.

The room is in reverse of it's previous arrangement and this set up makes it look much larger and works so much better. Isn't it funny how you just know when you finally get it right?

The first pic is of course the dresser. Please enjoy the tour and I'll be back soon with Christmas decor pics...

Swedish Market

The day of the Swedish Market dawned, and with it a beautiful dusting of snow with further flurries during the morning - thank goodness we didn't have to travel far! We set up in the barn along with the other stallholders - helped along with mugs of tea and Swedish Christmas carols playing in the background.

The market opened at a very civilised 11am but we feared the weather may put people off! In fact, it seemed to do the opposite and people were queueing to get in! Just after we opened, Ulfie appeared with trays of 'fresh from the oven' cinnamon buns. The aroma was sooooo enticing.....we couldn't resist.

An added aroma, and very welcome winter warmer was the vodka infused gluh wein, also prepared by the Swedish chefs. It really hit the spot and I have to say, it was the best I have ever tasted. Guaranteed to get you into the festive spirit!

We thought the red gingham tablecloth would add an extra cheery touch to our display.

Alex, of The Natural Selection had a grand display of working timber kit machines which are really different - as well as a host of other lovely stocking fillers. You can check out her website at http://www.natural-selection.co.uk/.

The wooden painted reindeer and Christmas Trees proved popular - we just love the gorgeous green velvet ribbon adorning the reindeer along with their tinkly bells.

There were vintage items for sale too!

And Pat made this absolutely stunning scandanavian inspired bird and leaf garland - taking the idea from "Scandinavian Needlecraft" by Claire Youngs (CICO books). There are 10 birds, each hand embroidered in the centre with a different design. Just beautiful.

We had a lovely, busy day and after packing up our wares, managed to get home just before the sun was setting.

Hope you've had an enjoyable, if wintry, weekend.

Jacquix

Dining Room Chairs and Buffet Update

Here is a sneak peak of the progress I have made in my dining room over the past few weeks. The chairs and buffet I purchased from the Salvation Army are almost finished and have already found permanent homes in my dining room.

I sanded the chairs lightly and applied a few coats of polyurethane to protect the wood. The seats were in bad shape and needed to be replaced. I removed the old covering and will use this very popular fabric from Calico Corners called Kalah blue.

It was a challenge to find something which would coordinate with the yellow checked curtains, tan and white fabric on the existing chairs as well as the rug in the foyer. Kalah blue tied the two spaces together perfectly and was the right scale. I was hesitant at first because this fabric is fairly light weight and more suited to curtains. We rarely eat in the dining room, however, so I am hopeful it will ware well. My fabric order should be here next week so I will be completing the chair covers soon. Look for the tutorial on this process in another week or so.

The buffet was painted, glazed and slightly distressed. Love how it looks now! The entire room feels more cohesive with both the chairs and the buffet dressed in the same finish.

The mirror I ordered for above the buffet is on back order until January. I took advantage of the empty space and the upcoming holiday season to hang a fresh wreath with a simple white bow. The rug should be here by the end of next week.

From the pictures you can see I have also begun to add a few Christmas decorations. I will be posting a complete tour of this room as well as other parts of my house soon.

Linking to some of my favorite parties HERE

Vote in the People's Millions!

Call and vote for The John Peel Centre for Creative Arts!
08716268803 btween 9am and midnight on 25th November
You can vote up to 10 times from any single landline phone and it will only cost you 10p each time.
Thank you, Nic x

MIXED MESSAGE

Gosh it's officially that time of year isn't it?

I've been in a weird place lately, and the holiday season has crept up on me at a faster pace than ever before. I have been very busy on a project that must stay under wraps for a while, and it has taken every spare moment.

So, in a few days it will be Thanksgiving Day and I will be hosting 17 adults and 6 children ( 5 toddlers) at our little slice of heaven. I have suddenly realized that I have been catapulted from the children's table to the CEO of Thanksgiving in a blink of an eye. Wow.

And then it is time to deck the halls...

Where did time go?

I went shopping this past weekend at Renninger's Antique Extravaganza. It was the first time in years that I shopped rather than sold, and I must say that it was a blast. It wasn't easy to cull through it all in search of Marburger worthy goods. My style has changed from my early days, there is a lot of crap out there and the BEST stuff has a price tag to match.

Here are some fabulosities that I didn't buy but boy did I want to...


This old hotel luggage trolley was the bomb but was sold before the market even opened... Grrrr.


Fabulous obelisk, but I didn't even look at the price.


Industrial has finally arrived in Florida...


I loved loved loved this real deal zinc bistro table from Paris in old white paint. The price tag? Not so much...



Without a doubt the sexiest pedestal sink I have ever seen. It didn't last long...


So as you sit down to your table on Thursday to break bread with your loved ones, as will I, let's remember those less fortunate, those that serve and protect far away, and those who have gone before us... Happy Thanksgiving to all and may your day be a blessed and joyous one...

Sweden comes to Suffolk!

Hot on the heels of the Swish last week, next Saturday we're back at Creeting House to take part in their Swedish weekend! Between 11am and 4pm on Saturday 27th November, Creeting House are hosting a Swedish Mini Market. There'll be Swedish Christmas decorations and gifts, speciality Craft stalls, Reclaimed & new gift items. There will also be gluhwein (mulled wine), mince pies and roasted chestnuts. We're also promised the opportunity to meet the Swedish Chefs Lars, Ture and Ulfie, who are travelling over especially from Sweden to provide swedish culinary goodies for the event. They will also be busy preparing authentic culinary feasts on the Friday and Saturday evenings at Creeting House.

It promises to be a really great weekend and something really different. With the promise of Gluhwein we couldn't resist so we will be taking a little bit of Halfpenny Home to Creeting House for the day.

If you're able to come along - we'd love to see you!
For directions to Creeting House, see the website at http://www.creetinghouse.com/

Jacqui x

New Stocking Design

I just finished making stockings for my family and they were just too cute not to share.

A bit oversized at 22” tall, this stocking features a three tiered ruffle top of alternating layers of linen and muslin. Of course my daughter wanted me to make one for her in pink!

Last year you may remember I created four different stocking designs out of ivory burlap for my Christmas mantel.

This year I decided to go with four stockings of the same design.

I picked up my Christmas wreaths today and will post pictures of my completed mantel in the next week or so. Yes, I am still working on my Salvation Army furniture find as well as finishing up the curtains for my living room! Things have been a bit crazy but I will have lots of finished projects to share soon.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these stockings they can be found in my Etsy store.

Swish Report

Our swish preparations went well, with all of our swishers bringing really lovely clothes and accessories to swap. We had new clothes still with their tags on and all sorts of really good labels including Fenn Wright Manson and Jaegar as well as good high street names like Coast, Laura Ashley and Monsoon. We also had a vintage clothes rail including this beautiful beaded dress below.

However, with the swish just a couple of hours away, disaster struck - a power cut! We therefore had to hastily reschedule for the following Monday - everyone was great and thankfully most could make the rescheduled date. With everyone gathered in the grand hall at Creeting House, canapes made by Ali at the Barn Cafe were devoured, washed down with babycham, a very retro touch! Thankfully no problems with power cuts the second time around!

A fashion show followed with our models wearing items brought to the swish. Linzi wears a beautiful bottle green silk blouse and black trousers.

And Glynis looks fab in her mother of the bride outfit - bringing together an array of items brought to the swish.

Then, with our swishers champing at the bit, we let them loose to swish! Here they are in full swing!

We had a whole room dedicated to accessories ranging from gorgeous costume jewellery, shoes, scarves, hats and bags.

At the end of the swish, everyone collected the items they had bagged - I got some brand new black boots which I'm very pleased with.

There was very little left on the rails so, judging by this, everyone went away with something new to them and in the knowledge that they'd done their bit for the planet! As well as having a great evening we also raised a fantastic sum for the EACH Treehouse Appeal. We raised £755 on the night, which was rounded up to £800 by an anonymous donor the following day.

Before leaving Creeting House we enjoyed a celebratory drink of Lisa's homemade elderflower champagne to finish off the evening!

Jacquix

Standby for Point 5!

This was the sight that greeted me this morning when I rolled up to Halfpenny Home on my bike! The big Colinette order that we've all been looking forward to...it comes in great big boxes and still tied in hanks not skeins. It's always very exciting to open up the bags and see the fantastic handyed wools straight from Wales.

Jitterbug sock yarn in Vatican Pie and Rio!

Point Five in fifteen shades - I got a little bit carried away with this order but who could blame me?

Look at all those colours! My favourites (so far) are Elephants Daydream and Lavender Lil but I've got a way to go before I've been through them all. I haven't even got out the new yarn from Colinette - Hullabaloo, it's amazing an Aran yarn that is made by spinning black fleece with the white so that when it's dyed only the white takes the colour, the finished yarn is delicious!

Only another 158 to go! Nic x

Fantastic Furniture Find!

Long time followers of RDH know that when it comes to bargains and freebies I have been very fortunate. Much of my house is furnished with roadside finds, hand-me-downs and thrift store purchases. Needless to say, my house definitely has a “collected over time” look. My luck continued last weekend when I came across this buffet / sideboard at my local Salvation Army thrift store.

I looked it over quickly but did not even ask the price the first time I saw it. When I called back the next day, I was told the buffet was part of a set and could not be purchased separately. If I wanted the buffet I would need to also buy the table and six chairs which had been donated at the same time. My other option was to pay for the set and then donate what I did not want back to the store.

At first I was not sure about the table and chairs. After some thought, however, I realized keeping all the pieces was a good thing. You see my dining room craigslist table only came with four chairs. I also am partial to having a mix of chairs rather than a completely matched set. The table will most likely find a home in my basement and be used for crafts and playing games. So yes, I kept everything!

From the pictures above, you can see I took advantage of the warmer than normal weather to already begin the refinishing process. The sideboard and table legs will be painted and glazed. The chairs and table top will be sanded and varnished. I will be posting the after pictures soon.

So how much did I spend? I spent a total of $150 for everything – less than $20 per piece! I was thrilled to say the least. Other than the freebies on the side of the road, I think this may have been my best furniture find ever.

Do you have a favorite furniture bargain story? I would love to hear it!

A Jumbled up Post!

This lovely patterned floor is laid out just like a patchwork quilt! We aren't obsessed with all things textile but it does change the way you see the world ...this floor is in Creeting House which was the venue for last weeks and this weeks Swish Up event - a whole post on this to follow shortly!

Halfpenny Home was there or a very small part of it was!
It's tricky to show people who have never visited HH HQ just what it is like and what goes on there but I think that we managed it this week. The good wives of Sew and Crow don't like to waste a single second so they all brought their knitting and crochet along to Creeting House with them.

We also had a visit from Laura who makes the most wonderful soap, has helped us with the book and will be running soap making workshops at Halfpenny Home next Spring and Summer. I wasted no time at all in getting that delivery of delicious smelling soap installed on a cake stand!

There will be some of Laura's soap available at the Humble Jumble up at The Ark on King William Street in Needham Market on Saturday 20th November - it's starting earlier this month 10 am - 3 pm.
Flossie is proudly sporting a HJ poster along with one of our hand dyed silk scarves and a skirt by Polly's Textiles.

Floss stood in for me (I'm shy!) to show off my new cardigan wrap thing that is so snuggly and warm, here it is wrapped up...

and here it is worn down!

Cheers Floss! Hope to see you all up the jumble on Saturday, Nic x