A quiet weekend in and around Chez Tigs

So, as friends around me seem to have social calendars fit to bursting I find myself having had a delightfully quiet and easy going weekend, with similar weekends to come over the next few weeks. By delightfully quiet I mainly mean that I spent the whole weekend either in Morecambe or Lancaster, did plenty of pottering around at home and feel wonderfully rested. There have been lots of adventures off and about around the UK this year which have been marvellous - but now I'm much more settled in Morecambe, being able to spend a whole weekend in my own locale is a precious treat.

It's also given me the opportunity to do and reflect on things that might otherwise have been a long time in coming - or had their moment pass entirely. Things which included...

Return of the curtain making
I love sewing. I have 3 sewing machines to my name (not to mention the overlocker) and still aspire to owning a treadle machine (especially now I've had the opportunity to get somewhat familiar with using one while I was in Shropshire). That said, 2 of the aforementioned three do rather need to see a sewing machine engineer and, having got a number of a recommended local engineer, this week may see me putting those digits into my phone and making contact... But this is a distraction. From. The. Curtains.

This weekend's curtains were in fact very straight forward - taking some existing curtains which I'd inherited and adapting them for The Snug. Two things. I wish I could remember where I'd inherited these curtains from. They're gorgeous heavy green fabric with a slight sheen to them and are now adorning three windows in two rooms in my house (with some still left over which I suspect will end up in a new skirt or dress). But, alas, their lineage is lost to me. I live in hope that one day their donator will visit and recognise them. Until then: a mystery.

The second thing. The Snug. I don't entirely know why it became The Snug. Because it's really anything but. A very large room that in the past has been a shop (it's most recent use I've been led to believe was a hairdressers, perhaps 10-15 years ago) and had it's own title deed. It's also a very tall room - possibly the tallest in the house. And with three external walls, even in summer it's not particularly snug. It's also a room which elicits mixed responses: most people love the raised double bed that's in there now, but I've had a friend in the past find it conjured an uneasy vibe. And part of its "unsnugness" was the inspiration for today's curtaining.

But the curtaining doesn't end with the windows. I've made many curtains for my house (and an increasing number for other homes and buildings - one such pair having their Grand Hanging on Friday. Photographic evidence is expected...) and am now plotting another "partition curtain". Part of The Snug's unsnugness comes from trying to heat such a large room. Generally only half of The Snug is in use at any one time so if I can create a large-panel-patchwork extravaganza I may well find myself with a more snug Snug. Which would be nice. But the windows needed to come first. Which they did. And they're done. Which is satisfying.

The Moving of Furniture
Since a young age I've had a penchant for rearranging furniture in my living space. Many were the times I shifted all the items of furniture, including my bunk bed, pretty much solo on a whim one weekend while living at home. Earlier this weekend (I forget exactly when) I realised the work-surface set up I had in The Snug wasn't optimal so after a mid-afternoon bath (it's been that kind of weekend: plus it's the fastest way to warm up in my house without much physical exertion) I had a merry little rearrange.

I'm really pleased with the result and even as I briefly sat at my desk it felt much more satisfying. The room's not entirely finished (curtain aside there's a sofa I need to collect from it's current loan-place so I've got somewhere I can curl up in comfort) but it's significantly closer than it was. Huzzah.

The weekend also included playing with candles as a heat source - current verdict: very positive - and the joys of processing harvests, albeit small. But those delights will have to wait for another moment - other than to say green tomatoes are my favourite new ingredient :)