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To spend the day creating a peaceful haven of my home…. I need to smell good things cooking in my kitchen and I need to know I can quietly snuggle under something warm and wooly without having to worry about the house looking like a wreck..so I’m off to do some house chores and cooking….
Paint jobs for today are my hall skirting and hall ceiling..they’re only small jobs but once they’re done it means I can draw a line through the last of the “to-do’s” for upsatirs..it’s just the sewing jobs to do then, new bed covers and curtains. I was going to get stared on the sitting room today but my children are all snuggled up under my jilbab on the sofa and look as if they’re in need of some good old fashioned homliness, so I might just leave it till monday when they’re busy with their tutor insha’allah.
Back later with pics of homeley progress insha’allah…….
Is that I may have given up on the house painting front..HOWEVER……just because I haven’t been seen with a pot of paint and a brush for a couple of days there’s no need for everyone that lives with me to presume that we will be living indefinately in this half decorated bomb-site of a dwelling…it really IS all under control and the break was all part of my strategic plan…at least THATS what I’m telling THEM.
Curtain making later today..boring “have to do” stuff that WILL have to be done because even I will eventually get fed up of the Evening Standard that has been serving as a window covering while the rooms upstairs were being painted…while I’m on the subject of sewing..here’s my machines new home…right in front of my bedroom window….
I even took the time and trouble to untangle the wool and throw it in a basket…
It’s halaqah day today insha’allah, so no painting will be getting done this morning, but I have grand plans to emmerse myself in the glossing of a skirting board this afternoon and I might posslibly flick a bit of paint at my sitting room over the weekend….
I’m having lunch with my friends and the list (in no particular order) of things that HAVE to get done before I get there runs something like this…..
Shower small girls DD16 ver kindly offered to do this one for me!!
get the mountain of laundry under control before it swallows the house (DD15 has started working on this one!!)
erm…paint THAT wall
bake something yummy to take as a gift date and coffee cake yum yum!!!
send boys off to karate
find the boys karate licences (eek!! they’ve ONLY been asking me to do it ALL WEEK!!!) (found the blue ones NEED the red ones too!!)
do post officey stuff
this might not seem like much but… it’s 9.30am and I have to be at my pals house at about 12.30…and she’s about a 20-30 minute walk away and I’m still at the pooter with my first tea of the day……delegation is the answer I feel 
I always enjoy finding new blogs to read while i’m supping my first cuppa and munching my way through my toast…..
I’ve actually been almost up to my elbows in paint for the past week!! It’s too scarey to have crafting projects AND paint hanging around the house at the same time, so anything sewable or wooly has been safely hidden away until it’s safe to come out again
There is no light at the end of this emulsion filled tunnel, I have painted (yes I am mad enough to be painting the ENTIRE house myself) One hall, upstairs and downstairs(does that count as two halls..it would make me feel better if it does) and two bedrooms…although one wall in one of the bedrooms is refusing to dry and I have a slight problem with …erm..paint sliding off the wall. Anyway. I’m not letting it hold me back, only one large bedroom a sitting room, kitchen and bathroom to go and I’ll be back to crafting again..IF, I can muster up any residual energy that might be left. DD15 has been a star and has kept me company and helped with the painting, so we broke the monotony of doing lots of this….
with a little shoe shopping…
make dua for me that I complete the painting soon, there’s only so much magnolia a girl can look good in!!!
I went to the library the day before yesterday on the pretext of looking for GCSE textbooks, unfortunately DD15 who came with me left me memntarily unattented and I just happened to wander over to the crafting section and happened upon THIS!!
It’s full of really simple crochet patterns and I could have kicked myself for clearing out my bag and ditching the crochet hook and ball of wool that was in it, when the thought struck me… just scrounge some space on DD15’s library card!!
Once home I had a hard time settling myself down, what was I going to tackle first??? I chose the simplest thing of course, I cant claim that my wool choices are as yummy as hers but I’m still in “Use what you have” mode, and I’m trying to use up all my wool scraps before I allow myself to buy anymore
So here she is..my new WIP…to be honest it’s nearly finished, I’ve crocheted both sides of the cushion and I’ve even made some crocheted flowers to adorn it insha’allah….just needs to be sewn up and it’ll be ready to go insha’allah. So the question is what comes first, the housework or the cushion cover??
A pictureless post and no crafting to show. I have been too busy to get anywhere close to crafting materials.
It was Halaqah day today and I actually managed to stay away from the computer for long enough to get some much needed house work done before I went out!!
So it’s been a busy one, with some children going to tutors, some going to karate and some coming with me, but sometimes busy chaotic days are just what you need masha’allah.
My evening?? I’m off to get the children fed and into bed and then I’m going to tackle a granny or two insha’allah.
Remember that pledge I made to make only the things that made my heart sing?…. Well this is one such thing. It started life as an experiment in patchwork to fill a quiet and otherwise taskless evening and grew into my new favourite bag!! The pictures are BAD, so forgive me but the bag is lovely, it’s lined with the same fabric I used for the patchwork and pocket and has another blue linen pocket on the inside. I love days like this when a crafting project just comes together. I’m thinking of trying some more patchwork for something else insha’allah.
On the Eeman front, I went to a halaqah this morning that gladdened my heart and helped to fill the void that a low eeman creates. Sisterhood is a mighty special thing masha’allah.
It serves as cheap entertainment in my house, rifling through mothers bag to see what she might be hiding in there today..it never ceases to amaze the when it all spills forth and they pick through the contents. Strange kids?? Strange Mother!!Anyway this, is my beloved bag, made by me for me, from a piece of thrifted material I found in Oxfam, I’ve got two other bags that i use regularly, but neither are loved as much as this one and even I was amazed at the amount of rubbish interesting stuff i had in it today!!Here’s the list; A watch (belonging to DH but always worn by me!) An asthma leaflet, The road to Peace and Salvation(I’m supposed to be writing a Halaqah!!) A small bottle of rose attar, DD15’s eyeliner pencil, A home made scrunchie (gifted to me by someone), Antibiotics (for my chest infection) Tissues, Blood sugar monitor, Movelat cream (for my back!) Lockets, 7 pencils, My Tayammum stone (in case of no water for wudhu!), Carex Lip balm, Ibuprofen, Bracelets that were gifted to me on eid, 2 biros, Halaqah leaflets (it’s a good job I did this cos I forgot they were in there and the Halaqah is tomorrow!!!) Provisional driving license, Mobile phone, Vaseline lip balm, zipper foot for my sewing machine, a tape measure, letter for my G.P, 2 red hair bands, a couple of freezer bags , nail clippers, Inhaler, I married a Bedouin (the book I’m reading) and 47p in loose change!!!!!
That bag is a veritable Tardis!!!!
It’s no wonder I suffer from backpain..it’s got nothing to do with having had seven babies and three c/sections, it’s all the junk stuff I carry around with me. 
I have done no crafting again today, though I might treat myself to a bit of granny square therapy later if I get all the house chores done. We had a fruitless meander in the market, my big girls and I…to find GCSE textbooks and I felt at least a little hopeful that some thrifting would happen but no!….NOTHING. No textbooks, no thrifty treasures. So I will console myself with the fact that I have lentil dhal and rice and yogurt for dinner and some beautiful Pomegranates that a friend brought to my house this evening.My Eeman has been quite low lately so I am trying to look after myself and it. The nature of eeman is to increase and decrease and it’s at the times when it’s at it’s lowest that we have to be good to ourselves and expose ourselves to things that will help nourish it insha’allah. So that’s the aim, to nourish what’s left of my flagging eeman, and take stock of where I’m going spiritually.I’m off now to have my dhal and rice…and to think good thoughts insha’allah
I crochet, naturally!!! This is my crochet project of the moment, and it’s taking shape…very slowly. I’m finding it really hard to find the time to make anything these days and find myself “making” out of necessity rather than pleasure, and it’s simply not healthy!! So..I’m on a quest to rediscover my love of crafting, and I will craft only the things that make me joyful…..The clocks have gone back now so it’s a good excuse to snuggle down early with a pile of crafting projects beside me to while away the lovely cosy nights…am I the only one I know who loves winter and long dark evenings??? I started on a name plate thingy for my seven year olds bedroom door….a smidgen of embroidery on linen….looks cute……pic tomorrow insha’allah.
