Nesting instinct......

Now that all the hard manual labour on the house has been completed, I can allow my nesting instinct to move into high gear.

For instance, today I made cushion covers for the sitting room.  I found some lovely coastal-themed fabrics a while back and have been chomping at the bit to transform them into comfy cushions.

But to give you the background to this incredibly interesting (honestly it's not in the least bit boring unless you don't like soft furnishings) tale, I have to fill you in on an incredible piece of information.

In a rare (nay, unprecedented) episode this week, I actually managed to clear my  commission order book, which allowed me the unfamiliar sensation of actually getting ahead of the posse, workwise, for the first time in the history of ever.

I know.  I can't believe it either.

So to celebrate I decided to make cushion covers.  Some people would break open the champagne (I wish!) and celebrate with a wild party. I make cushion covers.  This gives you more insight into my psyche than just about anything else..... 

But I digress.

The nesting instinct also extends to our new, little woodburner, who has settled in very nicely and stopped smelling every time we light her.  (Yes, she's a she.  I imagine her as a fiery redhead in the style of the 40's film starlets.... a Ginger, or a Rita). 

She's quite pernickety about what she likes to burn.  Not too long, not at all damp.  She likes well-seasoned, dry wood, no more than a foot long.  She can be tricky to get going, but that's probably because we're not used to her ways yet.  PP favours elaborately folded paper 'spills' while I just go for a good quality broadsheet, scrunched up into a ball.

But I digress.

With autumn here, and winter just around the corner, in order to feed her appetite, we need to buy in some wood.  We've had dire warnings about burning the 'wrong sort of wood' so initially at least, we're going to try some kiln-dried logs off the internet.  

Inevitably the problem of storage then presents itself.  We can't just buy dry logs then leave them outside in all weathers.  So we have to have a log store (you can see here how one thing inevitably leads to 20 more). Having looked at them online we thought " Pshaw....we could do that!" and PP was tasked with designing, sourcing materials, and building a log store.

Who knew wood was soooo expensive!  

Plan B.... PP found a log store kit which comes complete with a full load of kiln-dried logs, plus kindling, plus firelighters, and free delivery.  Result!

So, today, while I've been making cushion covers, PP has been clearing an area in the garden for the log store, followed by re-felting our leaking shed roof.

Superior nesting skills or what?

Here's the results of my labour today, minus Small Dog who was summarily ejected from the sofa for the purposes of the photo.  She was not amused.

(And yes, I know the framed print behind isn't centred.  It's temporarily balanced on top of a radiator while we decide where to put it.  Rome wasn't built in a day..... sheesh!)