ufff ... feeling exhausted

ok, so maybe I lied when I said there were 72 boxes .. actually there were 113 at the end. 113 .. how is that possible ? Anyway, the move itself went without a hitch. We apparently chose the worst possible day to do it, it was pouring rain last Friday which made everything much more difficult. But the moving company guys were great, and in the end nothing was missing or broken. So that was the easy part, because after they were gone we had to unpack each one of those 113 boxes. Which we did, by the way, with the help of my in-laws and two very good friends (thanks girls, my bookshelves have never looked so great :)

By Sunday evening I was feeling so exhausted that I literally collapsed on my bed. There's still tons of things to do, but these will be taken care of slowly ...
So yesterday I felt I deserved a small shopping treat and picked up these gorgeous mugs at IKEA. Aren't they lovely ? Not that I needed more mugs, I've discovered that I have enough to fill two kitchen shelves already, but these were just begging to come home with me.
 

red/white/blue

finished this special order last week, a baby quilt with matching bag and document holder. I love this color combo, very much inspired by this book and I so enjoyed putting it together. The quilt is backed with cream fleece, and the bag is reversible (just like this one). My quilting abilities have still a long way to go, and the document holder design was a last minute inspiration, but all in all I'm quite pleased with the results. More photos here.

On the moving side, we finally finished packing 72 boxes this weekend and our place resembles more like a warehouse right now, but I'm actually enjoying having everything so neatly stored away. We left only the essentials unpacked so actually for once in a long time I can immediately find whatever I'm looking for. It's amazing how many things we managed to accumulate these past 5 years (and how could so much stuff fit into such a tiny appartment). I did a sort of cleanup, but still ... 72 boxes seems like a lot.

I'll be taking a blogging break for a week or so, hopefully next time I post I can show you a few pictures of the new place.






 

♥ japanese lunchboxes

No wips to show today, so I thought I'd share with you some pictures that my friend J. forwarded to me. These are amazingly cute ... the Japanese sure know how to prepare their children's lunchboxes, don't you think ?







(T., this one is especially for you :)



Have a good wekend, everyone !

 

a wee shop update

yes, a small shop update, at last ! It occurred to me last night while I was packing a few more boxes that it would be nice if I didn't have to pack the finished items I already had for the shop ... so instead of making a big update sometime next month as I had planned, I've updated the shop with some of the quilted bags and embroidered pouches I've shown here before. Oh, and this small beige flower pouch too. The brown one was a recent order and I quite like the square format of these. I won't have any more shop updates for about a month or so, but I am planning to have some stuff for sale before Christmas. I'm antecipating a lot of work that needs to be done at the new place, and I'm also trying to finish a lot of much delayed orders (btw, if you've sent me an e-mail recently about your order and I haven't replied, don't worry because I didn't forget about it, it's just that it's hard to stay organised amidst such chaos). Hopefully when I get my own craft room this will seem like it has all been worth it (right now it is hard to see the end of these cardboard boxes ... )
 

shortlist

 I just saw that this year's Booker Prize winner was announced yesterday. Of the shortlist nominees I have only read Sarah Waters' "The night watch" (who apparently was the favourite but didn't win), which despite being quite different from her previous novels (the twist of not having a twist, as my friend T. said) is still quite a good read. I must confess that I don't know any of the other authors, and I'm wondering if the rest of the books are actually that good, so if you've read any of them just let me know what you thought.

BOOKER SHORTLIST
Sarah Waters - The Night Watch
Kiran Desai - The Inheritance of Loss
Edward St Aubyn - Mother's Milk
Kate Greenville - The Secret River
M J Hyland - Carry Me Down
Hisham Matar - In the Country of Men

By the way, I'd like to thank whoever left me a comment here recommending the Nicole Krauss book. I'm halfway into the story and so far I'm quite enjoying it.

mail treats

Thanks to all who sent me moving tips, I really do appreciate them. I never imagined that we owned so much stuff, so a major cleanup is definitely in order. We've been packing like crazy this past week, but we're nowhere near the end yet, so if you don't hear from me for a few days it's because I collapsed under all those boxes :P

On another note, I've been receiving more great mail lately that I'd like to share with you.

Didine sent me these lovely stamped linen fabrics a while back. She used her own rubber stamps and some fabric inkpads and the result is just amazing. I already have plans for these pieces, and I'm eager to start stamping my own fabrics, so I'll let you know how that goes in a few weeks.



I received my red & aqua swap package a couple of weeks ago, and I must say it's one of the most fabulous packages I've ever got. Anthea must be a mind reader because everything she sent me is just perfect and *so* me. Just look at this:

* hand screened fabric*



* australia fridge magnet and thick felt coasters - I think I'll never have the courage to use them as such, but instead they have endless crafting possibilities don't you think ? *
* felt wool, a lovely belt, paper scraps, candles and beads *



* vintage beaded flowers, cute earrings and a hat pin *
* and look, pins that spell my name, is that cute or what ? I just love it *



And my latest Gimme Your Stuff swap has arrived. Teresa sent me a huge box full of great items (fabrics, yarns, incense, candies, spices, jam, tea, trims ... everything to make a girl happy), including this cute hand knitted bear, a *sweet* rubber stamp and this lovely handspun yarn (it's begging to be turned into a hat, I think). Thanks Teresa, I loved swapping with you :)



 

wip monday

my current work in progress ...
(by the way, if anyone has any good advice about house moving - things we shouldn't forget, etc. - please let me know)



and another small wip (I'm sure you can guess what this will be)


 

cats in drawers

 

chocolate à chuva

A lot of people have asked me before about the name of this blog, and what does it mean... The reason is very simple, actually. It's the title of a book, one of my *all-time* favourite books, as it happens. It's a children's book, to be more precise, by Portuguese author Alice Vieira, and the last volume of a trilogy. I've read most of her books, and I like them so much that I re-read them very often, but this one is still my absolute favourite since I was about 12. It translates into "chocolate in the rain", which I guess it doesn't make any sense, unless you've read the book, then in which case you know exactly what's it all about (and if you haven't read this yet, grab yourself a large cup of tea and read the 3 books all at once. You won't regret it, I promise)

These quilted bags have been finished for a week now, but I've just been too lazy to photograph them well. And the fact that our appartment looks like sort of a warehouse right now, with all the packing going on really doesn't help with the crafty part. But anyway, these were finished and I like them so much that I'll probably make a few more throughout this winter. Just can't get enough of the patchwork lately. I'm keeping the blue and brown one but the other two will be up for sale soon (I know, shop updates have been irregular to say the least, but I'm trying, I really am). And now, gotta go and pack a few more books ...




 

feira da luz (parte II)

more shopping from the fair ... couldn't resist these hand painted dishes (as it happens, with some of my favourite herbs)



more bowls (this time, orange and blue)



and although we don't have the luck to have thrift stores around here where to find bargain vintage fabrics, I did find these at the fair from a lady who was selling cheap bedsheets. The red one is a duvet cover which I'm still trying to decide wether to cut it or not, and the rest I think will be perfect as summer dresses next year(the light blue linen one especially).



 

weekend walk

Cabo da Roca








Praia do Guincho




more photos here