Modern Country Lady

A blog about art , craft and the countryside by the designer-artist Andrea Vonk of My Aunt Agatha

[myauntagatha]

My lovely friend Tanya sent me a whole box of presents when I was told I was ill as she had just moved abroad and couldn't be with me . Amongst them were lovely sachets smelling of roses - so I made a cover from one of the Sandersons fabric bits I had left for the bathroom. All small potatoes but I am thrilled I am back to doing things .#Sandersons #sachets #rose #rosescented #lifeisbetterwithfriends #grateful

[myauntagatha]

Thrilled I had the energy to run up these Sanderson 's curtains this afternoon for our small downstairs loo. Admittedly it now looks a bit like a 1980's pub loo but at least we 've got curtains 😜 #rainyday #Sandersons #vintage #curtains #interior #interiorinspiration #dog #labrador #CecilAlden

[myauntagatha]

Nothing like a bit of knitting on a rainy day .i was planning a long scarf with 2 kind of cables and a bobble stitch from this lovely "Vogue book of knitting stitches" but was making slow progress, so I've decided to make it into a hat instead and am knitting some kables to the side to have enough width for a head .#rain #rainyday #knitting #knit #cable #cableknit #Vogue #thisisEngland #thisisWiltshire

[myauntagatha]

My angelic mum in law came over today and helped me clean the living room , the last of the rooms I needed to tackle .Tomorrow is my second chemo treatment and I just wanted the house clean if I am going to be ill again for 10 days plus . I am not great at cleaning to be honest and can easily ignore a huge pigsty , cobwebs about 3 years old and a pile of newspapers dating back to 1985. But with this chemo thing you gotta be careful and need to avoid infections . So this might it might not be my last post for a while - or not . My blood test showed my blood count was not quite tight yet yesterday . They are very careful and then they send you away for a week. So keep your fingers crossed for me lovely people and hope to speak to you soon! #clean #cleanhouse #bucket #broom #pen #ink #illustration #TheWiltshireGazette

[myauntagatha]

What a lovely morning ! Enjoy your day whatever you're doing . #IndianSummer #sunlight #countryside #countryliving #thisisEngland #thisisWiltshire #dogs #dogsofinstagram #thedailyfluff

[myauntagatha]

Although I have got rid of quite a bit of hoarded furniture , I cannily have collected some more but not in my own house . I know this sounds like serious collecting problem .This Louis Quelquechose chair was waiting in my mum in laws house for me . I had bought it months ago and now that I have got some more space it has gone in the new bedroom . Maud has road tested the new chair and has pronounced it for for purpose . Shame about the hideous tapestry fabric that is on it but that can all be addressed at a later stage . #interior #interiorstyling #interiorinspiration #louisquelquechose #dogs #dogsofinstagram #pen #ink #illustration #TheWiltshireGazette

[myauntagatha]

Finally have the house empty of stuff everywhere and have hung up pictures that were still standing around. I decided against a mirror and have hung up this drawing of Jennie Jerome , Winston Churchill's mother , a famous beauty in her time , drawn by John Singer Sargent . This was the only thing Churchill had in his room in the bunker underneath Nr 10, did you know ? I have a bit of a Churchill thing going on ! This is a copy by the way that I did myself. #interior #interiorstyling #Churchill #JennieJerome #johnsingersargent

[myauntagatha]

I think this photograph sums me up completely . Slightly over the top painting ( ok admittedly I painted this 20 years ago and I have toned things down a bit ) , excessive cat love ( the basket was given to me by a lady at the dump who also gave me two plants - and since I out it in the house has become Thomasina 's favourite bed as it's almost as great as a cardboard box ) , love for broken furniture and inability to throw things away ( the ottoman is cunningly covered up with a blanket as it only has two legs as the part you can't see us supported by books for now , awaiting repair)! #interior #interiorinspiration #interiorstyling #art #ottoman

[myauntagatha]

Two small dogs considering the ascent of a bed with the help of a footstool. I think the slightly hang dog expression doesn't bode too well for this adventure . #dogs #dogsofinstagram #thedailyfluff #quiltedbedspread #quilting #quilt #oak #oakfloors #interior #interiorinspiration

[myauntagatha]

And here is an action shot of Maud coming in so you can compare her size to the bed . She has no chance getting on it apart from with a ladder . #dogs #dogsofinstagram #thedailyfluff #thedailykitten #interior #interiorinspiration #quilt #quilting #quiltedbedspread

[myauntagatha]

Our Mount Everest of a bed . Will be fun getting in. Take hot flask of tea and mountain guide just in case . #interior #interiorinspiration #quilt #quilting #quiltedbedspread #livefolk #livesimple #liveauthentic

[myauntagatha]

I am rather late as I have been faffing around . We have a new bed and it's a Mount Everest of a bed so high. I have to admit right here I am rubbish at buying beds . It looked ok in the shop but now it seems we need a step ladder to get in. I had put the dogs on it then got busy in the kitchen and forgot them . An hour later and they were still sitting there with a silly expression on their face as they didn't dare to jump off .o dear o dear . #dogs #dogsofinstagram #interior #interiorinspiration #quilt #quiltedbedspread #pen #ink #illustration #TheWiltshireGazette

[myauntagatha]

The new desk set up on the new bedroom has been inspected and approved by cat controller Tilda . So that saves us a lot of worry . #cat #catsofinstagram #thedailyfluff #thedailykitten #TheWiltshireGazette #pen #ink #illustration

[myauntagatha]

This is a corner in the new bedroom with the new floors - I decided to go for the plain oak floors and not the rug. It's really too dirty right now and very big- too big for the room. I had this writing desk in the garage for about a year but could not really access it because if all the other furniture. ! Yep not good . I will try to restrain myself from hoarding more furniture in future. #interior #interiorinspiration #interiordesign #louisquelquechose #antiquemirror

[myauntagatha]

I got these hand painted Delft plates plus the ginger jar and vases for my mum her big house years ago . When her house was finally sold last September this was all in one of the barns of the house and I thought it a shame to just leave it ( my mum really has the space now ). So it spent a year in my overcrowded garage . Now that I have finally got some access to everything I managed to unearth them and they are now in the new bedroom where I want to do the Chinoiserie wall- seemed appropriate I thought. #blueandwhitechina #gingerjar #oriental #Delftware #Chinoiserie

[myauntagatha]

This beautiful bunch of flowers was very sweetly given to me by Izzie and her young man .They moved the rest of the things today and have now moved in total 4 (! ) carloads of cupboards, chairs , crockery and curtains and antlers out of my garage .Amazing how much fitted in there - and it's still not really empty( honestly! )But I am thrilled to bits they have things they need and I have a bit more space !#floral #flowers #flowersofinstagram

[myauntagatha]

I am so thrilled . Izzie, a lovely girl whom I have known since she was seven ( and who is now grown up ) and her young man have bought a house together but were rather short of furniture. And my garage is full of lovely cupboards, plate racks, vintage crockery , curtains and all sorts that I find very hard to throw away. I am a bit of a hoarder I am afraid .So it was perfect timing . I get a tidy garage and they get ( practically. ) everything they need for their house . #house #houseclearing #interiorinspiration #interior #pen #ink #illustration #TheWiltshireGazette