Caravan Love Affair

If you've been visiting me here in the Attic for any length of time, you will no doubt be familiar with my Caravan Love Affair. It's almost four years since Connievan became part of our family, and gosh what a huge amount of pleasure she has given us in those years. I can still so clearly remember the tremendous excitement of discovering her, viewing her, then very quickly agreeing there and then on the spot to welcome her into our family. That very first trip away in her, oh the sheer joy of it! Yes, I remember it all so well.

Four years on, and my love affair feels like it is stronger than ever. The older the Little People become, the more important it feels to make the most of family time spent all together. Little Man will turn 12 this summer, and I see his true childhood beginning to slowly ebb away now. He is maturing and changing so rapidly, I look at him these days, as tall as me, and get a glimpse of the very fine young man he is becoming. I don't know how much longer he will wish to squish into a caravan and share a bed with his little brother, how much longer we can hope for such simple harmonious holidays to fit with our growing family. But I am clinging to the thought that it is still possible, for this year at least. Owning a caravan makes it possible for the five of us to pack a few bags and head off to the coast to spend time together, and I love it so, so much for that.

Last year, towards the very end of the summer I was sent this book to read and review. Vantastic was released in Australia at the start of their Spring, but of course that was the start of our Autumn here in the UK. I was feeling a little melancholy with our 'vanning season almost at an end for another year and it didn't feel quite right to chat about planning caravan adventures back then. But now....well now Spring is here and once again I can feel the uprising of excitement as we begin to plan where Connievan will take us this year.

Putting it mildly, this book is Utterly Divine. It is written by Kate Ulman, author of the wonderful blog Fox's Lane. Kate and her young family took six months away from their organic farm in Australia to go on a travelling adventure in a vintage caravan. Kate blogged all about their amazing trip and the book then followed. You can see some photographs of their caravan here, Kate did such an amazing job making it beautiful.

Vantastic is a mixture of travelogue, practical advice, recipes and crafting projects accompanied by a delicious selection of photographs and friendly, engaging writing.

The styling of the book is just wonderful, it feels as if you are holding a precious gift in your hands and every page turn is a pleasure.

Kate crochet's and sews, crafts with her children and crafts to fulfill her own creative needs. Her passion for all things handmade shines out of the pages and every time I dip into this book I feel inspired to get busy making and creating.

Although Vantastic is essentially a book about caravanning, it is also very much more. It is about enjoying the simple pleasures in life, making sure to value time spent with family, relishing the freedom of living, eating, playing and exploring the great outdoors, making memories and having fun times. It encourages you to cook well, be creative, live life to the full, enjoy nature and spend time with loved ones. For all those reasons it has touched my heart and is a book that I have read and re-read many times already. You can find Vantastic on UK Amazon and Amazon US , it is a lovely, inspiring book for sure. 

Now while we are merrily on the subject of all things Caravan, I would love to share something else with you. Exactly two years ago (yes exactly, to the very day, my life is so freakily rhythmic it scares me a little)...two years ago I shared the story of the above artwork, made by my very talented friend Caroline Rose, do you remember it? You can read all about it in my post from 26th March 2012, it is a sweet little story of like minds (and hearts) meeting and creating something rather gorgeous. Well Caroline did the creating of course with her very clever fingers, but I feel as if my heart is definitely entwined in that picture.

Well look now, there is a new cutesome little caravan on the block, a dinky little red number this time, isn't it lovely? Let me tell you, this isn't just a box with a pretty sticker on it. No, no. We have to look inside the box to see what treat is in store.......................

.....it's a most beautiful, shiny, colourful mug! Swoon!!!!!!!!!!!

Caroline has been working on some really beautiful new mug designs during the past few months, and my heart truly skipped a beat when I caught sight of this work in progress. First there were flowers, then there were stripes, and then a caravan? Really? A red caravan?

I couldn't wait to see it finished, I felt genuinely excited as I waited along with Caroline and many of her fans to see how this mug idea would turn out.

As it happens, it turned out really pretty great indeed, and all four mugs are just beautiful don't you think?

The image for each of the mugs is long and thin and wraps itself nicely around the mug. It is just such a nifty idea and as with everything that Caroline does, very beautifully executed and presented. She has also made fine art prints for each design so that you can see it all laid out, oh I just love that little caravan so much! I bought myself the caravan mug as soon as it landed in Caroline's shop, and I have been very happily slurping my morning coffee out of it ever since. I absolutely love it.

You can find these beautiful mugs and prints for sale in Caroline's Etsy shop, should you wish to treat yourself to some colourful handmade goodness.

I still have unfulfilled prettifying plans for Connievan, and I still regularly drool and sigh my way through Pinterest images of vintage 'vans and trailers when I feel the need for a little inspiration. You can have a little look at my Caravan Dreams board if you like, there is lots to love in the world of pretty caravans (above image source here)

I am a little ashamed to say that I still have one pair of curtains left to make for Connievan. I had some trouble with my old Bernina sewing machine which scuppered my sewing plans two summers ago you see. She began to protest and stitch badly, and then refused to do any more bobbin winding, so after the cushions were made, I ended up packing her away and no more sewing got done.

 

Today, after spending rather a lot of time daydreaming about caravans and feeling rather elated to be heading into Springtime, I took the plunge and arranged for my beloved Bernina to go away to a specialist repair place. She is forty-five years old you see, and needs a clever bod who knows how to tinker carefully with her old mechanisms. I am ridiculously excited about doing stitchy fabricky things again after an unexpectedly long two year break. I'm going to finish stitching my curtains! And I'm going to make patchwork curtain pelmets to hang above my curtains!!

Yippeeeeee for creative caravanning!!!

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edit to add :: just wanted to mention that this is not a Sponsored Post. I would always say if I was being paid in any way to review products or give links to products.

I was sent the book Vantastic by the publishers on Kate's request, but offered to write about it voluntarily as I was already a huge fan of Fox's Lane blog and had followed both Kate's caravan and book writing journey. Caroline Rose has become a good online friend in the years since I first discovered her work, and I have bought several pictures from her that I love, the mug too.

I wanted to share Kate's lovely book and Carolines amazing work with you just cos I love them both very much and thought it would be nice to bring some lovely creative caravanny-colour to my blog today! However, I am a participant in the Amazon Associates programme and do earn a small commission if you follow my links and make any purchases via Amazon. I think I should write this into my sidebar so that it's clear what I am doing? Yes, I will do that :)

♥...more Connievan snippets from the Attic...♥

Tales from Connievan :: a New Chapter

Tales from Connievan :: Late Summer

Tales from Connievan :: Blackpool

Tales from Connievan :: Summer Loving

Caravan Stuff (again)

Caravan Dreams

Comments

[Will Hawkins]

I absolutely love your book about caravanning and all your creativity. It's so good to see how much being in your van with your family means.

I'll be keeping up to date with your blog and further adventures.

[Bryan Flake]

That second photo from the top is a really cool artistic rendering of a caravan. These caravans are reminiscent of times gone by. They just scream forties and fifties era of travel. They make me feel a sense of nostalgia for my childhood.
http://www.thecaravancompany.com.au

[Joshua Wagstaff]

Thanks for sharing of this Design Ideas, a very organized approach you have!

[Emily]

I saw this today (on a new-to-me blog) and thought of you Lucy!
http://by-ilona.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/de-make-over-van-een-kist-naar.html

[Simone]

I want a caravan too...:)!

[Kim W]

Hmm. Seems my last comment got deleted. I hope I did not offend you. Love your blog as always.

[Wendy]

I think it's great if you can earn a bit of money from all the tireless blogging you do. You always give your patterns freely and just ask us to enjoy them. My little boy is also turning 12 this July. It is an exciting time but he is quickly turning into a man.

[Anne Holt]

Caravanned nearly all my 60 years, nothing better. Ours children still come away at Spring bank and they range from 22 to 30. They sleep in tents and did from being quite young - 8 or 9 maybe. You would enjoy The Happy Caravan blogspot or find on facebook. Lots of like minded people who buy old vans and reovate them, lots of pics too. Just as a postscript we have our van booked in at a familiar site to you, near Arncliffe for the Tour d'France and at Bolton Abbey for Yarndale.

[Catherine Maudsley]

Hi Lucy love the posts. We have just delivered our 'Connievan' to its little holiday home near Whitby Abbey for the season. Are you not leaving it on your lovely site this year, have you got the wanderlust for this year? I am officially redundant tomorrow so we will be using the caravan a lot this year. Here's to Whitby long summer days!.................

[Josie]

What a stunning book and mug, thanks for sharing both of them!

[Dorothy Grifffiths]

Lovely Lucy sorry I have not commented so much but life is hard at the moment. I loved this post as the colours are just divine on all your photographs. I adore caravans and always wanted one of my own so I envy you having your darling one. Have a fabulous week Lucy and I am hoping to return to another workshop soon. Sending you big hugs and loves
Dorothy
:-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[LISA SMITH]

Lucy,my oldest son is 16-and wouldn't miss our caravan holidays for the world!He loves just chilling,forgetting about school (and exams at the moment),kicking back and just spending time with us.He even says that when he learns to drive,he'll still come with us,but will drive himself there!If the weather is ok,he uses a pup tent next to the caravan.My nan and grandad had a caravan and my best holiday memories are of our holidays in it.Enjoy!

[Birgitta]

When I first found your blog a few years ago the very first post that I read was of one of your Connievan trips and I just fell in love with the idea of connievaning. You made the inside so fresh and colorful and lets not even get started on the peter rabbit curtains! So very sweet. I adore your blog and your bold and fearless color choices. I think that if it wasnt for your blog then I would have never given caution to the wind and started making things that I like in the colors that truly make me happy. So thank you for that. You really are a crochet inspiration!

Hugs, Birgitta

[Jill]

Hi Lucy, you are really making me want a caravan now!
So many lovely pictures. I've been reading your blog on and off for about a year now, and you've inspired me to start my own. It's at http://emeraldcottage.blogspot.co.uk/ and I'd be thrilled if you or any of your followers popped over for a little look :)

[Lizy tish]

You totally make me want to go caravanning!! I love that picture and the mug. Just such a cute picture with pretty colors. One not need a caravan to want one of those mugs!

[janjan]

Your connievan post has brought back some fab memories of childhood caravan holidays to Cornwall in the '70s. I was in North Wales last year and stopped off at a craft fair in Hawarden, where a lovely young lady was selling vintage fabrics and makes from her caravan. She uses it as a mobile studio, machine and all. She'd towed it there on the back of her old mini!

[Claire]

Lovely colourful post and a super-looking book. I wanted to say that I appreciate you deciding to make your association with Amazon clear. Like you, I live in a small market town, but I would always prefer to support my local independent book shop rather than buying through Amazon. Naturally there are other people who don't have that option, so for them Amazon is perhaps the only or best option.

[Silly Little Sheep]

Lovely post. Your little man will be borrowing the caravan to go on trips with his friends in a few years time ;-)

[Darlene]

Such a nice post and so pretty, too!

[Ada Bea]

It's a great book isn't it.....I look at it and dream! I love your little caravan. Please let me have an address so I can send you a little something that would look lovely in her! :) x

[Steph]

If its caravan literature you're talking about my favourite has to be 'My Hippopotamus is on Our Caravan Roof Getting Sunburnt' by Hazel Edwards - very cute! http://www.hazeledwards.com/page/my_hippopotamus_is_our_caravan_roof_getting_sunburnt.html I share your enthusiasm, there's nothing like living half-inside half-out, snuggling up with a woolly blanket if its chilly. *sigh*

[Angi Houtz]

As usual…totally inspired and cheered. Thanks so much for sharing. And I love. the. mug. Total cuteness. Thanks for making a rainy day beautiful and cheery. You continue to be a bright spot in my day.

[Jane]

Lovely post , thank you Lucy. I don't think anyone would think for a minute that you were less than authentic with your recommendations. Actually I would be quite happy if they paid you loads, after all you give so many tutorials etc for free.
Those mugs are so sweet but I can't buy them because they are hideously thick. Bone china is way less heavy, stronger and more chip resistant and soooo much nicer to drink from. Can you perhaps give your artist friend a nudge to consider a bone china range ? From bossy in Oz.

[Kokopelli]

I grew up caravaning. We had two Caravans so far and four years ago welcomed an RV into the family. Until today my parents, my brother and SIL with their kids and me and BF are still caravan lovers and spend holidays in caravan and RV (although we don't fit in all at the same time ;)). Such a great way of travelling!
Thanks for sharing all these inspirations!

[Carolyn]

Love your honesty Lucy. I am glad that you are getting your old Bernina serviced. I inherited a 1960's Elna from my mother-in-law, despite never being able to sew. Eventually I had it serviced (which wasn't cheap) and then proceeded to teach myself to sew. It gives me such a wonderful feeling to sit down at that old machine that now runs so beautifully and think of all the magnificent things my very talented m-i-l created on it. I am very much a beginner still. I don't think a new machine would ever do it for me now.