Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Raggedy days

Good afternoon dear friends & readers & welcome to my new followers


It is so lovely to have you stop by for a visit  . . .  thanks so very much  :-)

When my friend Claire owned her gorgeous little patchwork Shop in Hawera one of the very first patterns I purchased from her was a Sun Valley Primitives design called "Raggedy Angel"
Claire also sold the rather large corrugated iron wings that were used in the pattern

I eventually made the angel up & she used to hang just outside my entry door greeting people & generally hanging away there quite happily - I found an old grainy photo of her back then ...

The entry door to the left is no longer there as we removed it when we altered our kitchen

As you can imagine, being dressed in red, after hanging out there for a few summers, the red fabric had faded to a shabby pink & she was most tatty & neglected looking.  
She was relegated to the back of a cupboard for a year or two ...

Recently I found her body & the wings & decided to give her a new lease of life



I mixed up a spray bottle containing 3 teaspoons parisian essence & 200 ml white vinegar & liberally sprayed over all the faded calico parts that would show


She got to lie out in the sun on a large fluffy towel to dry, & I can assure you, she was not mistreated in any way.

Oh yes this is the life .... lying here in the warm sunshine ... starkers !!!!!


I showed you a sneaky peek last post of the new dress under construction ... the design is quite like stitching a penny rug with all the felt pieces making up the "tree" design


Today I completed her & hung her on my dining room wall although she is not going to stay here - I just havent found quite the "right home" for her yet



I had planned to redo her hair (which is thick jute string that I originally hand dyed) but my good friend Leeanne suggested I leave it as it is - all sort of scraggy looking


I just love the mottled effect on the corrugated iron wings

I kept the original star that she is clutching, but covered the centre felt stars with masking tape & gave the calico a good spray with my parisian essence mixture 

I like to hang my dolls on the wall for a few days & walk past them to decide if I need to embellish them any more or change anything ... already I have decided she needs some brown cheek blusher & some red berries tucked into her star, hmmm ... perhaps a rusty button at her neck .... ??? . . .

This past week I had my last group booking - a Rural Womens Group bought their lunch to the garden & ate in the shade of the trees & had their meeting 





The doves very much enjoyed the additional company to the garden but made the meeting a little difficult with their loud noises & deciding to swoop in & out every now & then - they are becoming very settled & at home now


My friend Jan thought they were ornaments when she walked up the steps last week & got such a shock when one turned its head !!!!!!



As they tend to stand either in their food dish or on the edge & kept tipping the dish over ...  I notice The Mr has given them one of my vintage enamel plates to eat out of ...
just about to climb into the food bowl !!!   notice how the bits we dont like get tossed out !!!
Along with my last group booking I also completed my very last order this past week . . .  Sandra had ordered 3 large sized cushions from me to go on the back of a sofa bed in her sleepout - she requested that they be approx 25 x 25 inches, in wool blanketing & a pale blue colour scheme



I decided to make up a patchwork effect using a variety of blue blankets I had in my stash - these cushions turned out huge & took a mountain of stuffing ... but Sandra was delighted with them



Her main concern was how to sneak them in without her husband noticing ... I couldn't offer any suggestions but I wished her lots of luck  :-)

Having no more group bookings or orders is actually a first for me ... I have never been in this position before & thought I would feel rather concerned ... but I actually feel quite calm about it ... perhaps this will give me some time to really enjoy being creative for a change ??





I made up a few more sets of scented Spice Mats from my kiwiana fabrics as there were no more left in the Cottage ... these always tick along as they are a great gift for sending overseas.


You may recall two posts back when I mentioned my vintage cane shopping trundler ... a trademe purchase ... how I hadn't yet decided what to do with it   :-)
Well it was a post comment from dear  Shane that got me thinking ...
 & so I filled it with my dried hydrangeas & sat it on a sheltered area of my outside deck - I love the combination of blues & the different pastel shades
 
Thanks so much Shane for the inspiration

Although things here are rapidly turning brown & crisp I took some snaps of my wheelbarrow which is still flowering away happily - I water it each night & the begonias & lobellia are still thriving




Thanks so much to you all dear friends & readers for stopping by 
 I shall be back at the end of the week with the draw for my angel - best of luck to all those that have already entered - there is still time if anyone else would like to pop their name in the giveaway -
here are the post details for you to enter

Hoping you have a lovely week ahead,
much love & friendship to you all,
Julie x0x0x0x




21 comments:

  1. Great post Julie. I love your angel and the cushions you made. You sure have been very busy. Your wheelbarrow looks wonderful. You are lucky it is still looking so spectacular. My displays have succumbed after a week of humid drizzly weather.

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  2. Oh how I love coming by for a visit. Your Angel looks wonderful!!! Gee I wish I could get a makeover like that. Lo!! Enjoy your breather, I am sure your creative Angel just needs time to catch up to you.

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  3. Your angel looks gorgeous now, I love the tree on her skirt! Again lovely pillows an the dried hydrangeas look so good in that shop wagon (I don't know the right word, sorry).
    Love, Cisca

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    1. Hi Cisca, thank you :-) Yes I love the penny rug style tree on her dress also. The shop wagon is called a cane shopping trundler :-) Thanks for stopping by x0x

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  4. Your Angel will be well pleased with her makeover - I bet she is glad to be out of the cupboard!! The hydrangeas look good in the trundler, I must move my plants, they always get sunburnt and I lose so many potential arrangements!!! Love your other crafty items too - it will be nice to have a break from deadlines - I'm sure the creative juices will flow and you will be just as busy as you are now!!

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  5. i hope i haven't left two replies now - i'm having a bit of trouble!!!! this post has made me want to book myself in for a makeover please!!!!! i could do with a quiet few days of lying in the sun with someone to fuss over me!!!! seriously though your angel is lovely - as is your shopping basket and lovely cushions - i have been looking for similar blankets in the charity shops but no luck so far!!!! i so much prefer the pastel shades to the red tartan we seem to have here in abundance - i hope you enjoy your quiet time - make the most of it - i'm sure you won't be quiet for long and that more orders will come flooding in!!! take care xx

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    1. Hello Lynne, No only 1 reply, glad that happens to you sometimes & not just me :-)
      Yes wouldnt it be easy if we could all get makeovers that easily ... I quite fancy lying in the sun on a big fluffy towel myself - not sure about the starkers though !!!! The blankets over here are becoming quite sought after & expensive now that they are popular again. Happy week to you Lynne, x0x

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  6. Your blanket cushions are the best...have you thought about starting an online shop? I'm sure your style would sell well. Anyway, have a well earned break...just off to dunk my head in some parisian essence! xx

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    1. Thankyou Ethel ... I actually have been thinking lately about a selling blog that I could perhaps link to my usual blog. I notice a few bloggers that I follow do this. Hmmm its a good thought ... figuring out the computer technology to do this scares me a little :-) Happy week E.E. - dont over indulge in the parisian essence though :-)

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  7. Oh I laughed at seeing Raggy Molly (she looks like a Molly to me) ,she looks like she is having a great time sunbathing! Does she not know that white skin is the new tanned skin? I hope you can't find the right home for her in your house, because I know she would look amazing at my house! Tan & all!
    Hey the cushions turned out fabulous. I'm sure the groups & orders will flow again my friend, you just need a bit of time to refuel your creative juices.....although they don't seem to run out with you :-)

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  8. vintage angel is lovely and rustic, I think she would look great with some blusher but I like her hair messy. Everything looks very welcoming at your place. Cushions are pretty too. I have a little bit of gardeners envy over your wheelbarrow display. Blessings to you, enjoy your garden - you work so hard - Betty

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  9. Hello dear Julie, now first of all...do tell...what is Parisian essence, in actual fact? Obviously particularly useful stuff! Well you sure wouldn't want another crowd turning up on that sunny back porch of yours if you were starkers...you might have to hide behind that pretty shopping trundler in a hurry. Looks great with the hydrangeas in it, by the way. I'm with Leanne on leaving the hair as it is...looks fab & bright & cheery. What a lot of clever work on the detail on Molly's dress..wonderful effect. Blog sales would be a great idea. You could just keep it nice & simple & update quite often so that it stayed in your control & according to output etc. Remember you're fabulously clever now....you can do anything!! Much love for a happy, restful ; ) week. Catherine x0x0x0x

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  10. Oh my! You've made another really sweet doll. I love the pretty colors in this one and her cute hairdo! I'm loving your blog, too! We love many of the same things! Hugs!

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  11. Hello dear Julie
    The raggedy angel is a darling - I'm so glad you've rescued her from the back of the cupboard!!
    The WDFF must love having a meeting in your garden and I think it's hilarious how the doves wanted to have their say too!
    Those are my favourite cushions - the patchwork design is stunning and such beautiful soft blankets.
    I smiled when I saw the blue hydrangeas in the cane trundler - they look stunning!
    Enjoy the rest of your week J!
    Hugs
    Shane

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  12. I love the pale blue pillows! Your scented spice mats are so cute too!

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  13. Nude sun bathing!-shameful!! I loved it, if only I was that brave! Pillows look fab, but the hydrangeas in the basket are gorgeous! love it!! I also brought iron wings from Claire, actually two, and have been thinking about redoing my doll, actually starting again! Very inspiring post!
    Michelle

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  14. Hello Julie, Raggedy Angel looks very nice with her new dress. I'm sure she enjoyed relaxing in the sun! Autumn now seems to be in the air. Love the blue check cushions. Your vintage shopping trundler looks great with dried hydrangeas.

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  15. The doves look like they have found a new home. Nice to look at, but they can be very messy.

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  16. Hi Julie,
    Gosh I loved having a visit at your blog!!! Such lovely photo's and I had to laugh
    about the birds. I was wondering if they were real or not when I saw these pics.
    Love the story of the Raggedy doll, I'm glad she's all restored now. Gorgeous
    wheel barrow full of flowers, I have one in my garden but it's not glorious like
    yours. Thanks for sharing.
    Cheers, Anita.

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  17. Oh Julie, I am in LOVE with your garden!!! I wish my wheelbarrow looked like that... sadly everything burnt to a crisp down here in Melbourne, but I plan to re-pot and seed with some fresh blooms for Autumn. I adore your cane shopping basket, and dried hydrangeas are my most favourite thing! I planted two this year but didn't yield enough flowers to cut them... maybe next year when they grow a bit more?! I have enjoyed reading through your blog! Your photos are lovely, your writing style is gentle and friendly, and your creations are delightful! Big hugs! Vikki so

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Hello, & thank you for taking the time to comment on my posts - I read and appreciate each and every one of your comments :-)
I always prefer to reply to your comments by email unless you are a no-reply-blogger in which case I will reply to your comments in this section here. Thanks so much for stopping by to read & comment on my blog x0x