Friday, September 11, 2015

Painting, Planting, Stitching, Knitting

End of the Week Greetings dear friends & readers,
There I was last week ... under the house ... ferreting around like a rat down a drain pipe
I remembered that I had stashed some wood there last winter & as our wood supply is looking rather desperate, hence my "ratting around" under the house


Though I was not greatly successful on the wood-finding front, I did come across 4 old tin watering cans.
I completely forgot to photograph the other 3 before I gave them a make-over, but they all looked alot like the one above ... dirty, damp, cobwebby & unloved.

After a good scrub & drying off, I was keen to paint them up using my stash of test pot colours
Amulet first - of course    :-)
I hadn't intended to plant them, but once painted I decided this was a good idea as I hoped to offer them for sale at the Cottage
The Amulet one got some white petunias popped into it . . .

.  .  .  as did the Hot Chilli one, which matches the kettle I painted & planted in my last post

Lastly this watering can is not vintage, but I still felt it could benefit from a coat (or two) of paint

This one got the "escape" colour treatment & planted with lovely dainty Catmint, whose lavender coloured flowers will look gorgeous against the blue of the can.
I plan to keep them sheltered til the plants get established & by then the Garden Groups will be due to visit (I hope!!)


Way back 9 months ago Jenny first offered her The Vintage Kitchen Block of the Month stitch-a-long
(which is still free to download on Jenny's blog elephantz)
Although I was tempted I did not take part, due to having no room whatsoever in my kitchen to hang this lovely piece
However, about 5 months into the stitch-a-long I had a change of heart.
Every month when Jenny would release a new block I would be drooling .... 
I loved it so much, so I decided to take part

 My kitchen is a small galley style, with cupboards covering most of my walls & french doors at one end, so I have very limited wall space
At the end, as the kitchen runs into my dining area, I have a large iron stand housing (some) of my vintage enamel collection
I decided the wallhanging would just fit above this stand.


I would like to say that I quickly caught up with the months I was behind on, but truth be told, I struggled right to the last month & almost gave up,
Although Jenny has done hers using a white & bright red colour theme, I decided to try to use what I had on hand.
 I chose to do my stitcheries using DMC 221, a darkish turkey red stitched onto a dull cream background.
However, when I was finished & ready to put it all together, I pulled out my stash of red fabrics (yes there are rather a lot) but not one single one that would go.
Off to town I trot with a plan to buy some red & a nice deep mustard to go with it .  .  .
.  .  . this is what I came home with .  .  .

The red fabric is by Lynette Anderson & the other 2 are designed by Kristel Salgarollo from her Betty Blue collection.  I hoped the greyish blue would tone nicely with my enamel collection


As I didn't have a novelty print for the top & bottom panels as Jenny has used, I chose to add a heart appliqued in the red.
Also I changed the wording in the centre block to "My Vintage Kitchen".
I am really thrilled with my wallhanging .... it is not very often I make something for my own home & it has bought me lots of enjoyment.
Thank You dear Jenny for sharing this wonderful block of the month with us all.


My Mum has always been the most beautiful knitter all of my life.
She is now 86 & has macular degeneration of her eyesight ... her knitting days are numbered.
Up until about a year ago this large enamel baby's bath sat in my Cottage filled with Mums knitted boy & girl gollies.
They sold out like hotcakes -  to all ages of customers.
Mum now struggles to knit the black wool & especially the hair which is looped over your finger as you knit.
I offered to put the hair on myself using fur ... so this is how the gollies arrive now in the post .  .  .
.  .  . minus hair, faces, & skirts for the girls.


But they still turn out just fine once I add these little touches . . .


This little girl above was an order ... for a 90 year old lady!!!
I am trying to encourage Mum to keep knitting to keep both her hands & her mind occupied.

Thank You to all of you who have entered & taken part in my Spring Angel Giveaway 
The Giveaway runs until the end of September so there is still plenty of time if you would like to enter
Just go to this post here to enter in the comments section.
I will leave you with these pics I snapped of Miss Pippi this morning ... 
... her favourite pastime of late - hunting the Doves !!!
May you all have a wonderful weekend filled with activities & people you enjoy,
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Blackie & Pippi Longstocking
x0x0x0



27 comments:

  1. Your vintage wallhanging is beautiful with lovely fabrics. What a wonderful array of watering cans, they will look lovely when they are in flower.Love your gollies and don't you just love your Mum. Shirley

    ReplyDelete
  2. gorgeous stitchery for your kitchen/dinning area! I love your personalised touches, it looks great hanging up your enamel collection. The watering can collection sure look better for your make overs. I hope Miss Pippi doesn't actually catch one of those Doves! I hope you have managed to keep the home fires burning as it is chilly here in Northland so it must be cold in Julieland!

    ReplyDelete
  3. P.s I meant to say I hope your Mum does keep up with the knitting, as you say, keeping her mind and hands active is a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. As soon as l saw the first photo of the watering can...
    l thought..'Hello! another make over'. And, sure enough,
    all done and looking lovely....Love bright colours....! :).
    One in particular of course!!!

    And..I do love that Vintage Kitchen wall hanging....That
    is really nice. I can see that hanging in my kitchen.
    Though it would have to be 'pink' of course! Bubble~Gum
    Pink! :). HeHe!

    Oh! And l have fallen Heels~Over~Head with the Jolly Gollies!
    And 86 of them.....Heaven!
    It's the first dolly l had as a child, and still have it. I do love
    'Golly~Wogs' as they used to be called...And, l still call them
    that! Old habits and ALL that!

    HeHe! Miss Pippi hunting Doves...Has she caught one yet,
    they do look nice and plump! Won't be to long before she'll
    be able to climb that Dove cot....Look out you Doves! Bless!x

    Well..Nearly seven over here...Time for a second lemon tea...
    Sun's peeping through, it's gonna be a lovely day...Though rain
    for the weekend!
    BIG X for Blackie! BIG X for Pippi.....Bless!x
    HeHe! Keep at it Pippi...Doves are nice...Once you get the feathers
    of....! :>).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pippi the attack cat! Ha... Love the new fur hair dos for the Gollys. A number of older ladies at Grandma's church still knit - often for premies at Middlemore and also for little cats and puppies at the SPCA. My Mum was a great knitter too - I miss that. Love all the revamped watercans- especially all planted up like that. And I love how you have made Jenny's vintage kitchen sampler - love the colours!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a lovely post Julie! I love the look of the painted and planted watering cans and kettles. And I love the Vintage Kitchen stitchery in it's home in your dining room, it's gorgeous and reminds me I have only completed a couple of the blocks!! Your mum's gollies are so cute, my mum got macular degeneration too and struggled to knit at the end, so nice that your mum is continuing. Little Pippi is a very cute hunter, hope you have a wonderful weekend, Wendy xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. How I have missed your posts...just lovely. Your wall hanging is beautiful and what a perfect home for it xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow...you seem to have oodles of visitors all year round. It must be lovely to wander around your garden and soak it all in. I'm thinking if I was visiting your little corner of the world I would have to sneak in and have a bo peep at your kitchen. It looks gorgeous. Love, love, love the stand with all the vintage enamelware hanging from it, though you might have to frisk me on the way out. I love your pretty kitchen wall hanging. The fabrics you found perfectly complement your lovely stitching. How sad that your mum is now having trouble knitting. Her gollies are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful stitching work Julie! And I love your painted cans. I'm totally in love with that kettle! Coming over from dear Shane's blog :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Wen ... Welcome & thanks for visiting from Shanes blog. Yes the kettle turned out great - I never seem to tire of that gorgeous red colouring. Happy Weekend to you Wen. x x x

      Delete
  10. I love your new stitchery wallhanging. You got it just right with the colours too. So sorry to hear of your Mum's plight with the macular degeneration. It's good that you're encouraging her to continue with her knitting though. I love all of your enamelware. Reminds me of my Nanas' kitchens! Great weekend to you Julie. Lovely to see you over at mine. Thank you Julie. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow I love the new kitchen wall hanging! I like yours more than the pattern! I love Pippi in the garden, it is so funny to watch them hunt well play! and the watering cans are going to look gorgeous when the plants become established. Hope you are having warmer weather than us-I milked in the snow yesterday!! Have a great weekend, Michelle.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Julie. long time no speak, I really have been pretty slack on blog reading lately. Now Spring is upon us I might get out of my Winter funk and stay on top of things. I love that wall hanging and it looks perfect hanging there. I've bookmarked the page so might have to check it out properly. Love teh watering cans and kettles, I have some of those sitting around somewhere awaiting inspiration, now you've given me some. Hope you're well, I'm off to read the other posts I've missed. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hiya Sue, thanks for all the comments you have left me on previous posts. Jennys wallhanging is going to be free to download til the end of the year on her blog. I am so pleased I persevered & made it, I love it. You will have to paint your kettles & watering cans up - I think Resene have half price on their testpots at present :-) Have a great weekend Sue x x x

      Delete
  13. Julie, what a blessing it has been for you sweet mama to use her talents to create, and even though it is you attaching the hair these days, she is still creating. I will be praying she continues to work with her hands a bit longer and find great satisfaction in doing so. Is it possible she could knit 'new' dolls in lighter colours that are easier for her eyes?
    LOVE your version of My Vintage Kitchen - and I mean that with every ounce of my being. It's so perfect. I fell in love with Kristel's Betty Blue fabric and have been googling to find some to no avail. It's lovely indeed.
    Bless you my dear friend. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. That wall hanging looks perfect where you have hung it. I love your kitchen by the way, and all the goodies that get produced in it!! Pippi is so cute with her dove hunting, those photos did make me laugh.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm so pleased Willie reminded me about your latest post - I loved all of it but especially your wall hanging and those sweet little gollies xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Barbara for dropping by & leaving your lovely comment. Willie is great with the little emails he forwards to us all isnt he :-)

      Delete
  16. Hi Julie your mums gollies are lovely and I think their faces and hair are really the icing on the cake! they should go like hot cakes.
    Cans turned out well too once the flowers start to establish they will be very pretty. Your sewn wall hanging is very pretty and the colours worked well.You always have so many things on the go! Betty

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Julie, you are amazing, you get so much done! On my blog you said you were envious of my crochet, well I take that as a massive compliment, I am so envious of all your work! I adore the watering cans, they turn out so well, I really want some for my own garden, and your kitchen redwork piece is amazing. I've recently started following Susan at thimblestitch (I think I found her via you) and have been covering redwork type pieces. I'm going for a nosy now to Jenny's blog for the patterns you used :)
    Have a lovely week,
    Jillxo

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hello dear on-the-go Julie! Shame about the firewood! Hope it starts to warm up soon or you might have to start burning watering cans! Good old Amulet eh...seems to make everything look good!. Did you drill holes in the bottom of your cans or just put stones etc?
    I'm so glad that you did a project for yourself...looks just lovely in that spot. I do just love that stand of yours all covered in such great enamel pieces. Very smart thinking for a galley kitchen space. Goodness, isn't a basket full of gollies a cheery sight. A very clever adaptation on the making bit. I'm so glad that your mum can still manage at least that much & great that she has an on going purpose for her knitting. I wonder how many gollies she's knitted over the years?
    Good to see that Pippi's coming along very nicely. She'll be bringing you an abundance of "presents" any time soon!
    Much love for a lovely spring week. And by the way..how's that wee chap doing? Catherine x0x0x

    ReplyDelete
  19. Julie, I love the way your kitchen looks. Just the bits you have shown with the prim colors, love it. Your wall hanging came out perfect. I love that you put your own spin on it.
    Unbelievable that your mum still knits so well. Its amazing how she has been doing it for so long. It is probably muscle memory by now and she doesnt need to see it so much. Keep her going!
    Oh Pippi warms my heart today, we have just lost our oldest fur baby this morning.
    Enjoy the Spring Julie

    ReplyDelete
  20. I do love visiting your creative blog! The watering cans look gorgeous, I can't wait to see them in full bloom.

    Mischievous little Pippi - I adore her ♥

    ReplyDelete
  21. That's the best pan stand I have ever seen and I love all those red stitches. Getting chilly here so you'll will be warming up soon. xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. How funny is your warrior hunting cat? Look out doves!
    That iron stand is pretty groovy, what a lovely addition to
    your home. Those gollies are way too cute, and that stinks
    that your mum's eye sight is not good. I can see why the
    gollies sell out.
    Cheers, Anita.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi julie,wow i cant believe i missed this awesome post,i love those kettles,they look fantastic filled with plants and boy your wall hanging is amazing,i love the fabrics you have made it in and how cute are those gollies,and i hope you have a beautiful day my friend xx

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi julie,wow i cant believe i missed this awesome post,i love those kettles,they look fantastic filled with plants and boy your wall hanging is amazing,i love the fabrics you have made it in and how cute are those gollies,and i hope you have a beautiful day my friend xx

    ReplyDelete

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