Friday, July 27, 2018

Candle Mats, Christmas Angels & a Pathfinder Vest!



Greetings dear friends & readers
I did not mean to be so long between blog posts but life, & a visiting relative, just kind of got in the way

Earlier in the week my lovely friend Sally (the florist) popped by for a visit & gave me these gorgeous flowers which are still looking picture perfect today

They are such a wonderful splash of colour these gloomy winter days.

After my last post where I wrote about the candle mat I had made  I sat at my work table & decided to cut out another one .... Miss Pippi very kindly helped me choose a colour scheme


Although the pattern for this mat had Bee Skeps on it, I decided to try & make it a little more christmassy, so appliqued wool felt hearts in place of the Bee Skeps
I also added some rusty tin stars to my hearts .... these candle mats are definately becoming addictive 😉


Prior to my Uncle arriving, I found 2 doll bodies I had cut out last Christmas ... these are the Rosalie Dekker pattern "Linen Angel"
I finished the doll bodies off & made them some clothing using Tilda fabrics. 
 I found 2 felt star christmas decorations which I added a small Tilda heart to & attached these to their hands.

As I wanted to make them just a little christmassy I wired up some small berry picks ...... I decided to just slip these into their arms with the thought that they could be removed & the Angels left out all year round if desired.

Sweet little girls that they are !

I have finally finished my rose pruning for the year !
I gathered lots of rose hips & have been drying these for potpourris ... I do LoVe rose hips!

Whilst outside I gathered bowls of citrus fruit as The Mr had somehow knocked a branch off the lemon tree 
while mowing!
I made another citrus slice but the rest of the fruit has been shared with friends & family .... & eaten!

My friend Desiree ordered more herbal mothball sachets when I next made a batch, so I made up another 20.
Although I had the mixture ready, it was sewing up the muslin bags that took the time.
The whole house smelt lovely & fresh & minty while I was filling the sachets.

Approximately 2 months ago I ordered The Pathfinder Vest Pattern from the TwigandTale website with a view to making Sid a vest.
When I downloaded & printed off my pattern I saw that it was 61 pages long due to the fact that this can be made up to fit sizes 1 to 14.
Though I had measured Sid, I had somehow lost my measurements & didn't know where to begin.
I "filed the pattern away in the too hard basket"
Finally last week I got the pattern out again & with a clear head, had a good read of it & then proceeded to cut out the size 3 ... I guessed this would be on the largish size but would fit him a little down the track.

I finished the pattern quite quickly ... Lisa's instructions are always so clear & concise ... I tried it on him yesterday & quickly sewed on the toggles.
I was so thrilled that the vest fit him perfectly.
Incidently the entire vest was made using fabrics & vintage wool blanket remnants already in my stash, including the wooden toggles ... the only thing purchased was the pattern.

We had a little "modelling session" inside but decided to go to the Park in the afternoon to give it a proper test run.

What delighted me most was that Sid seemed quite happy wearing the vest & not at all finicky about having it on.
Because it was a cool day, the vest kept him snug & warm & he was even happy when Granny put 
the Pixie Hood up 😊



I hope you all have a lovely weekend dear friends,
I am off to Mums for my 3 montly visit so will "see you all" on my return,
Be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

25 comments:

  1. Love the vest, Sid looks so cute & adorable. Love the dolls. Hugs, xx

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  2. I LOVE LoVe Sid's wee vest, they need to make the pattern big enough for me. Beautiful angels, clever you! Safe travels.

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  3. I had a quick look before l went out earlier at
    8:30..oooO! oooO! Threadbear Cottage..
    So l've just got home, 11:30..here l am..Phew!
    It is so hot, l've got a towel nearby, to wipe
    the sweat from my brow..! :(.

    It all looks lovely..especially the dolls, and, yes,
    l can see the brains behind your work, and colour
    schemes..HeHe! Bless! Such a talent that Miss Pippi..!
    Oh! And..Little Sid's coat looks lovely..love the pointed
    hood..very stylist! :).

    My daughter will be coming down next weekend Julie, annual
    Barby on the 5th..l've given her a list of things to bring!
    Including Scroggin Cake..so l can try it, l've said to her,
    if she wants a piece..Bring two..HeHe! :).

    And moths...No! don't have any...!!! :). (=āļ”á†Ŋāļ”=)

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  4. As always such pretty makes to be seen. You are certainly gathering a lot of Christmas pretties for your stall. All those fragrances swirling around your home must be heavenly. Love, love, love Sid's cute vest. Love the blanket remnants and that pixie hat is adorable. Those flowers are such a pretty sight. Nothing blooming here. Surely Spring cannot be too far off can it?? Enjoy your visit with your mum, dear Julie.

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  5. What a pretty blog. Love the flowers , Sid and those delicious lavender bags. I used to make them many years ago when in a different. House I had a wonderful lavender hedge. Sid looked so cute. Like a little pixie. Have a good weekend.

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  6. You began and ended with such lovely flowers. And in between we were treated to such cute candle mats, adorable dolls, and wonderful creations that I swear I could catch the scent of from here! Then there was the sweet little guy in his handsome vest. Another delightful visit!
    Safe travels to you!
    BTW, is there anything you can't do?

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  7. Little Sid looks darling in his new vest. You sewed it up beautifully. I like that you used fabrics you already had. It came together quite well. So many pretty makes on this post from the potpourri to the dolls. It's all so lovely.
    xx Beca

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  8. Hi Julie, oh doesn't little Sid look adorable in his vest, your angels are so cute to Julie, as are your Christmas candle mats, have a nice time with your Mum, hope she is doing well. Chris xoxoxo

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  9. Hi Julie love the vest you made for Sid,he is growing up so fast,hope you also have a wonderful weekend my friend xx

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  10. Hi! Gorgeous flowers from your friend. Another pretty candle mat and cute tilda dolls! That vest is adorable. Will I have rose hips on my knock out rose or what kind of roses have those? I wonder if I need little sachets for my material for quilts. What all do you put in yours? Thanks for sharing. Have a lovely week-end. Nancy

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  11. Would love the mothball recipe please Julie??That little vest and model are both divine!! Xx

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  12. Lots of beautiful Julie creations in this post. The candle mats and dolls are lovely..Sid looks very swish in his vest, you did so well making that. Love the pixie hat. Safe travels and I hope the visit to your Mum goes well. Xx

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  13. Sid looks very smicko there! A lovely post as always Julie.....loved it all xx

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  14. You never stop Julie! I agree with everyone about wee Sids vest, adorable, and on the best model ever. Do hope you have a nice visit with your mum and get around all those Charity shops. Show and tell off course on your return!!

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  15. awesome wee vest! do they come in adult sizes too? i really need to get faster knitting fingers!
    love all you do here, you're so creative!

    thank-you for your message over on my blog, everything is fine, not much of a writer is all & waiting for something to write about; enjoy reading other blogs than doing my own :))

    thanx for sharing

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    1. Thanks so much Selina. Good to read all is okay with you. The pathfinder vest does not go up to adult sizes but I must check out her website as she does indeed have some adult patterns. Would be great to make a grown up version! Quite fancy one myself! With a pixie hood too !!

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  16. YOU have a too hard basket? That's SO encouraging, Julie.
    The vest is adorable! So cozy. What a pixie.

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  17. Gorgeous makes Julie...especially the vest! X

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  18. Sid looks more than happy with his new vest.
    Your Angels are just gorgeous Julie.

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  19. Hello! Just stumbled across your beautiful website. Love all that you do. Was wondering if you knew what happened to Wendy Briggs Country Friends. Also Bronwyn Hayes. Have you got any information on them at all. I know Bronwyn was sick for some time and closed down her blogg. They were such brilliant Australian designers and I miss them so much. Have most of all of their patterns as well.

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    1. Hello Wendy - thanks for your lovely comment & taking the time to stop by. You have come into my email as "no reply blogger" so I hope you come back here to read my reply. I did hear that Bronwyn Hayes was unwell for quite sometime ... she used to blog under Red Brolly so you could check there if she is back blogging again. I know Wendy Briggs gave up designing & creating under her Country Friends label. She has not published patterns etc for many years now. I too have lots of their patterns & really enjoy their work. Sorry I don't have any more information for you Wendy. Thanks again .... Julie Xx

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  20. Sauntered in via a UK bog site and stayed to enjoy. So lovely to read of your Christmas preparations - even though our seasons are opposite.

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to leave your lovely comment Tracey. Yes I have been busy getting some Christmas creations made as I am doing a craft stall in early November. I guess you are going into autumn now as we go into spring. Thanks again, Julie Xx

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  21. Dear Julie, You told me once where to find the herbal moth ball sachet recipe. I am cleaning up my emails and can't find it. I am sorry. If you have time could you share that again with me! Thanks so much. Nancy

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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