Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Bursting my Bubble ................. & Back to Reality

Greetings dear friends & readers

The "creating-just-for-myself bubble" I have found myself in burst this week when I realised that I could no longer procrastinate over my Orders.
When we first went into Lockdown I lost a couple of Orders but also picked up some new ones in the weeks that followed

A large Order (20 bags) of Citrus & Cottage Garden Potpourri got bagged up & posted across to The Farm Shop 
on Saturday - they had only 1 bag left in the entire Store

My lovely friend Michelle ordered some potpourri's too - if folk want it for themselves (not for gifts) I just package it in brown paper bags  -  this way they get much more value for money with no fancy ribbons etc


I completed another 10 lavender bags for my lovely friend Desiree's order


A local customer ordered some of my knitted dishcloths in blue tonings. 
 I love the wool on the right, its called "faded denim" & just reminds me of faded blue jeans.

Before Lockdown I ordered a metre each of dinosaur fabric from Spotlight to make some pillowcases for Sid.
Finally - 8 long weeks later !!! - it arrived! 
Using * this great tutorial from Tiny Happy * the pillowcases were quick & simple to stitch up  - one flannel & 
one cotton.

I had a large rectangle of both fabrics left over so I decided to make a hot water bottle cover for Sid - our nights are cold here now & I thought he might like to cuddle it in bed
I wanted to line it so I found a soft flannel pillowcase in my cupboard that I had never used which fit the bill perfectly.

I left off any extra embellishments as I wanted it to be "cuddle-able" for my dinosaur-loving grandson
This pattern has a flap back which fits over the hot water bottle really nicely

Cleaning out a drawer in my sewing room I came across a packet of 7 rice paper lightshades.
These had been an op shop purchase several years ago & were still in their cellophane packets.

It was time to do something with them ... I went through my stash of crochet doilies & glued a selection onto the light shades.
Then I used clear fishing twine to hang them from the exposed beams in my Cottage at differing heights.


One day - when my ship comes in (!!!) πŸ˜‰- I will get these all wired up & then turn the switch ... & it will look stunning.
For now - it looks pretty darn good anyway.


A neighbor is moving to another district so I made a citrus slice & dropped a large container on their doorstep while they were busy loading up their trailers.
The link to the recipe I used for my slice is * here *

My daughter in law gave me another bucket of feijoas so I made up a feijoa cake - just using my regular Banana Cake recipe but substituting the bananas for 5 large mashed feijoas.
I topped it with a cinnamon spice icing - I can definately verify that it is just delish !!

I shall leave you with this little fairy - asleep on my tatty old pink dressing gown last night while I was trying to knit  -
πŸ’• Bless πŸ’—
Thanks So Very Much for stopping by today dear friends,
Wishing you all a wonderful week - be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x






27 comments:

  1. Hi Julie what a wonderful post I love seeing all the pretty things you make for customer orders ,love the knitted dish cloths ,could you tell me where you got this pretty pattern from please ,I love making knitted dishcloths for gifts too.Wow those Chinese lanterns look awesome hanging up and the doilies make them look so pretty . Lucky little grandson having a loving grandma makeing him such beautiful handmade goodies. Your little fairy looks very comfortable there,lol,hope your day is a good one my friend xx

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  2. I so admire your government Julie. Jacinda is so progressive and gets on with the job without delay. We're stuck here with a load of dinosaurs and going nowhere fast.Thanks for a lovely post. My favs are the lampshades, so effective and calming.

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  3. I must say..l do like Potpourri..l have a box
    of it in the bathroom..been there a while now!
    And..still smells nice, l've only ever bought
    it in charity shops..cheap..once you unwrap
    them the different odours are lovely! :).

    And..the paper lamp shades are amazing..Bet!
    They'd look really nice lit up..Wow!
    'Delightful'..And, having them different heights
    sets them off perfectly..! :).

    And..looks like your faithful assistant has had
    another long busy day..HeHe! Bless!x
    🐭 🐁 🐭 🐁 🐭 🐭 🐁 🐭 🐁 🐭 🐭 🐁 🐭

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  4. Miss Pippi looks so peaceful sleeping there with you. Your paper light shades look amazing, they will look sensational wired up. You are so clever with the things you make Julie, the potpourri looks beautiful all bagged up, the paper bag idea is wonderful too. I bet Sid is loving his dinosaur pillow cases and hottie cover! Your citrus slice and feijoa cake look amazing!! Yum! Cinnamon spice icing sounds great too. A wonderful post Julie.

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  5. You have been busy Julie, your potpourri looks so lovely, and what a cute hot water bottle cover, now I saw your paper shades on Instagram, great idea, now what will you be doing with your old little cottage, bed and breakfast perhaps???
    Found some feijoa's at the super market, but alas $200 each and they were rock hard, so I had to leave them there. I'm in the middle of making a junker jane style monster doll for a friends 50th at the end of June, not having alot of doll making supplies anymore, I stuffed her mostly with lavender, but gee my fingers are aching already, cured me of wanting to make any more dolls, well hope your week is great, did you feel the earthquake we saw over here, your PM is such a calm woman😊 Chrisxoxoxoxo

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  6. I am in LOVE with the crochet doily paper shades, Julie. Why, I think I will have to fashion some of these. They look incredible! Your lovely home must smell divine after making all those sweet-smelling pretties. Sid's dinosaur hot water bottle cover is such fun. I can just see him hugging it tightly to him and never letting go. Love that denim-looking wool, too. Wish oh wish I could pop over and enjoy a cup of tea and a slice, or two....or perhaps three, of those yummy looking treats. I have a feeling if I lived close to you I would have to adjust my belt to a size or two larger.

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  7. I love those paper shades; what a fabulous idea! I love the scent of lavender and have quite a lot in my garden. Sids pillowcases and hottie cover look wonderful. Take care, Best, Jane x

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comment Jane. xx

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  8. You have so many happy creative projects going on! Love the doily lights! And, of course, love that little sleeping kitty! :-)

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  9. I crochet thread doilies, now I can see a purpose for them if I keep them small. I need to actually see patterns and
    pictures of ideas, I am not a creative thinker. The hot water bottle cover looks fun for Sid. And since you
    grow so much of your own potpourri plants and flowers, it is wonderful to see they get on the shelf for sale.
    Now I am not doing hand craft, as I can finally go out and weed and dig and plant what flowers the deer do not eat.

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    1. Thanks so much Lynn. I am quite a visual person too ... once I see a picture I get an idea embedded in my mind & then it stays there until I get around to creating it. The inside of my mind is like a huge Pinterest board~!!

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  10. Oh wow, I love your paper light shades. What a gorgeous space for them!

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  11. How I love to see all the things you create. The lanterns are adorable.

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    1. Thanks so much Kim - yes I am really happy with the Lanterns too.

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  12. always so fun to visit you... I do love knitted dishcloths too.. it is one of my 'car' projects to keep a stock up. Those lanterns look so great with the doilies and wonderful hotty botty cover. I think I can smell the pot pouri from here...
    Hugz

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  13. Aw! I love the little cuddle bug snoozing on something soft.
    Your knitting is lovely. I bet you whip out one dishcloth each night.
    Sending heaps of love to you, good Julie!

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  14. You have been very busy making some gorgeous things Julie. Dinosaurs are beloved by all kids I think lol! Wow the doiley lanterns look beautiful. I fancy a bit of that citrus slice with my cuppa! I have never tasted feijoas....are they tart or sweet?

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  15. The dinosaur covers are very sweet, you have been so busy. Lanterns are an unusual idea - lit up they will be amazing.
    Miss Pippi is sweet, she loves her home comforts.

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  16. I do love your blog! Would you share your recipe for lemon slice? They look delicious. Lucky Sid! To have you for a grandmother is a blessing. Thanks for sharing your life. Carol in Texas

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    1. Hello Carol - thanks so much for stopping by. If you go back to my post & the picture of the Citrus Slice - I have linked the recipe just under this. My apologies - I usually remember to put a link for my recipes. I hope you try it - it is really delicious.

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  17. Productive as always Julie! Your house much smell so lovely when you are having a potpourri making session! Lovely snuggly looking pillowcases too plus how can you beat a dinosaur hot water bottle! Your baking of course looks delicious. Our feijoas are well finished now which is rather sad.....

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  18. I love your knitted pouch. The color is beautiful and the motives are also neat.
    Your day is always fun, friend.

    Regards from Indonesia.

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  19. I love the lightshades. They must look awesome in the evening.

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  20. You are so talented!! and come up with the cutest ideas, like the hot water bottle cover. How cuddly that will be. I love the paper kight shades. The doilies make them beautiful. and your baking...it looks delicious.

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  21. I want to grab that sweet kitty and smooch all the fur off her! Just too precious for words.

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