These Lockdown Days ......................................

Greetings lovely friends & readers

The days & weeks continue to go by so very fast - we are still in Lockdown Level 3 here so many of my days are still taken up with looking after Sid. 

I can hardly believe we turn the calendars over to November tomorrow !!

I just Love this photo my son sent me of Sid with Darcy - just a boy & his dog, two scruffs together  - happiness indeed 💙

(Sid uses my kindling wood to make fences & enclosures)

On Friday we went down to the Pond to feed the fish & while we were gone, another big black T-Rex got inside the dinosaur enclosure!  Oh dear - we must've left the gate open 😲 !!

 

While hunting in a drawer for a piece of flannelette I came across these vintage flour sacks.  I thought they would be ideal to make some outdoor cushions with as I needed some for my rustic garden seat down by the Pond. I made an inner & stuffed them quite loosely as I wanted them to feel squishy. 

They are perfect for the seat & it doesn't matter if they get left out in the odd rain shower.  The cherry blossom tree (Shimidsu Sakura) is in full bloom at the moment.

While ratting around under my house looking for a planter pot I came across this vintage childs table & chair set.  I pulled them out & gave them a scrub - they were Very rusty.  I thought I would like to paint them up & maybe gift to my step grandaughter Juno for Christmas.

The Mr made me sand them first & then spray them all over with an anti rust Primer.  I usually want to take the quickest, simplest method but he makes me do things properly as he is boring fussy particular like that 😉

It is very much a matter of using up what's on hand in these current Lockdown times. The chair is painted in Dulux Lake Camp (testpot) & the table is left over paint from my fire surround - Dulux Ngataringa Bay. 

I was most excited as I had these gorgeous rabbit transfers that I planned to use on them - purchased from * Here *

I was able to do a click-&-collect with my local Mitre 10 store & purchase some new rubber feet for each item which just finished them off perfectly. (I should add here that it took 3 goes to get the right size!!!)

Rather than waxing  I decided to spray both items with a matt finish polyacrylic which I had on hand - I think this will give a better protection should Juno happen to draw on the table.

I'm really delighted with how these turned out & hope Juno gets lots of happy hours using them. 😊

The Magazine is the Spring 2018 Issue - No 26

This vintage Tilda charm pack was tucked into my birthday gift this year from my dearest friend Leeanne.  My heart skipped several beats 💗!!  I had earmarked this pattern in the above issue of Simply Vintage Magazine to make the Spring Cushion.

The pattern is by Tweetledee Design Co  ... I decided to make mine up into a table runner as I did not have anywhere for another cushion.

I just adore the faded florals of these earlier Tilda ranges & am not so partial to some of their newer brighter ranges.  This charm pack was called "All that is Spring" 

The Needleturn applique always takes me out of my comfort zone but finally I was happy with my centre panel.

I just did some simple straight line machine quilting across the pieced blocks.

It fits perfectly tucked into my Spring display ... I picked a small vase of Seafoam roses yesterday before the rain bashed them all.  It's hard to believe only one more month of Spring time left.

I saw this on Instagram last week & it made me smile ... all that Lockdown Baking & Eating has resulted in "Covid Curves" so I could definately relate 😉  I hope it makes you smile too dear friends.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead - be kind to yourselves & to each other,

Thank You So much for stopping by here today,

With much love & friendship to you All,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

To Mum's & Back Again ................................ (Part Two)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

I paid 50c for the small china butter dish & the Yankee Candle was $4 - brand new!

 Long time readers of my blog will know that I love to scour the Op Shops in Mum's small town.  This visit I literally had to run around them as I waited for Mum's prescription to be made up.  I found the items above at 3 shops, Hospice, St Mary's & the SPCA ... I've put the prices beside each item.

I especially love the two tureens above that I found at the SPCA shop - minus lids but only $4 & $6 each. The china is W.H. Grindley & Co & each piece is number stamped.  I would like to make a candle up in the smaller one with 2 wicks & maybe fill the larger one with potpourri.

The beautiful vintage cushion cover that all my thrifted items are resting on was tossed to me by my friend Claire as I was leaving her Home.  Yesterday I made a calico inner for it & stuffed it tightly.  I really love the pattern & am wondering if it might be Sanderson Linen?

I treated myself to this beautiful Candle while down at Mum's with some leftover birthday money.  I have been given the Oakmoss fragrance before & absolutely loved it ... & I can verify that I still do !! 💗

The Mr informed me that it rained here nearly every day that I was gone & I can see the garden has come to life in the few days I was away.  The pram that I featured * here * is almost entirely surrounded by forget-me-nots & granny bonnets now.  The blossom trees are in full bloom . . . . . 

. . . . .  the clematis is in full bloom & my pots are flowering away merrily 

Beautiful vibrant Rhodohypoxis ...... I have 3 pots of this

I had sewn basil seedlings & these are now ready to be planted out & the 3 different varieties of tomatoes that I planted in plastic buckets have grown So much.

As I mentioned in my last post we are currently back at Level 3 Lockdown so the Daycare Centre is closed for Sid.  I have had him extra days last week & again this week.  We played dinosaurs on the floor & then we noticed that a really big black T-Rex had decided to join our game 😉

I took him in to town to the Park which was taped off & a big "Closed" Sign on it ... so we went to the local Rose Gardens & Sid ran around there for an hour 

On my 2nd night Home I was just about asleep when I heard this almighty crash that I thought was a bus driving into my lounge French Doors!!   Upon investigation I found my large oval mirror had fallen off the wall taking two glass fronted pictures with it & shattering my beautiful glass Fairy Dome.  There were splinters of glass & mirror shards everywhere to clean up.  I was none too impressed 😞

My second "accident" was when I noticed this small wooden table top was stained & swollen on one side. I had watered the plant that sat on it prior to going away & not noticed that the water had over-run the saucer causing the wood to swell. 

Fortunately I managed to get it smooth using the electric sander, repaint it & it is now back in place with a piece of Oilcloth underneath to prevent this happening again. 

I am hoping there's Not going to be a third thing !! 😉

Well dear friends, that's about me all caught up.

Yesterday I made a Fridge Drawer Stew as I had lots of veggies needing to be used up & I also made a 

Scroggin Slice ... so I think I might just go put the kettle on.

Thank You - as always - for your visits here today,

Remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0

To Mum's & Back Again .......... (Part 1)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

I had a good, but Very busy trip down to Mum's & returned home right as my region went into another Lockdown. 

 

On my second day at Mum's we travelled just over 2 hours away to meet up with two of her brothers.  We had lunch at The Herb Farm - a wonderful place just out of Ashhurst with a cafe as well as a shop selling their handmade herbal products.

After lunch we sat in the gardens for awhile & I captured this lovely photo. Mums brother in the middle is nearly 80 & the one on the right hand side is 94. (Mum is 92) These are the only remaining siblings from "the first batch" ... Grandma had bunches of children in batches & she had 11 altogether.  The reason they came in batches was because she lost pregnancies in between & then the older batch had to help raise the younger ones.

After lunch we drove to the Cemetery  to take flowers to the family graves that are there.  It took us 2 hours to get around 5 graves as they were scattered all across the cemetery. Mums sister on the far right died at 5 months old in 1936.  I love Cemetery's - when I was young I used to find them spooky but now I find them incredibly peaceful places.

We visited my brother & had afternoon tea.  He has finished building his fence which I wrote about in * this Post *

I was lucky enough to visit my dear friend Claire for an hour. We had a quick cuppa & I took a few snaps around her beautiful Home of some of her latest creative endeavours.

I always love Claire's displays & find it makes me feel very inspired.  

One of her spare bedrooms above.

A sweet little spring display in her entrance way.

The wool picture above left is a recent completion & hangs on her Sampler wall.

New Coffee Table Vignette on the right.

But the item below really caught my eye & though I tried very hard to sneak it into my bag, I was not successful 😉 

(I'm talking about the Dress not the Vodka !!!)

Claire's craft group had taken part in a knitting challenge. Claire had knitted a bodice & then sewn a tulle skirt to attach to it & hung it from a miniature (chalkpainted) hanger. She had knitted the bodice using a long string of tiny fairy lights, so once you turned the wee switch - it lit up!!!

My pic is not doing it justice - it was Stunning!!

Before I left I had to finish a bunting Order for my friend Joy. Her request was for a gender neutral woodland themed nursery. The Mum-to-be loves foxes so this fabric was perfect.  

I added the hearts as the Mum-to-be has upholstered a vintage chair in forest green.  Miss Pippi very kindly multi-tasked by pressing my fabrics for me whilst doing her morning meditation at the same time !!

When I delivered the bunting to Joy I had ordered 3 of her handmade wooden tags in a lavender theme. Joy had so kindly made me extras as well as some of her other beautiful tags & some new butterfly paper serviettes to use for decoupage.

Blackie did his usual "feral trick" & disappeared while I was away which gave The Mr & I even more grey hair!! He has returned again & is currently tucked up on my (un-made) bed with Madam Pip as we are getting icy spring showers here today.

Thank You all So Much for staying with me through today's lengthy post.

I will be back in a few days with Part 2 as I still have a tiny bit more to share.

With much love & friendship to you All,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

The Blink of an Eye .....................................

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Another busy week has gone by in the blink of an eye.

This vintage Cane Dolls Pram was gifted to me over 5 years ago by my dear friend Leeanne.   I usually plant it over winter with Pansies & then in summer it enjoys either Petunias or Busy Lizzies.  

After I removed the flowers last summer I noticed that the entire carriage underneath had collapsed - due to constant watering the wood had rotted.  I didn't plant it over winter but I really didn't want it to go to the "cane pram graveyard" just yet ... so I pulled it into shape as best as I could & then stacked lengths of wood to hold the undercarriage up.

 

This worked well but looked hideous so I popped it in a spot in my garden where I knew the plants would grow around it & hide this ugly fixer upper.  I lined it with a black rubbish bag & then planted some Snapdragons in it ... true to form the flowers have grown & it now looks great tucked into the garden beside my deck where the forget-me-nots will sprawl out & surround it.  It has bought me many years of pleasure this ratty old cane pram. 

Last Saturday my eldest son turned 40! He wanted to celebrate with a finger food family dinner here at home. 

 On birthdays I always ask my boys if there are "any special requests".  He asked for a Honey Rice Bubble Slice & a plate of Salmon Rolls.  It only seems just yesterday that I was making Honey Rice Bubble slice for them as youngsters.

We had a very enjoyable evening & his wife Sarah made him a carrot cake which is his favourite.  I blew up some balloons but these were more for the little boys than the big boys.

Aaron is my eldest son & is dad to Alec, my eldest grandson.

Happy Birthday Aaron - you have grown into a wonderful man that I am So Very proud of  ...  & it feels like I blinked & forty years went by!!

On Monday I hosted the craft ladies - we are able to have small gatherings indoors now & as there were only 7 of us we had a wonderful day together sharing ideas, inspiration & delicious food.

Our last meeting was a few months ago now & we had all worked on felt pincushions in a variety of patterns.  I had taken along 3 of my Hatched and Patched Designs pincushion patterns & some of the ladies made these - others made felt fruit pincushions.  

I decided to make the Alice Angel Pincushion but as I have lots of pincushions - I made mine into a door hanger by filling her with dried lavender,  stitching a hanging loop & some rusty bells to the bottom.

My one is shown up close on the left & the ladies creations on the right - poor photo sorry

On Monday I made up kitsets for us all to make the "Christmas Elf in a Pudding".  This is a pattern from 

Tis' the Season gifted to me by my neighbour last year.

Some of the ladies bought along their Lockdown projects for Show-&-Tell, & Gail had made this beautiful framed Tree.  She had sewn a tree shape to some embossed fabric, stuffed it lightly, stitched on some braiding & then embellished away with beautiful copper coloured charms before framing - it was truly stunning !!

On my Tuesday-with-Sid it was a beautiful sunny spring day so we went to the Park for a couple of hours, then Sid had an Icecream & a packet of Smarties ... & Granny consumed an entire bag of Jet Plane lollies All By Herself  

😐 !!

If you look at the pic above right you can see that Blackie was not at all worried about Sid & had a nap on the couch while Sid watched Dinosaurs .  .  .  .  .  .

.  .  .  .  .  .  . whereas Madam Pip who prefers to act traumatised all day long, hid in a sewing room drawer that I had accidently left open.

I am happy to report that after the seed planting efforts in my last Post it would appear that Houston We Have Liftoff  !!  😊  I'm sure you can see from the photo above which ones I planted & which ones a certain little boy buried down real deep !!

Well dear friends - I had my final Covid Vaccination this morning & now I need to pack my bags as I am off to Mum's for my usual 3 monthly visit.

Thank You for your visits here today - wishing you all a wonderful weekend - be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship To You All,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x