Shirley's Order - & Other Completions

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

My flowers this post are two of my orchids that are currently flowering happily - my indoor moth orchid & my outdoor plant, both in full bloom. 

My dear friend Shirley has just returned from a wonderful 6 week trip to Europe with her son & family.  Before she left she asked me if I could please finish some items for her while she was away.  

First up was Miss Maggie Rabbit.  I'd made my own version of Miss Maggie in * this post * back in 2019.   Shirley had sewn her rabbit & dressed her, but needed me to knit the cape, embroider the face, stitch the felt boots & add some embellishments.  

Shirley had sewn the rabbit's whiskers but wasn't happy with how the fine Perle thread was "flopping", so Miss Maggie underwent some cosmetic surgery whereby I applied watered down PVA glue to her whiskers & let them dry really well.  This made them stand out & gave her more character.

The felt boots were all handstitched & I added stuffing to the toes to make them sit well.  The pattern was included to knit her cape & Shirley had chosen a gorgeous yarn for this.  

I finished her a couple of weeks into Shirley's trip & she was able to sit on a shelf in my sewing room where I could enjoy her until Shirley arrived home.  I added ribbons & crochet flowers to her cape & ears.  I really love this pattern & I especially loved the Liberty fabric that Shirley used for her rabbits dress. 

The second item Shirley asked me to complete was this Angel.  You may remember back in * this post * last November where I made my own Christmas Angel.  Shirley & I had been shopping together & both chose the same fabrics for our Angels.  This one had only been cut out so needed quite a bit more work than Miss Maggie Rabbit.  Shirley was delighted with both her items & can now enjoy them in her Home.  

I am still trying to work my way through my kitsets & get a few more done.  This cross stitch kitset was purchased at the Quilt Symposium last October & I thought it wouldn't be too difficult to cross-stitch the small tree sampler.  How wrong I was !!   I had such difficulty seeing the tiny linen squares & after 3 attempts & 3 unpicks I gave up, as I was damaging the Linen.  

I still really wanted to make up the tree so I decided to hand draw a simple alphabet sampler onto the linen with Frixion Pen & then embroider this. 

Once I was happy with it I cut out a triangle shape & stuffed it really well.  I cut a piece off my gnarly old Plum tree branch for the tree trunk, glued this in & then poked my tree into a vintage cotton spool.   

I have a good stash of these vintage spools & I loved that this one still had the label on top & it was red/green colours.  I was going to wind some green thread around it but decided to use some vintage music paper instead.  

I realise it's far too soon to be thinking about Christmas but it was just a case of the next easy kitset to get completed.  This has been tucked away with other decorations for now. 

Another simple kitset that I thought would not be too labour intensive was this scissor keep from Sew Sweet Violet.  This was purchased when she closed her online store & she no longer does YouTube videos (sadly) but does do the paid Patreon Channel.  This was in Liberty fabrics & came complete with the Merchant & Mills scissors. 

I planted out my sweet pea seedling pots this week so thought I'd better get on & make some more as I have other seeds I wish to grow next month.  As I've mentioned before, the cutting out takes longer than the sewing up - I made another 15 (one is missing!! I blame that littlest cat !!) 

Thank you all for your lovely comments in my last post regarding my crazy-cat-carry-on ... 

I thought I should let you know that Blackie has moved on from the clothes dryer & is now sleeping in the bottom of the craft cupboard, Little One is camped out, right outside the door, waiting for Blackie to exit  .. & Madam Pip is down in the hospital corner, but No - she's not unwell, just living the life-of-luxury catching the sun's rays.  

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends,

Thank you as always, for your welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

A Creative Weekend . . . . . . (& Crazy Cat Antics)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

No flowers to show this week - but remember the wool blanket seedling pots I made back in * this post* ? ??

Well Houston, we have lift off !!!! 👏

I have had them down the end of my Lounge in the hospital corner, & they've done so well .. I will now move them out to my Hothouse for awhile before planting.  I'm keen to sew up some more seedling pots. 

The Mr was away all weekend riding Moto X so I had some time to myself to do creative pursuits.    I'd pruned my final rose bushes, fed them all with sheep pellets, & saved some nice big fat rosehips for potpourri.  

A week ago I'd picked some of my lovely flowering manuka as it was looking so pretty. I hung 2 bunches up to air dry.

 Here is how it dried friends 😞  So disappointing - the flowers just disappeared.  I've tossed this lot out now & may try again - I'm wondering if I needed to give it a drink first?  If you have any suggestions please leave me a comment as the flowers were the prettiest part of it I thought, but they just shriveled up.

I gave my sewing room a good clean before messing it up again.  I found this small shelf in my stash so I hung it on the wall so I could move all my little collections up off my desk. 

I think it looks so sweet with lots of my special things on display.

Remember the thrifted rabbit eggcup that I made into a pincushion in * this post *.   I'd wanted some rabbit themed pins but could not find any anywhere so I ordered these bunny brooch pins from Temu, cut the backs off & hot glued flower head pins to their backs.  I think they turned out wonderful.

I finished an order for some Herbal Mothball sachets & decided to make myself some as I had plenty of mixture remaining.

  The recipe is at the bottom of * this older post * should you wish to make some.  I washed all my project bags & tucked fresh sachets into any of them that store yarn or wool felt. 

My friend Gail had given me this thrifted hook so I gave it a coat of chalkpaint & some leftover transfer scraps.  

I'm really pleased with how it turned out & it's perfect on my sewing room wardrobe for holding larger project bags. 

While I had the cream chalk paint out I decided to give this old suitcase a freshen up.  This took 3 coats to get a good coverage, a sand & distress & again, some leftover transfers applied to it.  A good wax & it was done - ideal for storing projects & UFO's in.

I always like to think that you can have things that are useful but they can still be pleasing to the eye at the same time

💜

And it only took 2 minutes to fill it with an unfinished project !!

The Mr always says to me "you don't have to be crazy to live in this house, but it sure does help"

Yep that's Me - A lifetime Member (!!)

Honestly friends - these cats of mine, you would surely think there were NO comfy sleeping spots in the entire house - whereas yesterday I counted 6 including beds, banana boxes & rugs folded up just especially for them.

For the last 3 nights Blackie has taken up residence in the clothes dryer in my laundry.  The Mr said to me "you'll have to put a blanket in there for him" - I said No!  I'm not encouraging him to sleep in there.  Last night I took the right-hand pic - The Mr had folded up an old towel & placed in there for His Royal Highness. 

The night before he took up residence in there, he slept in the bathtub for 3 nights.  Cold & hard & uncomfortable ??  

I have 2 litter boxes that I bring in at nights.  Yes these are filled with fresh dirt ..... my cats were once wild, it's no good giving them fancy lavender scented kitty-litter, they don't know what that's for so they have dirt!  Well Madam Pip decided to sleep in the dirt box (!!) Why - I have no idea ?? 

Oh & where is Little One I hear you ask ??  Probably tucked up on my bed ??

No - he slept in the middle of a table display where there was barely room but someone (The Mr) moved my vignette to the side for him 🙄& tried to put a soft towel down!!!   So you see dear friends - if you live here long enough - you too might just go a teeny bit mad!!!

Thank you for staying through this lengthy post - I just had to share the cat antics as I know a lot of you follow especially for the furry family,

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week dear friends,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Mushrooms, New Cushions . . . . & A Thrifted Shelf

Greetings lovely friends & readers 💛

Welcome to the month of  August !

 It's been all Yellow Vibes here this past week as I picked jonquils, daffodils, lemons & limes for my kitchen bench.  I like to squeeze some juice into my water glass each day as I enjoy the taste.  

Way back in early 2023 I won an Anthurium Plant in a competition.  It promptly finished flowering & has sulked ever since, sending up not one single bud.  Last week I noticed a flower bud poking out towards the light - this made me so happy to see & I've been enjoying watching it open.  I am hopeful it is happy where I have it situated now & will continue to flower more.  

My friend Gail told me about a project she'd seen where they made mushrooms in cleaned out eggshells.  The idea fixated in my head & I bought a bag of fine cement from Mitre 10 during the school holidays with the intention of making some with the Grandsons.  This didn't happen as I wasn't at all sure what I was doing & figured I had better give it a trial run first myself. 😉 

 I saved my eggshells & washed & dried them out.  I trimmed the edges although in hindsight, this isn't necessary.  

Still not having a clue what I was doing - I mixed up the cement powder in a container with water, unsure of quantities but making my mixture quite "sloppy".  The first batch is above left, the 2nd batch on the right.  

I used twigs from my plum tree for the stalks ... use thicker ones, the first batch were too thin & flimsy.  Once dry (by the fire) they were easily removed from the shells.  

Also in the 2nd batch I poured more in so these mushrooms turned out deeper (much better).

Next came the painting.  I just used what I had on hand, Resene Testpot Hot Chilli.  I gave them two coats & then added the dots with some white poster paint I found.  This was easier than I anticipated.  I gave mine 2 coats matt finish spray varnish as I figured this would protect them more & make them wipeable.  

I have to say ... I'm delighted with how they turned out.  I tied up 2 "bunches" for gifting & the rest I've put in my indoor plants, where the pop of red is just so cheerful.  🍄

I'm thinking of trying some pink ones next - why ever not?  I'm also thinking of trying them in Kinder Surprise Eggs as these might be just that bit larger.

I'd purchased 2 metres of Hessian several months ago in a Spotlight Sale.  I knew I needed to make some new cushion covers for my outdoor cushions & it only took half an hour to sew them up. I also replaced the inners as these were looking flat & out of shape.  

Just look at that None-too-impressed-face !!!

No sooner had I put them on my outdoor seating area to photograph, but along came Madam Pip who very generously tried them out for me & declared them to be Okay but nothing to rave about!!!!  😉  

Longtime readers of my blog may remember back in * this post * where I purchased this sweet little blue china bowl for $8 & planted a baby houseplant in it.  The plant is a Goldfish Plant which grew & grew & now trails the floor.  The youngest furry member of our household insists on playing with these trails, having a wonderful time pulling them off & generally making a big mess!!!

During my recent trip away, I purchased this little shelf in the Taupo SPCA thrift store.  It was $4 but because it was in a box by the door, it was 50% off!!  The shelf was in bad repair & needed a good sanding.  I ended up giving it 3 coats of chalk paint, vintage white & then quite heavily distressed it.

I am so pleased with how it turned out & the plant pot sits perfectly well on it - the plant is now well over 3 feet off ground level & out of reach of any furry paws 🐾😺

Just perfect & all it cost me was $2.00!!

I love it when fellow bloggers share good books they've been reading & thought I might share these 3 above.  I wish I'd read the Mel Robbins one about 30 years ago, I loved the Salt Path & also Jacinda Arderns autobiography.  

I should mention a couple of things ... I know there is controversy now surrounding The Salt Path but I still thoroughly enjoyed her style of writing & the story itself.  Also I read Jacinda's story purely because I am interested in biographies & NOT for any political leanings)

I've sent the pattern I used for the wool blanket seedling pots in my * last post * to a couple of you, & thought I would share it on here as there's been lots of interest.  I made my sides 8 cm but you could easily make them larger. 

Lastly, The Mr sent me this photo through of dear Fluffy Cat at the farm.  She is reclining on his bonnet in the sun.  I thought she was looking really well, despite living wild in the haybarns out there. 

Thank you as always dear friends, for your welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

July Sewing (~ Part Two ~) ... Christmas In July

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Instead of flowers this week I am enjoying this $2.50 thrifted glass pedestal bowl filled with oranges from my tree.    Though they are smaller in size this year, they are sweet & juicy & the tree is laden.

After a week of heavy frosts (-2 degrees on some days) we now have a cold southerly blowing.  I have a Fridge Drawer Stew simmering away in the slow cooker which will last us 2 or 3 nights. 

 

I have been finishing off some more kitsets, these ones with a Christmas-in-July theme.  This Christmas Stitchery Roll was a recent purchase from Millymac Supplies & it came with everything required to make the roll although I added in lots of my own embellishments.  

Really hard to get good photos on this grey overcast day.  Stitched on linen, I backed mine with a thin wadding & then once stitched, I lined the entire roll with a length of Lynette Anderson Christmas fabric (included in the kitset).

Finished length of the roll is 50 cms not including the tag.

It is the sweetest little snippet roll - my photos do not do it justice.  I am not sure how to display this at Christmas time, but definitely unrolled ... perhaps over the edge of my mantel? 

The second kitset was purchased about 3 years ago now - from Tis' the Season - Matangi ... a beautiful patchwork store not too far from where I live.  

This is Woolen Heirloom Santa, based on a design called Scandinavian Snowflake Santa by Cameron James Designs  It was re-kitted with permission & a definite Heirloom look to him.  Everything was included in the kit (except the stuffing).  

This project took some time & patience, & brain power (!!)  But I love how he has turned out.  He has handmade felt boots, mittens & all his clothes are fully lined. 

The length of Tibetan Lambswool used for his hair, beard, moustache & eyebrows was included but you had to cut these items out.

Now that he is complete, he is hanging out in my sewing room.  I have told him he can stay out so long as he behaves himself 😉

Another finished project was these wool blanket seedling pots.  I was given one for my birthday so I used this as a guide to make up my own pattern.  I have lots of wool blanket offcuts from my many years of sewing for my craft cottage & these were a good way to use up the smaller scraps.  I cut out & sewed up 20 of them.

There was no ironing required as I had an extremely helpful assistant 😸 that kindly helped with this task (!!)

My brother was having a birthday so I made up a gardening parcel to post to him along with some of the seedling pots, I also sent some South to a dear friend.  The rest are filled with seed raising mix, waiting til my moon calendar tells me its good planting time on the 29th of this month, when I will sow my sweet pea seeds.

Blackies latest night-time sleeping place is the computer chair.  Last night a certain Ginger Miss decided she wanted it too ... as you can see there was not a lot of room for two rather overweight large decent sized furry felines (!!)  You surely cannot tell me that either one is comfortable ??!!

Thank you as always dear friends, for your ever welcome visits here today,

With much love & friendship to you all,