Sewing for a Very Special Baby Girl

Greetings lovely friends & readers

 I found an old can of spray paint in the sleepout over the weekend called Mulled Wine, so I sprayed the jugful of hydrangeas that I picked for my bedroom in * this post *.    

Though I've not taken a before photo, they had faded & gone brown.  I'm really happy with how they've turned out.

There is to be a new baby girl welcomed into our family next month when The Mr becomes a Great Grandfather !!  

His eldest daughter has 4 children & her only son Joseph is to become a father.  

The Mr's eldest children are just under 10 years younger than myself so when these Grandchildren first came along I was only 35 & still parenting my own sons.  The Grandchildren called me Aunty Julie, & I was more than happy to play this role in their lives.  

I've always had a special affinity for Joseph so when I learned he & his fiancee' are to become parents I wanted to create a handmade package to send to them.

The first gifts I made were the 2 bibs above right, backed with towelling, & then I purchased a metre of double-sided muslin & sewed a pair of wraps.  I knitted 2 washcloths in soft organic cotton.  

I had a metreage of soft flannelette in my stash so I hemmed it all to make a cot sheet, or a wrap.  I washed it first as it felt like it had dressing in it.  

It's true colour is not showing up today, it is the softest pale grey with yellow moons & stars on it.  I did Not knit the booties, purchasing these from my local baby shop instead.

I'd had this leftover length of pure wool blanket in my stash for awhile now - I always loved the muted tones of brown & pink in it. 

 I cut out a large cot size & hand blanket stitched the raw edges, keeping the machine sewn edges where I could.  I unpicked the blanket label from the remnants, & attached this to one corner.

You can see where my 3 pins are that there were 3 tiny holes I needed to cover.  I sewed the heart from some Doctors Flannel fabric that I had on hand, machine sewing the words & then making a tucked frill around the edge using a pale pink cotton with teddy bears on it.  

I machine stitched 3 crochet motifs to the lower edge after I'd sewn the heart over the tiny holes.  On the back I hand embroidered lazy daisies to cover the holes (I've forgotten to take a pic)

The heart did a great job of covering the holes.  I also handstitched a crochet butterfly to this.  To be honest this was very much a make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of project.

Here it is spread out on my bed in the afternoon sun.  I thought this would be a great blanket even for putting on the floor when the baby is lying there, having a kick.  I'd handwashed the blanket first so it felt very soft & snuggly.

I knitted a top-knot baby hat using * this free pattern * & some pure merino wool already in my stash.   Finally to use up the last of the blanket scraps I made a bunny & put a tiny rattle in its tummy which was so gentle The Mr could not even hear it (!!)

I purchased 2 merino singlets & then I packaged it all up in a white box, ready to post.  It all fit perfectly with the pink blanket on top.

The baby shower was last Sunday & although invited, I was unable to attend.  But my package arrived in time & I received the loveliest message from the couple thanking me & saying how toasty warm their new baby girl will be with all the cosy items I sent them.  

On my trip south to visit my friend Sandy last month my only purchase were these Cath Kidston coasters, as I just had hand luggage so very limited space.  

A friend was listing some items on Facebook Marketplace last week & I asked her if I could buy the tray before she listed it.  I was thrilled as this was also Cath Kidston.

My daughter-in-law Sarah gifted me a box of 4 coffee mugs for my birthday so I decided to clean out my mug cupboard as it was getting rather full.  

These 3 handle-less mugs were pushed in the back of the cupboard, they are GreenGate ware - but I prefer a mug with a handle, so I decided to make some candles up into them as they were so pretty.  The fragrance is Black Raspberry & Vanilla - VeRy lovely ❤️

 This table scape is giving me all the spring vibes. 

 The potted cyclamen was gifted by a young Moto X rider after I did some mending for her.  And the felt daisies were a birthday gift from my friend Carolyn 🌼🤍💚 Roll on Spring !!

Another book recommendation dear readers - a lovely light read but very enjoyable.  I'd seen a lady recommend it on Instagram & was able to get it from my local Library. 

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

And thank you for your sweet, kind comments on my furry family in my last post - I am pleased to report they are all doing much better.

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

A VeRy Loonnnnng Week (!!)

Greetings lovely friends & readers

 Instead of a vase of flowers I am sharing my Moth Orchids today, which are flowering away.  The pinky one is the plant that I accidentally broke the stem off last year, so it is wonderful to see it in full bloom again. 

And on my deck I have my Cymbidium Orchid with two large flower stems on it.  It always makes me smile when I see this in bloom as when my son gifted it to me, several Mother's Days ago, he told me it would have white flowers (!!) 😉

Dear Friends - it has been a VeRy LoNg WeeK indeed (I started this post last Monday)  

We I have had a week of unwell cats & believe me I feel like I have aged about a hundred years!!!

It started with Pippi.  She had been constantly scratching & pulling at her fur for a couple of months now - most unusual for her & she was also behaving slightly crazier than she normally is.  I initially thought it was stress due to the Painters, however it continued so I decided to flea her before taking it any further (vet visit).  I gave her the same brand flea treatment I usually use but it had a worm treatment added in.  She had an allergic reaction to the treatment & frothed at the mouth & was most unwell for two long days.  

During this time Blackie went out last Tuesday morning at 5 am, in a frost & got a type of hypothermia.  He was in again at 7 am & most unwell, could barely walk, joints all wobbly, most disoriented.  He has been very unwell all last week & I think probably only "turned a corner" last Monday.  I couldn't get him in the cat cage so could not take him to the Vets but I did go & talk with them & they gave me some joint supplements & told me to keep him in, in the warm, hydrated & keep a close eye on him, which I did do for several days.  He did not lose his appetite thankfully so it was simple enough to get the crushed up tablets in to him & he will stay on these now.

I should mention we have had some minus 3 degrees frosts❄️here lately!

Would you like to see the Hospital Ward ??

 This is right by our fire, so nice & warm ... the box is for him to get down as he was walking rather like a drunken sailor.  

In the middle of all this, Wednesday morning I think ... Little One threw up all morning in the spare room & sat huddled in a corner for the entire morning.  Then immediately, that afternoon ... ran around like a nutcase like nothing had ever happened (!!)  Here he is resting on my bed late that afternoon.

So as you can see dear friends, it was all rather worrying & so difficult as they cannot tell you where it hurts or how they feel.  Pippi & Little One are now fine & back to as normal as it gets around here .... I think Blackie is as-good-as-he-will-get & certainly improved but not back to how he was.  I am keeping a close eye on him.    I don't know if he is 13 or 14 as I am unsure how old he was when I bought him in from the wild.

In the midst of all this I was given a Gift.  Some farming friends cleaned out under their wool shed & gifted me 6 bags of sheep droppings pellets ... I was giddy with excitement !! 

As soon as I hit Publish on this post I am going out to spread lots of this around my newly pruned Roses & I can afford to be extra generous with it this year.

I had 6 large heads of broccoli ready in my veggie garden this week so I picked & blanched it to freeze for winter stews & casseroles.

  I have another punnet ready to plant on the 18th of this month when my moon calendar tells me is optimum planting time 😊 (18th to 27th)

Last month I managed a tiny bit of Christmas-in-July stitching that I've forgotten to share.   These sweet little bags are from Natalie Bird's book "From The Heart".  I had done the stitcheries & decided to sew them up into bags, ready for gifting this Christmas.

Last year I purchased a lovely selection of the Tilda fabric range Merry Little Christmas & did hardly anything at all with it!!  So I've pulled it out & started fussy cutting some to make into Christmas Decorations.  Little One is kindly modelling this Santa one for me 😉

Throughout the year I have been doing some Charity Sewing for * this Charity *.  I plan to make some stockings & fill them with tiny treats for children, so I made a prototype to get my sizing right ... not wanting them to be too large.  I've auditioned a selection of Christmas coloured blankets & fabrics to use up for this. 

Sid received a Reading Award at school assembly last week & was so proud of himself.  Well done Sid  💙

Well dear friends, those sheep pellets won't get on the roses by themselves. 

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

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

The Old Haybarn Cupboard

Greetings lovely friends & readers,

Several months ago The Mr cleared out the old haybarn at the farm - it was due to be demolished as the rear of it had collapsed quite some time ago.

Although we called it the old haybarn it was a very long time since hay had been stored in it, the farm now having a much newer haybarn.  The old haybarn was filled with junk farming paraphernalia.    Milkers that came & went frequently left behind furniture they no longer wanted in the old haybarn.    And so it was that The Mr came home with this old wooden cupboard & asked me if I wanted it?  Otherwise it was going in the burning hole.

Well - Yes Please !! I thought I could do something with it (wasn't sure what exactly) ....  & I particularly loved the slightly retro vibe of it.

The cupboard door was intact when it came home but once Blackie jumped up on it, the hinges gave way & it fell in.  I'm saying nothing about Blackies weight please note 😉

And so it sat for several months on the deck ... you can see it even became a cat sleeping place with old towels tossed on it.  Blackie especially loved sleeping on it.   Then our house got painted & the painters stacked all their gear on it as well as tins of paint & covered the whole lot up with a drop cloth.  It sat like this for another couple of months.  Once the painters finished & took all their gear I still had no inclination to do anything with it.  After my trip away to Sandy's I knew the time had come to tackle the cupboard & tidy up the deck area.

Well thank goodness for that as quite frankly - I hadn't a clue!! 😉

My first job was to wash it all thoroughly with warm water & sugar soap, vacuum & wipe out the cupboards & drawers.  Once it dried I started sanding it with my electric sander.  I used a coarser sandpaper initially & finished with a finer one (220 grit).  

I filled a couple of gaps, painted these with some dark brown paint & then tried to glue & repair where some of the wood had lifted.  

I then oiled it using the leftover oil from our new deck back in * this post * - mostly because I loved how this applied so well & I didn't wish to stain the unit, just oil it.  Gosh did it drink it up!!! Three generous coats later, it was time to repair the feet.

I purchased some half round dowel from Mitre 10 - I couldn't get small enough so it would be slightly larger than the undamaged foot.  As you can see, things take twice as long around here due to the unwanted assistance furry supervision 😉.  Blackie was rather delighted I was repairing his favorite sleeping place (!!)

Measuring, cutting out & then staining & oiling all those tiny dowels took forever!!    Where the blue arrow is are the larger dowels - I don't believe you can notice that they are larger unless I point it out.  The Mr doesn't agree & thinks I should replace the smaller dowels to match - this will not be happening  😉😑

Finally, on Tuesday, I got to move it into place on my deck area, right where the old dog kennel has sat for years.  To say I am delighted with how it has turned out is an understatement.  I LoVe it 🤎 & can't wait to decorate it prettily for the festive season. For now I've just plonked my vintage scales on top.

 

I've lined the drawers with remnants of oilcloth & filled them, along with the cupboards which are the perfect size to hold my bottles of worm tea.  Prior to this they always had to lay down & often they would leak & make such a mess.  

I always love a good "Before & After" pic dear friends.

I am unsure what the wood is but once I began oiling it I could have sworn it was native Oak.  It is a heavy piece of furniture, certainly Not light & flimsy.  

(I should also mention here that despite its age there was no borer in the unit, which was wonderful)

One of the YouTube channels I really enjoy is Whispering Pines.  A couple of months ago Anita showed her summer kitchen decorating & I fell in love with the frilled teatowel on her oven door & took a phone photo of it.  I decided I just had to make one.

Note to self ... you need to iron the crease out of the middle Julie

I used a plain floursack tea-towel to make mine ... as they are extra large I cut it down & then used the cut-off part to sew the frill.

Using some birthday money I'd treated myself to a pair of gorgeous Cath Kidston tea-towels & I thought my frilled tea-towel looked great just tucked in behind.  

Not for The Mr to wipe his dirty hands on either (!!) 😉

It's a rainy, cold, grey Waikato Day today & I have the fire roaring.  Madam Pip in not in a box today, preferring a paper bag & she is especially pleased her mother has laid a her best Annah Stretton shopping bag on the floor featuring a Ginger Cat on it 😽

This appeared in my inbox this morning - sent from The Mr.    I am ashamed to confess I can tick most all of these as a Yes (!!)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends,

Thank you for your ever-welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

,

 gear 

Mid Wintery July Days

Greetings lovely friends & readers

My first vase of Daphne for the winter season.

  I was unloading a trailer of firewood & wondered what the lovely fragrance was when I realised my daphne bushes were in full bloom - so special 💗

It has been mid winter school holidays here in New Zealand.  Sid & his family spent the first week on holiday in Fiji.  Sid's Mum's best friend turned 40 so 3 families decided to fly to Fiji to celebrate the occasion.

They had a wonderful week away with beautiful weather & froze when they returned home again. 

The second week of the holidays was spent mostly at Granny's house.  We did lots of things to entertain him & keep him off devices.  

We baked banana breads & did Paw Patrol Diamond Art projects.  We went to see the Super Mario Brothers Movie & Granny may or may not have fallen asleep during it 😳!!  

We ate pizzas, & we picked lots of citrus fruit & gave away to friends as my trees are laden.  We also took bags of citrus fruit into the Sharing Shed when we went to town.  

Sid made this little arrangement above using a cat tea-towel I was gifted for my birthday.  

While he watched YouTube football videos I managed some handwork & completed the Velvet Chatelaine that I started at Sewing Retreat in June. 

The round beaded lid lifts off to reveal a holder for your tape measure.  The beaded leaf flips up to reveal a space for your thimble.

The largest velvet "rock" is filled with powdered emery so it keeps your pins nice & sharp.  The corner pocket is a holder to keep your scissors in.  

Here is the back view & also the pattern.  This came as a kitset which I thrifted sometime early last year at the same time as I thrifted the Velvet Journal Cover in this post.  I am so pleased this is finished, I love it but I shall NoT be making another one as it was "challenging" at times 😉

I think the name is so appropriate ... "A little bit of Magic - a fantasy chatelaine "

Just prior to my trip down to visit my friend Sandy in my last post I finished this book.  This would be without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read & I truly could not put it down.  It is an intense, gritty read, not my usual genre, but honestly such a well written book.  I am on the lookout for more of Jeanine Cummins work now.  If you've ever read this please leave me a comment & let me know if you enjoyed it or not.  

Each month when I do my big grocery shop I pick up a copy of  NZ Gardener magazine which I love.  A couple of months ago they had an offer where you could send in an SAE & receive a free packet of pansy seeds so I did this. 

I duly sowed them in my handmade wool blanket seedling pots & they all grew really well - so this morning I decided to prick them all out into larger pots.  I've currently put them in the hospital corner of my lounge so I can keep an eye on them & keep them watered.  I'm hoping I get a nice variety of different pansies. 

Miss Pippi is really happy this morning because (a) school went back today so no Sid & (b) her Mother gave her two boxes to sleep in so she gets some variety 😉.  And this photo of Little One is just for you Ellie as you asked after him & I wanted you to see he is living such a stress-free life 😝

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

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead filled with special moments,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,