Sandys Penny Rug & some weekend snaps

Hello everyone,
Thankyou to everyone for your lovely comments on my last post regarding the pics of my home - they mean the world to me.
I am sitting at the computer supposed to be doing the G.S.T. and (as usual) I am off track :-)

My good friend Sandy had long admired the wool felt penny rug I had over my old travelling trunk in my dining room . . .

The pattern is a Neverending Thread design titled "Hand & Heart Penny Rug", and I have always loved it.  I actually enlarged the sizing when I made it as the original was a fraction small for my liking.

In January Sandy decided to commission me to make one for her lovely home.  I started off with a hiss and a roar  . . .   and soon fizzled out to a putter   . . .   the pennies take AGES as there are 20 of them and they are all double black wool felt plus they have the cream oval centre and every 2nd one has a burgundy wool heart inside ! ! !   60 times round the outer edges PLUS the hearts ! !   Phew . . .  quite a bit of stitching goes on there . . .

When I returned from my visit to my Mums I decided to really focus on it and get it done so I could move onto some other projects . . .   and I finally finished it last week and Sandy came and collected it . . . (& loved it thankfully)

Sandy had chosen a gorgeous blue/cream wool check fabric for her hands plus a different reddish colouring to mine and I just LOVE the colour combinations and it will go beautifully in her home as she has quite a few touches of blue.
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Also - a few snaps from my weekend just gone . . .  we had no power on Sunday so were limited to what we could do but I did remember to fill a Thermos so I could still enjoy a hot coffee . . .

And the latest issue of Extra Curricular Magazine arrived in my mail box this week :-)

I had made some more muslin bags for my herbal moth ball sachets during the week so I was able to make up the mixture (without power) and fill the bags . . .

They smell so lovely !!!

 I also managed to rake up some of our walnuts as I needed to mow the lawns however the weather had other ideas as the rain came and stayed for the rest of the day  . . .

I hope you all had a lovely weekend where-ever you are and that the coming week is a good one for you all - and lastly I would like to say a big "THANK YOU" to the lovely man that came to Threadbear Cottage last weekend (with his beautiful daughter) and bought the selection of gollies for his (lucky) wife for Mothers Day - you made my weekend ! ! ! thanks so much :-)

Take care out there friends and have a safe and happy week :-)
Julie X x x

One Mans Trash . . .

Hi friends,  hope your week is going well out there . . .

You know that old saying . . . "one mans trash is another mans treasure" - well that was probably written about me   -   Yours truly ! ! !   :-)    I just adore old junk things.  I often think I am perhaps living in the wrong era as I so love the older things from previous eras.
 Mostly this addiction began when we were sharemilking and moved around alot and in those days you could still find treasures under the old hedges on lots of the farms we lived on.  And boy oh boy, could I haul it home ! ! ! * * ! !    In the end our friends and family didn't want to help us move farms anymore because there were so many loads required shifting all Julies old junk bits & pieces! ! !

Also this "addiction" was fueled by the simple fact that I didn't have a large enough bank balance to buy alot of the things I craved and so had to do the old "silk purse from a sows ear" type of thing.  
I have a poster that I have framed that says "Make Do And Mend" - yep that's me alright, making do and mending ! ! !  :-)

And so it was on a recent visit from my dear brother that he walked through my house and simply shook his head.  So when I showed him that I had started a blog (which I am still excited about) - he commented "why dont you put pictures on of some of the old rubbish things you have in your house"  (I think he thought secretly to himself "they wont believe it!!!")  So here goes for my posting today   . . .    some of my wonderful junk treasures that I surround myself with and call home, and I hope that (like me) you enjoy peering into other peoples homes sometimes too . . .

The above are some snaps of my lounge room. (just a small sewing machine collection going on here...)

This pic shows my Dads old ladder - Dad was a painter/paperhanger for all of his working life and this was his favourite ladder and still has the old bent nail on the side which I hang things from . . .   it now holds my quilts and some teddies (still miss you Dad )

this is the end of my lounge room where I have an old wooden ironing board displaying some of my old doilies and linens and an old heavy iron (found in a haybarn) - no I don't do my ironing here :-)

the above is an old violin and case that belonged to a very dear friends Dad (who used to play on it) - we are missing the fiddle for it.  Behind is an old expandable sewing case which was rescued from an old wool shed and painstakingly restored (by me) . . .

this cabinet in my diningroom had chooks living in it (when a very dear friend gave it to me),and a drawer missing - amazing what a bit of elbow grease and sheer determination can achieve ! ! !  (this is one of my very fav pieces)

Just in a corner of my dining room is a little display using my Grans old cooking bowl and a pyrex dish which she used to use ALL the time and I have filled with rosehips (can you see the dust . . . ??)
and lastly for today a pic that probably totally contradicts everything I have just shown you . . .

Cos lets be honest . . . . its hardly Living Simply is it now . . . . ????  But I love this little sampler cushion that sits in a wooden trug on a little chest in my dining room.  This is where I sit in the winter when we start having fires and I can sit here and stitch and watch the flames of the fire flickering.
Hope you enjoyed the little tour of some of my home and (if you like) I'll be back another time with some more pics.
Also hope you all had a pleasant Anzac Day yesterday - its good to take the time to remember all those brave and courageous men & women who lost their lives for us all - I was heartened to hear on the radio that more and more young people are coming along to the Dawn Parade and Anzac Services - taking the time to remember the past - what can be wrong with that I ask.???
Have a good rest of the week my friends, take care out there  . . .
Love Julie x x x
(hope you noticed no pics of Mr Fat Fluffy today - told me he is rather weary of having the camera pointed at him lately . . .all this fame is soooo tiring  - he needs a nap)

Thrifting Bargains

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a lovely Easter - the weather down at my Mums was just glorious and we got lots of outside jobs done.    I could've done with an extra week there as didnt quite finish but just ran out of time - always the way !!  
One of the things I love about my trips down to see her are the Op Shops along the way and also the town Mum lives in has 6 Op Shops (heaven!!)    When I was younger I didnt ever frequent Op Shops and now I shudder to think of all the bargains I must've missed over the years.    
However, I must also mention that I am usually just one step behind all the real bargains in these shops - I found myself standing in line in the Hospice Shop behind a lady holding the most amazing vintage patchwork quilt !!!   And then in the Salvation Army shop the man in front of me had an armload of wonderful old vintage books he was purchasing!!!  I am always just behind the 8 - ball when it comes to these things. 

So it was such a surprise when on my trip home to stop in the Hospice Shop and score a real bargain . . .  

the most amazing tin of buttons EVER !!!!     for the princely sum of $2.00!!!!  The lady behind the counter told me she had just put them out that morning.
Some of my other thrifting finds were . . . 

3 new granny blankets to add to my collection . . . 

 a couple of china cups and glassware & a bone china coffee-mug plus an old bonco patty pan tray  . . .    I plan to make up soy candle kits into the glassware & china . . . 

 some more doilies to add to my stash . . . 

 plus a couple more woollen blankets for making cushions with.
I LOVE unpacking the car after one of my thrifting trips and looking at all my purchases and I also love the whole process of soaking the linens and then washing/drying them on the line in the sun and ironing the doilies etc - I love the smell of them after hanging on the line in the sunshine . . .  I know, I know - I seriously need to GET a life !!!!!  :-)   I love the whole concept of re-using something from the past to make something for the future with . . .  & then I look at these things and I wonder about the stories they could tell me from their past lives - whose table the china cups have sat upon etc etc  . . . 
                 
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Mum does all my knitting for the cottage,  & the tin babies bath that I use to display her gollies in was down to about 8 boy gollies & nothing else . . .  -  so I came back with a large new selection of boys & girls to fill it up and make it look much more appealing  . . .

And a certain fluffy friend even got his own new/old granny blanket bought for him to curl up under when he is having one of his sulks  .  .   .   .

You sure cant beat a little bit of vintage granny warmth these chilly autumn mornings !!!!! :-)
Take care out there everyone & thanks for stopping by . . . 
Luv Julie & Mr Wolf x x x

a little trip . . .

Hi friends,

I am off for a couple of days down to my Mums as she has a birthday at Easter time so will be away from my computer for a few days . . .  
          a certain fluffy 4 - legged friend gets to stay home with his Dad    . . . .  so the "do not speak to me face" has been worn for a few days and I notice a new pink hat has miraculously disappeared from the bag I had packed it in to take away   . . .    of course no-one knows anything about it  . . . 

I will be taking my camera with me and hope to take LOTS of pics and have LOTS to share with you when I get back.  There are LOADS of Op shops along the way so am looking forward to some hunting and hope I find a few bargains.
A little footnote   . . .   I delivered the 2 bears (Midge & Phoebe) to their owner and she was MOST thrilled with them and really liked what I had made - SUCH a relief as am always a bit nervous when it comes to orders like that.

Wishing you all a wonderful, happy and safe Easter -  take care out there if you are travelling and be sure to EAT LOTS of chocolate (cos I will be !!!)
Lots of love, 
Julie & Mr Fluffy x x x