Busy-ness

Hello there dear friends & readers

These are busy days of late  ...

I have not managed to stop by for a wee while & these little souls have been the reason why

Our farm worker has been quite unwell so I have been called upon  to be the "helper" for a bit

Thank goodness he is now much improved & I can hang up my overalls for now  :-) 

This little girl below is a favourite - her name is Brenda - dont ask me why "Brenda", but the Mr named her ... I know, say no more ...

Hello there -  whatcha up to ?????

She is a right little nosey parker - always there wondering what you are doing - some days, I tell her all my secrets

REALLY !!??  ....  is that so .... well I never ...

She just listens & promises NOT to tell the others - I am sure I can trust her :-)

Brenda is always sad to see me leave ... I give her an extra special pat when I go & each afternoon, she is there waiting for me :-)

It was a month or so ago that I read this post from Louana & it gave me a great big lump in my throat
I decided I would like to make some hottie covers to donate but it has taken me all this time to get around to them

I only managed 3 in the end & was a bit afraid I would miss the final posting to Christchurch but I made it in time
I think it is an amazing project that Lisa has co-ordinated  - & for a wonderful cause too - the children :-)

Two weeks ago I really enjoyed reading this post from Wendy & downloaded the free pattern that she had stitched for her daughter, Charlie

I must confess I loved what she had done for Charlie so much, that I ended up putting mine in a hoop also & am now stitching an enlarged version to be made into a small cushion

When not at the farm I have been trying to work on some orders this past fortnight - the days are foggy & damp here - I took this shot of poor ol' Isabella outside at lunchtime 2 days ago

Taken at 12 midday

Taken from my dining room window looking towards - what should be - green paddocks
This shot was taken 2 hours later just as it began to lift, before closing in again for the evening

She continues to smile no matter what the weather or conditions :-)

 It has made drying things near impossible so the fire comes in handy for those little bits of teadyed calico & trims that are needed in a hurry ...

& makes a change from dolls legs in tea cups !!!

In between working on orders, I came across another 2 doll bodies in my sewing room (yes there are a number of naked bodies floating around in there if you look hard enough) - although I had completely lost 1 leg + 1 arm - I managed to finish these 2 little angels & they have flown their way into the Cottage angel area

Do you by any chance, recognise the dress fabric Catherine ?????  :-)

The pattern is an older one from Mums Moment & is called Gabby & Gloria - I have altered it quite a bit as it is meant to be 2 dolls hanging together with 2 hearts between them saying "friends share one heart"  - but I preferred the individual angels on their own.

Before I close I wanted to share this frame with you - I have finally finished putting it together for the Mr (& myself too)  - apologies for the bad light I have photographed it in

Great memories of an awesome special friend

I am off to find a hammer & hang it on our bedroom wall - I will leave you with a couple of pics to remind us all (especially myself), that winter will soon pass & we will have flowers blooming again ...

not too, too far away (I hope) ...

Have a wonderful weekend friends - thanks so very much for stopping by :-)
much love/hugs/friendship,
Julie x0x0

Some completions

Hello there dear friends & readers

This past week has seen a few "little" completions

Yes the Cottage is Open again - at last :-)

A lovely friend called in from Taranaki last week & she said it looked "bigger & lighter" - how my heart sang !!!!

Shall I perhaps tell you about the lady the next day who said "where did you actually paint as it looks the same as last time I came???!!!  ....  no maybe we wont mention her!!

I am very happy with it & although it is difficult to do wonderful displays with the small space that I have, I feel it is lighter & fresher & also feels more spacious to me :-)

I will just dot photos about as I chat to you ...

the fireplace mantle  - I did not paint this lovely old wood surround, just oiled it

The shelf below is new, or should I say old, & revamped plus the mirror behind it was a friends throw-out I rescued ...

It gives some height to my displays ...

The stand below was black & I painted it with leftover wall paint

shelf destined for the dump "before" . . . 

same shelf "after" . . . 

New curtains made from old length of lace that I have had for far too many years to remember . . .

The golly corner - tall ladder has been painted cream - was dark green

My vintage pram filled with baby knitting

Okay thats all for now  ... just a quick skim around the room with my funny ol' camera ... now what do you think, please be honest???  And while we are at it here dear friends ... please promise me something else ... if I should EVER mention to you again any thoughts or ideas about painting the Cottage, please do me an immense favour, & reach into your screen & give me a good clip around the head, remind me of the huge headache it was & how I vowed & declared NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!!!!  I am counting on you to remember for me please !!!!

A couple of other little completions this past week - in between finishing off the Cottage - this lovely lady was another naked body in my sewing room which I dressed with tea-dyed calico clothing 

She is a Julie Love "Golly J" design & is called Best Friend  - I love the little ceramic button on her bag (a Nicki Tervo design)

Also I completed this rather large cushion from my vintage blanket stash 

It was another half-finished project taking up space in my sewing room :-)

These lovely handtowels & embroidered lavender bags were my final completion on the sewing front ...

And lastly, this box was calling out for a revamp 

So while I was painting the last shelf for the Cottage, I flicked some wax & paint over it & then lined it with some leftover scrapbooking paper - it came up so much nicer I thought :-)

Well folks I am off to fill the wood basket - as I type this I can feel the temperature dropping & it is getting cold again - we had a small peek of sunshine this morning but now its gone.

Wishing you all a great rest of the weekend & all the very best for the week ahead - hope you find some creative time in your week

some time to sit & stitch or some time in your craft room maybe ...

The above 3 pics are taken in my friend Sally's gorgeous home - her craft room makes you never want to leave :-)

Thanks so much for popping by,

much love/hugs/friendship,

Julie x0x0

A birthday, a box & a tree

Good afternoon dear friends & readers,

This past week I celebrated a birthday :-)

I had a lovely day & got some very lovely gifts from friends & family

I even received some gifts wrapped in vintage wallpaper which I was particularly taken with ...

this beautiful cushion was handmade by my friend Sally :-)

I absolutely adore it !!!

gorgeous felted pincushion made by my friend Elaine

Yes, I was spoilt I know . . . 

the cutest little miniature wheelbarrow planted AND with bulbs popping up :-)

Several years ago when I worked in the Gift Shop, a few doors down was the greatest 2nd hand shop called "Alans", & folk would come from all over as his prices were so reasonable.
Unfortunately he had the really bad habit of writing lots of prices on things with black vivid marking pen :-(
I would finish work at 1 pm on a Saturday & often pop down for a browse ... & inevitably something would come home with me!!

This wooden box was bought from Alans for $4.00
(he had written $4 on the lid but I forgot to take a picture first)

Recently my $4 box got a makeover ...

I waxed/painted the box, then I covered some cardboard with wadding + fabric & then double-sided taped it to the lid & base
(the reason I attached it this way was in case I decided to change the colour at any stage)

Then I applied some "rub ons" given to me for my birthday, plus added an old set of keys to the latch ...

I was quite chuffed with my $4 box & knew exactly what I planned to fill it with ...

Recently I had been slowly working away in the evenings on some of the delightful projects from this book

Very kindly gifted to me by Wendy from here

All filled with wadding plus a generous scoop of my lavender :-)   Smells divine!!

The projects are wonderful to make & very enjoyable - I plan to make lots more - thank you So Much Wendy for your very thoughtful & generous gift x0x


This past week has seen me trying to paint some of the fittings out of the Cottage but the weather has not been kind - this is what greeted the Mr the other night on his return home
(for the life of me, I dont know WHY he was not impressed???!!!)

(Anyone fancy Paint for dinner???!!!)

As well as the inside of the Cottage getting a revamp, the outside has been undergoing a change with the removal of the large Paulownia tree out front

All very scary stuff - luckily the men knew what they were doing as we didnt have the "fat fluffy" here to supervise them this time :-)

This is all that remains of the tree ...

I hope to use the slab of the trunk to display some things :-)

Lastly friends I had a quick visit to my friends Sallys last weekend & snapped a few pics - her place always inspires me immensely

Just gorgeous eye candy ...

Sallys new trolley in her kitchen

I will share some more next post if you promise to be very good :-)
Thanks so much for popping by & visiting me
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend - looks like a wet one here
Cheerio for now,
much love/hugs/friendship,
Julie x0x0x