Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The Owl & the Pussycat

Wintery Greetings dear friends & readers,
I am in the midst of a major Cottage revamp
The photos below show the current shambles "displays" in my Cottage


. . . rather creative & arty don't you think ???


So consequently ... I am closed for the remainder of the month of June
Winter is always a good time for me to tackle this task ... everything gets a good clean & a "spit-n-polish" & every single piece of furniture gets shifted (at least once)

Last week I managed to stitch up some Owl doorstops 
 I had none left in stock so out came my blanket stash once more.


Sometimes customers prefer the darker colours to the pastel ones ... they do spend their life on the floor after all


After an "unfortunate incident" with the wheat I used to weight them with, I now pop a bag of fine gravel in their "bottoms" - this makes them nice & heavy & solid.

After making the pussycat rattle for my new grandson back here I decided to make some for the Cottage


I stitched a small wadding bag & popped in their tummies with a couple of small bells inside ... thinking perhaps customers won't actually realise they are rattles, I attached a small label to them
note to self ... add a label to these ones Julie!!!

I simply had to add this footnote to my post .... my dear blogging friend Willie sent me this video after reading my post last night ... I smiled all the way through it ... I hope you enjoy it too
(Have just realised it is missing the story .... Fum the cat & Gebra the Owl met when they were both one month old & formed a unique friendship.  They spend lots of their days playing together)
Thanks so much dear Willie - it brightened an otherwise rainy day  :-)

I have been drying lots of homegrown oddments lately ...


This bowl of rosehips took ages to dry - they start off fat, red & juicy but eventually shrivel & dry - much like the chillis below picked from my vege garden ...


It was exciting to pick the first crop of mandarins off my young tree just this week

The bundles below are Japanese Millet which The Mr grows as a feed crop for the cows at the farm. 
 I wait until it sets seed (late summer) & then pick the seed heads & dry in bunches on my deck

These were all cut up yesterday - ready for potpourri making when spring comes

Thank You ALL so much for your very kind comments last post on the birth of my new grandson 

 Dear little Alec currently has jaundice, so he gets to spend his days lying in the sunshine 

Willie please note  ....  leg in the air just for you  :-)

Little Pippi & fat Black do not currently have jaundice .... yet they still get to spend their days lying in the sunshine 
(with a truck taking down a power pole out front, we have had no internet or phone for two days - hence the computer chair soon got taken over)



Thank you all for stopping by to visit me here today 
Next post I hope to be able to show you some photos of some "much more tasteful" displays in my Cottage  :-)
I hope the rest of the week treats you kindly folks,
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Blackie & Pippi x0x0x

20 comments:

  1. ooooO! Such a lot going on....My goodness! Yes! What a shambles....
    Sorry! Display! HeHe! I'm a typical Virgo...Perfectionist! Practical!
    Critical! Modest! Intelligent! (Don't know about the last one)...And so
    on...! :).

    The owls look lovely...Hope their o.k. with gravel up their bottoms...!
    And, that it'does'nt cause a rash, or anything else unpleasant! :).
    The pussy~cat rattles look lovely to! Shake~Rattle~Roll!

    And...Finally the furry ones of the family....Well, two of them at least!
    I think Pippi must love the camera...Does'nt seem to miss a trick!
    Smile Please!

    And, little Alec...in his basket, brought back memories, though through
    photos...Exactly what l spent my baby days in...Did'nt have a cot, just
    a Moses basket...And, a pussy~cat as a sleeping partner...! To keep
    me warm...! Well..We were very poor...! Ah!

    Lovely! Julie! Lovely! Let's ALL make a wish.....!!! =^o.o^=

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  2. Another creative post! ♥

    My cottage could definitely use a bit of a revamp too, so I may take a leaf out of your book.

    I adore all your makes, as always, and your kitties are absolutely adorable.

    Your little grandson is so tiny (getting slightly broody over here) :)

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  3. A late congratulations on Alec. Those cats-what do they think of the owls?

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  4. A very creative mess there Julie :-) I have one of your dear owls, nice to see more of them, I bet they'll go quickly as they have such personality! Nice to see everyone enjoying the splashes of sun...happy crafting and drying and tidying!

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  5. Enjoy your time of regathering and regrouping.... love your owlies and the cat rattles. Beautiful little man of yours catching some rays xxx

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  6. I always love popping in to see what you have been doing. You are in the swing of things for sure. I can never get used to it being winter there. Lol. So cozy. I do hope you grandson mends quickly. Poor baby. The cats can definitely teach him the correct ways of baskkng in warm sunlight :) glad to see everything is trucking along and stitching is pouring out of your fingers. Enjoy the cool winter days for me

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  7. Hope that jaundice clears and that you get to sit in the sun too. Betty

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  8. Hello Julie,

    I thought you had been ransacked or the cats had fun re-arranging the cottage. Good luck with the dust,clean and tidy up of the cottage. Little Alec looks adorable. Lovely to use the produce from your garden in the cottage. Have a lovely week.

    Happy days.
    Bev.

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  9. Very creative I'd say!! Ha... ha... somehow reminds me of what my sewing room looks like most of the time. Don't know how I ever find anything in it! Those cats have got lying in the sun down to a fine art - they will have no problem showing the grandbaby how it perfect doing it. Love those blanket owls are rattles - they look so pretty. We had yummy manderins for morning tea this morning - not home grown tho'

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  10. Look at your beautiful baby, awe......so tiny and so cute. Winter is a good time to have a sort out and I just know the shop will look amazing when you are ready to fling open the doors again. I have a pile of stuff to add to your pile of stuff, must come visit you soon.

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  11. Your winters look so colourful...and sunny. Good luck with the revamp but don't forget to give yourself a treat as well. xx

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  12. That video is awesome! I like how when the cat rubbed against the owl, the owl was like 'what are you doing?'...........but then the owl tried to rub against the cat! Ok so those aren't your best displays, but with practice you will get better! Love the owl door stops, I still LOVE my Jack Cat door stop I bought from you best. The wee fella is look fine and healthy, good to see they still put them in the sun to help clear the jaundice. As for Blackie and Miss Pippi................what a life! I managed to pry a waxeye from Simon's mouth this morning, the bird flew away, I hope it makes it.

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  13. Hell Julie,

    Came back to watch the video, amazing.Thanks to your friend for finding the video.

    Have a lovely weekend.
    Bev.

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  14. Hello dear Granny. What a darling little baby creature Alec is, all relaxed & extended in sleep like only babies can be (Well, unless you're a cat, of course!). I am sure that you are savouring your cuddles. How's everyone doing beyond the jaundice? Takes a while to settle in. Goodness, turning in to a family is a pretty big deal!
    Always good to have a revamp...at least you won't be needing to paint the cottage again since you did it last year. I love the little rattles. I'm sure that they must have wide appeal. Oh dear, oh dear whatever could have happened to the wheat in the doorstops?!! Funny! What a hoot (pun entirely intended & fitting!) the video is. Delightful. Good on Willy for sharing it. Much love to you over yonder. Hope you're keeping warm. I had to water lots today..how bizarre. Much love Catherine, oops..Katie x0x0x

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  15. Lovely post as always! Your owl door stops and rattles are gorgeous, I love the way you use blankets in your makings. Little Alec looks so cute enjoying the sunshine and the video is amazing! Animals are amazing! Hugs Wendy xx

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  16. Love the pics of the 'shambles'.....looks like my sewing shed most of the time!!! lol
    The owls are too cute and love the bunnies!!!
    Cheers, Anita.

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  17. I am sure the shop will soon be back to looking fab on no time...in between visiting your wee grandson and sewing, congratulations(bit late I know) he looks very peaceful enjoying the sunshine.
    Love the rattles and I also have one of your wee owls they look different, but so nice in the darker colours.
    Have a good week.
    Cheers
    Kerry

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  19. I hope Alec gets well soon, the sun will do him good. The pictures are so interesting, I love the cats!

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  20. I enjoyed reading your post...the owls are gorgeous as are the rattles.....great colours in the drying goodies. Hope your grandson is over the jaundice very soon.

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