Friday, April 23, 2021

Away ............................ & Back Again (Catch Up #1)

Greetings lovely friends & readers,

I have been away unexpectedly .... my elderly Mum had another fall (her 2nd in a month) so I dropped everything & drove down to be with her.  I returned home again this week & have decided to try to resurrect my poor neglected blog.

Because I have not posted since before Easter I have decided to write a series of "catch up posts" going back to Easter & moving forward from there - please humor me with this dear friends 😉



Easter was quiet in our house - believe me when I say Quiet is perfectly fine by me!   The Mr is right in the middle of autumn calving so he is gone early for most of the day.  I decided to sew a rabbit for myself that I had earmarked approximately 2 years ago to make - good things take time dear friends 😊



The pattern is called Hareloom Easter Rabbit & is by American Designer Gini Simpson of "Cat and the Fiddle Designs" (can find no link to this sorry)  The pattern is out of an old Homespun Magazine No. 58 (Vol 9.3)


I had a beautiful vintage chenille (candlewick) bedspread that was threadbare in many places  .... I decided to take the plunge & cut into this to make the rabbits skirt.  It was okay because I had Miss Pippi to oversee & talk me through this nerve-wracking process !!


I'm really pleased I used the candlewick as it is so beautiful & up close it looks like tiny hand embroidered rosettes.


The face took quite a bit of work as it's been quite sometime since I've painted a dolls face & the nose & cheeks are stuffed to make it appear 3-dimensional.  I had to take my time & frequently walk away from it for a break. The lace & ribbon rose at the ear are my own embellishment.


I had a 9 cm pair of dolls shoes in my stash which were much smaller than the pattern required so I cut the foot down quite a bit when sewing the legs. The socks were bright white but I tea-dyed them & added the rosettes to the shoe. The egg was just an Easter decor item that I had which fit perfectly stitched to her hand.



I finished her on the Tuesday after Easter & I just LoVe her 💕 & have decided Not to pack her away with my Easter things - she can stay out all year round & I can enjoy her.  I have tried to think of a name for her & for some reason Milly keeps coming to mind. Any suggestions dear readers?


While I was in the rabbit-making-mood I decided to make a customer order.  Joy had asked for a Tilda rabbit & I explained it wouldn't be done before Easter but she was fine with that. Her preference was autumy colours.


She came together quite quickly & the dress is made from Tilda fabric - I added one of my primitive wooden carrots.  

Joy was delighted with her & has now asked me to make a similar one wearing dungarees.
This is a free pattern from * Here * on the Tilda Website (scroll about 3/4's of the way down the page)

Two elderly customers had ordered new wheatbags so I was able to run these up as I found a large bag of wheat in my freezer.  I keep it in here as it stops the weevils getting in to it ... I also toss a handful of lavender in my wheatbags but this is optional.


Also over Easter I began working on a large Soy Candle Order - I have 20 to make & have the vintage glassware ready to go but have been held up waiting for more Soy Wax to arrive.  I was able to make 10 before I ran completely out of wax & then - just today - my wax order has arrived.



I also made The Mr his favourite Weetbix slice & picked several large bowls of cherry tomatoes. I grew these in big black buckets this year & they are still producing great quantities of tomatoes.

The autumnal colours of the hydrangeas are still beautiful even though the garden is fading.  I picked these just prior to heading to Mum's & they are still drying in their vase.
I should mention my Mum is now doing much better & improved immensely during the time I was there.  
I have much more to share with you dear friends so I will be back in a few days with Catch Up #2.

Thank You as always for your welcome visits here today,
With much love & friendship to you All, 💗
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0



20 comments:

  1. Wow Julie you have been busy , So good to hear your mother is much better .
    Love the sweet rabbits .
    The candles look wonderful .
    Enjoy your time back home .

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  2. So sorry to hear about Mum Julie...
    Hope she's o.k. now..You'll have to
    tell her to take more water with it..! :).
    Bless!x

    Milly looks really fantastic..and yes..love
    the name, you've turned the 'W' up~side~down
    from Willie..HeHe! Love it's face, and yes,
    you must keep her out 'ALL' the year round!
    She's lovely! :).

    Miss Pippi certainly must have helped an
    awful lot, hope she stayed awake long enough!
    She certainly looks on the ball, or should l
    say..on the candlewick..! :) Bless her!x

    We're getting into summer over here, though
    still frosty in the mornings, but, once the
    sun gets up..it's lovely! :).
    Forecast is good for the next few days..!

    Weetabix slice...I've just had a Google...
    Looks nice, but is it as nice as the Scroggin
    slice..HeHe! :0).
    And the cherry toms look lovely, look nice
    enough to 'eat'..!

    Best wishes to your Mum, Julie..tell her to
    take care..and to you and family..
    AND...(((HUGS)))'s XX's for the furry ones! :).
    🌷 🌸 🌷 🌸 🌷 🌸 🌷 🌸 🌷 🌸 🌷 🌸 🌷 🌸

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  3. Always enjoy reading your posts Julie whether it is a catch up or not. I hope you Mum will do ok now. Always a worry as they get older. I think the name Milly is lovely, she will be great to keep out all year around. Good to see Miss Pippi is in helping mode. Lovely Tilda rabbit, I bet the house smelt great while you were candle making.

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  4. Hoping your mum is okay, Julie. I think Milly is the perfect name for your sweet rabbit. Love the chenille dress and her face is adorable. We too have buckets of tomatoes from the garden. A bountiful crop this year. I can just imagine how divine your home smells, Julie. Enjoy a lovely weekend, lovely Julie.

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  5. Your poor mum, the good things to come out of it is she is doing fine and she got a good visit from you.
    The rabbit, Millie, is certainly fun to see. The rosettes on the fabric really stand out. I see Miss Pip was more than
    glad to help and I'm sure both cats were more than glad to see you home. Here the calving is mostly over by now. The farmers here in the northern area like to get them out after the blizzard season of Feb. but before hot weather. A few
    wait till late summer. We had 4 inches of snow 4/21 and now 2 nights of killing freeze. Hoping this is the end of
    the worst. Lovely to see your projects as always Julie, and I hope your mum stays safe. Lynn and Precious XX

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    1. Thank so much for your lovely comment Lynn. Yes there's Miss Pip - always there to "lend a hand or a paw". We used to do spring calving on the farm but we gradually changed over to autumn as we farm on peat country & its much easier on the herd & the pasture doing it in autumn. We are about half way through now. I'm sorry to read you've had more snow Lynn & hope the warmer temps arrive soon. Hello to sweet Precious. xx

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  6. Another beautiful rabbit - and I think Milly suits her perfectly. Sorry to hear that you Mum has been unwell but glad that she is making progress. xx

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  7. My you've been busy, making all sorts of wondrous and delightful things. Really sorry to hear about your Mum but glad she's feeling a bit better.
    Jean. x

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  8. What a delightful rabbit. That chenille bedspread fabric is beautiful She really tuned out cute. Loved the little bunny too and enjoyed going to Tilda's free patterns site. I bought a FQ stack of her Old Rose line and haven't figured out what I want to do with it yet so I got some great ideas. The candles are so charming. I can almost smell them. I had to look up what a Weetbix slice was and it sounds yummy. Loved your blog today.

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  9. She is adorable and I would not pack her away either. Your work is so beautiful i am jealous.

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    Replies
    1. Thank You so much Kim ... I have decided she can stay out & we can all enjoy her. xx

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  10. Glad to read your mum is doing well now... falls are worrying... your bunny is just gorgeous... so much detail. Such a wide array of different beautiful things you make...
    Hugz

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  11. What a busy girl you are. Sorry to hear about your mum but glad she is feeling better.

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  12. That bedspread is so pretty, and you made lovely use of it. What a darling dress for the bunny. Hope your mom is doing better. You are heading into fall, and I am heading into springtime. Both are my favorite.

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  13. Milly the magnificent! How lovely she is ! I do like her face and the puffed cheeks. Did you use paint pens to do her face? I hear they are easy to use. I am so useless at doing faces. I make a pretty little amigurumi baby doll and then the face turns out to be horrifying something like the Chucky doll! So many wonderful makes Julie! Happy blogging Amanda x

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  14. Hope your Mum doesn't have any more falls Julie, love your rabbits, and I miss my hydrangea bush I had at our last house, want to find some to put in the basket on top of the fridge, might have to find a few fake ones😂 Take care, Chris xoxo

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  15. Goodness me Julie, you have been so busy. You make such beautiful things.
    So pleased to hear your Mum is ok again.

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    1. Thank You so much for your sweet kind comment Pam. xx

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  16. I am sorry to hear about your Mum. Its a worry for you. Your Hareloom bunny is so sweet and I adore the chenille skirt. I have no luck with Hydrangeas...but I suspect it could be tge gardener lol! Lovely post Julie x

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  17. Your chenille bunny is just beautiful, Julie. As is the other little one. I'm catching up with some blog reading so I hope your Mum is feeling much better by now. xx

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