Sunday, June 6, 2021

Welcome to June (already)

Greetings lovely friends & readers 

Welcome to another bright shiny new month


 Gosh it's a bit scary to think we are mid way through the year already !!    Although June is officially the beginning of winter here at the bottom of the world, I realised I had not yet shared my Autumn tablescape with you.

I have a vintage Singer Sewing Table in a corner of my dining room & I like to change this out for some of the seasons (not all).  I did a "gourd & pumpkin theme" for autumn this year & displayed them in my very old scales.


I made a small size Tilda pumpkin from some scraps of fabrics - the pattern can be found in this book Here - Sewing by Heart

The display of lace pumpkins were made in * this post * last May during our Lockdown.


Although I had a very good strike rate with my gourd seedlings this year I neglected to harden them off enough before planting outside & I lost alot of them.  I'll know not to do that this year hopefully πŸ˜‰



(The thread catcher pattern & kit were given to us during the Class we took)

Last night while waiting for The Mr to bring Pizza home for tea, I whipped up this little thread catcher to match the storage pod I made back at the Tilda Trunk Show class.  Some followers have asked if I have the pattern for the Storage Pod - I have managed to find it * Here * - it is a free download & such a simple-to-make project.


I have had the pattern book above for over 10 years a Very Long Time ... I have always wanted to make the Vintage Zinna Pillow featured on the cover - a pattern by Renee Nanneman of Need'l Love.
I decided to begin this project in early March & pulled out all my Tilda fabrics in pretty pastel shades. I would say I used 95% Tilda & added in some other pastels as well. This was made entirely from fabrics in my stash.


I must admit to feeling rather daunted when I made my first petal & then read in the pattern "repeat for 100 petals" πŸ˜•
Although they suggest the rows be covered with gathered seam binding when finished, I decided to use an applique/blanket stitch over each row as I went, to prevent any raw edges & am happy with this effect.
The whole process took ages ...... but it was okay because I had lots of unwanted help & assistance along the way!!


And when I didn't feel like ironing all my petals - Miss Pippi very kindly did it for me πŸ˜‰πŸ˜



I backed it with a good quality prewashed calico, stuffed it tightly & then stitched the seam closed.
Finally .... (Yesterday) I finished my Vintage Zinnia Cushion - I adore it !!! πŸ’—

I absolutely love the pastel combination of pinks, blues, reds & greys with a touch of other colours thrown into the mix. It has turned out quite large too - measuring 55 cms in diameter.
I would love to make a bigger unstuffed version as a mat to go in front of my pedestal handbasin but I think I need a bit of a lie down for now 😊



Today is wintery so I have made my first Fridge drawer Stew for the season & it is cooking in my crock pot (slow cooker) - I had some veggies going soft in the Fridge Drawer so I chopped them all up with some steak/kidney in the bottom & this will be heartening & warming for our tea tonight (& tomorrow night hopefully)


Thanks so much for your visits here today dear friends - I shall leave you with this photo of Blackie taken half an hour ago.  Tho' there is light drizzle falling outside, & there are Two banana boxes with soft blankets in on my deck area (as well as an assortment of cushions) - he would prefer to sleep out in the creeper growing in the old watering ram. 
Mind you, as The Mr pointed out to me - he Is wearing his winter coat - along with about 3 other winter coats as well I think πŸ˜‰ !!

Have a wonderful week ahead dear friends,
With much love & friendship to You All,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x


25 comments:

  1. What a great post Julie ,love all the photos of life where you live .
    Have a wonderful week .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely post to wake up to...! :)
    We've had a few days of sun, Tues/Wed being the
    hottest this year so far..managed to get out,
    cut the grass, and the privet hedge!
    So our summer has just begun, though a bit overcast
    this morning..! :(.

    I see Miss Pippi is back on the job, HeHe! Bless!
    She probably does a better job than the iron..!
    The final Vintage Zinnia Cushion looks really
    lovely..well worth a pussy~cats bottom on it..! :)x

    And..As for Blackie..he's a super~star in his own
    right..Look at him laid there..probably thinking,
    'this is ALL mine'..! :)x

    The stew lovely to..l love a good stew, l eat it
    any time of the year, like curry, l seem to eat
    more in the summer months than the winter, just
    had some this past Friday! :).

    Sunday, to~day, supermarket day, pop off before
    ten, few bits and pieces needed, think l'll make
    a pizza to~day..l'm eating far to much game, l'll
    be growing long ears and feathers if l'm not
    careful..and running around the garden! :O).

    Well..must get on..few things to get washed, including
    myself..HeHe! Womans work is never done..! :O).
    😼 🐾🐾 😼 🐾🐾 😼 🐾🐾 😼 🐾🐾

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh no! Don't show me pumpkins and gourds! We just seem to have gotten over any really cold spells and it is finally
    going to be hot and steamy all week long. But I do enjoy seeing how you decorate, Julie. I really like the mini pumpkin
    and gourds for decorations, inside and when I see them here on porches and window boxes. The pillow seems like it would
    have been a daunting project doing each petal. I see how colorful it turned out and know you will enjoy it for a very
    long time. Of course, what would you do with out a natural pressing machine to help iron out the wrinkles. And Blackie
    looks to be content, as we all like to see our pets. Hope the pizza was as tasty as the stew looks. Lynn and Precious

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much dear Lynn. The pillow was a daunting project but I do love how it has turned out. I would not want to make another one in a big hurry though. And yes the natural pressing machine is in the craft room again today πŸ˜‰ I hope you & Precious have a great week Lynn xx

      Delete
  4. You did not bad with your haul of gourds, Julie. I'm going to find my velvet pumpkin that you inspired me to make last year. Why just have it out at Halloween??Don't think I could stretch my skills to the Zinnia Cushion which is beautiful. I'll leave that to you professionals! Your stew looks really healthy and tasty.We had summer here last Tuesday! It was too hot for me, I'm such a sap!Have a good week, Julie.xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is a lot of work, but I really love it. Also a rug done like that with maybe bigger petals? How cute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I think you are right Kim - bigger petals would be ideal. I just hope Blackie doesn't do "something naughty" on it - like pee on it πŸ˜‰πŸ˜’

      Delete
  6. Your cushion is so pretty. What a lot of work, but you persevered and got it done.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That cushion looks superb Julie but what an effort to make, love miss Pippi's attitude, has she claimed it? You must have used quite a bit of your Tilda fabrics which means you can buy more!!Your stew looks wonderful, a true good wholesome winter meal. Those gourds look really good, you have always been clever at growing those and showing them in great dressage areas. Dear Blackie, showing who is in charge.Bleak weather today so it's crafting time,making the Tilda summer bag which is a "biggie". Quilting the patchwork panel at the moment, huge effort required with doing this but slowly does the job.Have a great week Julie. Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh Julie, everything you touch turns into something beautiful. It is so pretty all around your home, inside and out. Kitty cats sure love to get in the way, don't they. But aren't they sweet and lovable.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love your Autumn display. Cute thread catcher. Love your cushion, Miss Pippi did a lovely job with the ironing. :). The stew looks & sounds yumm. Might get some steak & kidney this week at shopping & make one myself. Ahh cats are such notional creatures. Hugs, xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful post Julie, your cushion is stunning, good to see Miss Pippi on the job and Blackie laying claim to that comfy seat outside! Beautiful autumn display.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great cushion and I love the matching pod and thread catcher.xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely picture of Blackie, he looks well padded and well coated! Lovely creations for Autumn, I like to see fresh gourds and pumpkins in displays. Your cushion looks like it took a lot of patience which I wouldn't have had!

    ReplyDelete
  13. And thanks to Pipi you have now finished your Dahlia Pillow! lol! It really is sweet! Blackie is an awesome cat... does what he likes whether it makes sense or not! ;-) Have a happy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love your autumn tablescape, the lace pumpkins are my kind of pumpkins, and your zinna pillow turne out beautiful Julie, perfectly iron and all, yes we are having a cold start to Winter here, made the stew last week, but must do another one for hubby, he loves them, well keep warm Julie and have a great week. Chris xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  15. The cushion is so beautiful! It must have been very long sewing it but the result is so nice.
    I love the pumpkins too, I have made some with felted wool but I will try with fabric this time.
    Have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Catherine - Yes I am really pleased with the cushion & another friend suggested felted wool too. xx

      Delete
  16. beautiful and cute cushion,it seems cosy.how inventive you are.
    nice days for you
    curly frontal wig

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You so much for your kind comment 😊

      Delete
  17. Amazing cushion! I am sure it was hard work too as it looks very intricate but what wonderful results. Miss Pippi is so diligent too giving it the finishing warm touch and her approval of course :-) keep well Amanda x

    ReplyDelete
  18. always lovely to visit your blog part of our world..... love the cushion effect.... and the colours are perfect... (can't go wrong with tilda???)
    Hugz

    ReplyDelete
  19. OMG! Your cushion looks amazing Julie. Those Tilda fabrics are just so pretty. If you do make a mat, I hope you won't let people stand on it and get it dirty! LOL! Blackie looks very comfortable sitting there in the garden. xx

    ReplyDelete
  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Hello, & thank you for taking the time to comment on my posts - I read and appreciate each and every one of your comments :-)
I always prefer to reply to your comments by email unless you are a no-reply-blogger in which case I will reply to your comments in this section here. Thanks so much for stopping by to read & comment on my blog x0x