A Christmas Gift . . . . . . . . To Me - From Me

Greetings lovely friends & readers

(apologies in advance - VeRy long & photo heavy post)

I bought myself a Christmas gift, something I have always wanted & - of course - second hand/preloved  😉

Photos taken at my eldest sons house

 I'm unsure if I've said this already on my blog, but back in September my eldest Grandson Alec & his family moved down to Taupo to live.  When I went to help them with a carload I noticed this mobile Greenhouse/hothouse that my daughter-in-law had purchased secondhand.    Sarah never found the time to utilise it & had just sat it on their concrete driveway with a few plants in that she wished to take to Taupo.  When my son Aaron said she was going to sell it my radar immediately went up 🠉🠝

I have always wanted some sort of hothouse/potting shed to work in ... truth be told I would LoVe an Edwardian Greenhouse but I've long given up on that ship ever coming in.      I was able to buy it from Sarah & then, there it sat until The Mr was able to find time to bring it home here.

It was right at the end of November when he finally hired a car trailer & bought it home.  One wheel axle broke getting it off the trailer but thankfully he was able to weld this back together & we wheeled it over to where I had visualised it in my mind's eye - right by my veggie gardens.  You can see above right the messy area I had here, where it had become a bit of a dumping ground.  

I did not want the hothouse to look like it had just been wheeled into place & left there - which was exactly what it did currently look like!  

Firstly I dug up the lawn to lay some brick edging - I had a fairly good stash of red bricks so I laid these in a curve, sprayed the grass, then began laying mulch of which I once again, had a very good stash.  

This is the back area of the hothouse, again I curved the edging around to meet up with my raised veggie garden. I had some old carpet which I laid under this to help kill the grass before applying the mulch.

I'd decided that inside I wanted a no-dig garden along one side.  I googled no-dig gardens & found out what to do, building my layers up with paper, cardboard, grass clippings, pea straw & compost until I was happy with it. The macrocarpa sleeper along one side was purchased from my local Hardware Store (bought home sticking out my car window & nearly giving The Mr a seizure when he saw me !!!)

For the main "floor area" I lay more cardboard, old carpet & then a thick layer of mulch.  I planted my no-dig garden immediately & am currently growing cherry tomatoes, basil, parsley, chillis, teddy-bear sunflowers & one spinach plant all in that small area.

I scrubbed all the lower walls inside the hothouse where it was turning green & it came up beautifully.

Everything is growing so well being so sheltered inside the hothouse.

It was around this same time that I received a wonderful surprise early-christmas-gift from my sweet, kind & generous friend Sandy.  She mailed me this stunning Gardeners Journal/Planner ... so I immediately sat & drew up a sort-of-plan for my hothouse & the surrounding area.

Here is the back of the hothouse which faces onto the paddocks - along the side I planted a trough of snow peas & was able to use this old bedhead which I'd purchased from an op-shop over a year ago now & never done anything with it. 

I purchased a half-round wine barrel planter & dug all my herbs out of the veggie beds as they were taking over & becoming quite invasive.  I wanted to contain them more so cut them all back & planted them in some old pots I had along with the wine barrel.  Already the area was taking shape . . . .

I fed both my raised gardens with sheep manure, compost & garden mix & also used some lawn clippings to top them up.  Currently I am growing lettuces, spinach, silverbeet, 2 varieties of cucumbers, chillies & courgettes which I am picking every day.  My sweet peas are growing at the end up a trellis & I'm picking these most days too.  

I have some gaps as yesterday I harvested two punnets of beetroot & cooked them up, so I'll replant these areas again soon.

I wanted something eye catching to sit outside the front of the hothouse ... I found this old concrete urn of Mums in the garden undergrowth.  I scrubbed it well & then used the Resene Faux Rust FX treatment on it that I've previously used on plastic pots.  

It turned out wonderfully & I planted it with a native box shrub & sat it on a tree stump.

I dug some wood rings into the mulch as stepping stones.  The Mr made me oil these several coats first as he is fussy boring particular like that  😉

I have a large selection of old wire baskets under my house so I purchased 2 new liners & filled them with petunias & Lobelia.  Although I only planted these under 3 weeks ago they are flowering away so happily in there & I love the pops of colour  💗

The interior has solid metal shelves all along one wall which are going to be ideal for growing & potting up seedlings when I get organised.  I've styled a few cloches & things in there as I always believe that functional spaces can also be beautiful.  But I have a lot more to do here yet.

It also has 4 misters along the roof so I only have to plug the hose in & shut the door & everything gets finely misted for however long I wish.  Some hot days I am very tempted to stand in there myself with the misters going!

I ordered myself a lovely new sign from Temu & they even spelled my name right (!!) 😉

And I have finally found a home for all the bags of potting mix & seed raising mix that used to sit alongside my deck area.  Every single day a small cream cat (Little One) comes to check out what I am doing in the hothouse. 

Finally dear friends, if you are not all asleep by now ... this is the view of it from the bottom of my deck steps ... I just love how it kind of peeks through the trees & I'm so pleased with where I positioned it.  The green mesh curtain can roll down when the door is open - I am guessing it's to keep the white butterfly out once they are on the wing, which will be very soon.  

If you've made it to the end - well done!

Thank you so much dear friends, for your ever welcome visits here today,

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year - I shall probably be in bed by 9.30 with at least one cat 😉

With so much love & friendship to you all,

Happy Christmas Eve Wishes

Greetings lovely friends & readers  🤍

Blackie says - Look Willie I can still manage to get my leg in the air even though its harder these days!

 On behalf of myself & the furry three - Blackie, Pippi & Little One, here at Threadbear HQ, we want to wish you all a most wonderful festive season . . . wherever in the world you are & however you choose to spend it.  

This morning I carried on a tradition my Mum always did on Christmas Eve Day.  She would always pick fresh flowers for the house, mostly Christmas lillies - but although I have them blooming from Mum's bulbs, I haven't picked them to bring indoors because I know they are noxious to cats.  We have pink dahlias & Fairy Roses for the table, sweet peas for the kitchen bench & a jugful of Alstromeria & Penstemons for the Lounge.  They don't last especially long in this heat but I do enjoy them 💗 

We had our Christmas get-together lunches on both Saturday & Sunday.  I was able to place the cradle under the tree with the wee girls stockings beside it as I had hoped to be able to do - not a cat in sight (!!)

The girls didn't seem to have too much trouble sharing the cradle but although I had thought it would be Juno, the elder sister being "in charge", it was the younger one Sadie who soon took it over & became "the Boss"!

I haven't done a Christmas Home Tour this year as my decorating is almost identical to that of last year.   However I did add dried oranges to this small faux tree on my kitchen bench & just love how it turned out.  I have very limited space in my kitchen but this looked just so cheery.  🧡🎄

My favorite festive space of all this year is my outdoor decking table.  I used a similar theme to last year, the same red hessian runner but I added red/white Petite Petunias to my rusty urns & a couple more rustic items.  

My only purchase was this wonderful wooden Reindeer, made from Fir Wood I believe.  I just adore him - he came with a bright red bow around his neck but I swapped this for a more rustic look, Jute twine, berries, rusty star etc.  He is a splendid sight standing there & I have promised him that if he behaves, he can come out again for my winter decorating 😉

Mums red geraniums flowering away & looking festive

Christmas can be a strange & difficult time for many, full of expectations that are never quite met ...  & not all fairy lights & fluffy tinsel.   I came across these words from 2017 & I wanted to share them here as I thought they were very true & well written.  However the festive season is for you, I hope you find some special moments in amongst it all.

Thank you all, with all my heart, for your continued visits here to my little corner of cyberspace.      I love & enjoy my blog, & the friendships I have made so very much ... I look forward to continuing with it & without YOU dear friends - I would merely be talking to myself, just as The Mr tells me I am frequently 😉

Sending blessings, love & friendship out to you all,

The Lead Up to Christmas . . . .

Greetings lovely friends & readers

I hope the lead up to Christmas Day is going well for you & you are remembering to give yourself some grace.  

Verse courtesy of  simply_anxious on Instagram

After achieving so much in November & moving through projects at a rapid pace, December has found me moving more like a turtle, slow & steady ...... & some days not achieving much at all.  I have tossed the "to do list" in the bin & whatever I get done will be just fine & what I don't get done - will be just fine too.  

 Todays pickings, before the winds came ... Alstromeria Christmas Red, & white Penstemons 🤍

These wooden stockings were purchased last Christmas, put in the cupboard & promptly forgotten about.  I got them out last week & painted them both in Vintage White chalkpaint.  I painted some grainsack stripes on the largest one using Forrest Green chalkpaint.

Some oddments of festive transfers got applied to the large one & the smaller size one got some pretty decoupage paper mod-podged to it.  I've used every single scrap of this lovely paper & just adore it 🎄

I get a little giddy with excitement when The Mr brings home junk treasures from the old sheds on the farm & this violin was no exception.  It was covered in bird droppings, this is clean above, compared to what it originally looked like.  Nothing that a good scrub won't remedy & a dry in the sun.

Again two coats of Vintage White & then some more Christmas transfers applied.  I love it sitting here by my cabinet full of red/white china & I can look directly at it when I'm sitting on the couch.  I just love how this turned out even though every single person that I show it to says "It's got No strings" (!!) (I don't actually plan to play it !!!)

When I had the red velvet curtain out to make the Santa's LongJohns in my last post, I decided to make a simple Santa Hat for the mohair bear that sits in my room.

  I made this bear 22 years ago now for Mum, on the first anniversary of my Dad's passing. The pattern is Old Boy as that is what Mum always called Dad (affectionately).   I made a large pom pom using a remnant of teddy bear fur that I gathered up & stuffed.  I think it suits him.  The silver letters around his neck, "Snow" was my Dads nickname as he had snowy white hair & everyone called him Snow, although his real name was Hector (!!) 

After I'd made Old Boy a hat I remembered that I had this gorgeous length of fabric in my stash that I'd thrifted - I'm pretty sure this is a Sanderson remnant.  So I made a stocking using the velvet curtain as a cuff & the beaded trim is leftover from my sewing room lightshade.  I love how this looks sitting in a corner of my bedroom - just simple & pretty 💗

My dear friend Shirley gave me her favorite candle jars & asked me to please refill them for her.  I made up the 4 of them last week using the very last of my soy wax.   The fragrances are Fireside - Lime, Basil, Mandarin & Black Rose Oud.  My sewing room smelt SOooo good while they were hardening.  

I've finished the Christmas Baking that I gift & it's all been packaged up & delivered to various friends.  I even came across these cute stickers that said Baked With Love & an oven glove on them.  

When I revamped the cradle for Juno & Sadie in *this post*, I put it in my sleepout with a large sheet over it.  

After I'd finished their stockings in *this post*, I bought the cot inside as I had a vision in my head of it sitting under the tree with the girls stockings sitting beside it, filled with their gifts & the cradle to be shared between them both.

This is what happened to that vision dear friends .   .   .   .

First night - top left - she's sitting in the cradle, on top of both stockings.  

Second night above right, The Mr removed the stockings & tossed a cuddly in there on top of the bedding to protect it.

Third night above ... she's moved in permanently - thinks "how wonderful that Mum made this especially for me"  & there are two cuddly's in there for her!!!       

After night 3 I had a wobbly, removed cot back to the sleepout, washed bedding & vacuumed pillow & it can stay there until the wee girls visit this weekend  😠😟😖😬😣😑  Lord give me strength Please !!

Thank you as always dear friends, for your welcome visits here today,

I hope to be back for a final festive post before the 25th,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

A November Sewing Marathon . . . . . . . . . . . .

Greetings lovely friends & readers & Welcome to December 🎄 

(warning - a photo heavy post - I've tried to condense my pics as much as I can)

November was a really busy month in which I tried to get a lot done so I would not feel so pressured once December rolled around.  I am slower these days & need to factor in that creating takes me so much longer now. 

I made up the little kit of the "Ted in Bed" that I purchased at the Quilt Show as it came with everything required.  It was a sweet & simple project to whip up.  I then decided to make my Grandsons & my step-grandaughters one each for Christmas.

I used some wool blanket offcuts for the girls "beds", lined with Tilda fabrics, & contrasting felt for the Teds.  I enlarged the pattern slightly for the boys & made theirs using Minecraft fabric offcuts.  I made their Teds in bright flouro colours & then knitted them a scarf each.  These are going in their Christmas stockings.

I completed an order for 16 lavender sachets for my friend Sally using muslin that she provided.  I ran out of satin ribbon but Sally said to leave the others as she had ample herself.  These were made using last seasons homegrown lavender.

I made each Grandson a Minecraft pillowcase using this simple tutorial Here..  Little One very kindly gave me a lesson in scissor safety seeing as he is such an expert on the subject 😉

Many many years ago (over 10 in fact) I tore this picture (top left) out of an old Country Craft & Decorating Magazine. I'd always loved it & wanted to make my own handmade Christmas Crackers.  

This year I finally gave it a go using toilet roll tubes covered in wadding, all fully reusable, just untie the ribbons at each end. I did put a cracker snap in each one (purely for fun) & filled them with gourmet choccies.  I used double sided cellotape to hold the fabric closed, a yo yo heart & a christmas charm tied on - such a fun project 💗

Last year I purchased the pattern above for Santa's LongJohns from * this etsy store *.  It is called Santa's Union Suit in the pattern.  I decided to make it up as I came across this velvet curtain in my cupboard, purchased for $5 from the Hospice Shop in Mum's town (so quite sometime ago then).  It was a fairly simple project though in hindsight I would've have enlarged it as it's more like a child's size rather than fitting a grown-up Santa.

Sally kindly loaned me her number stamps so I could make the tag that comes with the pattern download.  I had rusty bells in my stash to embellish it & wiped dark wax over a pale wooden coat-hanger to darken it slightly. 

Here it is hanging in my lounge ... Yes dear friends, I Am rapidly running out of wallspace to hang things (!!)

My friend Gail cleared out a lot of her Christmas fabrics & very generously gave me a pile.  I loved these two above & decided to make a stocking each for my step-grandaughters Juno & Sadie.  I used quilted calico for the backs, lined them with fabric & wadding, appliqued their names on & made a little pocket in each stocking. 

I stitched a strip of the complimentary fabric to the top, added some festive braid so I could hand sew some christmas charms along the top.  

The reason I added the pocket is because I planned to make a little felt toy to sit in the pocket of each one.

Using this free molly and mama download I made little felt Angels but I stuffed mine with wadding rather than just having them flat as the pattern calls for.  I found some silver charms in my stash with the girls initials on "J" & "S" so I sewed these to their necks.  I've added a tie to the back of the head in case they want them to be tree decorations. 

When I went hunting in my drawer for the Santa's LongJohns pattern I came across this very old craft magazine - Vol  2, No 3.  I'd made the flat doll Angel in it years ago for an Order so I thought I'd quite like to make myself one.  

I put the finishing touches on her last weekend & have yet to find just-the-right-spot to hang her.  She is so sweet.  Instead of Love Blooms in Christmas Hearts, I stitched Christmas Wishes on my banner.

(When I made her for an Order I'd enlarged the pattern by 200%)

She is meant to have Perle thread for her hair but I'd run out of the right colour so just used some mohair that I had in my stash.  Her wings, arms & dress are all Liberty fabric. 

If you've made it to the end, give yourself a pat on the back! (You may all need a little Lie down now)

Well done & Thank You 💗for reading my waffle ramblings.

Wishing you a great rest-of-the-week dear friends,

With much love & friendship to you all,