Swaps, Racks & Drains

Greetings dear friends & readers

Gosh that sounds like a fascinating post title don't you think??

There are quite a few mid-winter christmas swaps in blogland at the moment

Last year, two dear friends & myself decided we would do a little mid-winter christmas swap amongst ourselves

Well it only took us an entire year to actually get ourselves organised !!!!

This is what I made my two friends .... he is Rustic Santa, a very old pattern from the Woodcutters Daughter who now goes under the title of Theodora Cleave

I have a homemade Rustic Santa of my own (several christmas's old now) & just really adore him when he comes out each year at christmas time.

His jacket is made from quilted calico strongly dyed in parissiene essence ... his beard is some boucle wool & I added a few little embellishments such as a rusty tin birdhouse & a bunch of  artificial greenery, pip berries & scented cinnamon sticks tucked into his arms

I made his hat from an Op Shop jersey ... which was the princely sum of $6 but I happened to pop in on a "50% off all clothing day" so it cost me just $3.00 .... it has been used in many projects now

My friend Leeanne's parcel arrived this week - her timing was perfect as it was "one of those weeks" ... this is the amazing, generous package that Leeanne put together for me . . .

A wonderful array of goodies, a gorgeous stitchery wallhanging, teatowel, notepad, serviettes, rusty bell .... 
Oh there were some choccies in the parcel but Blackie must've sneaked in & stolen them !!!!!

I have a couple of Leeanne's stitcheries now - she does such beautiful fine detailed work, I just adore them.  
She especially loves winter-time so the snowman theme was appropriate.
Thank You Leeanne So much :-)

This magazine rack came home with me on my last trip down to Mums ... it had been $5 in her local Hospice Shop & was in immaculate condition but the lady told me, it had sat there for ages

I hauled it out this past week & gave it the wax candle & paint treatment ... I have been working on some painting projects in front of the fire these damp wintery days.
It actually took 4 coats to cover it well & I must confess, it was a fiddly darn thing painting between those slats ... but after the paint had hardened, I sanded it lightly to distress it ...
. . .  then the fun part ...   embellishing & "doiley-fying"

Goodness what IS that stuff shining in my bedroom windows .... Oh yes, its sunshine !!!!  
We just haven't seen any for awhile around these parts ! !

The doilies at each end got mod-podged onto the wood

Then I got to "try it out" to make sure it all actually worked okay !!!!

It is going for sale in my Cottage so will be useful to have some magazines in it, for those customers that will ask me "what do you actually use this for ???!!!

Poor Pippi has had a rough week .... I got her spayed last week & she was coming along well until she developed a nasty infection under her wound site
Back to the vets for more surgery & home again with two drains in her wound
(I promised her I would Not put any photos of her drains on my blog)

Needless to say there has been quite a bit of the above going on ....
And she has been getting away with doing pretty much as she pleases while I keep her distracted
Put it this way  .  .  .  we shall have a little bit of "retraining" to do once she mends

Helping Mum sort out her silk flowers

And as for Blackie  .  .  .

...  well he's being his kind, caring & understanding self ! ! !

Thanks so much for stopping by today dear readers
Gosh, where on earth did July slip away to I ask you ???
Have a wonderful weekend & I hope to be back real soon with a new painting project to show you 
(completed, hopefully)
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Blackie & poor wee Pippi Longstocking
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Bibs & Aprons

A wintery Monday Good Afternoon dear friends & readers,

My daughter-in-law Sarah mentioned that she had seen a baby at Plunket wearing this cute little "Bandana type bib"

I had not come across these before .... however, a quick search on Uncle Google & I managed to find a free pattern to try

These two were my first attempts & they were for little Alec, my grandson

Although he turns 9 weeks old today, they were just a fraction on the large size for him ... but he was most happy to model them for me during my visit yesterday

I also managed to run up four bibs for my Cottage - I was lucky enough to have fabrics on hand suitable for both boys & girls 

I used soft flannelette on the outsides & then a thinner polar fleece on the underside ...

... or you can also use towelling.  Although the pattern suggests using a snap fastener at the neck, I preferred to use the velcro dots I had ... I liked the idea of this being softer to lay on than a button or a fastenener

If you would like to give them a try, you can find the pattern here

When I did my Cottage revamp I left a large blank space on one wall. I had wanted to make some aprons for quite sometime but had nowhere to display them to do them justice. 

 Also I had often been asked by customers before "do you have any aprons?"

This was the first one I made ... I only had half a metre of this pretty floral fabric so had to find a contrast to mix-n-match.  Making these aprons was very much about using what I have in my stash, so I have had to be resourceful & think outside the square quite a bit

This was the second apron I made ... although I had more of this floral fabric, I still had to use a contrast for a large front pocket.  I plan to make four aprons in total so hope to be able to show you the last two in my next post.  

I would also like to embellish some teatowels to compliment the aprons.

After I visited with my grandson yesterday I travelled on into Hamilton city.  I had wanted to go to Palmers Garden World as I had acquired some giftcards & one was due to expire if I didn't use it up.  I love Palmers - not only is their Garden Centre great but they have a lovely cafe & a large gift area also.

These are what I came away with .... compliments of my gift cards

two new plants, new garden gloves & secateurs AND gorgeous tin jug

I had hoped to be outside using my new secateurs & gloves today as I am waayyy behind with my pruning this year.  But it is a bitter wintery day here again & I am tucked up indoors with some "body parts" drying by the fire !!!

. . . and someone else who is also tucked up by the fire . . . favourite toy & blanket all intact  :-)

sometimes you just feel like hanging out the "do not disturb" sign for awhile !!!

Have a wonderful week ahead dear readers,

hope you all manage to stay warm if you are in these wintery climates

thanks for your ever welcome visits today,
with much love,
Julie, Blackie & Pippi
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A Mixed Up Post of Oddments

Wintery Greetings dear friends & readers,

My dear friend Leeanne's favourite season of them all is winter 

I think of her & try to find things to like about this cold bleak season ... but I must admit I am struggling

Especially with the - 4 degrees frost we had here this morning

One thing I know for sure I am thankful for . . . the dear old man in the rickety old truck who delivered me another large load of firewood just yesterday   . . .   at least the fire helps take the chill off the house

During the last fortnight I celebrated yet another birthday   :-)

Happy 55th Birthday tooo Meeeee ! ! !

I received some really lovely handmade & storebought gifts from friends & family

the beautiful handknitted soft merino socks have been getting a good work-out lately with lots of wear 

Also during the last fortnight a particularly nasty flu virus well & truly sneaked up on me & knocked me off my feet

I have been struggling to shake the dreaded thing off .... any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know as I firmly believe in home remedies

Some gentle handstitching by the fire has been about all I have had the energy for .... these little felt dollies are a pattern by Wendy Brigg of Country Friends ... they are only 12 inches tall & apart from the trim on the skirt & 1 seam, they are completely handstitched.

First completion was a black felt primitive girl dolly .... they are not meant to have wings, but having these wire wings on hand that were a perfect size, it seemed a shame not to make them into angels ...

This was a pattern we obtained from a Country Friends Retreat I attended way back in 2004 .... I have always loved these little dollies but haven't made any now for quite sometime

The little primitive angel needed some pva/water dabbed on her perle thread hair, to keep it out of her eyes !!!

Their little felt vests are cut out using my scallop edge scissors

I have another 2 bodies cut out that I am attempting to stitch up next

These bone china mugs were in a box of china oddments I purchased from an Op Shop on one of my trips to Mums many years ago a little while back

I pulled them out of the cupboard recently & decided to make some pincushions as I am trying to put together a small "sewing area" in the Cottage with sewing related goodies

  I decided to take a deep breath & cut into my treasured Tilda fabrics to make them ... I thought the soft pastel florals of the Tilda fabrics suited the patterns on the china mugs beautifully.

I wanted to make some small swing tags to tie onto the handles but didnt have any pretty florally scrapbooking card on hand . . . 

In the end, I just ran a piece of the fabric through my printer scanner onto A4 paper & then made my tags up from there

I usually weight the cups with some fine gravel about 1/4 full, as I find this prevents them being too flimsy & stabilises them alot better

I am really pleased with the end result - pretty & dainty just as I imagined, but still useful & functional

I think this front one in pinks/greens is perhaps my favourite.

How about you ... do you have a favourite ??

One of the things you first see when you walk directly into my odd little house is my dining table.  I usually like to have one of my vintage tablecloths on it & - when seasons permit - a vase of flowers. It is just one of those funny little things that makes me happy . . .

OLD photo  .   .   .     VERY OLD !!!!!

The rest of the house can be a complete schamozzle (& frequently IS) ... but if the table is nice & clear, then all is well with the world ...

Oh how times can change ! ! ! !

this is currently my table by night . . . 

Yes - thats my craft stuff balanced on a tiny corner there !!!!!

And this is currently my table by day . . .

Lady Muck Pippi having a stressful afternoon ! ! **! !

Thank You All so much for popping by today to visit
Its the weekend tomorrow here, so Happy Weekend to you all
I hope its a happy & creative (& healthy) one for us all
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Fat Black & Lady Muck Pippi
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Baby Corners, Boots . . . & Orange

Greetings dear friends & readers & Happy Sunday to you all

During my revamp I decided I would like to make a "baby corner" somewhere in the Cottage

I have always had a few baby bits & bobs dotted throughout, but I wanted to have more of a specific "baby area"

I decided I needed to define this area with a bunting so out came my wool blanket scraps yet again

I made up a scalloped bunting using blanket scraps & lovely Cath Kidston fabric leftovers

I am really pleased with how it looks in the corner of my little Cottage & hope to make some more baby bits for this area ... I am thinking even the bunting itself would make a lovely gift for that baby that perhaps has everything ??

Several months ago I received notification of a new pattern release from Lisa's BigLittle Etsy Store  The pattern was for her Baby Flower Boots ... I quickly purchased my copy as planned to make some for my imminent grandchild.

I embroidered Alec's name on each boot 

These finally got made this past week, along with two other pairs for friends grandsons.

I lined them with some soft flannelette from Spotlight & for the inner soles I used brushed polar fleece fabric.  I had long ago been given a box of leather scraps ... I am so very glad now that I didn't toss the box away, as I had originally intended to, the leather was perfect for the soles.

I have to say ... this pattern of Lisa's is quite surely the simplest, easiest instructions I think I have ever followed ...  her photos & steps are So clear & concise, it was a pleasure to sew these up.

I purchased the Baby Size Pattern but Lisa also does Childrens & Youths sizes.  My friend Donna's gorgeous little grandson Archie above is about to turn one ... I made him the largest Baby Size & they fitted perfectly & his Mum was most impressed that they stayed on !!!!   I made little Alec the smallest in the baby sizes.

Sarah, Alec's Mum, has asked me to make him bigger sizes as he grows & to embroider "left" & "right" on each little boot so he can look down & see which is which - a great way to learn I thought.

When sorting out the Cottage, you are always left with oddments & bits you are never quite sure what to do with ...
this was the case with these four orange items below ...

An Owl, 2 lavender hearts & a pair of wool coasters ... all made from a really lovely orange wool blanket ... 
but never ever sold.

I have a tall, thin, 4-shelf bookcase that houses the homemade jams & chutneys I have for sale ... so I decided to make a couple more "orange things" using up the last of the blanket, & have a bit of a splash of colour in the bottom two shelves

This was the woollen rabbit that I was sewing up last post when Pippi was being a pain assisting me

I had cut out a hottie cover from the blanket & also some hearts to applique onto it . . . but somehow I kept procrastinating.
I felt it needed something more "retro-ey" somehow . . . ? ?
So I gave in & appliqued a vintage caravan onto it ... I am so happy I didn't do the hearts as I just adore this little caravan & bunting flags & feel it suits the hottie cover to a tee 

This too got lined with the same lovely soft polar fleece as the boots above

Lets hope some "orange loving customers" come along to my little shop sometime  :-)

Rascally Miss Pippi has discovered she can climb this past week .... she looked down upon me from great heights above - here she is below on the grapevine frame ...

She has lived with us for 10 weeks now, has grown long & lean, but has yet to fill outwards . . .
Fat Black on the other hand, should probably not climb trees any longer . . .

. . . as this is what happened when he climbed up the Cabbage Tree 4 days ago - the entire middle trunk fell over under his weight !!! (I am wondering if they have a weight watchers group for cats??!!)

I hope the coming week brings you only good things dear friends
I hope mid-winter or mid-summer is treating you kindly,
thanks so much for popping by today to visit me
with much love & friendship,
Julie, Blackie & Pippi
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