Slow Stitching

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Thank you all so very much for your birthday wishes for Alec, in my last post, as he celebrated turning 10.

   I drove down for the day & we had a wonderful extended family birthday lunch together.  Unfortunately Alec's best friend who lives over the back fence, had Covid, so was unable to join us ... hence it was only adults.  

Alec with his Mum Sarah & Dad Aaron ... & Sarah's lovely Mum Sue in the background. 

Earlier this year I asked my blogging friend Maxine to make birthday cards for my Grandsons & I was delighted with what she came up with.  I asked for a computer gaming theme & a soccer themed one.  Alec was chuffed with his gaming themed card.  Maxine does such a wonderful job of all the cards she creates.

As the last month of Autumn draws to a close & the nights close in earlier I have been enjoying some slow stitching. 

I purchased this pattern above from * Here * earlier this year after watching Bec talk about her textile pinch pots on her YouTube Channel & thinking to myself I'd quite like to have a go at those!

I was thrilled with how my first attempt turned out - I spent ages adding bits of fabric & lace & vintage bits & bobs.  

You start with a base made of wool blanket or felt, & then away you go embellishing it & covering both the outer & the inner.  No Willie - it is not a Hat (!!) 😉 I've photographed it upside down to show all the details. 

I just so enjoyed adding in bits of Mums vintage laces, & then some embroidery over the top.  I would like to make a tinier one next & see how that turns out.  

Inspired by how my pinch pot turned out I decided to try making a slow stitched box pouch.  I follow Sherry Iris on YouTube & often watch her making these box pouches, & have long wanted to have a go.  You start with two pieces of slow stitched cloth, one for each side & then you make up the pouch with a fabric liner & wadding.  It is not hard but it IS time consuming doing the pieced outers.

Once again just using up the tiniest scraps, lots of Tilda in here.  I added some Kantha stitching in places just to reinforce all the tiny pieces of fabric & add definition.  

I have been using this beside my lounge chair at nights & it is so handy for my bits of thread & offcuts of wool if I am knitting.  Usually these bits would end up on the floor,  now they are nicely contained in my box pouch.  I would love to make a bigger version to go beside my bed & hold my handcream, glasses, torch etc. 

Another thing I like to do as winter approaches is pull furniture out & give things a good clean behind, especially after summer & flies etc.  I pulled together a small display on my vintage Singer sewing table in the dining area using 

warmer tones & fabrics - cosy colours for the winter months ahead  🤎
 

Everything was already in my stash including Mum's old spud-&-onion pot that I revamped in * this post *.

Even my lounge mantlepiece got a wintery display including many of the rusted items that I have been working on recently.  

Yesterday I snapped this pic of Madam Pip "nesting" on my pots of rhodohypoxis bulbs - once again, warming them for me.  

And Little One on the right, looks like he is having a wash but he is actually sound asleep on my bed.  Yes on the good quilt - where he is banned from 😖(!!)

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

Wishing you a wonderful weekend & may the coming week be good & kind to all of you,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

Thrifting Things & Rusting Things

Greetings lovely friends & readers

I am supposed to be outside planting the box of daffodil bulbs that I found in the woodshed .  .  .  .  .  .

 .  .  .  .   but I am having a few issues with someone sound asleep in the box (!!) She is warming the bulbs up for me before I plant them 😝 And of course, there are no comfy sleeping places in the entire property (!!)

On going through my photos I realised I'd not shared some of my op-shop finds from recent months. I don't frequent the thrift stores as much as I used to, but I have found a few treasures lately. 

Prior to Easter I was delighted to find the rabbit ear jar in St Johns op-shop for $8.  I filled it with tiny eggs which lasted much longer than I thought they would 😵!! 

The wee rabbit egg cup & donkey were found in the SPCA shop & I just adored them.  The donkey & cart is quite vintage & was $5, the egg cup $2.50.

On my trip South to Hawera in late March I went op-shopping with my friend Claire.  I found these items at the SPCA shop - the urn was $8 & the candle sconces were $5 pair.  I set them out on my deck table as I wanted to give them the rust treatment.   Yes I know the Urn was lovely as it was, but I wanted a rusty urn & this one was the perfect size & shape.

All the items turned out really well & I gave them a coat of spray matt varnish to stop any rust coming off them.  I bought some cheap unscented candles to sit in the sconces.

I've not decided what to sit in the urn as yet but I just love the patina on it & am thrilled with how it turned out.  

(I should mention that because the urn was ceramic & shiny I gave it a coat of chalk paint before applying the rust treatment process as it gave the surface something to adhere to)

This little asian looking urn was $2 in the garden department at Hospice, there were several of them & they all looked brand new.  Once again I bought it to rust up.  

And once again, I'm delighted with how it turned out.  I've sat a tiny birds nest in it - (that is a faux egg not a real one)

This mirror was $20 at my local Hospice - it had a few dings & dents in the frame but I was able to touch these up with some Rub-n-buff that I had in Antique gold.  It turned out wonderful & I've hung this in my bathroom above the bath.  

I decoupaged a heart tag with paper serviettes & tied this round it

This large glass jar was $5 at Hospice & I have filled it with Epsom salts, again at the end of my bath.  When I purchase glass or certain china items from thrift stores, I always put them through my dishwasher & they come out so shiny & sparkly. 

A friend popped in the day I was out on my deck doing my rust treatments & asked me "why do you always want to rust these things?"  I told her I loved things that looked as though they'd been found in an old French chateau - my budget doesn't allow for me to buy these authentic items so I try to create them myself. 

 I think this little verse above sums it up perfectly.  💗

Mother's Day last Sunday was a double celebration in our house.  My youngest son Kayne was born on Mother's Day & his birthday often falls on the day itself.  Last Sunday he turned 40 (!!) so it was a special celebration.  I blew up balloons & strung them through the house to make it a bit party-ish.  We had a family lunch together with eldest son & family who travelled from Taupo.  

I made nibbles & dips to begin, then The Mr bought home freshly made pizzas on his way home for lunch & after that we had birthday cake.  I tried to keep it very simple so I wasn't slaving in the kitchen all day long (like I used to be)

The slim candles around the outer edge are sparkler candles - such fun !

My son is not a great sweet eater but he does love chocolate mud cake so I found this recipe online which described itself as the best chocolate mud cake EVER!!  It was my first experience baking a mud cake, it did turn out well but I kept thinking, as I was eating it, there is something missing??

Well dear friends, it would seem that what was missing was the large crystal bowl of whipped cream I had in the fridge which I forgot to put out (!!)  😳

Youngest son Kayne, myself & Grandson Sid

We all had a lovely time together & now tomorrow,  it is another special birthday & I am off to Kinloch to celebrate Alec's 10th birthday.

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

Wishing you all a most wonderful weekend,

With much love & friendship to you all,

These May Days

Greetings lovely friends & readers & 

Welcome to the month of May 💗

Let's hope it's a good month for us all.

I am still managing a few flowers for my table - the last of the dahlia's & zinnias 

I saw this poem on Instagram - it is the work of L.E. Bowman & I thought how lovely it was, & also very true 💖

Early last spring I purchased 2 packets of mini monster gourd seeds, gave one packet to The Mr to grow at the farm, & kept one myself.  Let's have a competition to see whose seeds do the best I challenged him. 

This is The Mr's sad attempt, top left, & mine on the right.  It was a long dry season & his gourds at the farm got Not a lot of water.  Mine did slightly better because I watered them but still not a huge success.  The Mr had about 4 more which the cows trampled quite early on. 

I think I picked 15 altogether from my crop.  I have displayed them on my vintage scales out on the deck area as they are so autumnal looking.  

We had quite a bit of rain followed by some very mild & pleasant autumnal days.  Some of you ask if my little hothouse is still producing.  Last weekend I pulled out the pepper plant in there, but there are still tomatoes coming along.  The peppers have been diced & frozen for winter casseroles.  

I was gifted a bucket of feijoas so I baked a feijoa and coconut cake, cut myself a slice & sat out on the deck to enjoy it with a frothy coffee.  The cows are grazing in the distance of my photo & it was such a gorgeous day to enjoy the fresh air.  

Long time readers will remember my post about the speckledy tree from last year.  Here is is above when Sarah first gave it to me - just a cutting in a pot.  It has grown like crazy & it was time to plant it in my native garden.  

I had been wanting to do this for awhile but was waiting for the summer temps to pass & some cooler weather.  You can see it (top left) on my deck - how big it had grown.  I am hopeful it will do well in the garden.  (it is a Japanese Laurel Aucuba japonica for those that like botanical names)

My friend Carolyn gets up a 7am each weekday morning & walks her neighbors dog Dixie.  Using a stitchery from my friend Claire, I made her a simple cross-body bag so she could carry her phone & maybe some doggy treats on her walks.  She was delighted when she received it in the post last week.  

When I hosted the craft ladies last month, I had been saving these recyclable containers that we buy salads in.  I let the girls choose one each to "do something creative with".  

As it's our next meeting on Monday I thought I had better get on with my challenge so I could take it along for 

show-n-tell.  

I painted mine with 2 coats vintage white chalk paint, then decoupaged this floral serviette on to the side of it.  

I weighted the base with some crushed walnut shells, added wadding, then glued in this simple round pincushion that I'd made from Tilda fabric.  I decided to do something with the lid so I made a circular pocket from cardboard, wadding & fabric & popped a pair of scissors in.  I sewed on a rosette & a scissor charm.

I'm glad I weighted it as it is now a solid piece & not at all flimsy.  I look forward to seeing what the other ladies come up with & will share it with you all. 

I lit our first fire on Anzac Day, then had a week of warm temps where it was not lit.    It's colder now so it goes most days & every night.  Pippi was the first to choose her spot beside it - she moves all around the house but prefers the mat to be left vacant in case she should require it (!!) 😉 This year Little One is most fascinated by it & just loves the heat on him.  (No Pip will not share the mat & hisses if he walks anywhere nearby - she is an absolute Madam that one)

For those of you that often ask how Little One is doing (& especially for you Ellie) he is living his very bestest life.  I snapped these last night on my way to bed - he is on the couch but hanging half off as someone (me) has too many floral cushions in the way.  He is such an adorable cat.  (sshhh don't tell Pip I said that) 😑

Thank you as always dear friends, for staying with me through this waffly post.   

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week.

Sending much love & friendship out to you all,

Easter Sewing & Crafting

Greetings lovely friends & readers

As mentioned in my last post Easter was a quiet time in our house.  As Cyclone Tam raged it's way around the country I was happy to stay indoors & craft, fueled by a steady supply of small choccy eggs 😋

 My friend Gail gifted me this chenille hand-towel last Easter - it was brand new tho' I think it came from the thrift store Gail works for.  I decided to make it up in to a hanging hand-towel, the same style as I used to make all these ones in this older post.

I'd seen this gorgeous Peter Rabbit print in my local sewing store awhile ago & bought 30 cms of it with No project in mind.  I thought this would compliment the hand-towel nicely so I used it for the bodice part & then - because I wanted it to be reversible, I sewed a length to the other half of the hand-towel .. so Happy Easter rabbit on one side, green Peter Rabbit fabric on the other  💚🐰

 As I had a piece of selvedge included in my 30 cms I sewed that on to the ribbon ties.

(I am not sure why all my photos are showing yellowish today)

Here it is hanging on my oven door handle - The Mr was under strict instructions Not to wipe his dirty hands on it  !! 😉

The week prior to Easter I'd given my sleepout a good tidy & sort out & come across this silver basket - tho' not looking very silver at all!  I decided this would make a perfect Easter Basket.

Also the week prior, I had made these 2 little bunnies - a pattern by the late Rosalie Dekker Designs. I'd made them using up some Tilda scraps & was not sure how/where to display them.  

I painted the silver basket with 2 coats Vintage white chalk paint, distressed it a little & then gathered an assortment of supplies ... peat pots, polystyrene hearts,  rabbits, & some eggs not shown in my photo.  

I spent an afternoon painting & embellishing the rabbits, mod-podging the hearts & eggs with handmade paper, decoupaging the peat pot with paper serviettes & adding moss & faux eggs ... before lining the basket with one of my Mums vintage serviettes. 

I thought it all came together nicely & was perfect with the fabric rabbits tucked in.

 Yes I do like to colour co-ordinate my chocolate eggs to my decor, as I am pathetic fussy particular like that (!!)  

(Photo taken from Internet)

I came across this magazine when I did my sewing room clean out back in February..  I'd earmarked the primitive rabbit to make up as I just loved her so much.  This issue is from 2006 so very old now.  The rabbit is called Miss Eliza Burrows & is a VeRy old pattern by Jacky Ayers (I can find no info on her now so maybe she is no longer designing)

I've forgotten to photograph the little story that came with the pattern but just want to share it with you  .  .  .  .

"When Eliza was just a wee slip of a bunny she once caught a glimpse of the most gorgeous young rabbit she'd ever seen.  She heard his name was "Easter" & since then, every year at this time, she eagerly awaits him - but alas ! so far it has been in vain.  This year, as Eliza is of marrying age, she is desperate to find him so she has made herself a sign to direct him to her"

Eliza is a tall girl measuring nearly 80 cms in height.  I chose to mount mine on an old shutter that I hung on the wall & felt it set her off nicely.  

Though orange is The Mr's favorite colour, I am never very fond of it ... but I loved this "ginger rabbits & roses" Tilda fabric that I used to trim her dress.  One of the advantages of sewing at home when all the stores are shut, is that you have to use what's in your stash.  Look at that sweet bunny print that I had over a metre of ... it's adorable  🐰🧡

I packed all my Easter decor away last weekend but I have told Miss Eliza she can stay out quite a bit longer, so long as she behaves herself!!

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

Thank you as always, for your ever welcome visits here today,

With much love & friendship to you all,