Hotties, Baskets & the "Bob Saga" . . .

Hello there dear friends & readers,

Whilst reaching for a basket way up high in a cupboard last week, a small "avalanche" landed on my head . . . 

... the "avalanche" consisted of 4 hot water bottles, the remains of some I had purchased last winter on sale.

I decided to make some hot water bottle covers as it was definately feeling like hottie weather !!!

I decided to use some more of the wool blankets I had cut into for the girls pinafores in my last post

Last time I made these up I didn't line the insides & I blanket stitched right around the top edges . . . 

However, this time I decided to line the whole inside & found that as well as it being much thicker & cosier, it was alot quicker to put together

My favourite was the blue checked blanket one with the Paris ribbon & the floral lining ... but The Mr much preferred the Kiwi one 

A lovely customer who often pops out to my Cottage is the Co-Owner of a popular local Bar & Eatery The Redoubt
She called in a couple of weeks ago & asked me if I would like the job of planting up all their hanging baskets that have become a bit of a "feature" as they are on a busy corner site in our town.
It was one of those situations where I opened my mouth to say "Thanks, but No, sorry"...
... & the next thing I knew ... I was standing in Mitre 10 Garden Centre choosing the plants for them !!!!!!!

I decided on a combination of pansies, violas & lobelia, & planted up a mixture of pastels & then some brighter ones. I really enjoy planting usually, but when it is a commissioned job I always worry that they will grow/flower/look okay... 

Her husband said to me that these baskets have become a real "talking point" around town now ... lets hope the talk is how great they look & not "who on earth planted up those manky looking baskets for you??!!!". . . 

These fine autumn days are spent outdoors raking up the endless supply of leaves & putting down a thick layer on the gardens ... I always like to think I am "putting them to bed" for the winter months

I thought the Nerines in my old wheelbarrow were a bit confused about the seasons but a customer informed me that No, they were in fact, autumn flowering bulbs  :-)

When I helped my friend shift shops some 18 months ago now, this was one of 3 antique Chandeliers that used to hang in the old shop premises ... they were promptly snapped up for purchase, but the lady that had earmarked this one never actually turned up to buy it ... (& so I was offered it for purchase)

This week it finally got hung up in my freshly painted bedroom ... I am so delighted with it

It had about an inch of thick dust sitting on it & after a gentle clean, it just transformed it completely :-)

This old piano stool was sitting in the sleep-out under a myriad of boxes - I hauled it inside as I needed a small bedside table.  I had originally planned to wax & paint it but The Mr wasn't at all happy as the Oak was in such good tidy condition.

In the end I just gave it a good oil & polish & decided to recover the top using an old embroidered table cloth which was very thin so I lined the inside of it first

Slooowwwly my room is coming together, but that light fitting just brings me SO much pleasure  :-)

And the ongoing saga of Bob the cat . . . 

I noticed a couple of months ago that Bob's mother had returned - the reason I knew she was his mother was because I remember when Bob & his sibling used to play in & around the Cottage. Read my post about them here
The Mr informed me that Bobs mother looked pregnant again!! Just prior to my visit to my Mums she gave birth to 4 tiny kittens in my front garden.  By the time I returned from my trip to Carolyns, the kittens had grown & ventured further afield.
Can you imagine my surprise when last week they took up residence in my old dogs bed - which I had never actually put away or disposed of.  I always used to tell myself I had left it out in case any passing (animal) souls needed shelter for the night.

Good grief . . .  I thought I was seeing things !!!

Early days . . .  just peeping out at me

more relaxed now several days (& several feeds) later

I am not sure what my old Mr fat fluffy would think of 4 kittens taking up residence in his bed !!!

Now one other teeny tiny point to note . . .  I have watched Bob looking after these 4 kittens (his half siblings) & by the way he licks them & cares for them (when the Mother is off hunting) & fusses over them ... I must confess I am ever-so-slightly concerned that Bob might in actual fact, be a Bobbi !!!

Thank You So Much for staying with me through this lengthy post friends
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend wherever in the world you might be

Beautiful Mothers Day Hyacinth that fragrances the whole house

with much love & friendship,
Julie ... (& Bob & Co ...) x0x0x0x

Paying It Forward

Hello there dear friends & readers,

I have always firmly believed in the principle of Pay It Forward ... so when Wendy posted about it on her blog late last year, I put my hand up to join in . . .

I received an email to say she had finished my Pay It Forward gift & would like to hand-deliver it 
(as Wendy only lives half an hour away from me)
Although we don't get to catch up very often, I always enjoy Wendy's company as we are like-minded crafts folk ... I was very excited to see this parcel sitting on my dining table

Wendy had hand-made me the most gorgeous bag using thrifted & gifted vintage fabrics PLUS she had added in a wonderful little collection of doilies, buttons, trims & a new magazine that I hadn't come across before but it made my heart skip several beats !!!!

The bag is just stunning ... Wendy does the most beautiful stitchery & hand-work. 
It has already been on "an outing" with me to town & received lots of lovely comments   :-)

I think perhaps my photos don't do it justice ... you can see more of the inside of the bag on Wendys post here
I love that she put so much thought into what I would enjoy & added in the little vintage touches with the doilies etc ... as a girl can never have too many doilies I feel !!!!

ThaNk YoU So VeRy MuCh Wendy with all my heart

 

So now it is my turn to Pay It Forward to 3 different people . . . 
If you would like to receive a hand-made gift from me please let me know.  The rules are you must then Pay It Forward to 3 other people & you must also have an active blog to participate.
(Also, you have a year in which to make the gifts which makes it quite manageable)

The rain this past week has enabled me to spend some time creating rather than outside raking leaves.
These little knitted squares were fashioned from an idea rattling around in my head while down at Mums & fossicking around in her "odds & ends of wool basket"

I must confess it's all very well knitting little squares but then "what are you going to do with them Julie. . . ??"

As I didn't fancy using them as "mouse blankets" as my young visitor suggested, I decided to make them into little buntings which look just perfect hung from a small shelf

This was one of the Hospice Shop doilies that I found on my recent visit to Mums
I had been given some lovely glass beads awhile ago so I decided to make it into a jug cover

I thought it turned out rather pretty   :-)

My friend Carolyn that I visited in my last post, flew up to the Waikato to join her daughter & grandaughter over from the Australian Outback.
I had been looking at all my woollen blankets & wanting to try something different with them.  I had been tossing around the idea of making some girls pinafores & knew I had a pattern ... (somewhere).

Front View                                                                      Back View

This was the result of a couple of rainy days sewing - I used some of my vintage cotton fabrics to line them & doilies to embellish or to add a pocket to some of them

Nice & roomy across the back for crawling around the floor in . . . 

When Carolyn & Rose came to visit with dear little Isabella, she was only too happy to "model" them for me & help with my sizing queries ...

Ooohhh look at that pretty lacey flower on my dress Mum

I offered for Rose to choose one for darling Isabella (who is turning 1 soon) & she chose this one below . . . 

Ooohhh I like purple Mum - now if I can just reach that crafty thing over there . . . .

I am quite inspired now to make some more for the Cottage - I used to make children's clothing many years ago & had forgotten how pleasurable it could be. 

from Pinterest

A Very Happy Mothers Day to all the Mums out there - my youngest son Kayne was born on Mothers Day so this year his birthday again falls on the same day.
Tonight I am cooking dinner for all of my family - thank you So much for visiting with me today
Much love & blessings to you all,
Julie x0x0

A friendship, a trip, & a Win

Hello dear friends & readers . . .& "welcome" to the month of May

When I found myself (at 27 years of age) living in strange town where I knew not a soul, with 2 small boys to raise on my own,  Carolyn was one of the very first friends I made.

We met through our eldest sons who, at 5 years old, became very good friends ... as did Carolyn & I.

Ours is a friendship that has endured through the decades as we have watched our children grow up with all the trials & tribulations that that brings with it.

7 1/2 years ago Carolyn moved to the beautiful seaside town of Kaikoura in the South Island ... we kept in touch but as each New Year rolled around I would promise her that this would be the year I would visit.

Last month I finally kept my promise - I flew down to help her celebrate a "significant" birthday.

From the airport Carolyn drove me into Christchurch City Centre to see the reconstruction of this beautiful city
I have always loved the very picturesque city of Christchurch

It is most certainly a city rising out of the devastation & destruction of the earthquakes ... there were lots of examples of the new alongside the old

We walked around the new Re:Start Container Mall - shops made out of old shipping containers - cosy & warm & inviting inside too...

A fantastic example of "making do & mending" ...

Where Carolyn lives now - Kaikoura - is very much a tourist town but at its heart is a great little community of people
She has made some lovely friends ... two of them, Jean & Marie, were undertaking a project to "revamp" the Public Loo's in the centre of the town - I snapped the mural they were busy painting on all of its walls

click on the pics to enlarge them

We did lots of things during our week together ... we walked way, way up high

We saw seals sleeping in the sun, right beside where we parked the car

Carolyn drove us out to Ohau Point to a baby seal colony where the seals swin upstream, away from their mothers, to play for several days at a time

It was kind of like watching baby kittens play . . .  you could watch them all day long & not help but smile . . . 

(apologies for all the seal pictures but they were just so adorable)

The water fall at the top of the stream was spectacular

On the way home we stopped at the colony where the "grown up seals" congregate & play & laze about on the rocks

Carolyn is a very talented mosaic artist ... her home is filled with many of her amazing creations

I especially loved the shoes on the "girl with bird" that sits on her decking steps

Carolyn even designed & mosaiced a splash back above her kitchen bench area which looked just stunning

 This was our constant canine companion for the week ...

dear old cheeko ... always one ear up in case she missed something  :-)

Just down the road from Carolyns is a house converted into a lovely little Patchwork Shop called A Patch of Country

Now as many of you crafters will understand, it is physically impossible to go into a Patchwork Shop & not buy 
(theres a distinct possibility ... that your arms may drop off!!!!)
 ... so (just to be safe) these few little bits came home with me ...

Thankfully I had handmade Carolyns birthday gift well before I even knew I was flying down, so I secretly packaged everything together once I got to her place

I had made up a little drawstring project bag using this free friendship stitchery design from  here. . .  
& also stitched a journal cover from the Natalie Bird book "from the heart"

For the weekend of Carolyns birthday 3 of us drove to Hanmer Springs to stay - this was the views from our chalet up in the hills

We had a most wonderful weekend, chatting, eating, swimming in the Hot Pools & sharing friendships. 
 All too soon it was time for my flight home again

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win Michelles giveaway from her gorgeous blog ... "Rag Tag Stitchin' " 
I had quite forgotten about it so it was such a lovely surprise to come home to a package waiting for me all the way from Australia

I was rather spoilt ... 3 of Michelles patterns, fabric, buttons, thread & trim beautifully packaged along with the most gorgeous handmade card ... thank you SO much Michelle :-)
Michelle is such a kind & generous crafter & often shares free patterns on her blog

Thank you dear friends for staying with me through this lengthy post - wishing you all a wonderful weekend 
Thank you also for all your encouraging comments about little Bob in my last post - you will be pleased to note, he has advanced UP a step & will now sit on the deck watching me ... so long as I stay inside the kitchen that is ...

dear little Bob - such a sweet little face now that it no longer hisses at me  :-)

with love & friendship to you all,
Julie x0x0