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 😉

(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" 😕

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 😉😐

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 !!! 💗

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 😉 !!

Have a wonderful week ahead dear friends,

With much love & friendship to You All,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

Re-decorating the Spare Bedroom

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

Early last month I had a 3-day "window of opportunity" where I had nothing much planned (no Babysitting, Appointments or urgent Orders requiring attention) ... so I decided to empty out & paint my spare bedroom. 

I had two newly-acquired Decor items for my spare room & both were sitting still in their wrappings in the back of my Wardrobe.  I thought it was high time I got them out & put them in their rightful places.

I saw this Image on Instagram & it appealed to me 😊

I emptied the room out & gave the walls a thorough wash down - I planned to paint them the same colour (Cottage Cream) but they definately needed a scrub with sugar soap first. I gave them 2 coats & The Mr also gave the ceiling two coats - what a difference a fresh paint job makes to a room 💗

The left hand pic is the smaller window & the right hand side the larger window

The first new item I had was a blind which I'd had made back in January to fit the larger window in my spare bedroom. The smaller window already had a blind in this fabric & I had cheap tatty old calico curtains at the bigger window. 

The second new item I had was this Stunningly Gorgeous Quilt which I had purchased from my dear friend Leeanne - also earlier this year.  I had watched her make this Low Volume Log Cabin Quilt using offcuts of Vintage Linens as she would send me sneaky pics as she completed different blocks ... & I had fallen in love with it.

I did not think for one moment she would ever sell it but she has opened A Felt Store & is selling lots of her handmade quilts now.  As well as her professional quilting business, she also enjoys making quilts to sell herself & is rather a whizz at it 😉

Look how perfectly it fits on my King Single bed   ....  Oh Be Still My Beating Heart  💗💓

                  This heavy old Oak bed was rescued from my daughter in law who no longer had room for it.

It is honestly impossible to show this quilt up in its full glory as every single time I look at it - I see a new & different block.

Leeanne has also quilted it on her long arm machine, using one of her edge to edge designs - Moulin Rouge

I absolutely Adore my quilt 💕 Thank You Leeanne !!

You can find Leeanne Here on her blog Quiltmekiwi  ....  or  Here on Instagram  ....  or Here on Facebook

I also had another new-to-me item but this one was 2nd hand.  This mirror had been languishing in my sleep out for several years quite some time & I decided to paint it & use it in the room.

Unfortunately some of the decorative edging had become brittle & fallen off but I was able to find most of the pieces & glue them back on.  I filled any gaps with Polyfiller & then painted the mirror in Vintage White Chalk Paint.

When this was dry I masked off the frame & painted the decorative corner pieces in Pale Duck Egg.  I'm so pleased I did this as it just makes them stand out that little bit more.

The mirror fits perfectly above this native Rimu Bookcase (would you believe - rescued from an old cow shed at a farm we milked on once !!!) 

It is not a large room by any means but I have re-arranged the furniture & I prefer it like this now that I no longer need a cot in here for Sid.

A lamp on a small bedside table. (another upcycled project)

This wee Autumn Angel sits at the foot of the bed - I made her in this Post back in 2019

 

And I finally have somewhere to hang the Tilda bunting I made in this post back here 💕

Thank You dear readers so much for your visits here today.

This is my wish for you in the coming week my friends,

With much love & friendship to you All,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0

A Garland, A Rabbit, A Birthday ......... & A Dillybag

Greetings lovely friends & readers 💗

Another busy week has zipped on by in the blink of an eye.

At the Tilda Trunk Show show my friend Claire purchased some fat quarters of this sweet Tilda Angel fabric - we knew there was a free pattern on the website to make the garland.  Claire very kindly shared some of her fabrics with me before going home, so I made up my angels this week & plaited some Perle' thread to string them across my mirror.

It's rather tricky to take mirror pics - you have to toss the mess out of sight before you click 😉

I made 17 angels altogether but decided to use one for a keyring as The Mr had broken mine earlier this week.
 

Here is the pattern above & * Here * is the link to the free pattern - you need to scroll 3/4's of the way down the page.

While culling some pattern books recently I came across the book above & flicked through it.

I fell in love with the little Primitive Rabbit & knew I wanted to make it up as I had some of the exact same wool fabric in my stash.

He came together quite quickly & I also found enough orange wool scraps to make the carrots for his packback.  I have weighted the base of him with some Granite to help him stand up better.  He looks cute tucked in with my autumnal bits.

While I was stuffing him on the Tuesday I had Sid here  ...  our conversation went like this.  Me holding up carrot (first pic) "Sid what does this look like?"  His reply - "a carrot Granny".  Good boy!!! 👍 

Me holding up rabbit (2nd pic) "And what does this look like?" His reply"Granny that's a whale"(!!!!) A Whale ????😕

My eldest Grandson Alec turned 6 last weekend & this year he was able to have a party & invite his school friends - both boys & girls. It was wonderful. Last year we were just coming out of Lockdown & gathering numbers were limited to 10.

Alec's Mummy made the tastiest chocolate cake & he got to help decorate it ... I'm sure the party guests had a wonderful sugar overload. 

                  I especially love this photo of my eldest son (Alec's Dad) taken with Sid, his nephew.

Thank You all for your sweet kind comments on my last post regarding Claire's swap gifts. I was surprised to receive a package in the mail this week along with a note to say that this was part of her "D" gift.  Claire had made me the most beautiful Dilly Bag from patchwork Tilda hexagons - she had not quite finished it when she came up to stay but was able to complete it when she got home again.

We are already planning our next swap though we both might need to catch our breaths for awhile.

There have been Tradesmen here for 2 days this past week ... after 20 years of one tatty old Spotlight in my kitchen I now have beautiful new pendant lights which I adore. However, now that I can see clearly I see I needed to perhaps clean a bit more thoroughly in my kitchen 😉

We also had our native timber benchtops sanded & oiled & I have spent this weekend giving them another 3 coats & am finally able to put my clutter bits & bobs back on my benches.  

Miss Pippi was rather traumatised this week having Tradies here two days in a row & is today tucked up with Blackie on my bed, which so far I have been unable to make & it's now 4.30 pm in the afternoon !!

Thank You dear friends, for your visits here today,

I hope the coming week is good to you all - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you All,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0

My Tilda Swap Gifts & A Tilda Trunk Show ❤

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Last Friday night my dear friend Claire arrived to stay the weekend as we were attending a Trunk Show together, further up the Island.

I didn't know it but Claire had secretly finished my gifts for our Tilda Swap.  When I walked into the Lounge later in the evening - she had laid out these boxes all tied up with ribbon & handmade Tags spelling the word T I L D A  

... I thought my heart was going to stop I got such a surprise !!

                                       Would you like to see what was in the boxes ?? 💗
 

"T" is for Teacup pincushion, tea, tea coaster, teabag holder, tea strainer & below ... the most beautiful string of teapots & teacups - all sewn in gorgeous Tilda fabrics.

The right hand photo is where I have hung my teapot strand & it looks perfect there 💙 

(& is also high enough that it's out of reach of a certain ginger furry being)

A little vignette on my vintage scales left - & right ... the teacup pincushion sits in my sewing room

This afternoon is the first opportunity I have had to do a few little displays with my new treasures so I shall pop the photos in for the ones I have done so far.

Click on the photos to enlarge & see the detail in the Iceskate !!

"I" is for Iceskate, Icecream & Initial (J)

I attached a mini quilt hanger to my Initial & hung it in my sewing room with the Icecream pinned to it. I have also saved all the handmade tags as the fabrics all matched the items.

(The Iceskate is popped away til Christmas)

"L"  is for Little birdhouses, little birdhouse quilt & lavender filled angel wings 💕

Another little corner display arranged today .... fairy lights & all.

"D" is for Dachshund Dog, doilies & dishcloths 

& last but by no means Least ...

"A" is for Angel .... & there were Two of them !!!!

Oh be still my beating heart 💗💓

I think I should mention here - when we decided to do the swap we vaguely set the end of May as our deadline.  I worked away on mine over 3 months & took it down on my last trip to Mum's due to the fact that it was too big to post.  Claire works full time & still managed to create all of the above in just over two weeks time!!!

We both agreed that we just LoVed what each other had made & we should definately do this again sometime !! 😊

Saturday morning we were up bright & early as we had to travel almost two hours to attend the Tilda Trunk Show.  You can read a bit more about it on House of Patchwork's Facebook page.  My lovely friend Shirley also came along as she is a Tilda Lover too.

Inside it was almost wall to wall Tilda & I thought I just might have died & gone to Heaven !!

Alot of my photos have come out blurry so this is just a small selection of what was on offer.

Yes Please .... I'll take one of everything !!! 😉

We had booked ourselves into the morning class also which took just over an hour & we made the sweet Tilda bags below right.

My gorgeous friend busy at work at her machine ... all equipment & materials were supplied - you just had to turn up & create.

After our class it was time for some lunch & the Hall Committee Ladies had made a wonderful array of homebaked goodies for us to purchase.  The tables were all set with vintage embroidered tablecloths & vases of handmade Tilda flowers. It was just simply perfect.

All in all it was a most wonderful day doing something I really enjoy with the added benefit of my dear friends for company - all 3 of us agreed that it was really well done & we would certainly attend again.

These are my purchases above dear friends ... I especially wanted some of the new chambray's that Tilda have released & I was so pleased to get these as well as some Tilda basics & a few florals. 

Thank You for staying with me through this photo heavy post.  I shall leave you with this photo The Mr sent me this morning. It has turned chilly here now & he has to jump start the tractor at the farm each morning ... he lifts the bonnet of his Ute to attach the jumper leads & Fluffy immediately sits in there where she knows it is warm - has a wash & then a sleep, while The Mr goes & feeds out to the cows. We won't tell Miss Pip or she'll be wanting to get in there too !!! 😉

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends & Thank You as always for your welcome visits here today,

With much love & friendship,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0