How Many Hankies Does A Girl Need!??

Hope you are keeping toasty warm...

I have spent the day going through my boxes of treasures, trying to 'thin out' all the stuff I have collected over the years.

There is so much of it!..... there is no room for new finds!

These were in my hankie box .....

Just how many hankies does a Girl need?

I went through them and put some aside to go to the Emporium...... someone else can have the pleasure of them.

I do use 'proper' hankies ..... clean one everyday ...... although I don't tuck it in my knicker leg ..... me reachin for my handkerchief would raise a few eyebrows at the carboot!

I just love this spotty one and of course the retro blue colour delights ... I wonder who 'D' was?




And just look at all the embroidery and drawn thread work on this one.... its just lovely..... my hankies are just a little something that I enjoy everyday.

I found this too ..... its a cover for slipping over nice, 'best' clothes when storing/hanging them in the wardrobe. Another nice, thrifty ... gentile sort of thing we no longer do.

The cotton fabric, well its vintage now..... is just so pretty. I gave it a bit of a wash and thought I would keep it, and use it.... but maybe I will ebay it... still a few bits to get for Christmas and the old ebay account is a bit low.

Hay ho... where does all the money go.....!

How's your Christmas Shopping going? I went to Asda today.... got quite a shock at the prices, everything has gone up! I went to buy a vest .... silly prices!

Off to do a bit of crochet now.....

xx Take care xx

A Peek Into The 'Emporium' - Distract Us From The Cold!

Brrrrrr ~ its cold here, I think it is everywhere, at least we haven't had tons of snow ... yet!

My Sister and Partner are coming to visit tomorrow ... they rang to say they were at a B&B in the Snowdonia mountains ... they had hoped to camp!!!!?? But no campsites would let them... I said she was a crazy person!

She laughed and said it..... 'craziness' ran in the family!

They hope to go walking tomorrow.. in the mountains... she said 'its beautiful here - the view fantastic!'.. I said 'it was a pretty good view from out of my window.. and it would do me!'

I will have something hot waiting for them tomorrow, they will come on to us after their walk and stay the night ... be nice to see them... its been a while.

They have the habit of travelling the world .... kayaking up the Amazon last time, and she's written a book about their adventures..... If your curious now look at the blogs, oh.... and they have an exhibition on in Manchester at the moment .... take a look...

General Blog - piecesofsky-chris.blogspot.com

Finding Manchester, lost in Bolivia (The University of Manchester).....

http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/

So .... on to the mundane ... I live the quiet mundane life ..... its cold ... so I think of food!

Warm hearty, happy food .... so today - industrial amounts of warm veggie soup, we go thorough it at an alarming rate!

Family drop by ... for soup!

Pies for tea .... allsorts pies ... eating up odds and ends pies.

And of course flapjack ... It couldn't even cool and be photographed before Richard had pinched a bit.

I've mentioned of course that Hubby P is now his own Man.....answers to no one (but me of course! - but don't tell him!) and has his own little business....... wheelin and a dealin!

Well the little Emporium we started has grown from strength to strength .... well its Hubby P's really..... I just play about doing the nice bits, helping out ..... playin shop!

Thought you might like a peek.....

Lots of Vintage-y stuff ... hats, bags..... stockings
and the like.

And Buttons .... lots and lots of glorious buttons...... well lots of bits and bobs of sewing and crafting stuff in general
.

More pretty scarves and .... well..... general prettiness!

And of course with all that access to lots of crafty/sewing stuff ..... some of my pretty heart corsages.... ideal for Christmas stockings!

Oh .... and some dingly dangly bits for your tree .....

So you see I have been busy .... and I must admit its nice to meet the Ladies who visit the Emporium..... as you can imagine it attracts crafty people .... so we have lots to talk about!

Lots and lots of talking!

Anyway enough for now! you must be bored rigid .... that's if you have made it this far!

xxx Take care xxx keep warm xxx

Make Do & Mend Curtains and Cosy Evenings

Hello there all you kindly people!

Hope you are having a good week and getting prepared for the snow they are promising us - well, we in good old Blighty that is..... we still get all excited about the weather!

Well the nights are well and truly in, real 'Winter evenings' now, where the only warm place is around the fire, snuggled with a blanket around my knees.

I like a little candle light too, I find it soothing and gentle on the eyes..... no good for sewing or reading mind..... but nice for contemplation!

Busy busy here this week ~ I had a 'that's it - can't stand it any longer' moment.... the 'it' being the tatty paintwork in the sitting room..... well all the house really - but lets break it to Hubby P gently!

I rummaged about in the shed to see what paint we had, and came out with some large tins of 'Farrow and Ball' - posh paint...... indeed expensive posh paint. Obviously it was a 'find' from a carboot sale - there is no way I would or could afford Farrow and Ball prices.

Sooooo - ever so posh ere now with our posh paint on the walls!

Of course new paintwork makes everything else looks a bit sad and worn - still its homely and warm.... and its paid for!

I've been searching for weeks for my thicker 'Winter' curtains - I've put them away somewhere 'safe' - I can't find them.... anywhere!

So I looked to my stash of fabric and found some really rather nice, very old, heavy-ish cotton barkcloth curtains, 1940/50's I should think.... very very nice.

First of all in the spirit of Make Do & Mend I had to find some header tape - so I unpicked some from an old curtain (a rather nice Laura Ashley curtain as it happens - I think it may become a door curtain, so I can sit and look at it, and it can hang and look pretty!).




As you can see I have finished and hung the first curtain ( I really must get on with the other).

I just so love this pattern, and the muted old fashioned colours are just lovely.

Of course some of us ..... namely Charlie the cat.... didn't lift a paw to help!

xxx Keep warm..... Take care for now xxxx

Stocking Up For The Chilly Days!

A quiet, thoughtful, winding down sort of day at the Allsorts.

The days are getting chilly and our thoughts are turning to snugly times by the fire.... I just hope its not too long and cold a winter.

This morning I donned my new carboot 'find' - how do you like my 'new' Vintage Gardening Gloves.... I must admit I was highly thrilled to spot them in a box. They remind me of the sort Margo Ledbetter wore in the TV series 'The Good Life' .... anyone remember Margo? wasn't she just Splendid!!

Anyway preparations were for the delivery of this wonderfully scented stuff!

Luckily Richard was at home - Hubby P having taken himself off to earn a crust..... a full load would have been a lot for a Girl to stack on her own... and anyway can't get my new 'Margo' gloves too mucky!




A good start to Winter preparations.

Richard had a good session raking up the leaves, I helped with the brushing bit .... the Margo gloves of course made all the difference..... adding a touch of style to the occasion!

I had the camera with me too, the sun was lovely, shining on the front of the house, and brought out the pretty colours of the few remaining flowers.

This simple sedum looked so striking.

A last few flowers, braving the cold.

I tried to capture the green of this pine .... it was so fresh and bright.

Piles and piles of leaves... surely they must be all down off the trees by now.

The sun was low in the sky and soon the rain showers drove us indoors.

But its a nice feeling to be prepared for whatever the Winter months may throw at us.

Hope you had a good day!

xxx Take Care xxx Bye for Now xxx

Frugal Food ~ Scratch Meal!

I gathered together all the odd bits and bobs - nothing to be wasted!

Cheap and cheerful - instant mash ( Hubby P's favorite - can't stand it myself, so I just make up half a packet for him - thus half a packet in the cupboard) ~ half a packet of stuffing mix ~ tail end of a sorry looking cabbage, shredded ~ bits of peppers ~ an odd potato ~ shrivelled garlic cloves ~ and a couple of onions.

Fry up onion peppers garlic, quick boil potato and cabbage, mix together stuffing and mash with knob of marg and hot water.

Drain and mash cabbage and potato, mix everything together with a tbsp of flour.

Make little little balls of mixture, put in a roasting tin with oil and flatten balls (patties?) slightly with back of a spoon. Roast in oven turning to brown both sides.

Serve with the last of the salad - or in Hubby P's case baked beans.

And very tasty it was too!

The North Wind Doth Blow - and Boy Does It Blow!!

Bit windy ere!!...

Well more than a bit - pretty awful, I am so glad I haven't had to go out in it. I hope everyone is taking care out there.

This pesky wind is finding every little nook and cranny which will let a nasty cold draught in the house. I have so many clothes on to keep warm, I can hardly move!

Thank goodness I am lucky enough to have a nice log fire to keep me warm, I dread to think what some poor folks go through if they are homeless, or indeed just cant afford to heat their home.

I'm glad a chose yesterday to do some jobs outside, it was a pleasant day if a bit cold.

The leaves are coming off the trees thick and fast, I no sooner pick up a heap, then the ground is littered with a fresh fall.

Heaps and heaps of them!

I spent some time tidying around the chicken shed, and putting down Rat poison - just seen the odd one, its all part and parcel of keeping hens - the rats are attracted by the food scattered about for the hens.

The 'Girls' are looking a bit worse for ware at the moment - a bit moult-y, shedding some of their feathers.

Here they are enjoying a bit of cabbage.

I gave their quarters a good clean out and put them clean shavings down, all nice and cosy.

Ahhhh bliss! What more could a Girl want ... full tummy and snuggled down in soft clean shavings! Bit like I feel when I slip into a freshly made bed, with a cup of tea on the side and a nice magazine!

A last dash of colour, a fading rose, the pink standing out against the battered looking green foliage! Are we ready for this winter?

I'm off to raid the cupboards now - groceries are down a bit, I need to shop but I can't face going out in this wind. I think it will be a real scrape together meal tonight - real frugal stuff, I will let you know what I manage to cobble together!

xxx Take care for now xxx

Little Catch up! ~~ Frugal Doings!!!!

Well hello there!

Are you all ready? the layers of clothes are going on in the Allsorts household - Hubby P has his long johns and extra long - up to the knee, super dooper thermal socks on! -I know Girls! - just don't let your imagination wander.... it would be just too much!

Yes, its getting chilly, have you stocked up on your wood/logs, hotwater bottles and maybe even some of that luxury stuff they call oil - I believe its an awful price.

We have the snuggly blankets out, the woodshed stocked and I even have some grit/salt from last winter - all prepared if we have another icy spell. I know it all sounds doom and gloom but I like to be prepared. Especially now Hubby P has finally parted with the company he had worked for for - a long time...... too long probably ... you know what they say 'all work and no play'! Anyway he is now his own man ... much happier and working where and when he chooses. But of course we no longer have the luxury of a set amount of money every week - so I - being me - 'like to be prepared '- and stock up where and when I can.

I'm sure its a trait ingrained in me from childhood growing up in the wild moors of Lancashire - no shops, we had to stock up, we were often snowed in for weeks during the bad winters.

Stock up and be Frugal - that's my mantra at the moment.

Waste Not Want Not .... Make Do And Mend......

Richard received a parcel to day, it came in a useful cardboard box, I seized upon this useful ebay packaging and snaffled it away, and inside there was lovely white clean tissue paper - another useful wrapping ... I tell you nothing is wasted!

I gave it a quick iron to smooth it out - and chose a pretty little stamp to liven it up a bit. I thought it would look pretty enough as wrapping with a bit of ribbon around it.

I have my old hatbox of stamps handy, they serve me well, had them for years.

I've started on the Christmas wrapping paper, I just use any old interesting plain paper that comes my way.... adds a bit of that 'Special homemade/especially for you' to the gifts I give.

So the big C is hurtling towards us ..... have you made a start on your homemade gifts?

I must admit I quite like the making and the giving bit... the thinking of who would like what....the gathering together of bits and bobs to make with.

Made a bit of marmalade and whatnot..

And found this lovely basket on the carboot .... a nice hamper for someone maybe.

Of course Christmas always means needing extra cash - so good old ebay usually supplies the extra. I've been sorting through my fabric again - some has gone to the car boot - Hubby P has a stall every Sunday now and of course we have our Emporium which is open on a Tuesday. Choice pieces of fabric I will put on ebay.... and thus turn into Christmas gifts... bit like magic .. Tra laaaa!

I put this pretty little number on ebay tonight - how pretty is this... of course I've kept some for myself... nice cushion I thought.

And this other .. this bright, bright, in yer face! Retro!.. how wonderful is this!

I just loved this so much! Its a cover from the base of a vintage Silentnight bed - well you can see the label. I am keeping the label bit to make myself something - probably a bag - a 'in yer face Retro' bag! lol! Think I shall leave the label on too ... talk about carrying your bed about/on your back!

This other bit is on ebay .. lets hope someone likes it too.

Just a quick Thank you to Twiggypeasticks for the award - hopefully I will get around to sorting it out soon.

I don't seem to have time for anything these days - Ooooooo you should see the cobwebs ere!

xxx Take care for now xxx