A Pretty Guest in A Sunshiny Garden!

Hope you've all been enjoying the fine weather, its not been too hot here.... and it seems to suit the garden.... a good mix of sunshine and rain.

A pretty Guest the other day...

I was stood idly gazing out of the kitchen window as I washed the dishes ..... household chores are so boring... don't you think?
Anyway... I noticed a pretty fluttery creature on the lavender.... not one of the usual kind of butterfly.... a more exotic looking, splendidly coloured, lacy winged little lady.

I had a peek in the 'Butterfly Book' ... we have books for most occasions ... being that bit... ermm 'older' we still turn to the books rather than Google as perhaps younger people do.
Anyhow ... I think our guest may have been a Comma Butterfly, very pretty.

Any ideas on this? I may be wrong ... any experts out there?

'The Book' lists food plants as Stinging Nettles, Gooseberries, and currants all of which are in this area of the garden, although of course she was sunbathing on the lavender!
Well... what Girl wouldn't... smells lovely....but of aromatherapy does a world of good!

The sunshine is always welcome.... it makes the leaves zing with green.

And just look at the pretty baby Apples.... the tree is laden with them.... its going to be a bumper harvest.
That's Apple pies all round then!

And who's for Redcurrant jelly? They are almost too pretty to pick... little luscious red jewels... isn't nature a wonderful thing!

As you know I am fond of my garden and although I haven't been able to spend much time in it recently, I did scatter a few Poppy seeds.

Just love Poppy's.....

Their paper like petals and pretty colours are so gentle on the eye...

And just look at this teeny tiny baby one...

Lets hope the sunshine stays with us for a while .... not overly hot but a good English summer will do.... what say you?

Enjoy your garden..... bye for now xx

Thrifty Snippets ...Patchwork..Mending and Vintage Togs!

A settled sort of day.... tackling some of the mundane, but necessary jobs around the home .... the sort of thrifty little jobs that give me a feeling of satisfaction .... a job well done and all that .... bit sad I know!



I managed to fit in a bit of patchwork here and there.
I gives me a silly little thrill to think I am using all the little offcuts of fabric (for the hexagonal patchwork) that perhaps would otherwise be thrown away. And it means I have a little reminder of all the lovely fabrics I have sourced and passed on to new homes.


So today I spent a good deal of time with my trusty old friend ... and a pile of mending!

My old friend Singer is looking a bit battered but works as well as ever .... she's a treadle sewing machine.... so the old legs get a bit of a workout too.

We found these Vintage woollen trousers for Hubby P ... they needed altering slightly to fit Hubby P's ... erm.... elegant, manly.... 'well built' figure ....

They have a label inside with details of who the trousers were made for and his measurements etc .... there were uniform issue Railway I think. Such care taken over the fitting ... nowadays you are probably be given a choice of Medium, Large or XXL and have to make do with an ill fitting uniform.

The trousers had stripes down the legs so I removed those ....

You can see they are 'fishtail trousers' .... they are worn with braces and have button fly. They had lots of 'spare' fabric in the back seam to allow for the letting out/altering of the waist. So sensibly made, the tailoring detail is amazing ... something that is made to last.

Hubby P has another couple of pairs of similar trousers, he wears them all the time and says they are so warm and comfortable .... no skinny jeans for him!

I actually got around to laundering these too...

Dress shirts from Harrods.

Again amazing tailoring and wonderful cotton fabric, these are destined for the Vintage clothes rail at the Emporium. Ladies like to buy these to wear over their jeans, shirts tend to be a bit on the small side for Hubby P .... Men tended to be on the smaller side years ago.

They are such elegant, well made garments ... makes clothes nowadays look positively shabby.

And a few buttons to sew back on ... what would we do without our trusty button jar!

So there we are ... not the most exciting day but lots done, and a feeling of thrifty smugness!

Bye for now x

Bed Jackets and Bloomers!

Out and about today ... sorting the stock for sale tomorrow.

Here's a few pic's of the bits and bobs that move in and 'hopefully' out of our lives....

I just love the little bed jacket someone has carefully crocheted ...... was a present for a dearly loved old Aunt? ..... does anyone wear bed jackets these days .... I bet ya any money they are Thermal these days!

Hubby P .... having a 'minute' whilst unloading ... you know .... when you get to his age!

Hats, hats and more hats ..... hats for all occasions!
Just look at this delightful Grannie hat .... how glam is this for an old dear, or indeed a young dear!

And is any home complete without a cherub or two?

We sell a lot of haberdashery .... vintage bits and bobs and of course the everyday staples.
There does seem to be a lack of shops selling reasonably priced sewing supplies, at least there is a lack in our little corner of the country.

Buttons and beads and pretty little bundles of lace ..... always go down well with the craft ladies.

Fabric ... glorious piles of fabric .... all the old and shabby, the hitherto hidden bundles of vintage joy. We source from all kinds of interesting nooks and crannies and find lots of lovely fabrics for the ladies to indulge their crafty passions.

Just look at this lovely little embroidered picture .... so sweet. Its got to be the find of the weekend.
I'm wrestling with myself at the moment .... should it come home with me for a little while ... or should I be 'sensible' and let it find its new home?

Early to bed tonight .. its a Trading day tomorrow..... I go and give a hand on a Tuesday... You never know I might just miss something delightfully shabby that just .. must ... come home with me!

Bye for now ..... x

Hello Again! A lovely Day Here On Anglesey....

Its a lovely day here on Anglesey so I thought i would take a few photographs and try and get back into the Blogging thing ...... i have really missed you all.

Sorry i have been away so long .... nothing really amiss.... just life sometimes gets in the way of the best intentions. We have had our share of lifes ups and downs .... Weddings, the sad death of Hubby P's Mother, Children moving away and the 'getting going' of Hubby P's new buisness venture.
Hubby P is keeping 'Bread on the Table' with his Trading buisness .... Vintage and Collectables dont ya know!
And just to be a Real Trader ... he has bought a van ....

And of course its a Big White Van ..... real white van man stuff!
(I have to have a little portable step to get in and out ... its so big/tall ... and I've only little legs! I feel a bit like the Queen .. bless her! )

Of course all my time has gone to helping with the buisness ... all hands on deck ..... its our livelyhood we are talking about ... and things were a bit lean over the early months. Its a good job we have had practise of the Thrifty lifestyle.

I must say its lots of fun .... hard work and tiring ... but fun. We find lots of interesting things and of course I want to keep them all ....

Some of them just have to come home ... if only for a little while and then we sell them on.

We managed to do some jobs around the house, and the cottage is freshly resplendant in a new coat of paint..... how do you like the pinky PINK look!

The lads were a bit unsure but hey .... I got the paint real cheap and anyway I just love the colour, nice and warm looking.

Let me know what you think .... is it a bit extream? Am I turning into a mad old woman.... or is it too late?

Is'nt this a nice little picture .... horse and foal in the field opposite the cottage.

Again this was bought as stock .... but could you believe it someone pinched the fuel cap lid (or something .. Hubby P knows about these things!) whilst it was on display so its unsafe to use .... never mind .... looks nice in my garden where it can happily weather its life away!

The poppies are looking just wonderful .... although dont look too closely the garden is dreadfully overgrown .... needs weeding when a have a spare hour or two.

Very pretty but a lot of it wild flowers .. otherwise known as weeds!

I do so like all the old and rusty .... could be said of Hubby P some cold damp mornings!

I will leave you with a couple of pretty flowers ....

xx Take care xx Bye for now xx