A First This Year .. Washing On The Line ... Hurrah.!

 Hello there ...

Well what a lovely day we have had .. lots of sunshine this morning.

It tempted me to have a wander outside .. and even try some washing on the line ..

Hurrah ...!

Clothes smell so deliciously fresh when dried in the free fresh air and sunshine.

Still feeling really rather Yuck with this cold-y flu-y type bug .. but to be honest I'm a bit bored of it .. so much I want to do ..

 And now Mr Sunshine is playing out .. I want to be out there too ..

The little Daffs are peeping out .. there should be a nice showing for St Davids Day on Sunday.

I'm 'Girding my Loins' .. as they say .. to work on Sunday .. we will just have to .. I'm hopeful I will feel much better by then.

Poor Hubby P had to work today .. a long standing booking .. not that really he was fit to work with having this flu bug .. but hey ho' that's being self employed for you.

 I had a hot lemon drink and hot water bottle ready for him when he returned ..

and he had a little nap to recover.

 I chained myself to the ironing board again .. and sorted and pressed more of the linen.

 I think I am getting to the end of this lot ... I'm getting a bit tired of it .. I keep looking out of the window at the sunshine.

Mind you I feel that sickly and generally Yuck  .. I wouldn't be up to much gardening wise.

It went a bit cooler this afternoon .. so I sat by the fire and listed on eBay .. a few bits more of the linen

... got to move it on.

 I did manage a few minutes .. when I went to get the washing off the line ..

I kinda potted up the polyanthus I bought .. they will be glad of a bit more root room .. but they are rather bunged in.

All bright and cheerful ..!

They are in an old 'soil' bucket .. not really a topic of conversation you would want to encourage around the dinner table.

Soil buckets were used to collect the waste in toilets and emptied often by 'night soil men' who would go around the streets with a cart collecting the waste... nice job!

Or in our case .. living in the wilds of the countryside .. Dad would empty it in a special pit he had dug ..

Yes ..

The joys of modern plumbing...!

On that note ... nite nite x

The Sniffles .. A Changearound .. And A Touch Of Fine Linen...

 Hello there ..

I'm afraid its all a bit yucky yucky here .. we've got the dreaded flu that's been going around.

I must say we have been lucky .. and avoided it for the last couple of years so .. perhaps it our turn.

So its a case of sitting it out .. letting our bodies fight the blessed little germs .. with lots of hot drinks and snugly blankets .. not that Hubby P does the snugly blankets thing .. being a man he rages against the 'blessed germs' that dare invade him .. and gets a touch cross ...!

Anyway .. enough of that .. boring being under the weather ...

Something nice and pretty to show you ..

I had a bit of a change around in the sitting room.

 I quite like these Barbola mirrors ... but they tend to be on the expensive side .. but Hubby P .. bless him .. has.. over the years been buying them for me when 'they are a reasonable price' .. 

they may have a chip or two .. but I don't mind. 

Its all part of their life .. their story.

Last week he found me the big squarish one at the back.

For those of you who don't know .. Barbola refers to the decoration .. flowers usually .. around the edge of the mirror. Barbola paste was bought ready made in tins .. people bought it and decorated all sorts of things with it .. like picture frames .. little boxes .. made jewellery .. you get the idea. It was air drying .. I think it was a kind of early plastic based paste.

Anyway .. now I have a little collection of  Barbola mirrors .. I thought it would be nice to display them together.

 I've given the old mule chest a bit of a polish and set them on there .. I think it could do with a nice tallish vase of flowers .. where the little plant is.

 But this will have to do for now ... I think seasonal blooms will be nice throughout the summer ..

roll on summer!

I have shifted all my amethyst geodes (that were on the mule chest) .. and grouped them together by the window  ..

That's a down side of having such a small house .. not much room to display treasures ... 

mind you .. really .. how many 'treasures' does a Girl need..!

As for work .. it still goes on ...

I've been sorting this pretty little lot over the weekend .. so lovely .. and such amazing skill in the making .. these Victorian needlewomen were so amazingly talented.

There is quite a bundle of these linens .. so I have sorted it into lots and popped a few on eBay ...

 they really do need an appreciative home.

Lovely jubley stuff ... 

Well .. time for another hot lemon and honey .. 

hope you are all keeping well ... hold on to the thought of that sunshine .. it must be just around the corner..

 ...unless of course you are toasting yourselves down under in Australia or the like .. 

and if you are .. send us a bit of the warm stuff...

Bye for now xx

Buttons .. Glittery Bits .. and All Thats Random ....!

Hello there ..

thought I would drop you a line ..

My pretty Hellebore's are lasting well .. still flowering their socks off ... 

but its cold and wet ... and dull and dreary here .. a day for huddling indoors ..

 so I attempted to sort the 'button mountain'

I have a heap of button tins that Hubby P has collected from house clearance and what not.

 Its my job to go through them .. nice enough job ..

 just a bit overwhelming when I let the tins stack up.

I sort through the buttons ...a fascinating insight into someones life .. bits and bobs kept from important events .. Uniform buttons .. buttons cut off baby garments .. odd earrings .. the odd wedding favour .. keys .. old brooches ... 

and of course pins .. needles and other sharp bits that I have to remove for safety's sake.

I try and sort them out into various categories .. 

the obviously vintage buttons go in one tin .. these are sought after by people making vintage inspired garments/craft work .. and people who are active in re enactment groups and have costumes .. uniforms and the like .. and they need to 'find an odd missing button' or replace the whole lot of buttons with something similar from the same era.

I also save all the little pretty pearl like buttons .. the sort that are used on Wedding dresses .. lots of people asking for these .. I do think more and more people are trying to re use vintage dresses .. and these little buttons are easily lost in the rough and tumble of life.

The more 'everyday' sort of buttons .. the ones used by the knitters for cardigans and whatnot .. are bagged up (if I can find enough of the same sort to use on a garment ) and these are put in the 50p a bag box.

Cheap and cheerful ... 

I have a lot of ladies who knit for charity so they always have a good rummage to see if there's a bag they could use ..

 How about these .. glittering away like diamonds ...

I found these in a rather grubby bag  .. gave them a good soak in a bowl of soapy water and drained them in the colander.

They are the 'dingle dangles' from an old chandelier .. very pretty .. someone somewhere will be missing a few of these ..

Or .. maybe .. someone will want a few for their craft project.

I must say .. I do meet some interesting people .. just everyday sorts of people doing all sorts of interesting .. exciting  things.

I wanted some nice outdoorsy pic's for you .. but its a bit wet and miserable for that ..

So here are some of last weeks finds .. I took the pic's for eBay.. that was yesterdays job .. listing for eBay ... think I would rather sort buttons

Pretty lot of white linen .. surprisingly I still come across this  ..

 I suppose the nice .. good quality stuff will have been treasured and cared for over the years .. its the more everyday utility items .. like aprons and whatnot .. the things that will have been used until worn out and thrown away .. that are harder to find in good order.

How about this for a pretty label ...

 I know you love a nice old label ..!

 It belongs to this nice old blanket .. so soft .. all mohair .. how unusual is that. 

I'm sure it will look just fine as a throw on the back of someones sofa .. nice to snuggle with.

I thought a Girl deserved a bit of brightness .. so I bought  myself these .. 

rather on the bright and colourful  side .. 

 I just need a respite from the drizzle to venture out and plant them up.

And Hubby P ....?

Well ... not a lot stops Hubby P .... he plays out in the rain ..!

(actually I think he is making pine benches .. tucked away in his workshop)

Been a bit of a random  post today .. but its all a bit random here ..

hope you have enjoyed the pic's and the wittering .....

Take care .. bye for now ....x

Just Peg Bags Today ...

 Hello  there ...

How has your week been ?

Bit of a quiet one here .. work .. as usual ...

 but all rather quiet.

A 'sorting out stock' kinda week ...

I've been going through boxes and suitcases  .. tidying .. and 'moving on' (into the dustbin ) stock that has had its day .. not sold .. become damaged .. 

or simple just out of favour.

Even in the world of antique and vintage there are fads and fancies .. nowadays .. often dictated by the media .. 

Kirsty on the telly .. and whatnot.

And we just have not the space to hold 'dead stock' .. 

until it becomes fashionable again .. most things we move on .. usually its just odds and sods we dispose of so its not too bad.

Anyway .... I promised you Peg Bags ..

Whilst sorting through the linen stock I found some little orphan doilies .. odds and sods .. bits and bats .. 

once part of a set that graced a lady's dressing table .. 

Someone spent many hours .. needle in hand ..

 embroidering these. 

I hate the idea of just throwing them in the dustbin... so I brought a handful home to titivate up some Peg Bags.

As you know its all very 'Make Do and Mend' .. use what you have  .. in this household.

So I cut a rough pattern .. using the brown paper from some old big brown envelopes .. a simple pattern ..

front and back.

And cut two of each (front and back) from some pretty .. again ...

odd unwanted.. unloved pillowslips..

I found some old single wooden coat hangers and Hubby P kindly worked his magic ... 

well .. nothing too magical about it really .. 

he simply sawed the ends off .. so they would fit inside the 'shoulders' of the peg bags...

(anyone with a likely looking saw could manage it ... but don't tell him .. I let him think he has a major role in the peg bag industry).

As you can see .. I used the doilies to brighten up the fronts .. simply attach the doily to a 'front' before making up the bag then tart up..

 or rather 'embelish' the design with vintage buttons .. and a ribbon-y bow.

This one seems a little too plain so I embroidered 'wash day' .. just to brighten that corner really.

I'm hoping they sell .. come the warmer weather .. 

I'm so looking forward to pegging my washing on the line to dry.

Mothering Sunday is coming up too .. 

I thought about selling them for £8 each .. 

do you think that is a fair price? .. I really get a bit lost with pricing when it comes to handcrafted things.

If nothing else they will be something different to put out on the stall .. make a show with some vintage aprons and table linen .. I find I have to keep ringing the changes .. keep the stall looking fresh .. otherwise customers think its just the same old stock and walk straight past.

Oops Sorry .. I've lapsed into work stuff again .. and I was just trying to do a crafty post ..

I did enjoy making the little bags .. it 'took me out of myself' as they say!

I really must try and make more time for crafting .. tis good for me..!

Anyway enough waffle .. do take care ..

Bye for now x

Of This Weeks Doings .. Sunshine .. Horses.. Craftiness .. And Cake..!

Hello there .. hope you are all well..

Just a little of my week .. everyday ramblings ... and Cake !

 I know you like cake ...

   

I did a mornings baking .. mostly for the 'wood lads' (the factory lads that save me their scrap wood) ...

but of course we had to try some ..' Quality Control' says Hubby P ....someone has to do it..

I just made fairly basic stuff .. using what I had in the cupboards .. Mince pies .. I know! .. 

But I wanted to use up the last half jar of mincemeat. Bakewell tart.. a coconut cake and some good old Raspberry buns (made with Damson jam .. there being not a spot of Raspberry jam in the house).

Simple and tasty .. I've found young men avidly gobble up most things cake-y!

The sun has been shining his little socks off this week..

 The horses in the field thought it was great ... it has been nice watching them playing around in the field opposite our cottage. 

As I sit in my chair by the fire this is the view I have ... I'm so lucky.

 As I went outside with the camera this one came to say Hello'

They all seemed happy .. enjoying the sunny day ... nicely wrapped up in their rugs.

The garden is slowly awakening .. here you can see the big pot filled with Tulips .. just peeking their noses out into the sunshine.

And the Daffs are on the way too.

In the absence of real fresh foliage and flowers I found these colourful sprays of leaves .. they came in .. in a 'lot' Hubby P had bought. 

 I don't know if I have shown you this .. 

but I have a metal 'shabby' iron work gate .. hung from the ceiling .. I know .. don't ask .. 

it was just 'the right thing' for the ceiling .. 

to dangle things off.

Anyway .. over Christmas I had spruce/greenery and stuff ... stuffed in and around/suspended from the gate .. 

and very nice it looked too.

But of course that dried up and had to come down .. 

so I thought the artificial leaves would give a dash of colour for a while.

I do like purple so this makes me happy.

It will be okay .. until I get bored .. then maybe summer time I can gather some seed heads to decorate over the winter.

On the crafty front .. I made a bit of time to make something for myself.

I found this wonderful piece of old fabric ..

 actually it was an old knitting bag .. rather grubby and missing its handles.

 I unpicked it carefully.

 And I gave it a good old boil wash in the big old pan.

 I found this old feather cushion inner at the back of a cupboard .. a bit stained .. but its only for us .. 

and I don't mind it will be inside the cover.

 There was just enough to make it into a nice squishy cushion.

 I made time this afternoon to run it up int a cushion .. 

I just love the colours .. its so cheerful.

And it was nice to make something .. 

to do a bit of sewing for me.

I do find sewing .. crafting of any kind so therapeutic ..

 don't you agree?

And just to share .. here is a little bit of cake for you .. 

can you smell the sweetness .. mm mm

And the best bit ... don't worry .. its all calorie free...!

Bye for now xx