Vintage Xmas

Found some vintage xmas tablecloths in the charity shop

 

Did not do anything with these, but did find some napkins and made these cushions

I also collected some wool skirts in red, green and tartan and run up some stockings

 

Hope you all have a merry xmas.

Birth of a Rag Doll

Thought you might like to see how my rag dolls are put together.

First the pattern pieces are drawn onto cream cotton.

Arms and legs stitched.

Arms and legs pinned into position on body.

Body sewn.

Turned right way out.

Stuffed and ready for hair and face.

Four young ladies waiting for dresses and shoes.  I will take more photos when they are dress

Craft Fair

This post is going to show you my stall from the craft fair that I attended at the end of September.  It is the first time I have had my craft table stocked and on display. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allotment Produce

At last, after a miserable start, on the allotment we are starting to pick some vegetables.  Because of the weather this year we don't have as big a variety of veg as we normally do.  But we have

potatoes;

onions;

cabbages;

baby carrots;

beetroot;

and runner beans.
There is also shallots, peas, lettuce, courgettes as well as blackcurrants, redcurrants, strawberries and raspberries.  So we have plenty of jam and will also be pickling the beetroot.

I am still busy getting everything ready for the craft fair at the end of this month and hopefully will have some photos to share very shortly.  Thanks for looking in.

Lavender and Strawberies

I was asked recently if I would make jam for the summer fair at our local church.  I made 3 jars of rhubarb and ginger with rhubarb from the allotment and 3 jars of strawberry, unfortunately my strawberries were not ready so I had to buy some.  I decorated the jars with crochet doilies and fabric labels to make them look pretty -

I also had some lavender left from last year so I also made some pincushions -

lavender hearts and lavender cushions decorated with crochet flowers -

I also donated a crochet blanket and a patchwork lap blanket -

and some tartan wool tissue holders -

and that is my contribution to charity for now, at least until xmas.  The next thing I am busy getting ready for is a craft fair at the start of Sept so I will post updates and photos when I get time.  Thanks for looking in.

Meet the Girls

As promised  here are photos of my hens and the wonderful coloured eggs that they lay.  I have 7 hens altogether, 5 of which each lay a different coloured egg and 2 that just lay normal brown eggs.  This is Sunny, Betty Blue, Becky, Isa, Peggy and Shelley in their run -

and Bertha,who is feeling broody and sitting on the nest in their hut.

You can just about make out the colours of their eggs - white, pink, blue, green, dark brown speckled and 2 plain brown.

Have also finally managed to get out onto the allotment and do some planting.  Some photos on the next blog.

Doily Bag

After doing cushions with wool skirts and doilies I decided to try something else using them.  This bag is what I ended up with, made from a pink tweed wool skirt and a crochet doily.  The lining is made from a vintage sheet and it fastens with a vintage button.

Next blog I will show you some photos of the allotment and the hens.  Thank you for looking in.

Take 3 Crochet Doilies ...

and match them up with 3 wool skirts from the charity shop and lo and behold, with a little sewing magic, you get these

 

3 lovely cushions, and on the back

tagged with my very own name tag.  This is the kind of thing I want to do for my shop.  Any comments will be appreciated.  Bye for now.

Vintage Tablecloth Throw

Hi, thought you might like to see what I made from 2 vintage tablecloths and some vintage sheeting.  The front is patchwork squares made from a vintage embroidered tablecloth and vintage sheets. 

The back of the throw is made from a vintage white damask tablecloth.

If you look closely you can just about make out the damask pattern on it.  Then I made some cute little covered buttons from some of the single embroidered flowers.

Vintage Linens and Sheets

Here are some examples of vintage linens I have been collecting to make into granny goodies.  There are vintage sheets, embroidered and lace tablecloths, doilies and vintage retro pillowcases.  I have a whole load more, including vintage lace trims and buttons, to play with.

These quilts/throws were the first things I made with some vintage sheets.

These rag dolls are made from old curtains and vintage sheets.

 

Hope you enjoyed the photos.  Speak to you again later.

An Introduction

Hi!  I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you some of the topics I will be chatting about in this blog.  There will be plenty of craftiness in the form of patchwork, sewing with vintage linens, granny crochet and a little bit of knitting and embroidery.  There will be ramblings about about life on my allotment with the chickens.  I also want to show you some of my ideas and projects for handmade granny goodies that I hope to start selling on Etsy, and would welcome any helpful comments,suggestions and feedback.  I will have some photos for my next blog.  Thank you for looking in and I hope to speak to you soon.