C is for..................

Crafting

Recently I have been

Knitting

Embroidering

and making felt flowers

What have you been crafting...............?

Linking with Alphabet Blogging

Finding....... Don't Remember and Forgotten!

One thing about clearing stuff out - throwing it away, giving things away to charity shops or free-cycle, putting to one side for boot-fairs or vintage fairs, you find things that you just don't remember doing or have completely forgotten about!

I don't remember stitching this, well....... perhaps vaguely I do.  I do know it is my own work because the alphabet and numbers are ones I use on all samplers designed by me.  I must have thought I will give other stitches ago as there are a variety of designs and cut-work in this sampler.  Think I might just wash it and get it framed as a treat for me.

A close-up of the work, (click on pictures) to get a closer look.  The coin is a five pence piece so you can see the size of the stitches.  I think I am quite proud of this piece of work as I am of the following piece.

Stitched by me when I was about eight years old.  I bought the fabric myself with my pocket money from Harrods of Knightsbridge on a day trip to London with my mum.  We lived  a train ride away so it was regular trips to museums and shops at least twice month.

I think I was going to just fill it in with owls and flowers!  The patterns for the owls and flowers were from knitting patterns because that is all I had to follow otherwise it would have just been basic patterns.  I think perhaps it should have been basic patterns but I seem to have ambitious adventurous tendencies.  The more complicated I am at my happiest!

Just a quick post..........

.............I'm still here!  I just don't know why I haven't been blogging or leaving comments.........well I do and I'm ashamed to say and I apologise for neglecting everyone.  I  promise to do better in the future, and I promise to try and stop this addiction - I hope it is just a phase I am going through!   I have become addicted to Pinterest, I haven't quite got into Instagram (which is probably just as well), but Pinterest is so addictive and I must stop or I will not get anything done for the Christmas Fair at Trull Nr. Taunton on 14th December.
But.......I have finished this

which  can be found here and here.......

and I have created this little Ladybird (ladybug) 

which also can be found in the same place.

Well that's September!

Does anyone know what happened to September?  I haven't been round blogland much.  I haven't really been making - in fact I really haven't done much.  I have sorted loads of old magazines some pre-dating the year 2000.  They were all cross-stitch magazines, I put about twenty bags of magazines and another load with hardback cross-stitching books on our local freecycle.  They were snapped up, I think because the people collecting them thought they were getting a bargain!  Well they were, but you cannot sell cross-stitch books at the local bootfair for even 20p here so I decided just to give them away!  They have gone and I feel better for it - it is amazing how I felt so much better for getting rid of things - it did actually feel like a weight had lifted - so more stuff is going to go!

Now I wonder................ no I best not if I want to stay happily married!  They are the collection of 78 rpm records, there is even two piles behind the Iceland carrier, In the Iceland carrier are the Christmas 78 rpm.  I cleared out the cupboard where I kept the magazines, guess where these have gone......!   Nothing stays empty for long in this house!

It was wet, dull and dismal yesterday, so yesterday afternoon I made Peggoty.  She is a dolly-peg (clothes spin)  Dressed in white, with a light green shawl.  She will be put in my shop soon, when I have finished a sister or two.

I made pie.

Apple and Blackberry.
We still have Blackberries at the bottom of the garden

I am still stitching

Still knitting

Mr Robin has been sitting on  the tree branch singing for a mate - nice to see him back in the garden.

Finished.......and Friday!

I have finished my embroidery - the pattern is on my Pinterest board.  I also have another very similar in one of  my vintage magazines which I will also do as a companion piece.

  

I then did this! Gasp - Shock - Horror  please don't be afraid........................  This time it was washed at 95 degrees!

so that is phase one - I will being doing phase two in the week and phase three when it stops raining and the sun is out again.............funny how you miss opportunities to do something........... perhaps I just wasn't meant to do the phase three job then........

Lytes Cary Manor courtyard

Friday we decided to go out for the day, we went to Lytes Cary

Detail of a stump work mirror.  The stitches are so small and delicate!

Detail of a quilt. .Click on photo and have a closer look, the hexagon shapes are actually one piece and not pieces joined together - an idea and patience needed, but I will have a go!

Teasels in flower, a delicate mauve/lavender colour.  I have only ever seen these flowers dried and on seats in some National Trust properties to stop people sitting on the chairs on show.

Then we went on to East Somerset Railway

The little blue engine took us for a thirty minute ride up the track and back again.  We got off at the engine sheds and walked back to the station.

This vintage phone box is at the station is very interesting, not just a phone box but sold stamps too!

This photo was taken in the car of Minehead in the distance at St Audries.  There was nowhere to stop to take photo.  I wasn't driving by-the-way!

Fabric Books

I have just finished two little fabric books.
Both are gifts but I can show you inside one as one of the recipients does not social network.  I have embroidered each page.
(click on picture to take a closer look)

Boxes In the Loft! (re-opened)

This is another magazine of my vast collection which I have had for quite sometime,  well since before 2002.  

Click on picture to see more detail

Flicking through the pages back them,  I came across this pattern for table place mats, this was slightly before Vintage became what it is today.

click on picture  to see more detail

I created this black work picture.  The pattern can be found here

Tulips (The design on the cover) 2

Thought I would make a Pink one!

(See my last blog post)

TULIPS (The design on the cover)

Do you remember when I showed my collection on Needlewoman and Needlecraft Magazines?  

Well, the other day whilst venturing round a very large boot fair, I found a lady selling vintage linens. My hand instinctively leapt forward and grabbed them, on this occasion my hands were working faster than my brain!  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but I knew they needed something special.  My vintage magazines were tucked safely away, so I retrieved them and sat with a cup of tea  looking through them and as if by magic this copy jumped out........

All I had to go by was the picture on the cover and the instructions inside.  With these magazines you sent for the the transfer. (click on pictures to have a closer look)

Needlework/Embroidery..........

..........Call it what you will! 

When I was at my senior school the needlework lessons were actualy dressmaking lessons.  When I first saw my very first timetable for the first year of my senior school (1967) I saw Needlework, I thought oooh great I love embroidering pretty stitches on cloth - OH how dissappointed I WAS!  Needlework lessons were dressmaking and if we were to turn up with embroidery bits and pieces which I did once you had lines...... I personally could could not understand it but there you go!  I was put off needlework for many years because of this which was a pity because up until then I enjoyed embroidery and fiddling around with the pretty threads, I also had access to "old fashioned" transfers which you cannot buy now only from collectors and ebay etc because of the lead content in the ink!  I don't think they did me any harm.........?

I learnt a few stitches from this little book which belonged to my mum

This is the oldest book in my collection. 

The books themselves are pocket sized and only have about half dozen pages.

What's this.............

I was given this panel yesterday. 

(click on pictures to take a closer look)

I looks like an apron ready to embroider the cut out and stitch together, which I am sure that is what it is.

But although it gives the backing it is not a mirror image.

The back is larger than the front.

Front panel

This panel looks like part of the waistband

But then I looked again this morning and thought perhaps it is a bag........



Vintage Needlework Magazine

I already have a copy of this little magazine, which would have been quite expensive at the time.

I love the clear illustraions

My other copy cost £2, this copy was a real bargain and in far better condition too.

This copy cost all of 10p both from charity shops!

Just pottering!

Haven’t done much recently - been a bit put off by Blogger! I can’t leave messages on blogs that have ‘select profile’. So if you have this sort of comment box and I normally leave a comment please please don’t think me rude. I can leave comments if the owner approves the comment first and I can leave a message in a comment box like mine.

Saturday evening meal was Paella. The recipe is the Wartime Housewife's and very nice it was too although I did not have any Turmeric.
Out of three dozen scones I made on Sunday I had one nearly perfect one which was eaten while still warm from the oven! Oh....they weren't for us! My boss Janet asked me if I would make some for the Cat Protection Cream Tea. I said I didn't mind doing it as long as someone picked them up. Think they made over £300 Sunday afternoon.

Finishing off the Button Swap I joined. My partner Delia lives near me so hopefully we are meeting up on Saturday.

And making a Rag Doll for a certain little person's second birthday in August

Old Idea with a New Twist

What has happened to the lovely weather? This time last week we sat in the garden albeit under the gazebo, but we sat in the garden! The wind has got up and the gazebo has been put away for another sunny weekend. Robert and Anneka are coming today because they couldn't make last week so we will have to eat indoors - oh well............

I have been extremely naughty despite of what I said!

I have added to my collection via Ebay.

This one came with its collection of threads,
but not sure I would finish it.

This one was designed for when television became popular

This one belonged to my mum, probably nanny too,
as you see it reads "knitting leaflets"

The new twist!

I made this one!

I would like at this point to say thank you to

Helen who renewed

my interest in embroidery

Using a fifties embroidery transfer belonging to my Nanny,

and vintage Irish Linen to embroider the design on,

I stitched it myself using traditional embroidery stitches.

Please enlarge the picture to see the stitches.

It can now be found here!