Memories

Tuesday afternoon, reading blogs, drinking tea, I ventured into Millie & Dotties Emporium there in the Nursery was Knitting Nancy. There she sat staring at me from her box, she took me back to when I was about 6yrs old Christmas 1962. I unwrapped presents there was Nancy, the exact same one as I was looking at. I used my Nancy then quite a bit, then as you do I grew up..........but recently I have been using my Nancy again for making the cords to join mittens together so they don't get lost for my grandchildren.

This is the second time I have found my childhood at Milly & Dotties! The last time was an Enid Blyton book.

my Knitting Nancy you can actually spy her here in draw nine

This one I bought here to put away for Caitlin for when she is older

I purchased Knitting Nancy. I couldn't wait to receive my parcel!

I felt like a child getting excited for Birthdays and Christmas!!

She was waiting on my doormat this morning.

I was so pleased

Look what I can make...........

Perfect Day

Today was absolutely perfect. It did start rather early with a brand new washing machine being delivered at 7.45am! It was plumbed in almost immediately, well when Alex had eaten his breakfast, so I was able to finish my weeks washing, our dear friend Jane did the clothes earlier in the week for us. Then we had a lovely afternoon with Caitlin and Liam, well I say today was perfect, granny must be getting old she forgot the camera!

I also finished this brooch, can now be found this on Folksy

I don't have a sweet tooth - honest!

I made this, this morning

Egg Custard Tart

because I had eggs left in the fridge

at this point I would normally put leftover

pastry in the freezer.

I don't know what came over me
because..............

I also made a Treacle Tart.

I buy a French Stick just to make breadcrumbs

my son thinks that is
sacrilege and says it should

only be used for *bacon and baked bean rolls* - don't ask!

But this bread makes decent breadcrumbs and made

a nice centre to soak up the treacle.

and with the leftover pastry I made a dozen Jan Tarts.

*Bacon and Bean Rolls cut the end off of the French Stick enough that you think you are going to eat. Pull out the soft white bread and eat while bacon is cooking and the baked beans are warming through being careful not to put your fingers through the crust, this must be hole free. Fill the cavity with the beans and the bacon. Eat and enjoy*

I understand you can only feed two people with this because you need the ends, apparantly it doesn't work with the bit in the middle! But this bit can be used for breadcrumbs!

My son Robert invented this while being a student. I have never tried this recipe so I really don't know what it is like but I understand it is very nice

Please come in and see........

"Little Shop on the Corner"
has now moved to
new premises here

Frugal

I read a lot of blogs recently about being frugal, and when I go food shopping I am very careful what I purchase. I have even stopped buying from charity shops except for clothes for Caitlin and Liam where I can. I have to admit I have purchased a couple of 'unnecessary' items but I had earned the money by repairing a necklace for a customer at work and selling a couple of pin cushions and a cross-stitch pattern.

I do like to have flowers in a vase.

Do you remember these?

I do like to make my flowers last!

I didn't quite get a bargain as last time!

but I did save 75p

I bought the flowers yesterday,

I put last months flowers in the compost bin

YESTERDAY!

I hope they last as long

The Amaryllis, Tulips and Irises did not last as long as the Chrysanthemums though!

Thing come to those who wait!

I have always loved to craft, mainly with cloth and thread. Whenever I saw a haberdashery shop as a child I had to go in and look. I preferred them to toy and sweet shops and mum didn't mind looking because she liked to do a bit of sewing and embroidery too. I have been crafting (preferring material crafts rather than paper crafts), since I was able to handle scissors, needles and fabrics. At a very young age I discovered libraries and craft books. I had to make do if I wanted to create something and had to use what was available. There was always fabric and thread and a huge tin of buttons and beads at home which I loved just to tip out on to the carpet and sort!

As I got older and received pocket money I would buy yarn for crochet or knitting, mum taught me the basics of how to knit and crochet and I taught myself to read knitting and crochet patterns. I bought fabric and thread and borrowed needlework books from the library. I had a fantastic school-teacher (who as they say changed my life) when I was about 10yrs and she patiently taught the whole class to cross stitch on Binca and to make felt toys, in those days the school provided everything!

I am self taught in embroidery and other craft activities, and someone once said to me that you cannot learn Bobbin Lace from books. Well to me that is a 'red rag to a bull' so I did just that! If there is something new I would like to learn, I try and seek out a book designed for children as these books always seem to always work! I also taught myself Tatting travelling on a train to and from work in the seventies from Southend-on-Sea to London, a 45minute journey.


When I married and started a family, I started crafting more and more. I said I would love a large needlework box where I could separate things into different compartments, well I thought that would never happen but, when we moved to Minehead twenty years ago, we had trip to Taunton our nearest large town and walked into a charity shop and there it was for £5. I brought it home in the boot of the car and left it in the hall, where it stayed for many years being used as a dumping ground. (when one draw got full, because there was no-where else for the crap to go, we started the next draw!) I don't know how many times I sorted it and tried to use it for its intended purpose.

Forward a few years and boys left home one-by-one and there was an empty bedroom. I thought "that's my craft room" Well, it is what is described in housing blurb as "the box room".

Alex painted for me and put shelves up etc. I thought to sort it gradually, that didn't happen. Alex proceeded to dump my stuff in the room not sorting it leaving that to me. In the end I just put the books on the shelves and filled another shelving unit with stuff that needed sorting. By last Christmas I must have been in the room about eighteen months and think all my stuff has congregated there. From the 1st January I set myself a little tasks, just an hour a day when I would go in there and have a sort, emptying the draws of all the stuff that is in them and set about using it for its intended use!

Draw one

SCISSORS

and other cutting equipment

Draw two

NEEDLES

lots of different needle for different uses

Draw three

PINS

Draw four
appertaining to my old and new
SEWING MACHINE

Draw Five
REELS of COTTON

Draw six
General HABERDASHERY

Draw seven

PATCHWORK

Draw seven

PENS and PENCILS

and hole punches

Draw nine

VINTAGE!

Draw ten

RIBBON

Draw eleven

LACE and BRAIDS

Draw twelve

BIAS BINDING and ELASTIC

Draw thirteen

BUTTONS and CHARMS

Draw Fourteen

MIXED BEADS

Draw fifteen

JEWELLERY FINDINGS

Draw Sixteen

SEED BEADS

Draw seventeen

CHIPPED STONES BEADS

Draw eighteen

BEADING THREADS and WIRES

Draw nineteen

SEQUINS

Draw twenty

LARGE SEQUINS

Draw twenty-one

WOODEN, PLASTIC and

OLD PEARLY BEADS

Draw twenty-two

CERAMIC and DECORATED

GLASS BEADS

Draw twenty-three

BELLS and BEAD KITS

Draw twenty-four

ITEMS

that can be found here

### TIP ###

I save these little packets.

Do you recognise them?

They can be found in the box with new shoes

or in the bottom of a new Handbag, well don't throw

them away, they are great for keeping moisture at bay

in things like needles, and pins and scissors.

At last Spring is springing in my garden

Forsythia

Celandine

Crocus

Wild Primrose

Primrose