In which I spend £1.20 and skip off into the sunset

Imagine my crushed and disappointed little face when I pulled up outside this on Saturday afternoon:

All my hopes of jumble sale largesse cruelly dashed.

Rewind to a few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon (when the sun shone and the temperature was in double figures) and I persuaded Mr and Little Miss J and P that they'd like to go for a walk in the wilds of Hertfordshire.  As luck would have it *cough* what would we chance upon but a jumble sale at this very same place.  How fortuitious! *cough*.

So, what did I get?  Well, I got this little lot for whole one pound.

A pair of fabulous polyester brown curtains with orange and yellow flowers:

A pristine towel:

Some yummy fabric:



A funky NEXT bag:



Have you noticed how I've taken to draping my buys over my latest freebie? Yes!  I spotted this little Ikea rocking chair outside the house of a near neighbour and when I asked him if I could take it off his hands, he was more than happy.  Whoop whoop!

Anyway, where was I?

An apron which looks remarkably like one of my vintage pillow cases.  Which is a good thing in my book.



There was nothing much doing on the bric-a-brac stall but I did manage to find this cute little print for 20p:

It's by Archie Dickens



Total spend - £1.20.  Jumble sales, don't you just love 'em?  Where else could you spend £1.20 and come away away with such random tat and then toddle off for a lovely walk in the countryside *sigh*.

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Nobody's perfect

Recently, A Thrifty Mrs wrote about making things just for the fun of it and not worrying too much about it being perfect.  As she says "Ditch perfection and get excited about crafting again.".  Well I've literally taken her at her word.

I've always liked a bit of gluing and sticking.  So when I found this dull looking photo frame recently at the jumble sale (50p),

I remembered my vintage sheet fabric scraps which I couldn't bear to throw away (I know, I'm a nutter)

and started gluing them onto the frame like so.

Until the whole darn frame was covered.

I wrapped the ends and glued them down at the back, varnished and added a teeny tiny pompom trimming

and a picture of Little Miss J and P.

Lo and behold it's an imperfect, slightly cack-handed vintage sheet embellished photo frame! 

As Somerset Maugham once said:

Yeah, too right bruv.


Ta-dahing with my homies over at Lakota's.  Yo!

You're just too good to be true, I can't take my eyes off you

I've whipped up ANOTHER patchwork blanket.  I know!  I can't help myself.

One blanket after another.  When will it end?

I'm like a patchworking whirling dervish.

You can call me the Pontiff of Patchwork - and I ain't resignin' ....

...........Where was I?  Aah yes.  My latest patchwork blanket.  The thing about vintage sheets is I can't decide whether I like the candy stripe best:

even if it's creased to buggery

Or the flowery:

The candy stripe or the flowery.  *Sigh* decisions, decisions.... 



You'd be like heaven to touch
I wanna hold you so much


Well, I've only gone and combined the two.

 

At long last love has arrived
And I thank God I'm alive



 Patchwork flower power with a candystripe backing.

You're just too good to be true
I can't take my eyes off you

 I've used a thicker wadding than I've used before and it's a bit like a duvet - all snuggly and cuddly.

Pardon the way that I stare
There's nothing else to compare

  

 I want to bury my head in it and squeal for joy.  As any right thinking woman would.

The sight of you leaves me weak

 Life could not get any better.

 

There are no words left to speak

Take it away, Andy......

Not feeling the love

You know how it is when you're making something (hark at me pretending to be some sort of arty, crafty, makey person) and then part way through, you look at it and you realise that you just don't feel the love? 

This was how I felt with my latest patchwork project (I know, I'm patchwork obsessed, I can't help it):  a patchwork blanket for a friend of mine. 

Only I can't show you my beautifully styled photos *er hem* because my darling daughter deleted ALL the photos on MY camera.  Every. Single.  Last.  One. Of.  Them.   Deleted them to make room for some half-witted video she made with friends.  I'm a bit cross.

And my friend has swanned off home with the blankie, as she is most entitled to do, and I've got nothing to show you all (Mr J and P is saying that he bets that there's a collective sigh of relief across blogland.  Rude). 

I was going to tell you that I was not feeling the love for the blankie but then once I'd put on the plain light blue backing, which was formerly a duvet cover, the whole thing came together and it looked really rather good and I did feel the love for it (which is something I'm not feeling, at this moment, for Little Miss and Mr J and P.......). 

It's great when it all goes well for you in the end........  How unlike the pompom wreath that I made many moons ago which I found recently - discarded and gathering dust under the bed.  Dear readers, it was not my finest hour.

Recognise it?  Yep, it's my header.

I'd almost nearly finished the thing before abandoning it in disgust.

I can't decide what I dislike about it most.  The colour combo is bleurgh, the pompoms are not the best *shudder*.   What the heck was I thinking of?  No, I am most definitely not feeling the love.

I am, however, feeling the love, big time,  for these beautiful cards that Kylie made and sent to little old me:.

 

She made them from pages from an old Ladybird book. Isn't she clever?


I love the stitched border:

The Queen of teatowels also sent me this very regal looking tt.

Thank you so much, Kylie.

 

Have you ever made anything that you instantly thought "What the heck was I thinking of?".  Do tell - you know you want to.

 

Big love. xx

 

50 shades of patchwork: yes it's the vintage sheet patchwork duvet cover ta- dah

Well, hello dear readers, I've only gone and finished my vintage sheet patchwork duvet cover.  I know!  I'm feeling very pleased with myself.



Even my wonky and odd looking crocheted cushions look ok next to the duvet cover



It was a pleasure to do actually. 

Cutting out the squares - took ages though. 

Deciding which square should go with what was the best bit.  I'm thinking that you can't go wrong with a vintage sheet; they just look so fabulous together.

It was a bit unwieldy to work with at times.  After all, it is a kingsize duvet, so lots of material to grapple with.  I got there in the end though.

This is the other side - a whole pristine vintage sheet.

I love my patchwork duvet cover lots and lots.

I purposely nip into the bedroom at every opportunity just to gaze at it in wonder........

Sometimes, I find myself caressing each and every square and, believe you me, that takes a long old while......

And the patchwork doesn't stop there!  I'm already cutting up squares for my next patchwork project plus I just whipped up this patchwork little number (literally) for a Little Miss' birthday:

 

I'm a patchwork making crazy thing.  Or maybe just crazy.......xx

What a Palaver

We had a more than usually expensive Christmas this year, that's for sure. Just a week before Xmas, I left the house one morning to find our new-to-us car (bought in April) clamped outside our house.  CLAMPED!  I'll tell you for why.  Mr J and P and I had foolishly failed to notice that the tax disc had expired in September.  Not only that but we  also failed to register the car in our name.

While I'm burbling on, take a look at just a few thing I got from Xmas.  This is a build your own reindeer. I think it's supposed to be a Xmas decoration.  I don't care.  A reindeer is for life, you know, not just for Xmas.

The woman on the phone from the DVLA said "What!  You mean you've had the car since April and you've not registered it in your name?".  Yes, that would be us.  We had to pay £260 to unclamp the car, £100 for the tax disc, £25 to register the car and a further £100 fine for leaving an untaxed car in the road.  I know exactly what you're thinking.  Yup, we are first class idiots of the highest order *shakes head sadly*.



An ostrich feather duster with (wait for it) a telescopic handle. I know!
Too exciting for words.

Just a few days later, Mr J and P and I locked ourselves out of the house.  I wanted to call a locksmith but luckily, the tight old git Mr J and P bothered the neighbours at the back of the house (our next door neighbours weren't in) and managed to borrow a step ladder which he used to climb over the fence into our back garden.

Look at what my clever s-i-l made me.  She covered a cream cracker tin with this funky fabric and inside.......

Joy of joys, the dining room window was slightly ajar and Mr J and P knew his keys were in the pocket of his coat which was slung over a chair.  He found a tree pruning  implement which we've never used, lying in the undergrowth that passes for a garden, and fished through the small opening, hooked the keys from the jacket  pocket. and returned like a burglar in broad daylight back over the rear fence.  Huzzah!

......lots of lovely fabric bits.......

And isn't it nice to meet the neighbours?  But preferably not looking like complete idiots.  Again.

.....ripe for the patchworking methinks.

Mallorca was lovely, thank you for asking;  a welcome break from our pre-Xmas nonsense.

You didn't think you'd get away without seeing some holiday snaps did you?

The cathedral at Palma which was partly restored partly by Gaudi:

Love these circular paper garlands.  May have to copy.

 Love a bit of graffiti art (in Palma again):

Pretty Deia where Robert Graves lived...

and died:

The sea was very stormy here.  Note the rainbow in the background:

Spotted this interesting sight in someone's back garden:

OK, I'm off now but just to let you know that I've finished my vintage sheet duvet cover and will reveal all in the next post.  Just when you thought it couldn't get any more exciting....

xx