Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Finishing things .....................

Greetings dear friends & readers
I am very happy to report that the past week has seen several completions here at Threadbear Cottage


These baskets below were part of my friend Elaine's declutter when I popped in to see her back in March & came away with a bootload of treasures
When I unloaded my car I plonked them on my deck & there they stayed all winter long while a colony of spiders took up residence in them.
One sunny day last week I gave them a good scrub in hot soapy water then sat them on my deck seats to dry

Unfortunately a couple of days later when I went to paint them  - I found a colony of a different sort had taken up residence in them!!!
Dear Blackie .... with his ample proportions squeezed into the baskets !!

  I planned to line the bottoms so I painted everywhere except the bases .  .  .

As I was using a gorgeous Sanderson linen to line the oval basket I found a lovely wide vintage lace to compliment it.
I knew it would "flop" when I inserted it in the basket inner, so I sat it on an old towel & sprayed it with cheap hairspray (which I keep on hand for just this reason) .... over the course of an hour, everytime I walked past the towel, I gave it another blast til it felt like it had enough body in it ....


I was really happy with the end result & the lace sat perfectly upright in the basket

These are going for sale in my Cottage as workbaskets ... though the bottom one would also make a lovely waste paper basket


I managed to stitch up another dozen wool blanket hearts filled with my homegrown lavender .  .  .  some of these have gone to a lovely Farm Shop that I supply with my handwork, along with a dozen bags of my citrus potpourri


This sweet Christmas Angel was another completion - the pattern is called "Love Blooms in Christmas Hearts" by The Chook Shed, & is out of a very old issue of Australian Patchwork & Stitching Magazine. (Vol 2 No 3)
As I wanted my angel to be a decent size, I trotted along to my local photocopy centre where they increased the pattern by 200 % for me 
As she is unstuffed, she is a wall hanging Angel only .... I think they are called "flat dolls"
The banner in the original pattern reads "Love Blooms in Christmas Hearts" but I changed my wording to 
"Christmas Wishes"


I begun the stitchery for these stockings below while Mum was still with me.
I used Cottage Garden thread "Mistletoe" which I was able to purchase online from my friend Kerryn's gorgeous shop The Country Yard

Again a very old pattern by Melissa Duncan of Mogs Designs


Last month a beautiful surprise package arrived from my South Island friend Therle ..... gorgeous x-stitch, a lace pouch & beaded tassel .... all her own creativity.  The  pouch was stuffed with lavender scented wadding, still smells divine & looks perfect hanging on my Oak Dresser handle.
Thank you SO much Therle for your thoughtfulness - your work is exquisite!


A longtime customer Ruth, dropped by last week with a box of old fabrics & lace for me .... Ruth sometimes donates bits & bobs to me & anything I won't use I pass on to either the kindy up the road, or Alec's daycare centre.

I was busy minding Sid at the time so just parked the box in the corner 
 I swear within the hour a certain little ginger being had taken up residence amongst the lace & fabrics ... thank you most kindly Ruth from Pippi for the "new bed arrangement"  !!

And thank YOU dearest friends & readers for stopping by today,
I hope the week is treating you all kindly,
with much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x

22 comments:

  1. HaHa! Bless! As soon as l saw the top baskets,
    l thought...'Hello! Julie's trying to confuse
    the furry ones'...more baskets, and low and
    behold..there's Blackie..all a kimbo! zzzzZ!
    And, there at the bottom...Pippi...the silken
    one, asleep as well..Bless'em!xx

    And...Oh! My! Goodness! Yes! Soon be Christmas,
    the shops over here are stocked up with all sorts,
    plenty to choose from..cards, gifts etc..Will have
    to dig out the fairy lights soon...! :).
    I must say, l do like the little Golly~Things doing
    the Can~Can..Dancing..they look lovely! :).
    And the little Christmas stockings..!

    Well, it's nearly 4:30 in the morning over here, been
    up since three, we've had a small power cut, it was off
    for six hours yesterday, no power...still o.k. now!
    I can see what l'm doing...Think l've had one of my
    earliest lemon teas ever! And..talking of lemon yea! :).
    So...l'll just creep away quietly...must'nt wake the
    furry ones..Bless!xx

    Oh! Nearly forgot...Mary Christmas...oooops! Sorry...
    Merry Christmas...! =(^..^)=

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  2. Your feline friends certainly have good taste when finding a place in which to snooze. They are both so sweet. My you have worked beautiful wonders this week, Julie. Love those baskets and those sweet stockings are adorable. Sweet hearts also. It seems you are the drop off place for many gorgeous pretties; lucky you. Love the cross stitch gollies too. Am I right when I suppose you have a room of collected old mags and patterns. I know I have.=) Therie gifted you with beautiful pretties. Have a fabulous week, lovely Julie.

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  3. Blackie and Pippi sure are amazing at curling themselves into tight balls and squeezing into some cozy spots! I never knew you could use hairspray on anything other than hair (that's human hair Blackie & Pippi!) You sure did give those baskets a new lease of life. Good to see you getting time in between all your granny duties to make new stock for the shop.

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  4. Hi Julie, well I definitely want to come back as a cat in my next life, oh to be able to curl up as they do (sigh).
    You did good on those baskets.That x stitch from your friend is so cute.

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  5. what gorgeous baskets! i love cane baskets but they get too cdirty too fast here & hard to keep clean with all the dust.
    love that Blackie also loves them lol
    that golly wog stitches is adorable, so cute
    awww Pippi, such sweetness!
    someone as crafty as you who can give many items a new lease of life I think i'd drop off them off to you too! you do such wonders with them
    thanx for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Selina ... I Just love upcycling or repurposing the old things ... it brings me so much pleasure to give them a second life.

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  6. Blackie and Pippi are hilarious,and as Toebee came from your place he seems to have a similar desire for getting into things. He tries to get in my grocery bags while the groceries are still in them!! Love all the things you have been making, your dear shop will be brimming with fabulous stock.

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  7. Hi Julie! It's fun to look at your Christmas stuff! I like the baskets! Clever you!
    Oh, the kitties. So good and sneaky.

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  8. Those baskets look so pretty with their new lease on life!
    Love the blanket hearts, the angel, the stockings! You work magic and miracles from what others toss away.
    Pippi must think she stumbled into a fairy tale to find a such fancy bed full of lace and frills.

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  9. Love the baskets, so pretty. Your furbabies gave me a chuckle & smile this morning. 😊😊. Love your other projects too. Hugs, xx

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  10. So many lovely projects.. and the kitties are so adorable..

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  11. Hi Julie, I love to read your blog. You accomplish so many craft things and those cats are just adorable. I am a dog person but seeing those cats curled up in those baskets like that would weaken me! I am wondering how many hours a day do you work on crafts for your little cottage? The baskets with the lace are so pretty and I will have to remember the idea about the hair spray. I like the sign at the top that you are working on your "PhD in sewing".
    What lovely gifts your friend sent you! I am working on a cross stitch Christmas ornament. I think it must be 18 count and I think it is too small for my old eyes. It is taking me forever! Here is the link to the lotion bar directions. I hope you can get it okay. If not let me know. https://www.facebook.com/melissaknorris/videos/1570059079677280/ Nancy

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Nancy .... & thanks for the link for the lotion bars. I shall certainly go & have a look at those instructions, they are fascinating.

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  12. Oh Julie, you have to laugh at Pippi and Blackie,they know the best places to sleep!! You are going well kn your PHD!! 😀 that is a very clever idea using the hairspray for the lace! The baskets look wonderful, your shop will be looking amazing now. What beautiful gifts from Therle! Love the stockings you have amde and the wall hanging.

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  13. I live your two - they find the best places to curl up and go to sleep in.

    Julie and poppyq
    Xxx

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  14. Hi Julie wow you are amazing with unwanted goods and you give them back life,you truly are gifted my friend xx

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  15. Lovely to read what you've been up to, as well as the cats. LOL!

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  16. Love the baskets and the cute stockings! Your cats are adorable, I love the places they find to sleep. I found one of my cats in the bag of potatoes the other day, he's a bit of a weirdo lol
    Enjoy your weekend xoxo

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  17. The baskets came up beautifully - I'm sure they would get the kitty-cat stamp of approval if you let your furry friends try them out - so cool how you make such beautiful things out of someone's toss-outs! I love your wee doll - I made her last Christmas but would never have thought of blowing her up - she looks so good! What a lovely gift from Therle...so much gorgeousness in this post Julie :-) xx

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  18. The baskets are beautiful, I could never imagine one being used for waste paper, far too pretty. What a luxurious cat bed, made with lace... our cat would have done the same thing xx

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