Another little collection, crochet stones this time........

Love

Love

 Love

 Where it all began!

Remember I said I wanted to have a go at making something like these beauties when I found a bag of vintage crochet cottons at a thrift store recently.  

Number two, just need to find the perfect rock when the sun comes up.

Our Sailor Boy relaxing with Miss Ruby in front of the wood fire.

Front

 Back, not sure which I love best.

These two are just besotted with each other.

A. Galland shows 12 Roses in 1917

I had to have this.  I bought it at a great little shop de Villeroy in Coolamon.  There was a tray full of silver medallions. I just loved the details and the inscription on this one the most.  A silver medallion was presented the A. GALLAND in Jan. 1917 as the 2nd prize for 12 Roses at DHS.  District Horticultural Show?  Any ideas?  I've searched the National Library online and I found one Armand Galland living in Brisbane who passed away in 1923 so maybe he or his wife Cladie was the recipient of the medal.  I also found a little article about E. Galland who won a prize for roses at a flower show in Brisbane in February 1930, so I think I might be on the right track.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter who was the original recipient, I am going to have it cleaned and polished and you'll probably see me wearing it very soon.  An nice little piece of Australian history.  

Rural mailboxes and signs

I've always noticed mailboxes and on my travels to our shop I pass all these mailboxes and interesting farm signs.  I love the country ingenuity that has gone into the designs. Upcycling at it's very best in some cases!  Where do the farm names come from, and what are the meanings of some of the names?  I think this might be the beginning of something for me.................a new collection is happening!  There was a very cold wind blowing and most of these were taken from the open car window and trying to avoid the western setting sun.  

A pink post after a girly night in

A completed small slouchy beret for our shop

I've always wanted one of these.  I found this little pink pig locally yesterday and it will be very useful now I have something special to save for!  Large birthday coming up in a few years and a group of high school friends have decided that we should meet in Europe to celebrate!

I started this wonderfully soft mohair scarf/shawl/wrap last night.  I think this is destined for Kindrawares too but I might like it too much!!!  I'm using Patons Lush Luxury Mohair Blend and making up my pattern as I go.  I love knitting triangular knits, there is a basic recipe and then you just do what you want with it.  Because this is a chunky yarn and there are lots of subtle colours I decided on just a few rows of eyelets throughout would to keep this knit light and airy.  One ball finished two to go, see what a night home alone while Dear Husband is out watching State of Origin can do for my knitting.  I also caught up on a few TV shows on the internet while nibbling on some chocolate!  Bliss!  He was happy too, NSW won and he also won the tipping comp at work for guessing they would win by 8 points.  

The Vinnies store next to our shop is tiny but has so many great treasures.  I found this Royal Winton sauce jug and plate last time I was over at our shop.  After a really thorough washing last night it has come up wonderfully.  I don't have any other pieces of this ware but it is very similar to the Carltonware that I have several pieces of so I thought it should come home with me for $3. 

I began this shawl last year and it's just sooooooo soft, it's a hand painted 2 ply lace weight Misti Alpaca 100% baby alpaca by Naturally Handknit Yarns of NZ made in Peru.  I'm knitting the Ashton Shawlette pattern by Dee O'Keefe that I've used once before. The pattern in freely available on Ravelry.  It's an excellent pattern for a novice shawl knitter, so much extra information and a great help to those wanting to knit from graphs, I can highly recommend it. Mine of course doesn't look great at the moment but after a soak and a good blocking when it's complete it will be absolutely gorgeous.  

Happy, happy, another Liberty tana lawn shirt

This is one of my favourite old Liberty patterns. I found a whole long sleeved shirt at a small country town charity store to add to my collection of shirts that one day will become a quilt.  

A bakers dozen of Liberty shirts

I've been collecting these for a few years now, hoping one day to have enough variety so I can make a quilt.  I found the 13th shirt yesterday at a local charity store, it was made in England and cost me $3.  I think the time is getting closer where I can start designing the quilt I want to make.  I've been looking at lots of Liberty of London Tana Lawn quilts today on the web for ideas.  The fabric is just so delicate and soft it is going to be a very special quilt.  Tessuti Fabrics have a large selection online and those of you who live in Sydney and Melbourne can visit their great stores.

I've loved Liberty fabrics for a long time, one of the shirts I made about 23 years ago,  I also have a bundle of scraps from the making of my 3 bridesmaids dress from our 1990 wedding. 

I think I might be needing to add this Kaffe Fassett book to my library to give me just a little bit more inspiration for my Liberty quilt.  I have about half a dozen of Kaffe's quilting books one more will just blend in and Dear Husband won't notice.

Bears and collections

This is me on my first birthday with my dad and my teddy that I was given that day.............I still have ted but he is a bit thread bare and he doesn't have his embroidered label on his foot anymore. Sylvia mentioned her bear collecting on her blog and it made me think of where it all began for me. If you look carefully you will see Sylvia and I share some very similar bears...........comes from many years of attending and teaching classes in this area together.

My dad passed away 10 years ago and this month he would have been 70 years old, it seems long ago but then other times it only feels like a little while ago I was chatting with him.

I've been working on scanning a whole collection of slides that mum sorted out for me. I have a Canon copy/scan/print machine which has a built in facility for scanning 4 slides at a time but they are coming out quite dark and appear to have a lot of damage or were poorly developed all those years ago. Does anyone have any tips or hints for preserving slides? I have many hundreds to work through. Although there is nothing like pinning a white sheet to the wall and having a family slide night............very nostalgic, might have to do it, mum still has the projector.

Pretty lucky

I opened a Pandora's box this afternoon and look what I found inside. My bracelet will be almost filled with these latest additions. I found an online Australian supplier for authentic Pandora bracelets and beads which have a great free bead offer running currently. See, not many gaps now, maybe another Murano glass bead and a couple of others and it's all done, my bracelet was a gift from the kids and Dear Husband about 3 years ago. It has taken some time to fill and recently was looking quite depleted after Darling Daughter chose some from mine to get her started with hers that she received for Christmas.

Welcome my blogging friend

I have embroidered and collected pincushions for many years and mostly because I met an embroiderer 16 years ago and she taught me so well. We have remained friends over the years and even worked together passing on our creative skills to many creative people in this area. Finally my friend Fiona has begun blogging today on her blog Peaceful Threads, so welcome her to the blogging world and enjoy viewing her vast collection of embroidery from the past and present, she's one talented stitcher. Interestingly we seem to have many similar things in our collections and many of mine were made by Fiona. Check them out by clicking for a closeup.

Colour me pretty: pink thursday (belated)

I've been a green and pink depression glass collector for quite a few years now and these are the most recent additions to the growing collection I have accumulated. This pair of 1930's candlesticks were a Christmas gift from my sister and they are very special to me not only because she found them for me but because of their name. The design name of these candlesticks is "Newbound" by Imperial Glass, which was our maiden name. An unusual English name and from the family history I've been doing all Newbound's in Australia descend from one convict that arrived in Sydney in 1837. The saddest thing about this name is that in our immediate family their is no one to carry the name on to the next generation. My dad was the youngest of 11 children, 8 of them being boys but sadly not one of the boys had a son.

I'm a bower bird

I collect things that are mostly green. My collections of green depression glass and Carltonware were inspired by my Nana who had a few pieces of each in her crystal cabinet which was definitely out of bounds for children and it was even guarded by two large black plastic spiders! Very scary when you are little.......believe me.

What are these bejewelled sticks?

This is one of my many collections of stuff in my over-stuffed house. I'm no minimalist. These are lace making bobbins with their beautiful spangling to help the lace maker identify pairs of bobbins while making the knots. I have done a little lace making and enjoyed it but there are just too many things for a girl to do. I know I will never be bored. I seem to get stressed when I can't work out what I want to do first or what 'should' be done first!

Tiny teddies keep me company in my sewing studio

This display of handmade miniature bears and mini knick knacks are housed in a printers tray. This was a drawer that printers stored their letters they used when setting up hand printing jobs many years ago. You can see two wooden letters that I have purchased at an antique store a few years back. Mostly these bears are my own work, there are a couple of designer bears and a few made by dear friends, they all smile down on me when I am sitting at my machine.

If you look very carefully you will see what my former occupation was? Can anyone work it out? She's very tiny! Only for those who don't already know?

Pinnies 'n' Things

I had a big day in town this week waiting for a tow bar to be fitted to our new car and had nothing to really do, so I went 'thrifting' and had great luck. This was my most pleasing buy, 10 cents so it didn't break the bank! It has about a dozen very retro aprons for adults and kids. I can't wait to draft out some of the patterns and make them up.

I also picked up a Womans Day publication also 10 cents that had a few groovy stuffed toys that would look great made up in Amy Butler or Heather Bailey prints.

I found a book of early 70's knits for children and Darling Daughter fell in love with a 3 colour vest and of course I struck while the iron was hot and have it on my needles at the moment, maybe a photo to come this week.

Also bought a pair of deep blue Spanish mens woollen trousers for 50 cents that will make a lovely skirt for me this winter, looks like 'Manny Quin' my recently acquired mannequin will be doing some modelling work very soon if our cooler weather continues.

Another find was my first made in Japan retro cup, the beginning of a new collection!