Some new treasures

I didn't really feel like going anywhere this weekend I was so tired not having slept more than 3hrs in 2 nights so when dh asked if I wanted to go to the carboot sale Saturday afternoon I wasn't to eager. He talked me around saying it would do me good getting out in the fresh air. Oh he was soooo right :o) I have been after one of these for ages and the second stall down it jumped out at me, figuratively speaking of course otherwise I'd have been flat out on the floor waiting for an ambulance. Can you just see the headline.....Woman floored by much sought after firescreen!!! police gave a statement that they had a 'hot' lead on and a suspect was now in custody helping with their enquiries.;o)

Anyway enough flippancy....the embroidery in the panel is simply gorgeous and the wood surround is in excellent condition just needing a clean and polish and all for £8 I recently stopped bidding on one on ebay at £15 + £12 postage so glad I did.
We carried on and then I saw a quilt/towel rail another thing I'd missed out on with ebay. The chap was happy to let me have it for £3!! The last one I did early bidding on went on to over £20 + £10 postage, this was becoming a really pleasing day. I went on to find more treasures but blogger is having a problem with uploading pics so I'll post them tomorrow. There was a beautiful table cloth with embroidery at two opposing corners and another 2 with white work and hand crochered lace and my piece de resistance an old unframed Home sweet Home sampler for the princely sum of 50p!

Sunday dh asked again to go to another large c/boot sale, a pattern is emerging here can you see it :o) He was lucky again and got a large camera bag which holds his camera plus all his accessories I bartered and got it down to £7, they're £55 new so he was really pleased. I was ecstatic when I came across a French Louis style triple mirror, in perfect condition. I asked the price expecting double figures and was shocked when she said how does £2 sound, I restrained myself,didn't bite her hand off just paid and moved away quick before she changed her mind :o)






I also bought a beautiful rose duvet cover and matching rose patterned vallance sheet for £2 which I later washed and recycled for some projects I have in mind, a lovely elderly lady had a batch of lace in different sizes so was able to stock up on that too quite cheaply.


I finished the day off with purchasing a beautiful pink roses knitting bag with a large amount of wool all for £3 I'll post pics of those tomorrow with pics of my ebay wins. Don't want to shock blogger into shutting down with an over load of pics :o)

Thank you for dropping by I hope you enjoyed your visit, if you did or didn't I'd love to hear from you. I have found some more wonderful blogs which I've enjoyed reading so much, the links are in my list on the side bar please do visit them.

take care
hugs Peg :o)

A Lesson Learnt

Last week a friend gave me a couple of last years New stitches magazines she had finished with. On reading them I found a lovely pair of mittens to knit which had embroidery on the back of the hand to complete the look. Mmmmm these look nice I thought so started them the next day.

The pattern called for wool but I thought cashmere would be nice and I have quite a lot of it so that's the way I went.
They are knit on 4 double ended needles but I used a circular needle instead, once the cuff has been knit the remainder of the mitten is knit from the inside.

After the cuff I followed the pattern, after the row which required putting 15 stitches onto a piece of wool to keep for the thumb I started the next row, that's when trouble hit!

I knit and undid it 5 times, carefully going over what I'd done but the pattern just went haywire on the 21st row. This went on for 3 days, yesterday I decided to email the magazine and ask if anyone else had found a mistake or was I completely missing the obvious. I've been knitting since I was 10yrs old so am not a novice.
I am very relieved and pleased to say I received a reply to my email today. She told me I could stop pulling my hair out as there are 3 not 1 but 3 mistakes in the pattern!!

She very kindly said she would look through her files and find the revised pattern and send it to me, phew!!! So now I have to put them on one side until I hear from her again with the corrected pattern.

I honestly feel the lesson God was showing me was that unless I live my life on the right path and follow the pattern He has set out for me chaos will and does reign in my life :o)

Enjoy your evening I'm off to read a few blogs

hugs Peg :o)

Humbled by the past

Below are some photos of a Victorian nightdress I recently bought, I won't be wearing it I'm afraid my figure belongs to the Rubinesque period :o). When I bought it I washed it and whilst pressing it I began to realise what a feat this and it's like must have been. It is completely handstitched with tiny stitches, I had to get a magnifying glass to see them properly. I thought about the hours it must have taken, I have 2 sewing machines, 2 lamps especially for stitching with magnifying lamps and I have comfy chairs to sit in whilst doing any of my crafts. When I've finished something I'm really pleased but the ladies who stitched in this era had very little light, perhaps a candle or gas light, in all honesty I cannot say I would be able to complete such a wonderful garment if I had to hand stitch it.

Please click on the photos to see the stitching detail.

This is why I feel very humbled by the ladies of the past, my admiration runs over.

have a wonderful peace filled day

hugs Peg :o)

Why is it always those who are special?

We've had some really sad news , Melissa one of the young teachers at the school dh works at was disgnosed with breast cancer on Tuesday. She is one of the happiest, sweet natured, caring people I know. She made an wonderful impact when she started at the school, with both parents and children warming very quickly to her. To my dh she is like another daughter and often jokes at having a drinking contest to see who can drink who under the table, no, don't jump back in horror it's just a standing joke between them. The consultant is responding very quickly, she has to go into hospital next week for a mastectomy. It has all happened so quickly, may I ask you to keep her in your prayers.

I can understand how her parents feel, we have just gone through a cancer scare with our own daughter. She had some tests done but when she went for further tests she told the consultant she didn't want to go ahead with them and refused to have them or any treatment he was offering. We still don't know what the outcome will be as when she takes it upon herself to be stubborn she does it with a capital S. All we can do is put her in Gods hands and pray they would be negative.

Thank you for visiting, I'm sorry it wasn't a more happy post

take care
hugs Peg

The coming of autumn and other things!

The original of the above picture can be found here


Isn't it wonderful to see autumn as we Brits call it sweeping across our countryside? Those beautiful copper tones which somehow bring back memories of a past childhood. When I was young, living in a village with my grandmother, and the nights started to draw in we used to make 'winter warmers'. These consisted of an old washed out treacle tin with holes punched in the sides and a string or wire handle around the top. Deposited in the tins was a small amount of coals from the fire, we took them outside and swung them around making wonderful pictures in the darkness of night. When the fire inside had turned to glowing embers we popped chestnuts into them using pliers or tongs to retrieve them for eating once they were roasted.There was no separation then even we girls had winter warmers, nowadays it would be considered extremely dangerous but surprisingly not one of us were ever injured. Autumn brings back so many wonderful memories.

Last night and part of this evening I visited some new blogs which really blessed me with their content and the photos included. I love reading about other peoples lives and seeing the talents they display in their creations. Take a look at my 'blogs I visit' list and please do visit with some of these ladies I can promise you a veritable feast.

Well tomorrow should see the temporary end to our postal strike, I'm so glad, I'm expecting some goodies purchased from ebay, hope they don't all come at once or dh will pass out ;o) I have ribbons from Hongkong, fabric and 2 much sort after at a reasonable price feather eiderdowns from sellers here in the UK. A fabric panel from the US which is of a scarecrow so I can stitch him together to go with my lovely round pumpkins for an autumnal display. That reminds me I have some lovely spidery fabric somewhere amongst my stash must find it out.

This is all of course if there is no backlogging of our post and parcels. Everyone has the right to strike it's a free country but what puzzles me is are they going back to even harder conditions when they have to catch up on the backlog?
We have a lovely young postman, his name is Tim, he's always smiling no matter what the weather and I know he'll be glad to get back to work so he can have his usual morning treat of a bacon sandwich at the school where dh works.

Our parcel postie is Ron who graciously puts any early morning parcels into a storage bin and a card through the letter box telling me where he's left it. This is in consideration of me, he knows I'm not good at getting around in the morning so doesn't like to disturb me. Does the post depot realise how much some of their posties do for people on their rounds I wonder?

It's almost 2am here so I think this body is ready for it's bed. I need a clear head to get some of my stitching sorted tomorrow and it's my stitch club day so I will be enjoying the company of the lovely ladies who never fail to make my day with their wonderful sense of humour.
Take care and thank you for popping in, I hope you enjoyed your visit, you're always welcome, just like my house door my blog door is always open to visitors :o)

hugs Peg

Those left behind

I am not a political animal, rightly or wrongly I find politics boring. I have no interest in getting into an argument with anyone about how our country is run. We've seen the back of Tony Blair and are now at the mercy of Gordon Brown, whichever way he leads us we'll have to follow unless anarchy rears it's ugly head.

I do feel though for the many parents and families who have lost their loved ones killed in action. Sons. daughters, Mum's, Dads, Brothers, it goes on and on. **Last May 28th we were to be found in the waiting room of a strange hospital a long way from home to where our eldest son had been airlifted after a horrendous motorbike accident. The dr's were fighting to save his life, in the words of one of them, his body and internal organs were totally smashed and his body broken. They told us they would fight and work on him but he wouldn't last the night through. **

I have put bold on the sentences above because apparently it has upset someone and they have reacted so viciously I think I should clarify. This person trawled through 5 yrs of posts to find something to critisize me for.

I was not and did not want to imply I was physically in the waiting room of the hospital, neither was my husband he was sat on a train coming home from the Isle of Skye to be with my son and like me living a night of hell and uncertainty.
After hearing the news of his accident my heart and mind did not want to accept that my beautiful boy could die. I along with my daughter and sister spent the night here waiting for phone calls from my son in law and son, my mind and heart were inside the room they were in working on my son, willing him not to die and for God not to take him from us. The same with my daughter, it could have snowed and my roof fall in and I wouldn't have noticed my mind was elsewhere as would any other loving mothers be.

My cry to God was please not to take him, take me, I've lived my life my children are all grown and living independant lives, he has a wife and 2 beautiful young daughters and everything to live for. I don't to this day know why but God gave us back our son, it was a long hard year and he is still recovering. He will always have a disability and I have to ring him sometimes to reassure myself he is still here.

I feel it very sad that this person (my sister) should feel the need to bring up the pain of 5yrs ago to make her look good in the eye's of others. I have news for you dear, it doesn't, it makes you look a sad vindictive and vicious person who can't get on with her life. How much better you would feel if instead of being so bitter and twisted you looked for something positive in life.

I once told you that you would end up a sad, bitter lonely old woman if you didn't change your attitude to other people and how you speak to and treat them sadly you have. Bitterness eats away at you, try looking for the good in people before trampling on them.

Had God decided it was time to take my son I don't know what I would have done, but I can know the pain parents are going through when their child is taken from them. Contrary to believe it doesn't matter whether that child is in his first yrs of life or left home with children of his own the pain is no less.

One such are the parents of Sgt First Class Matthew Blaskowski one of the many who have given their lives that we may live. If like me you would like to leave a message of condolences for his parents and family please click on the link below. Please do not leave messages anti or pro war, they don't need that but if you can find it in your heart to let them know you are keeping them in your heart and prayers I'm sure it would help to know you are there. Sgt Matthew Blaskowski

Thank you for visiting and reading, I hope you enjoyed your time here I love to read comments left by such as yourselves so please feel free, who knows you may have the most wonderful blog which like the many others bless me whenever I read them.
Take care, let your family know you love and care for them

hugs from my heart

Peg :o)

Can't understand why?

This is a wonderful treasure I saw in a charity shop 4 times before I took the plunge and bought it and am so pleased I did, don't ya just love it?

I can't change the date on the last post. It was of course posted on Sunday 7th and I haven't a clue why it says October 2nd.

I've just been reading through some lovely new blogs, this time I'd added them to my blogs I like to visit so you may also have the pleasure of visiting them.

Now I need to go to bed, I keep nodding off and my chin keeps slipping off my hand LOL, not a pretty sight I can tell you!

Hopefully will get the chance to post later on,

hugs Peg

Another week gone!

I thought I'd share a few of my treasures with you all, these are some of the beautiful items left by my MIL when she passed away.


I have no idea who the woman and little girl are I just love the ambience of it, the beads and pearls also belonged to her.



These nylons were given to me a while ago, they had been bought for a friends Mum as part of a Christmas gift from her husband years ago. As you can see they were never worn and came complete with packaging.


If you click on the picture you will see they were purchased in 1963, the year before I left school. I have them in my bedroom tied with a pink ribbon.


This delightful teapot is one of my favourite things, annoyingly I chipped a piece off getting it ready for the picture thankfully I have the piece so will glue it back on.


This is the scene on top of the teapot, isn't it just adorable?


These small heart shape boxes were in her belongings too, I love their simplicity.



These two small candle holders are so pretty and share a place on the chest of drawers in my bedroom with the Lavender and Rose water.

I have a few more to share with you but will save those for another day, :o)

I have a 100 or more ideas running through my head on quilts and a few other things I'd like to make, I need to make more time for what I want to do. The weeks seem to go by so quickly or is it because I'm getting older?

The other day I managed to buy some 'net' curtains in Pops Attic a delightful second hand shop I've been driving past for the the last 20yrs or more and never entered until a couple of weeks ago and it's an Aladdin's cave. They were only a few pence each, I bought them because of the beautiful 16" deep thick cream lace which is on the bottom. I've spent a couple of hours today removing this from the 'net' so I can reuse it I have a few projects in mind for it.

I talked hubby into going to a large car boot sale about 15mins drive away this morning. It's been running for yrs but we've never been, within 5 mins of being there oh boy was he glad we'd gone.......we came across a seller who had not one but two nearly new tripods, luckily he had his camera with him and was able to try it for stability. He chose the one at £12 which means now I can have sole use of the lightweight one we recently purchased. This of course spurred him on :o)

I wanted two wooden table lamp bases for our bedroom, yes similar to the ones I use to collect and paint then gave them all away a few years ago! I'd been looking on ebay for those and a large mirror for our bedroom wall just above the 2 chest of drawers but they were either way out of my price range or were reasonable but collect only. The collect only's were about 300+ miles away so not cost effective.

I'm cock-a-hoop now because I found not only 2 but 3 of the lamp bases I wanted and got them at £1.50 each and further on I saw an old large wood framed mirror so made a beeline for it. The two chaps were asking £1 for it, can you believe it??? they said if I gave them £4 I could have the fan and the 3 kids in the van too......I settled for just the mirror LOL. The wood is in excellent condition and the mirror needs cleaning but no marking or chips I'm sooooo pleased. I just need to sand it down and paint it now, I also got a lovely pr of white curtains with a lilac trim down one side with beautiful flowers embroidered around the edges. It's been a weekend of bargains, yesterday we had to go to Matlock to take hubbies time sheets or he and his staff wouldn't have been paid this week because of the postal strike. Whilst there I called in the charity shops and found a delightful large crocheted blanket and a small one too. They both came out of the wash looking perky and beautiful, to end our weekend of bargains I came home to find I'd won a darling little throw/quilt for a few £'s on ebay.

Earlier in the week I won 2 feather Eiderdowns on ebay, sadly they won't be here before the end of next week because of the postal strike, but I can wait, just hoping they don't get lost in the backlog of parcels. I was also searching for a quilt rail to hang them on but although they start at a reasonable price they go rather high with the fanatical bidding. I checked out my local Argos and can get a brand new one for £12.99 so may go that way. I have the perfect place on the landing to put one and display the quilts I have, our landing is barley white walls with white paintwork so the quilts will add some nice colour without being garish.

I need to get some of my stitched samplers framed so they can also be hung on the walls, they look pretty bare at the moment.

Well I think that's all for today, thank you for popping by I hope you enjoyed your visit, please leave a comment even so I can pop into your blog too. I already read so many but I just love them and feel really at home in them all.

Take care, until next time
hugs

Peg :o)