Caravan bits and amigurumi

I can finally add my pictures from Fridays post. My computer has had a gremlin all weekend as it kept refusing to turn on just sending out a high pitched beep and then when it did work it suddenly closed down. It seems to be OK at the moment so I'm bombarding it with anti virus scans in the hope that it will sort it out.

Anyway here's the photos I'm trying to rid the caravan of brown and dusky pink so am decorating in shades of yellow and florals to make it nice and cheerful hopefully!

I've made the cushions, two patchwork lap quilts, a caravan shaped doorstop, which I've put liberal amounts of dewberry fragrance oil in and some fragranced pouches and hearts.

I've recovered the curtains with the yellow flower patterned fabric, I wanted to keep the original curtains for warmth so I've just recovered them using a yellow tiny flower patterned fabric and a few in plain cream just to soften the effect a bit. It probably would have been a lot easier to make them from scratch but it's done now. I also picked these mugs up for 50p each.

And finally here is the amigurumi elephant that I started months ago for my 18 year old, I ran out of wool so it was put to one side, then I started my granny blanket, so it lay abandoned in the bottom of my wool basket and everyday my daughter asked 'have you finished my elephant yet?'

Well last week I thought I ought to do it and an hour later he was finished, she was delighted and

has started nagging me for more!

Vintage haberdashery and buttons

I haven't posted all week as I've been busy sewing for the caravan (whilst listening to the excellent 'Viva la Vida') and catching up on my crochet. My fourteen year old has also been hogging the computer in the evenings as she had her mock exams this week. I've sewn cushions, two patchwork lap quilts, some fragranced satchets and hearts and a caravan shaped doorstop. I've nearly completed all the granny squares for my blanket and have finished a crocheted elephant amigurumi for my 18 year old! I will try and take some photos tomorrow.

Whilst sifting through my sewing boxes, for lace and buttons, I came across some vintage needlework packaging and old wooden reels of cottons. These all belonged to my mum before I acquired them and I would never use them but it is a shame to keep them shut away as they are so much nicer than modern ones. Perhaps I need a little nic-nac shelf to display small items, I must add it to my list!
And while I'm on the subject - I love buttons when I was a child I always played with my mum's tin of buttons, which I now have and when I look throught them it brings back many memories as many of them are off clothes that I wore, or my mum wore as well as spare buttons from packets that were bought when my mum crocheted or knitted clothing for my daughters when they were babies. Whenever any item of clotjhing was worn out or outgrown the buttons were removed and the fabric used as rags or sometimes if it was a hand knitted/ crocheted garment it was unravelled and the wool reused and this was along time before reduce/ reuse/recycle became the norm! It all stemmed from the era into which my mum was born she grew up in the war and you learnt to 'mend and make do'. We were never poor it was just something that was ingrained in my parents generation and you stayed frugal whatever your circumstance. Anyway I digress here are 2 of my tins of buttons I have more which I use for making miniatures more about that another day.
I hope your ears aren't being blasted by my new toy at the bottom of the page as I've also spent alot of time choosing songs for my playlist. It's quite a random mix of tunes I like from the 80's to the present day including a few from the great, new Coldplay album.

Where's Summer?

Tomorrow it is midsummers day so where has all the sunshine gone? It will be the longest day but we haven't had chance yet for evening barbecues, sitting outside the pub, evenings on the beach. I know it is still only June but we have had some really, really hot days but cold evenings and now it is tipping down and it's cold again! Tomorrow we are going to a midsummers bonfire and barbecue so I'm hoping the sun will return as indoor barbecues will soon be the norm.

At the moment my eldest daughter and her boyfriend are sunning themselves here -

in Ayia Napa.

They went there for a fortnight, as they were fed up with the weather here, it has been sunny ever since they left now its started raining and they return on Sunday!
Talking of holidays I recently had a conversation with my 18 year old.

She is about to finish college after 2 years doing a hairdressing course.

For this she went to Truro college which meant leaving home at 7am and returning at 6pm at a cost of nearly £300 a year for transport. She has now decided she doesn't want to be a hairdresser even though she has passed all her assessments etc.
I suggested that she starts a modern apprenticeship in something that interests her but she can't decide what to do apart from becoming an accountant like her sister. So I said she would have to get a job as soon as college finished.
Her answer to this was 'I'll get a job in September because it's the summer holidays first!!'

Well when you work you don't get summer holidays that last from June to September.

Welcome to the real world Tara! Bless

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily

Today is Lily's 2nd birthday. Because the kitchen is not really usable at the moment and there are boxes of kitchen units everywhere we were unable to have a proper party for her so we took her out instead.

First she took her new pushchair for a trial run along with Dora her doll.

We then fed the swans, canadian geese, ducks & ducklings on the lake.

When we left home it was raining hence the wellie boots but luckily the sun came out and we managed a play on the beach.

Then home for a party tea with a hastily put together train cake.

Cancer research coffee morning

I went to a coffee morning today, in aid of cancer research, held in our village pub. I feel it's very important to support these charities as most peoples lives have been affected by this dreadful disease in one way or another. Hopefully, one day, the money raised towards research will ultimately reduce the amount of people dying from cancer or at least make life more bearable for cancer suffers with better medication giving them a better quality of life.

I bought a lovely 'Elizabethan' design coffee pot, sugar bowl, 4 cups & saucers set for the grand sum of £1.50! I think it's from the 60's and it's absolutely immaculate, I would imagine that it has never been used. Sadly there wasn't a milk jug so I looked on Ebay for one. No luck but the same make of coffee pot was priced at £25, sugar bowl £7.50 and 1 cup & saucer £7.50, which would make my little lot £62.50 unbelievable.

I also bought a couple of bowls for a £1.

Lily's first cupcakes

Well the kitchen arrived yesterday lunchtime. I never realised there would be quite so many boxes - they're in the lounge, the kitchen, the stairs and the porch. The wall units are going up first before we empty and demolish our present base units, at least this will hopefully be less stressful.

While I still have a bit of kitchen I made some fairy cakes this morning for Lily to decorate. This was quite hectic as I had to quickly put the icing on them as she was eating the decorations and sprinkling 100's and 1000's everywhere and shouting 'I did it mummy'. At first she started sniffing the jelly diamonds then putting them on the cakes and then turning around and popping one in her mouth. They soon learn to be sneaking lol. She was so pleased with herself and rightly so as she isn't 2 yet! (birthday Sunday) I'm going to be making these with the children at the toddler group next week so at least Lily has had a practice now!

I don't know what is happening to the weather here, we had a week of really hot summer sunshine and now it's gone really cold and is more like winter. So while I was in baking mode I made some bread rolls and homemade butternut squash & veg soup for lunch, that warmed us up a bit probably still have to light the fire though.

Love bunting

Don't you just love bunting.


I'm sitting waiting for my kitchen to be delivered, sometime between 8am and 1pm apparently, so I thought I'd finish my first attempt at bunting and I love it. I've done yellow shades for the caravan and pink for Lily's room.

I'll have to do blue for my room next and then I think the kitchen is going to have to have some in nice pastel colours and then of course there is outside on the pergola (haven't got a pergola yet but that's a minor problem, which can soon be fixed!) My 14 yr old D wants some for her bedroom but she has to share with her 18 yr old sister who says 'Don't even think about hanging that stuff in my room!' I don't know why she hasn't got any taste, she just doesn't appreciate the finer things in life! Everytime I buy anything thrifted she just gives me a look of disdain lol.


I must admit she is getting better in some ways, she used to have to wear all the surfy labels (living in Cornwall!) but now realises that you don't have to follow the crowd and will even shop in Primark lol. My 14 yr old is completely different she likes to look different and the more mismatched the outfit the better, she also likes car boot sales!


Anyway I'm waffling and the darn kitchen still isn't here.


Now where is all my blue fabric!!

Sunny Sunday Carboot

I popped to the carboot on Sunday just to get some runner bean plants as, for the first time ever, mine decided not to grow! Well it was very sunny, very busy and too, too much temptation! I got my bean plants and then got slightly carried away, stayed for 2 hours and came away with this little lot ............

6 sundae glasses, a green glass bowl, a small glass candlestick (should have been two but I left one on the table), a few linen mats, gravy boat and saucer, 6 cute knives and a pretty Royal Doulton cup.

and more ......

a wicker bottle basket, which I've wanted for ages, two box framed roses pictures, 6 pillowcases and a duvet set for the fabric.

a few more .........


a dark green enamel teapot, German floral sugar bowl and coffee pot (she couldn't find a lid to this, which was a pity as there's not a mark on it, only 50p though so I thought I could put flowers in it. A lovely flower patterned segmented japanese plate, a teacup, saucer & tea plate set, another embroidered tablecloth, a rose patterned plate and some books for £5 ; Harmony toy book, Treasury of country crafts, Soft furnishings, Victorian crafts revived, Best ever crafts, Clever crafts to decorate your home, Laura Ashley book of home decorating.

and finally another shelf to paint, well it was only £2 and it will go in the bathroom.

Oops I had said I wasn't going to buy anything apart from the plants!

2 days to go .......

I have so much to do at the moment as there are only 2 days to go until KD day

In the meantime

the shelves are up and pipes boxed in .........

the floor tiles are laid ..........

the new light fitting is up ...............

my new kitchen is being delivered on Wednesday yippee!!

Meanwhile as it is very hot I am doing the laundry is it just mine or is everyones wash basket a bottomless pit I am sure the laundry multiplies as it sits in there do you think the same would happen if I started feeding money into it. If so I would be very rich indeed!!

Royal Cornwall Show

We went to the royal Cornwall show on Saturday, the weather was great really warm and sunny but not stifling like it normaly is. Lily loved the alpacas and the Morris dancers.

It's great to see an old time fair so much nicer than modern ones.

Caravan and steam engine.

After a lovely day we headed back to the car at 4.45 only to sit in a queue in the field car park until 7.15 - 2 and a half hours! With 3 children in the back of the car - nightmare!

Going stir crazy!

Around and about - my patch

After playing the flickr game on Monday I have become quite addicted to looking at other peoples photography, lots of them are amazing. It's great putting places you know into the search and all these photos appear!

Even when you live in a tiny village like I do there are still nearly a hundred photos within the actual village plus thousands of them of the surrounding areas. I suppose many of them are holiday photos. And holidaymakers do flock to Cornwall in their thousands, nearly all year round now, obviously because it is beautiful, peaceful (sometimes) and a slower calmer pace of life. After all Cornwall is not the cheapest place to come on holiday and we can't always guarantee the hot weather!!

Sometimes when you live in an area for a long time you forget how lucky you are to live there, seeing stunning photos taken by someone else makes you stop and think and be grateful for what you have right on your doorstep.

I've made a little mosaic of 'my village' - the pub, the village green, the church, the moors, river, and our nearest beach, which is only 20 mins away.

The other pictures are of Eden of course as you can't write about Cornwall without adding Eden - stunning - my little one loves it there we have a years permit and it's only 25 mins away!

A Few Finds..

I managed to pick up a few things at the car boot on Sunday.

DD3 Jodie found the green enamel coffee pot, which I was delighted with and it was only a pound. (I'm training her well! but it costs me as she then says 'can I have this - I did find the enamel pot for you!')

I also got a pair of curtains for a pound, which I will cut up, probably to make cushions for the caravan as I'm decorating the caravan in yellow, cream & florals of course.

The little rose rimmed jug was 20p to add to my jug collection.

Then I saw the rose fabric over a car, I looked at it and found that it was actually a huge fully lined door curtain from a furnishings shop in Penzance it looks very good quality so I got a bargain -£4. I originally wanted it for the fabric but I can't bring myself to cut it up so will hang it at the front door instead and take down the boring brown one that is there at the moment.

I also got a bubble machine for Lily for 50p this is definately a godsend as I no longer have to stand in the garden blowing bubbles, the trouble is she stands so close that they all land in her hair which feels lovely after!!

A Flickr Game

I read about this flickr game on both Vintage Pleasure and Joanne Browns blogs and as its my birthday today and I had nothing else to do (violins!!) I thought I'd give it a go. I spent half the day trying to work out what fd's mosaic maker was but I got there in the end. My daughter Jodie and I had great fun picking the pics, she now wants to get her own flickr account.

Heres what you have to do.
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favourite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite colour?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favourite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

I do have one blank space it was a pic of a baby asleep on an arm, apparently this happens when you don't have permission to use the photo.

There's some great photos out there so give it a go.