Making Good Use

Vintage Linen Drawstring Gift Bags

Having been heavily influenced by this great idea on Tiny Happy's blog, I had a go at making a couple of simple drawstring gift bags, using a partly-embroidered piece of vintage linen which had been given to me by my lovely next-door neighbour.  An unmarked part of the tablecloth had already been used to make a special Christmas present so I was really pleased to be able to use up these portions too.

 
I simply cut as big a bag as I could from the bits of embroidered cloth that I had, sewed the sides together (using French seams as this linen was rather prone to fraying) made a channel to thread the cord through at the top and added a couple of vintage buttons at the end of the cord - just for a bit of added interest.  The bigger bag ended up approx. 11 inches square and the smaller one approx. 10 inches square.

 
I must say I'm rather delighted with how these have turned out and I'm now eyeing up my stash of vintage and slightly-damaged-in-places-so-not-much-good-for-anything-else fabric with the idea of making quite a few more.

I've linked this post at Apron Thrift Girl's  Wednesday Make Share.

Itchy and Scratchy

For the last few weeks the weather has been so cold that we've had to have the central heating on all day every day.  Whilst this has helped to keep the house at a nice temperature, it has played havoc with my skin, leaving it totally dried out and VERY itchy and scratchy all over.  Last week I was itching literally from my scalp to my ankles, and that's despite the fact that we have the biggest humidifiers known to man hanging from the downstairs radiators - they disperse a litre of water each per day.

Anyhoo, I was reading the comments on this post over at Notes From The Frugal Trenches and somebody suggested using Coconut Oil if your skin is very dry during cold weather.  Well, that was most interesting to me as I had three jars of it in my sideboard, and no idea what to do with it apart from make homemade deodorant (mentioned in this post in mid-September and I've still not tried the recipe, ahem!!)

 
Well, I can certainly say that Coconut Oil works a treat.  I'm no longer itchy and scratchy and apart from a very faint whiff of macaroons when you first apply the oil, there's no over-powering scent of coconut either.  As they've got two jars of Biona Organic Coconut Oil for £1.00 at the local farmshop, treating my dry skin with this instead of Body Shop Body Butter (also excellent for dried-out skin) is proving to be not only exceedingly effective but also very easy on the purse.  I believe Coconut Oil is easily available in most health food shops and should cost around £3.50 per 200g jar - still pretty economical compared to body moisturisers, and this stuff is all organic.

And, Finally, I Come to the End of the Jumble Sale Blanket

With a final fourth cat blanket made - this time for next-door's cat, Jester - I finally came to the end (apart from oddly-shaped scraps) of the vintage wool blanket I picked up at a jumble sale in April.    The blanket has yielded lots of vintage wool goodness and has contributed to quite a few secret Christmas presents.  It was certainly well worth getting as I only paid pennies for it, and the second wool blanket from the jumble, is also doing sterling work at the moment covering the windscreen of P's car.  I was going to get rid of that particular blanket as it is a rather unpleasant shade of Germolene pink and I couldn't imagine having any use for it.  Luckily, it proved just the ticket to stop the windscreen icing up - and who cares what colour it is when it's doing that job.

 
I'm quite pleased with how the cat blanket for Jester has turned out, though it's not quite finished yet - still have to stitch the cat-shape on.  I just cut out a 24 x 30 inch rectangle from the vintage blanket, embroidered round the edge in blanket stitch, added an embroidered 'J' and used a little cut-out cat shape to gussie it up.

He's ginger and white and I managed to find some variegated orange and white embroidery thread, that sort of matched his colouring, for the blanket-stitched edge.  I embroidered the initial 'J' in the corner with some plain orange thread I happened to have, and topped it with a cut-out shape of the cat, made from the only orangey-coloured material I possess.  I know Jester likes to stretch out in one of the neighbour's comfy armchairs and his own little blanket should help to preserve the chair's upholstery from pesky little white cat hairs.

Linked to Apron Thrift Girl's Make Share post.

Never Mind the Wonkiness, Feel the Warmth

I was so disappointed when I sewed up my second knitted patchwork blanket last summer, somewhere along the line it had all gone hideously wonky. 

 
Fast forward a few months and the 'wonky donkey' blanket is being put to excellent use each evening - as is the original one I made a couple of years ago - and I no longer care how wonky it is, I'm just glad we've each got a warm and cosy blanket to snuggle under during this vicious cold snap. 

Two-Needle Beanie Pattern

 
Whenever I check the stats for my blog, I'm always struck by how many people are looking for the Two-Needle Knitted Beanie Hat Tutorial that I posted on the blog in October 2009. 

 
As the weather is still pretty arctic in the UK at the moment, I thought it would be a good idea to repeat the tutorial in case anyone wants to knit themselves a quick and easy beanie hat.  Sadly, Typepad had other ideas so all I can do is give you a link to my original post.

 
I've been wearing one of my knitted hats whenever I'm out and about at the moment, and have been known to wear one round the house too this last week or so.  Having my head covered really does help to keep me warm and cosy.  And you know what they say - if you want to get ahead, get a hat!!

 
Most of the hats featured in my original post have been sold over the past year or so - although the grey Rowan one with pink felt flower is still looking for a home on ebay at the moment.  Most of the hats above are also listed on ebay for the next day or two but once their listings end that'll be it for me and ebay for this year - thank goodness, I'll be glad of a break from it over Christmas and the New Year.

Cabin Fever

A small dose of cabin fever had set in with me today so P and I slipped and slid our way down to the High Street.  I had to go to the Post Office (roll on the end of ebay listing for this year - not long now) and we also needed a few supplies of veg and meat.  The pavements and roads were really treacherous and I was wearing an old pair of P's boots as none of my shoes where high enough up the leg to stop them getting filled with snow.  It normally takes 10 minutes or less to get from our house to the High Street, today it probably took at least half an hour. 

To celebrate having got out to the High Street in one piece we treated ourselves to a burger and chips in Wimpey.  I have very fond memories of Wimpey when I was a child in Bristol - they had a large restaurant halfway up Park Street - and it was a real treat to be taken there for burger and chips in the 1960s.  I thought Wimpey had disappeared for good but P and I encountered one in Torquay a few years ago and when we moved to Essex we found that all the little towns here seem to still have a Wimpey.  There is something so old-fashioned and British about a Wimpey - the coffee comes in glass cups and there is still waitress service - so much nicer than McDonalds or Burger King.

Whilst out and about I popped into the one charity shop that was open and found a gorgeous piece of cotton Christmas fabric for £1.

 
I'm sure it was originally used as a tablecloth as it is hemmed all round and is 52 inch square, but I'm thinking it would be great turned into re-usable drawstring gift bags.  Just another thing to add to my ever-growing makes-for-Christmas list!!

Six Inches and Counting

 
This is the accumulation of snow on our really-should-have-been-put-in-the-shed-weeks-ago garden table - six inches at 3.30pm today and there has been more snow since!!  Flippin' 'eck, that's a lot of snow.  Even P, who hails from Alpine Switzerland, was impressed by the amount of snow we've had in the last couple of days.  Roll on Spring, that's what I say!!

Deep and Crisp and Even

 
The widely-forecast snow for Essex arrived overnight Monday and was topped-up by frequent snow showers all day yesterday too.  Today it is only very fine snow that is falling but the wind is bitter and blowing hard, and it's definitely another day for hunkering down at home and keeping as warm as possible.  Even the children who were out throwing snowballs earlier have retreated indoors now - with a windchill of -7 degrees I can't say I blame them.

We're fine for food for at least a week, although by the end of that time we may well be eating things we don't really like that much.  Fresh milk might prove a problem eventually - but I do have a large tub of dried milk powder which would do at a pinch.  I'm so glad I heeded the weather forecast and went for some quite serious stocking up of food on Monday, although without a freezer it's difficult to stockpile meat and things like that.  Never mind, we've got plenty of tinned and dried foods and we certainly won't starve.

Knitted hats, scarves and gloves are being worn pretty much constantly, outdoors, indoors and, in P's case, in bed too, and my charity-shop crochet shawl that I found last year has proved to be invaluable for keeping the chill off my back.  Warm food in our bellies helps enormously too and I'm going to cook a beef stew for supper this evening - that'll warm me twice, once when I've got the gas on to cook it and again when I eat it.  How is the snow in your part of the UK?

Three Is the Magic Number

On Saturday I managed to get to not one, not two, but three Christmas Fairs - and all before lunch.  The first one was advertised as starting at 9.30 am so I set off with plenty of time to spare to walk to the venue.  Unfortunately, it was a little further away than I had realised and the route there was uphill.  I arrived a little late, very puffed and a tad disorientated as the Fair was advertised as being held in the local school and I was having difficulties finding my way in.  Eventually I found the right hall and wandered in.  There didn't seem to be many people around so I asked if they were open yet - no, they were opening at 10.00 am!!  That was fine by me as I'd spotted some very comfy-looking soft seating on the way in and was quite happy to sink down and rest my weary legs for 20 mintues or so.  'However,' said the nice lady 'you can come in now if you like.'  Well, I didn't need asking twice and happily had a wonderful time picking up bits and bobs with only one other member of the public in the room at the same time - it was bliss, nobody elbowing me out the way or peering over my shoulder.

 
I came away with some nice toiletries for myself - 50p each.

 
 
And two vintage diamante necklace and earrings sets - also 50p each.  I'm going to try these on ebay as I hope they're suitable bling for Christmas, but will keep the citrine coloured earrings for myself as I really liked them (and, I now realise, have failed to take a photo of them, but they are the same as the dangly end of the necklace).  I also bought a jar of homemade lemon curd for £1.00.

Later in the morning there was a Christmas Fair at one of the nearby villages which P had kindly offered to drive me to en-route to another village Fair.  We arrived at the first one half an hour after it had started (which suited me just fine and worked out well with the timing for the third venue of the day) and I'd expected there to be absolutely nothing left but I came away with a very nice unopened Body Shop Gift Set for £2.00 plus a jar of homemade marmalade and one of blackberry and apple jam. 

 

The third Fair was the one I had been looking forward to the most and it turned out to be very disappointing.  I only bought some stocking fillers for my nephew - 20p each - and an extremely scrummy homemade Lemon and Ginger Cake for £2.25.  Although as the cake was so delicious it was probably worth going there after all!!

 

That Jumble Sale Blanket is Proving Very Versatile

 

I made this Christmas stocking over the weekend from another bit of the vintage wool blanket I picked up at a jumble sale in April.  This is the third item I've made from it - one's a Christmas pressie so has to remain secret, and there's Lily's blanket too.  My sister has asked me to make a blanket for each of her two cats as well so that vintage blanket is getting some really good use - albeit as other things. 

I was quite pleased with how the Christmas stocking turned out - I used pinking shears to cut out the basic stocking shape, sewed on by hand some red felt circles and added a red felt hanging tag.  It's a good size - approx. 15 inches long x 6.5 inches wide - and I'm just wondering if I might try selling it on ebay before it's too late.   Or I might just keep it for myself!

I've linked this post to Apron Thrift Girl's Make Share.