Bits & Bobs ~ Freebie Antique Crochet Patterns..

Just how thrilled was I to receive this lovely blog award today from Michelle one of my blog followers. This has started my week off to a much better start than I thought it would be. You can see her blog at:http://michellesstitching.blogspot.com/ . Thank you Michelle, and Hugs x.


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Mary Wigham SAL WIP

I recently decided to join the Ackworth School, Mary Wigham Sal and have after having to rip out the first motif twice the pic below is my stitching so far. I have decided to do the Sal in only four colours of DMC 779 chocolate,841 Coffee, 152 Muted Pink, Ecru, the fabric is an evenweave 28ct linen. The pattern calls for a 32ct, but I thought 28ct would be better on the eyes. I was reading on the Ackworth School site that the students back in the 18th Century used a 40 ct fabric originally. Can you imagine what their eyes were like with the lighting they had way back then.

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DH's little Finds....... when he was clearing out a house in the course of his work.

He found this little 1940's to 50's Needlekeeper with screw on thimble lid.

Another great find was some crochet edging which a lady must have made way back. When DH brought it home the edging was all discoloured and brownish. I have given it a bleaching, and a good wash in the washing machine, and it is as bright as it is ever going to be, with just two little iron stains in a couple of places there it must have been up against some metal at some time. Along with the crochet piece which is not quite finished, as is appears it was an edging for a table cloth or similar, there was also two patterns. One dated June 27th 1914...Pansy edging, and the other which could be the pattern for the edging I have shown a picture of, dated September 6th 1924. I have taken the pictures in Super Macro, so that anyone who is into doing crochet can have a go at the pattern if they so wish. I hope that if you click the picture of the pattern that the blog will allow it to enlarge.

If you would like to have a copy of either of the vintage crochet patterns please email me at:fripperiesandstitchery@googlemail.com
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The weather hasn't been very good this past week, and now the children have broken up for the school holidays, I do hope it will be fine next week. They have forecast rain for nearly every day this week its such a shame for the kids. But on another note the weather as it is is good for my vegetable garden, and everything is just producing nicely. We have had two pickings of succulent sugar snap peas, and I picked nearly half a washing basket full of broad beans last week. They were yummy. The rain is great for my courgettes too, I have been having to pick them every day. I think that I shall have to freeze some for the winter.We have tiny cherry, and plum tomatoes in the green house, and I am waiting on the large ones yet too fruit. The Khol Rabi is coming on. I can't wait to try that. Apparently you can shred it and eat it with salad. The oak leaf lettuce are doing well too, and I am waiting for the beetroot to get a little larger before I pull them. The copper ribbon seems to have worked a treat at keeping the slugs and snails from eating my purple sprouting, and they are nearly a foot high now.

I hope you have found something here to interest you, I must really go now as it is time that DH comes in from work, and I have to go and feed that man!!!

Stitchybits, Classic cars, and Cake

This lovely little design was a freebie that I found at http://www.xstitchhappy.com/ some while ago. I just love the design, as it is so fresh and bright. It was one of my UFO's that I couldn't finish really until now, as the mobile that I had at the time wouldn't fit into it.

Now I have the right sized mobile I feel reluctant to use the case as I don't want to spoil it, and have to keep washing it.

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Since last weekend I haven't really felt like writing my blog, as the weather has been brilliantly hot here in Devon, and I had got behind with my A Stitch a Week SAL that I have doing along with many other ladies in the Friendly Stitchers Group which belong to.I caught up on three of the motifs, but by now we have another one. That leaves me 11 motifs to catch up on. It is particularly hard, as I elected to do the ASAW SAL on 28ct linen, and the motifs are only about 1.5" square, so everything is minute sometimes, and very slow going when stitching. Hey Ho!!!

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Gorgeous Plum/Apple Cake Recipe.

This is one of my families favourite dessert cakes. You can eat it as it is, or with cream poured over a slice in a dish. It is best when it has been in a plastic container in the fridge. It keeps up to 4 days in the fridge......... that's if you can resist it that long.

Ingredients

5oz butter,

2 large eggs,

8 oz caster sugar,

1 teasp almond essence,

8oz S.R. flour,

1.5 level teasps of baking powder,

1.5lbs of Plums (stoned),or apples before peeling.

Icing sugar to dust when cooled.

Method.

Grease well, but don't line a 10" spring loose bottom cake tin. Heat oven to Gas 5, 375 degF, 190 degC.

Melt butter in a pan over med heat until just liquid, and pour in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, sugar, and almond essence, and beat until well mixed. Fold in the flour, and baking powder.

Spread just under 2/3rds of the mixture into the baking tin. Then straight away peel & core the apples,or stone plums. If using apples ,slice, if using plums just halves will do.Arrange the fruit roughly over the top of the top of the mixture that is in the tin. Then spread the remaining mixture over the top of the apples/plums. It is difficult to get the top of the mix smooth, so blobs of the mix will be OK, as it evens out in the cooking..

Bake for 1 and a half hours until the fruit is tender. I usually stick a metal skewer in to test the middle isn't still runny after an hour. If it comes out clean then the cake is ready.

Loosen the sides of the cake from the tin with a knife, and carefully tip it upside down on a rack to cool. Invert it right way up on plate when cooled, and dust with icing sugar.

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The week-end prior to the one just gone, we went on our travels again, and went to see a small Steamfair, and Vintage Automobiles and Bicycles.

Below are some of the sights we saw. Amongst others are some Morris Men/Mummers who decided to come along and jolly the atmosphere up. For my readers from foreign climes, Morris Men/Mummers are Country Folk Dancers with their own musicians, who pretend to fight with sticks whilst dancing. A very old custom in England.

Jaguar Panther
1935 Auburn 851 Speedster
Model T Ford
This was the Yuckie sign on the side of the ratcatchers vehicle.

I just had to photograph it as I just couldn't believe what I saw. Lovely stained glass window

Secret peep through a gateway.

Bluebell fields on Dartmoor

A Finish, Redwork, and Yummy stuff........

This is the picture of the Mystery Sampler which I have now finished. All I have to do is to go and try to buy a frame for it. I really enjoyed stitching this little piece, particularly because of the variety of stitches which were used in it. Some of which I have never stitched before, and this gave me the satisfaction of not becoming bored with the middle parts as I usually do when doing something that is not a small item. It took me just over a week of evenings for about 2 hours or so each evening.
As on my previous blog, the site where the pattern came from is:http://pagesperso-orange.fr/anne-les-petites-croix/ . Thank you Anne for the beautiful freebie.


I don't normally do Redwork, but I came across a site the other day,( of which I cannot remember the name of) , when I was looking at patchwork things that people had made.

Yesterday after having finished the mystery sampler, and not having much else I wanted to do I printed out the picture, and decided to try machine stitching these gorgeous little mice. I thought originally that I would make it into a tote bag seeing as every supermarket now doesn't like giving polythene bags out to put your shopping in, so I will make a calico bag, and stitch the redwork to it as a motif, along with some buttons and things.
I don't have a fancy embroidery machine,although it does about 9-10 different stitches, but I thought I would give it a try. I did find that the smaller parts were quite difficult to stitch with the pattern paper placed under the calico, and I had to keep maneuvering the corners of the paper underneath the main body of the machine. However, after about 2 hours this is what my first machine Redwork turned out like. I think that if I were going to do a piece for an exchange for someone else then I would have to hand stitch, as I don't like the bits where the machine had to stop and start, but no doubt this would get better with practice.


Spring Food


On Tuesday it was a beautiful sunny day, and I thought I really cannot be bothered to eat a large heavy meal when DH comes in from work, so I cast my mind back to Spring and Summer past, and remembered Pie Saladiere.
Although the pic has come out a bit blurred this is what the finished dish looked like before popping in the oven.

Recipe..... of a fashion.

I made 10oz of Shortcrust Pastry to cover a Swiss Roll Tin 7" x11"...roll out not too thinly, nor too thick.

Spread over base, about 2 large tablespoons of tomato puree. Sprinkle with ground sea salt. Clip the leaves of a handful of Basil. and put on top of the tomato paste. Grate some Cheddar Cheese, or any other kind of cheese you care to have in your fridge.,about 8oz. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the basil.
Finely slice a long red pepper and sprinkle over, then Halve 4 small sweet juicy tomatoes, and finely slice, and sprinkle over the rest of the Pie Saladiere. Finely slice some chestnut mushrooms. I only used 4 small ones.Get one red onion, a bit larger than a golf ball, and finely slice, and scatter over the whole dish.

Bake for approximately 30 mins, or until the vegetables are just coloured and starting to turn a little soft. Gas Mark 6, 400deg F, 200C

I served mine with a chopped salad dressed with honey and mustard dressing, and a small serving of Tuna.


I hope this has whetted your appetite. Its lush!!!

WIP, Swap and cakes for tea.......

Sorry to all the lovely people who normally follow my blog for not writing last week, but last week is best forgotten as far as I am concerned.


The picture above is of a WIP that I have nearly completed.I have altered it in places to suit me, and have stitched different colours to which the pattern stated. The pattern is a Mystery Sampler ( a freebie)which I found on http://pagesperso-orange.fr/anne-les-petites-croix/ . It has a good variety of speciality stitches which I found quite absorbing, and a change from just doing cross stitch.

The vase of flowers is a mixture of the many Aquilegia we have growing in our garden together with what I call popcorn grasses.I was so upset because the wind had been very strong for the past 3 days, and that along with the rain had been beating their tall stems all down onto the lawn.


The above picture is of the scissors case and fob which I stitched as my part of a swap to Irene in the Netherlands.Now that Irene has received her swap I thought you may like to see what I made. The swap was through one of the groups that I belong to Yahoo Group bbinteractive. The link can be found at the top left of my blog. The stitching was done on a 28ct even weave linen with a French Navy pure silk lining. I sent a little card which I made. I cross stitched a hedgehog on perforated paper, and decorated with a frame then made it into the card.

For many years I used to bake cakes, biscuits, pies etc, but up until the recession I am afraid I haven't been as good as I should and have been buying ready made.Today though I thought this must change.Not only is the price of some shop bought cakes ridiculous,but you really cannot trust exactly what is going into them. I feel so strongly about the fact that some unscrupulous manufacturers are putting hydrogenated fats( causing heart disease), into our food that I thought it was high time I went back to making my own goodies. I was trained in catering before I made the great decision that, that wasn't what I really wanted to go into job wise when I first started work; and eventually ended up being a window dresser for a large high street fashion store for while before getting married.

The pic above is of a Victoria Sandwich Cake which is sandwiched together with Damson Jam, and lightly dusted with icing sugar over a doily; which I made this morning. This is the start of me making and baking my own again.

The teacup in the picture is my favourite vintage teacup, of which I have many. This one is made by Royal Cauldon. This cup makes any cup of tea taste wonderful.

This is my favourite Picture for May, it is taken on Dartmoor, and when I took it I was surrounded by Bluebells. The scent was heavenly.

Little Alphabet Sampler......& Spring Holidays

I just loved stitching this small alphabet sampler. I have stitched it on Belfast Linen 28ct, and used DMC floss. I found it a while ago as a freebie. Its title is " Bluebirds and Daisies", and is a complimentary design from: www.blueribbondesigns.com . I found it very easy to stitch, and I thought I may incorporate the design again along with more motifs to make a larger sampler.

My latest stitching project is a birth sampler for my new little grandson, when finished I will show it on my blog.

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Spring Holiday..... Well a rest for DH anyway....

The weather was beautiful, and silly me I thought that we might go out and about for a few days, especially as it was Easter school holidays and all that. We had even talked about going up to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, and the American Museum up in Somerset, as DS wanted to go there, but no such luck, DH just wanted to rest up. I suppose I can sympathise in a way as he does have a strenuously gruelling job,but I would have driven, and all he had to do was to sit there and look at the countryside.....but no. He just wanted to stay at home. I think that he was just enjoying the fact that my eldest son had moved out the week prior to that, and he just wanted to enjoy the peace that now reigns in our house. I did manage to get DH to go into the garden, and finish digging the veggie patch that we have decided to have this year, especially as people in the UK are being encouraged to grow their own fruit and veg. We have planted Tomatoes, Courgette, Broccoli/Purple sprouting, Lettuce..various varieties, carrots, peas, broad beans,and aubergine, also a custard courgette.

We did however manage to get down to visit the newly arrived Grandson after him being born about 10 days previously. He's so cute,he weighed in at 6lb 6oz and is now gaining weight, and getting stronger every day. They are all coming to see me tomorrow, so I will get to cuddle him again. I do love tiny babes especially when they are not your own and you can hand them back when they start crying.

Easter Saturday, saw a big spring clean out, we had so many old books, and clutter, that we thought it was time to get rid of the excess. Doesn't it take an amazing amount of time, as if you are like me you seem to come across things that you have forgotten and than you start to look through them all particularly photos, or that little memento you had kept for posterity. Eventually we had a huge pile of books which we put on our local Freecycle.com group, www.freecycle.com and there were many takers. We still have loads to do, and get rid of before we can even start to think about decorating. I really must stop hoarding, and stashing.

On Easter Sunday there were many bootsales, and flea markets on, and it was wonderfully warm so we decided to go to one. Yet again I couldn't resist, and found some fabric to add to my stash. Not only do I like doing cross stitch, and blackwork, but from time to time when the mood takes me I do like to do patchwork. I was lucky enough to get about 4 square metres of Calico for £1, and 2 metres of really nice checked material suitable for all sorts of projects. The colours were not too dissimilar to the colours I used in the ABC sampler above.

I also added to my cross-stitch stash, as a lady was selling a piece of 14ct Aida, and all the threads to make a teddy bear sampler. I don't fancy making that up, but the threads, and aida will come in for something. I also was lucky enough to get Donna Kooler's " 555 Fabulous Cross-stitch Patterns" book for 50p. There are so many nice little motifs that I am sure I can incorporate into things that I will make, both for exchanges, and for myself.

Its amazing what people will get rid of for next to nothing. I also had the pick of whatever I wanted out of an old sewing chest. I had a powder bowl full of pins, some with nice heads on, and some buttons for covering, and a velvet press type brush. I shall be covering the little buttons with some cross stitch flowers I think.That all cost me £1 too.

My Antique Porcelain find......

I was just about to leave the bootsale/flea market when I came upon this stall that just had a load of old junk when I found this wonderful little Dresden side plate decorated with purple pansies, and hand gilded with little dots of gold on the pansies, and gilding to the scrolled edges.The age of the plate is around the 1880's-1900.

My Friendly Stitchers Sal stitching so far......

This week has been a bit busy so I haven't got around to a lot of stitching. I had got a bit behind with the Yahoo Groups Friendly Stitchers ASAW Sal and had only done about 5 motifs out of the 12 that had been charted, so I decided to catch up on that before starting on any other projects. I think my most favourite out of the motifs so far is the ' Mole '. For my US readers I don't know if you have moles in the USA but they are little animals about 8" long, and are virtually blind, that make a terrible mess of your lawn if you get them burrowing. They leave little hillocks of earth all over the place, and are very difficult to get out of your garden. Their main diet is earth worms.

These are a few close ups of some of the motifs.......

The Sal has been stitched on DMC 28ct Linen, in DMC threads.

The link to the Friendly Stitchers Group is to found on the left of my blog page.

Hopefully next week I shall be able to get on with other patterns that I have been wanting to stitch for a while.

It was one of those evenings.......Argh!.....

Last night was just one of the worst evenings for a while. Having two sons of very differing ages is very stressful sometimes. One wanting to act older than the other, and the other just plain irritating because he has been used to living in his own place, but now returned home.

As usual I collected the youngest from school in the car in the afternoon. He came out in a good mood for a change and said that he had, had a good day.Oh! thanks heavens I thought, as some days he comes out acting like the whole world is against him, or that some other child had done something to him that has agrevated him. He's at that age you see....( an inbetweenie) a month to go before being a teenager. When we get home and go through the usual ritual of having a drink getting changed etc. , he decides that he is going to see his friend who is mother lives very nearby. He gets his beloved BMX bike out and off he goes, and shouts back to me that he will be back at 4.30pm.So then I decide.....Mmmmm a bit of Stitching might not go amiss, as the big son is out.... 10 mins goes by.........No Such Luck.

Big son comes in, blusters through the door, huffing and puffing because he has just had a strenuous Badminton game. He promptly plonks himself down at my computer, and decides that he wants to make a new blog, and doesn't know how to go about it. Bang goes the stitching since he keeps saying Mum how do I do this, and how do you do that. I give up the thought of ever trying to stitch, and besides it is now 4.00pm and I should really think about what we are going to have for dinner as hubby usually gets in at 5.00pm or thereabouts. Not that he is worried as to whether he has dinner on the table when he comes in or not.....bless him.....he's just the most easy going man I have ever come accross. He is a Libran and very easy to live with.

4.30 comes and goes and young son hasn't come home.....4.45 comes and I start to worry since you hear all sorts of stories in the news. I couldn't get him on his mobile and I was worried, as it said he was unavailable. Then I get a call to say Hubby will be late...no probs. Eventually young son rings on home phone to say he's sorry but he had to go to the friends Dad's house which is miles away,and that his friends bike was broken and he had to help him home, and that he would be home in 10 mins. ............Not!!!! 20 mins later at 5.50 young son comes in, new jeans ripped on one leg up to the knee, and said he caught the hem in the bike chain........Urmmmm!

After dinner, elder son got on Hubby's nerves, and we went out to get a breath of fresh air. Came back and thought Ah! I will now do a bit of stitching as everyone had settled down doing their own thing....... But no........ they had remembered it was Pancake Day.......... Now I was going to lose it, as I detest having to stand there and make numerous amounts of pancakes while they stand there with their plates waiting for another, and another. By this time I was getting to the point where I felt I was being deprived because I really wanted to do stitching, and had wanted to do so all day, but to no avail. Eldest son offered to make them, but he is just so hopeless at doing any cooking without making a mountain of washing up, and mess in the kitchen I said no thanks. Hubby came down from having a shower, and said he would make them. Bless him.

Don't you just love your kids!!

I then got my chance............ Stitching .....Yes!! I got out the SAL that I am doing with Yahoo Stitchers Heaven Group, the pattern is Alla Turca by Pelin Tezar. I wanted to get on with it as I am behind most of the others in the group, only not having completed part 1 yet, and most of the stitchers have finished part 2.

I suppose I had stitched about an inch of the design on the right when I realised I was 1 thread out way back, and had to pull out all I had done. I suppose that's the trouble with stitching at night, and when you are not at your best.

This is my WIP so far on the Alla Turca SAL

Bookmark Swap.......

I just had to share this beautiful bookmark. It was stitched for a bookmark swap by a lady called Nessa in the USA, who belongs to a group that I also belong to.

On a cold Februay Sunday.....

Yesterday was so bitterly cold, but we ventured out to a nearby bootsale, as my youngest son adores rooting through other peoples clutter. It was hardly worth going as there were only a handful of poor souls who had decided to sell their wares. However, I was really delighted when I happened upon a beautiful Victorian Cake Plate. I must confess I do have another passion apart from Cross-stitch and sewing etc, and that is pottery and porcelain, especially of the Victorian era. My husband dreads me going to flea markets, and bootsales, as I always end up " saving a piece from the clutches of the great pottery graveyard in the sky"Lol! I have boxes and boxes of beautiful china stored away.

Stashes

Since joining various stitching groups I have come to realize that I am not peculiar, and not alone in hoarding material which I know will be sat for years in some box waiting for the time when I suddenly remember that ' piece' of material is the exact piece that I want to use for some project or other. For years, more than I care to remember I have had a stash, of fabric, lace, beads, patterns etc the list goes on and on. My poor dear husband looks in despair sometimes, at the huge stash that I have collected, particularly when we decide to move a room around, or decorate. I only wish like some ladies have that I had a room specifically for it all.

I suppose I am a confirmed obsessive stash collector!!

Yesterday's Finishes

I have just put together two smalls:- needlebook and ornament by Windy Willows

I also decided that I would try making some covered buttons worked on a natural linen and stitched in crossstitch with a valentine theme.

The Chair Back...

With thanks to my needlework teacher Miss Cheffin, God bless her, I am able to work my cross stitches with confidence. More than 40 years ago now she taught us to neatly sew with 10 stitches to the inch when dressmaking by hand. The first crossstitch piece I ever did was down to her when she thought we would all enjoy making something useful, but at the same time decorative, and had all of the girls make chairbacks made from a large even weave fabric in pale blue. Sadly, I don't have this piece to show, as it disappeared many years ago, but it was decorated in a Norwegian design with little flowers and patterns. It took pride of place on Dad's chair, although I used to be a little disgruntled as my Dad used to wear Brylcream on his hair, and the chairback used to get all messed up. However, that is where it stayed for years with a regular wash each week.

Nostalgia Ahhhh!!

I feel I was born in the wrong era. I would have been much more suited to living in Victorian Times with all their fripperies, and lacey bits. I just love all the special little trinkets, and sewing tools which they had then. Although there are some really beautiful things around now too.
A couple of my favourites are:- http://www.cherishedstchs.com/IndexNEW0109a.html and

http://www.needleboxesetc.com/index.php?cPath=34

My Latest Finish