I got you, my Pretty!

Saturday-morning pleasures.

I like weekend mornings. Who doesn't? We wake up at a fairly early time these days, around 8 a.m. sometimes earlier. Must be our age, or maybe the birds singing...
Having a cuppa tea and toast with homemade jam, and a big glass of delicious raw organic milk (from a local farmers' cooperative), while enjoying the morning sun.. It's just the best!!
Fox thinks so too, and waits patiently until I'm not looking , so he can lick my milk!  He is such a sneak sometimes.

Peonies.

I am in love with peonies this Spring. I have found a dairy that has a big bucket outside, full of peonies in bud for $2 or even $1 each. And they last really well. Luckily I have just purchased the perfect vintage vase for it the other week. In a matt soft green ceramic, glazed inside with butter-yellow.

Frothy Pinks.

Thousands of petals in huggable pinks. They just look unreal!

Little vintage purchases.

3 Weeks ago however we did not have an easy morning, instead my man woke me and our eldest girl at 3 a.m. We hopped into the car and drove to Wellington for another stall at the Newtown Fabricabrac.It was super busy, and I sold lots of fabrics and replenished my savings somewhat.
 It was a great excuse to get away from it all for a weekend, and for my hubbie to have a break from the bathroom for a weekend. We stayed the night at a cheap B&B. Our daughter caught up with her friends and couch-surfed for a night.
Yes I did buy a few items, but was fairly restrained. Which , believe me, is very difficult when surrounded by vintage fabric and notions.
I bought the ballerina tapestry, she is actually very ugly, and looks like Pop-eye's wife Olive Oil. ($1)
A string of flower buttons ($1) and a lovely roses sampler (50ct) and a bunch of vintage belt buckles for making brooches ($6).
Speaking of making; I have been updating my little shops on the web, (see top right)
and have also had a very successful market stall at the big Rudolf Steiner School Fair last weekend.
My stock is starting to get low!

I love you, Pip Studio Cup...

Ooh, and then on Saturday afternoon we popped into Cuba Street and there I found a Pip-studio cup all the way from Holland! Recognised it straight away and chose the prettiest one: Total Impulse Buy!!
And it wasn't even cheap...
No I'm not telling!

Sweet Tweets.

Those little birdies are on a raised medallion, 3 different ones.  Pretty pretty pretty..

Homemade cheese!

Brie update: It turned out really good, soft and creamy, with a good brie smell.
I'm amazed; I made cheese!

Homemade shelves!

This is kind of how our bathroom will look, with recycled rimu shelves and green glass basins. The rimu planks looked like absolute rubbish when the Man bought them from some-one in the neighbourhood. But after loving care, sanding and oiling them 7 times by now, they glow!
He's so clever...

Slick and Stylish.

All the tiles are now up on the wall, and this weekend they will be grouted. I am getting excited to think we might have a working bathroom by Christmas!! 

Thank Goodness we still have another shower in the house...

Blue Rock-and-Roll lady and creations.

front number 1

I've made a whole bunch of new zip-bags , all made from re-purposed vintage linens, zips, thread and beads. I'll show you some of my favourites, they turned out sweet!

back number 1

They all have a little embroidered "danglie", just for fun.

front number 2

I loved this 70's embroidered linen.

back number 2

I backed it with a folklore motif tea towel. Blue polkadots on the inside. And a zappy lime-green zip.

number 3

This serviette had a great colour combination with blue-green. It is backed with red linen.

number 4

This one is a nice pencil case size. Also backed with red.

Chrome and dials.

Here a sewing machine of mine, a Toyota automatic zig-zag. I have seen the same machine on the internet also named as Morse Fotomatic IV.
About 2 years ago I found this lovely fifties machine in an opshop (ofcourse). I think she cost me NZ$45-. She came with a manual of a slightly newer machine, but it all works the same. And also a linen-covered wooden case, a blue foot pedal and a blue tin box with some extra parts.
I tried her out in the shop, on my knees on the ground in the shop.
This sewing machine is made of cast-iron. Neither the shopkeeper nor I could lift her... But I fell in love at first sight anyway, all that shiny chrome, she looks like an american car from the fifties.
We managed to get a nice bloke to put it in the back of my car, and at home I managed to get it into the house on a lifting trolley, then I had to wait for my man to come home to lift it up the table.

Toyota automatic zig-zag.

As you can see she sits on an old fashioned wood block: you can store things in it, by tilting the machine sideways. It has a wooden side-board on it which folds upwards to fit it into the case.

She would have been made between 1953 and 1961. The electrics have been checked over by the shops' electrician, and she sews fine, sometimes she skips some stitches though. So maybe I should have her checked over by a repair man.

 I adore all those chunky buttons, it makes big loud clanks and clicks when you turn the dials to the right stitches. Very re-assuring mechanically operated, no motherboards or micro-chips to break down, no tiny soldered connections to rattle loose. 

She was built to last!