Vintage Linens

We all know how low I was on blankets, so Saturday I rushed out to the Christie's Sale and searched high and low for vintage quilts, comforters and eiderdowns. Thank goodness I found some. What would we have done without them? Especially since today should be a chilly 27 degrees Celsius. What was I thinking?
Seriously, did I need more blankets? I am so addicted it's not funny. And I just could not pass them up. The top one was just so gorgeous with the satin inset and the pattern on the second one with the roses and the greens and blues, well what can I say? It was $20, once told that there was no going back. There is no rhyme or reason, just beauty. They are all washed, clothesline dried and fluffed from the dryer.

The wicker rocker was picked up at a garage sale on the way home. Again, who can pass up deals? I have no idea where its permanent home will be but blimey, it was $15. We also stopped at Hortico on the way back and what a wonderful nursery. I finally picked up the rose I wanted so terribly and spent yesterday doing more planting and moving about. Now I want the temperature to drop so I can sit in the garden with a cup of tea, my new rocker and one of these gorgeous blankets.

Sewing and Pug Pics

As you can see, I actually accomplished something I said I would accomplish. The two cushions from the vintage tablecloth. Done. I really hated to cut up that lovely tablecloth but it had a few tiny holes and I bought it, for two dollars I might add, specifically for this purpose. Another item checked off the list.
And I thought I would show you the cute watering can I picked up. Who can resist pink flowers on a watering can?

And the gratuitous dog pictures. Did I mention there is now well over 100 pictures of this dog stored on my computer? As you can see he is having a difficult time adjusting to the Knitty, Vintage and Rosy household, cough, cough.


I debated whether to show you these photos as some are well, kind of graphic. His bits and pieces are still, ah, intact. If I knew how to photo shop them out I would have.

And for those that are curious the rippling is going so wonderfully. I am awaiting a delivery from Webs for some new yarn for it. My goodness they have great prices. The yarn I am using was half the price than what I paid for at my yarn store. The colours are a bit different than the last one but very similar and quite a bit bigger. This one should cover my king size bed. Vee said I should still take a picture and show it to you all, so I may take the camera to my mum's for a picture. Still ticks me off a bit when I look at it, but as mother says, you can't unring the bell.

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Have a great weekend and thanks for dropping by.

PS Why won't blogger space?

And the Winner is of the much delayed and overly hyped giveaway is...

Julia from Vintage Heaven. Way to go Julia. Please email your shipping address and I will have your little gift in the mail as soon as possible. I am sorry for the delay guys but I was waiting for the computer most of the evening while DN2 was loading DN1's Ipod. This little endeavor took well over three hours and I just could not stay awake any longer. The prize includes some treats, vintage apron, a pillow cover, some lace and Romantic Homes.

Thanks so much to everyone that posted. It is so nice to hear from new people.

My latest projects are, if you can believe it, another ripple afghan. I finished the first one and gave it to mother for her birthday. I know you are wondering why I never showed you a picture right? Well that was when I was ill. Her birthday came upon me quite quickly and I finished it the night before her birthday and had to quickly block it. It wasn't drying quick enough so... yes, I put it in the dryer but only on "NO HEAT". Do you want to guess what happened? Slightly smalller than anticipated but still beautiful. That is why there is no picture.

I am also going to make some cushions for that iron bench I mentioned in the last post. That's the plan anyhow. It is rather dreary and cold here today so I will also be spending some time with Nigella, making one of my favourtie dishes to warm up the kitchen.

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Have a great week and thanks so much.

Elegant vs. Shabby Vintage

This is my little family room that is actually just a big kitchen but this is what we call it. As a result the sofa is sat on quite a bit as the moment someone comes into this room they sit on the sofa. There is a kitchen table to the left of this, literally just four or five feet away. But people (my kids) feel the need to sit here to eat their snacks, goop and all around messy stuff. So I pretend that life is all velvet, roses and non staining white wine while I clean and tidy up and then back to reality.
So I always have to have some kind of covering on it. This is what it looks like in real life. At the moment I am using the most beautiful chenille bedspread in a duck eggy kind of blue. The sofa is almost the same colour. This makes me cheery. It also gives me some kind of insurance against the inevitable "spill". But most often it is covered in a white matelasse coverlet. I was going to sell this chenille one on ebay but I just couldn't.

Two charming platters I picked up at a garage sale last weekend. I actually used them so many times already, what in heaven's name did I do without them before?

And a sweet little tablecloth that I plan to make into pillows for the iron bench outside.

The contest will be extended til Tuesday as I totally forgot this was the holiday weekend here and will be entertaining pretty much all three days. So if you haven't commented, while why the heck not?

Have a lovely, peaceful and serene weekend.

See you on Tuesday!

May 12, 2008 A Giveaway

Can you guess what today is? Four! 4! Quattro! Years ago today I began this blog. I actually hadn't really thought about it until Elizabeth at Kittycafe kind of reminded me as we started around the same time.

My blog began as a mostly knitting blog with me rambling on about my less than perfect attempts at needlework. Ooooh there was some doozies I'll tell you! My photography was much worse than it is now, not that there is anything great about my talent now but oh, boy there were some nasty pictures going on. I also had this amazing list of blogs in my sidebar that I completely deleted, by accident, when I switched my blog to the new blogger format. There were some really brilliant blogs on there which I have never been able to find again since the memory is, well you know.

I have since expanded my blog to include thrifting purchases and decorating ideas which seems to have opened up my readership. This I am forever thankful for as I have met (is that the word?) some of the nicest people. I love the blogging world and reading all the wonderful little anecdotes that people are kind enough to post on their blogs almost everyday. I am forever inspired by so many. A few have decided to close down lately, which really saddens me, however, there is one that chose to stay afloat after an incredible response, isn't that blogger love at its finest?

What I am getting at, dear friends, is in appreciation for your loyalty and support I am doing, what else, but a little bloggy giveaway. Please leave a comment (that means you out there in lurkdom;) and I will be randomly selecting a name for a prize that I am sure you will enjoy.

I will close the contest down on Friday to give those occasional readers a fair chance.

Once again, thank you.

And did you notice my title? I was such a novice on my first post I put the date there not knowing each entry would be dated. Duhhh!

Lisa xoxo

PS I hope you all had a simply marvy Mother's Day!!!

PSS Sorry for the lack of spacing today, Blogger just was not in the mood to space!

I Crack Me Up

No, seriously, it's not enough that I have laundry, gardening, ironing, and shopping to do, I have to go play with Hairmixer.
These are my favourites. What a laugh. The first one is Reese Witherspoon. The second is Heidi Klum, the third is Jessica Simpson and the last one is Jessica Biel.

Thanks so much to Happy Loves Rosie for the link.

So, are you going to go give it a try?

I am seriously thinking about that Reese Witherspoon one though...

Blimey!

Was I thrown for a loop last week. I went to my daughter's ball hockey tournament feeling out of sorts. Achy, sinuses but I reckoned after I was up and running things would get better. No. They did not. I left her with another mum and took myself to bed. But I worsened as the afternoon wore on and ended up having my mother take me to the doctor as I kept feeling like I would pass out. Good thing. I had a temperature of 102. It has taken me about 6 or 7 days to get back to feeling semi normal. But enough about me, how are you? I have been reading my bloglines like there's no tomorrow. Bloglines and I get along like a house on fire! I just go online, see who has a new post and Bob's your uncle! Love it.

But is it normal to have more than 100 blogs to read? I am addicted to the beauty. Thank you all for making my day, everyday. How lucky are we to have a window to look through whenever the feeling strikes us? To peek into other homes, other countries, other worlds?

I am trying to get the garden into shape. It is going ever so slow. We have had rainy days and more in the forecast. I am so very jealous of those that have lilacs on their kitchen tables when we just have forsythias blooming.

And thank you all so much for the well wishes for my little, handsome man! He is fitting in quite nicely.

Thanks for visiting, and Keep Calm and Carry On!

Have a wonderful weekend!

P.S. Who figured I would go back and buy the wellies?

Me and Martha

Martha and I have been at it again. Thanks to Vee for the link. What a wonderful way to utilize your vintage linens. I am always so happy to find different and innovative ways to showcase my quickly expanding collection. I love the way it came out and it only took me about 2 hours which isn't bad for a novice I guess. It will be a wonderful bag for books or produce I would think. And, well, this picture is kind of self explanatory. We now have a pug. He's not brand new. He's used and well worn. We actually babysat him several months back for a girl my daughter works with. She had just had a new baby (do you have "old" babies?) and did not feel she could dedicate the time to him so we looked after him for about 2 months. Of course we fell in love but we had to give him back. However, last week she called my daughter and told her he was just too much with a teething baby, no sleep, etc. (I soooo remember those days!) How lucky are we? He's back and very well loved. Everybody can't get enough of him. He is a delight.


Did I mention the hair? Everywhere.


But he's worth it.

Things were going so well...

My thoroughly productive morning went out the window when I received a phone call from the school to tell me DN3 had a headache, can you come get her? I am home for half and hour and the phone rings. DN2 has cramps, mum can you come get me? An hour later all was well once tea, sandwiches and chocolate cake was safely in their tummies.
So other than cleaning the oven, nothing has been done, nor will it. I have laundry to put away and ironing to do but some of my old standby books are calling me and I just want to sit for a quiet few with my tea and thoughts. The above image is from the most charming book, Romantic Style.

These images are from English Country. The images are gorgeous and the wallpaper samples are divine.
Doesn't this bed look comfy cosy?
Well, that really is all I am doing right now. I may visit the country tomorrow for tea with Elizabeth and then a busy week from there. DN2 has been chosen as one of the athletes of the year by a large newspaper here and she needs to go for a photo shoot on Thursday. I also desperately need a haircut so I will squeeze that in too.

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I am still adding sites to my blog list but it has grown so much over the last few months, I think it looks a little tacky with so many. What do you think? Should I just start using bloglines? I have even left some that have not posted in a while. I just like them all soooo much. They put a smile on face. I hope some of you get that feeling when you visit me ;)

Have a great week!

Pinking Fears

Is it possible to have too much pink? Too many flowers? My quest to beautify this home seems to lead to roses, pinks and overall femininity. Do I sometimes forget there is a man in this home that happily cohabitates with four females? Should I be concerned? My latest purchases seem to obliterate the fact that there is testosterone that floats around this home. But the need for vintage florals and roses is just too strong to ignore.
As you can see between Spring rummage sales and awesome deals on ebay the beautification continues. The plate (I know, I do think I have one very similar), the creamer and the jam pot were found at a church sale on the weekend. The sugar pot is an ebay find that replaces the exact one DN2 broke at Easter at Mum's. She looooved this sugar pot that was found at a Quebec farmhouse about 20 years ago with cement mixed inside of it. I just know I paid more for it than she did! The basket was found for 2.00 and has a top on it that folds over with a dowel inside to keep dust off? The lovely ticking fabric is another ebay find. How can you give up 5 yards of Laura Ashley for 8.00? Wouldn't it make a great tablecloth? Not sure yet what to do with it. But it is delightful.

The adorable linen tea towel was 10 cents.

And, of course, tulips. Our outdoor ones are barely peeking above the soil. Spring has not quite sprung yet but the temperatures are starting to rise. Thank Goodness. Did anyone see the snow that fell on London a few days ago? Wouldn't that have been more welcome about 5 months ago?

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I am trying to organise the blogs I read on my sidebar, so if you are missing, you needn't worry, you'll be back! Thanks for visiting I do love all your comments, they never fail to put a smile on my face ;)

Pasta, Pictures, Purchasing and Pillows

I am trying to concentrate my effort on achieving some kind of order in the house today. It is undetermined yet as to whether this will actually happen. I do know that we are having Pasta al Forno for dinner tonight, so I figure I am at least one step ahead. Right?
I have also been fiddling with my new camera, trying to not always use "manual" and to figure out some of the features I am obviously not using to my full advantage.

I have a lovely pink geranium that has doubled in size since bringing it inside in the fall. It has decided to bloom.
The beautiful mauve/green hydrangea I picked up for the holidays.
I have thrown this picture in to give you a little hint on my latest project.

Don't you just love spotty fabric?

Oh, did I mention I am suppose to be ironing RIGHT NOW?

My ebay delivery finally came. It was sheets I had ordered in a quaint little gingham pattern, however, gingham does not like to appear live. But it is there and it is adorable.

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Oh, and Colin and Justin are designers that have had many shows here and in the UK. They are hilarious with, I think and very skewed idea of what is desirable but I do love to watch their shows. They now reside, at least part time, in Toronto. I am very sorry to those that had no clue as to who they were. I tend to live in a tiny bubble here. But if you do get a chance to see them, let me know what you think.

Happy Easter

Just a few items I picked up at the grocery store. And, of course, the little Easter cards we made over the break.

The cheery rug was picked up so we could pretend Spring will very soon be upon us.

Oh, and had to leave by 2:30 and the boys still had not shown up.

Have a wonderful Easter and thank you so much for dropping by and saying a few words. It really means so very much to me.

What Do You Wear to Meet Colin and Justin?

Rumour has it Colin and Justin will be at my father's store this afternoon. Well not at my father's toy store but right next door at the furniture store.

What do you wear to meet Colin and Justin? Lest I become a subject for a future show called "Desperate and Disgustingly Dressed Housewives of Toronto", I must go find something decent to wear.

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Oh, and guess what I found at the Supercentre? There's one melting in my mouth right now. Guess I should wipe that chocolate from my chin before seeing the boys.

What One Does Whilst Waiting for Ebay Delivery

Take pictures in ensuite bath and wonder if room looks better through the mirror.
Think about rearranging items on dresser in ensuite. Don't touch a thing.

Sit and have cup of tea in corner of bedroom while staring at three full baskets of laundry to be put away. Realize cannot relax with three full baskets of laundry waiting to be put away. Also realize have put hot pot of tea on table without trivet.

See that silver needs polishing before Easter. That is the extent of it, basically just evaluation.

Think about how original I would have been if I posted my beautiful and somewhat blooming shamrock on St. Patrick's Day.

Still no delivery.

A Word About Chocolate Biccies

Sorry for the long absence but we have had the March Break here and there was a whole lot of chaos going on with kids home, kids needing rides and kids needing mum for crafts, marathon movie watching and cups of tea with interesting (enlightening?) conversation. 'Nuff said. Now for some very serious discussion.

Biscuits/cookies are a much debated subject in this family. They are very important to us as we are tea drinkers and nothing beats a great biscuit with a hot cuppa. The problem is availability. You see, my hands over favourite is the "Tim Tam". If you are not acquainted with this particular indulgence you are sadly missing out on one of the most delightful epicurean pleasures of all time. There is no describing this with any justice. Some say it is reminiscent of the Penguin biscuit, but alas, I have never had the pleasure of savouring one. However, the TT are only available in Australia. I mean, of course there are mail order companies, that goes without saying, but the sheer volume that we consume cannot warrant case load deliveries of cookies from across the world, well at least not as far as my husband is concerned. My only solution to this problem is begging those off to the land of Oz. But of course this will only satisfy me for a very short period. Hence the discovery of the Marks and Spencer Milk Chocolate Rounds.

Elizabeth was actually the fellow biscuit explorer that turned me on to these little gems. In Canada they are packaged under a different name but still available in selected food stores. These are important biscuits. They satisfy the most demanding cravings. The chocolate, like the Tim Tam is top quality. Absolutely no waxiness whatsoever. Very important feature. So when I visit the few stores that do stock these I purchase in bulk. Sometimes up to 15 packages, depending on how many they have that day.

Then I hide them.