Chair dressing

my current chair is a bit of a shocker....

poor thing is not the most comfortable chair to sit in....
but quite functional...high seat and rocking action...
and really quite ugly...so...

I had a bit of a session on the sewing machine and came up with this cover...
as usual a rough effort....
but its become a more decoative item in my lounge room...
its been around for a while....
but Raylee's been wanting to see it on here...
so here it is....

Flowers & Art

How has your day been?....... part of mine was spent on the water, in a boat , & the sun was shining for a change......all in the name of work, how good is that? hope it keeps up!! Spring is on its way......hooray!!

"Violette" - a watercolour.......

"Iris" (detail) - acrylic, watercolour & collage. (raylee).

Pastel Patches of crochet

speaking of pastel...
another project I've been working on...
thinking about how life goes around and around us...
my mum encouraged me to learn to crochet when I was a teenager...
mainly to use the hand spun wool she was spinning...
and she's still giving me ideas and projects to do...

using some of the knitted squares that have been knitted diagonally...
I found the leftover shruggy wool nearly matched the colours so...
I made as many granny squares as I could....
then found enough very pale blue to join them all....

but I still cant get much bigger than a knee rug...
which is ok cause it already found a pair of knees to keep warm...
a lovely lady who is the friend of the knitter...

Pastel Work In Progress

Experimenting with pastels on a green background. Green scares me...... so I'm pushing myself to try something different.......haven't used pastels much either........ i like the drawing aspect of the pastels. For the initial drawing i used a thin charcoal stick. (raylee).

A Mix of Old & New

Recently came across this pretty shelf.....you may be surprised to know it is in a laundry!

The mix of old pieces from markets & hand- me- downs, the coffee pot, jug & bowl sit well with the new white plate , cup & vase & the new coloured glass vases. The orange glow of the lanterns compliments the colours of the display.(raylee).

Green Shoes

Another bag in the making......hand block printed cotton sheeting, old doilies, roses cut from a piece of fabric, bits of a linen tablecloth & some green velvet, all op- shop finds. All pinned & ready to be stitched together. (raylee).

Leftovers

speaking of leftovers....
lots of bits found in my cleanup...
needing a bit of love and attention...
and a revamp into a new creation...

three odd scarves...different colours...odd lengths

joined together...using the fringe to blurr the joins....

new shruggy....odd but seems to work ok...

Out of the Blue

Are you one of those people that get a surprise when you are waiting patiently for a break in the traffic ......& out of the blue ...someone slows down to let you in?.... i am, but grateful too. Do you get stuck in the supermarket aisles?.....(why don't they make wider aisles?)......do you get a surprise when someone smiles & obligingly gives you the right of way to continue down the aisle......i do ......but i smile back & say thank you. Do you have conversations with strangers at the checkout?...... the young woman behind me asked what was i doing with the wool i was about to buy, i told her it was for crocheting a rug, she then told me she had been making crochet squares. she was buying a canvas, so then we discussed what we liked to paint. these nice things happened to me all within a couple of hours.....the moral of the story......it doesnt take much to make me happy.......so i hope that i will be more courteous in future & my positive actions can make someone else smile.

What happens to bits of leftover wool? ....well i made some small crochet flowers & a circle along with a bit of fabric & odd earrings to decorate a tie from the op-shop for the "scarf lover"........& a pin cushion for myself. (raylee).

300

That's all she wrote......(raylee).

Re purpose and flowers too

one of mine has a birthday today....Happy Birthday E!!!
she is a lace girl and green is her favourite colour so....
when I found this polyester silky in my stash....
and some leftover lace from another set of curtains....
my little brain took off on a patchwork theme....

she is also very forgiving of my rough and ready way....so...
dont look too closely....
but they do give a lovely light in that same drab room....

I hope she likes....and they find a new home in her home....

Monday, Monday.....

Re purpose.... is that the correct word to to use when you find a new use for something? Hope this little bit of pretty makes you feel good.....thank you for visiting our blog....you are very welcome & we love to see you . (raylee).

patchwork quilt

I made this quilt a couple of years ago....
it's been well travelled...
my surprise when I walked past the room and noticed a different light...
a closer look showed the quilt thrown up on the curtain rod....
probably used to cut the light to sleep longer...or watch TV...

looks different...but nice...no wonder people use them as wall hangings...
brightens a pretty drab room....
again the photo probably doesnt do it justice...could be straighter...less fuzzy...anyway...

Old Ironing Board- New Look

Old wooden ironing board......yes i do use it....ive had it for a million years & i wont part with it......

.....wrapped with old sheeting, chenille from an old bedspread, & some used curtain tape.....

.......painted a dragonfly on old sheet, used previous ironing board cover for a pattern...cut out a new cover .....stitched a casing, threaded elastic through.....

......completed the wrapping.....

.....put the cover on!!! (raylee).

more wool stuff

I was given this lovely bag by my Mum whose lovely lady friend had given her...
I'm not sure who made it....maybe the lady who handed it on....
its a combination of knit and crochet patchwork...
with cotton material lining and handle...
really cleverly done...I cant work out how it was made....

it arrived full of bits of knitted things...
squares and assorted shapes collected by Mum and her mates...
the knitted squares have been knitted from the corner so they have diagonal rows...

the squares will probably come together as a patchwork something...
I'm using the leftover wool from the last shruggy to make granny squares...
to add to them as the colours should match up...we'll see...

"Catch the Wind" - Flights of Fancy Journal

I sometimes, well most times am not sure what i want to write in a journal......so i thought the words dont have to be my own. I can write the words of others that have inspired me, amused or interested me or something i just like. While watching the morning show on TV yesterday morning...enjoying my coffee, i heard the phrase "in these uncertain times". I was shocked, i already knew this, but to hear Ross Greenwood say it made me see the reality of the situation. The times are uncertain for many & i am sure a lot of people feel they are lost, down & may not see a way out of their problems. The phrase reminded me of "Catch the Wind", a song by Donovan - 1965. (Im showing my age now , arent i ?)

"In the chilly hours & minutes, of uncertainty, I want to be, in the warm hold of your lovin' mind, feel you all around me, & to take your hand along the sand, ah, but i may as well try & catch the wind."........so Donovans words are in my journal along with some of my own.
My advice to those in need is to reach out & take someones helping hand, .......or if someone extends their hand reach out & take it.....dont try & "Catch the Wind".

How do you feel about "these uncertain times"?

Have you any advice, experiences, thoughts you might like to share? (raylee).

Shade Ideas

wool again

and....we had a go at pompoms....
got the idea from a couple of other bloggers....
namely Pip...meet me at Mikes...
and also Murtle and Eunice...who decorated her trees with pompoms...mad but great...

Miss5 was suitably unimpressed...so I had to do it myself...
Missnearly2 thought they were great to throw around....
and spread the fluff about the place...
my rugs are now decorated with rainbow bits of fluff...
dont have a purpose for them yet so they went back into the bag for another day...
apologies for the fuzzy photos...
I must get around to getting my eyes checked...
or use my magnifiers more often...

more wool

I just loaded up the photos from my camera...
how surprised was I to realise that I did actually have something to show...
have been very quiet in July...didn't think I did much....

but...I did...
Mum has been madly making more scarves...but this one turned out too skinny...
so I added some crochet on the sides to widen it...
with scrounged up bits of wool to sort of match...she was happy...
not sure if it found a new home or not...
there have been some sales of her scarves though our local gallery....good on you Mum...

Flights of Fancy

Some more pages from the "Flights of Fancy" journal. I am using an old book that has maps on some of the pages, which i have gessoed over. when i have acrylic paint leftover on my palette i use it to add colour to these pages. the texture is created by placing the page onto the palette, & pressing it into the paint.when this page was dry i added some collage, paper torn from magazines. each page has something with wings on it. there is ample room for writing or adding more collage. This page has been decorated by block printing with a watery acrylic mix of blue & green & an accidental splash of red, i think it brightens the page. the card is blank inside , so may be used for journaling.

I have only used a light wash of gesso on this page so the map shows through. the picture of the parrots i found in an art magazine. i will go back over the pages & add more, as i find new pictures or text to add to them, or some of my own drawing or painting......& eventually some journaling,.....which i dont find easy to do. (raylee).

Lamp Light at Night

This is what the lamp looks like at night with no additional lights on....... for the lovely lady who wanted to know.We had schnitzel, mashed potato & salad for dinner tonight.....probably comes in as our favourite ......do you have a family favourite? (raylee).

Redecorated Lampshade

I have had this lamp base for a very long time......it was given to me & i was never sure if i liked it or not, some days i did & other times i put it away in a cupboard......but gradually it has grown on me. i found the yellow lamp shade at an op shop.

Even though i am not really a yellow person i like the warmth from the glow when the light is on.....looks good in front of the curtains, (their colour is a bit washed out in the photo)....

.....anyway i saw a lamp in a movie called "Evening" , it looked all floaty & soft with feathers & bits & pieces on it, not sure what they were .....

.....so i used what i had.....an old crochet tablecloth, some sticks & pieces of rope & feathers & shells collected from walks around the lake, to make my version . (raylee).