Chasing butterflies

Good afternoon

Wow - can't believe this weather - another sunny day - and it looks like it will continue into the weekend :)

Have been pottering about lots this week - steadily but getting more and more done. Making the most of the weather and emptying my laundry bin and getting those other washing tasks like sofa covers and throws sorted too.

I've also been watching the wildlife - the butterflies and bees have been loving the huge Hebe's in the front garden - some even stayed still long enough for photos;

I mentioned that on Sunday I'd headed with a sister to the big local car boot sale - here's what came home with me minus the strawberries that soon disappeared into those hungry boys of mine;

Both the books were favourites when I was younger - I used to read Mr Pink Whistle whenever I slept over at a friends house - I was always awake first and seemed this book was nearest to hand each time!

I also mentioned about heading to Latitude this weekend - well I decided that a new frock was in order - the fabric came from my friends little shop and once I'd unearthed my packed away sewing stuff it didn't take too long for a frock to appear - even if I had to sew standing up at the breakfast bar (more comfortable than I thought it would be);

I went dancing last night - just one dance as its the only one without having to have someone put their arm around me as part of it - too sore still for the others. However it went well and it felt good to be doing it again. Hopefully next week I might manage a couple more - I've been to the doctors (again) this morning and the pesky dissolving (but not actually doing it) stitches in 2 wound sites are finally gone - hurrah. 

Right off to the washing machine again - another load is finished!

Long may the sunshine continue :)

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Making stuff whilst the snow falls!

Good morning

Oh joy another morning when the world looks likes its been covered in icing sugar - last weeks spring warmth seems a distant memory. The thought of wearing sandals soon has been pushed to the back of my mind and I am firmly staying in my long stripey socks and boots for a while longer.

This is the view that greeted me yesterday morning when I peaked out the front door;

My spring flowers were hiding under a blanket of snow - by the time I got home from work last night they were uncovered but this morning they are hiding again. Hoping they are tough enough to survive all this.

I ought to show you a couple of makes from the past week - when its cold outside nothing is better than being indoors making things.

Firstly a little extra something for my Mum for Mothers Day;

Now I've found the stash of hoops I picked up in the CS, I feel another make or two coming on soon.

Secondly, sometime last year I was given a t-shirt by a sister and asked if I could turn it into a cushion. The t-shirt had shrunk in the wash but she loved the print and wanted to save it some how.

Oh the fab four - such a big part of my early childhood music listening experience.

 Take one shrunken t-shirt - cut off the sleeves and neck.

 Put wrong sides together and sew round three sides.

Turn right way, insert cushion pad and sew up hem - easy peasy lemon squeezy.

One t-shirt re-purposed and one happy sister.

Right I suppose I ought to get some jobs done around the house before I have to head off to work again.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

The answer to the question is?

Good evening

Well it depends on the question but according to little son its not 42 but bacon!!

Anyhow - I've been asked several questions in the past few posts and rather than try and email people individually its easier for the less techie of us to do a blog post with some answers!!

Firstly my frocks - I make most of them myself and I use a really simple pattern - here's the last frock I made modelled by myself;

 Looks maybe more clever than it is - here is my pattern;

 2 pieces - one front and one back - the skirt measurements are 2 metres of fabric wide by 55(ish)cm long!!

My notes in my best scrawl - please note the title of the dress - the pattern is loosely based on a CK dress I bought several years ago in the sales - except the top part of mine is longer. I can do another variation with a tiered skirt - again the measurements are on there. The ties of the back are never the same each time - it depends on the fabric I have!!

The next question - the Photo Scavenger Hunt - its being run by Greenthumb @ Made With Love - all you need to do it find the current months list - take you pics and then post them at the end of each month. There is a linky on her page for you to add to if you wish. Anyone is welcome to join - the more the merrier :)

Well its been a good week - we had 2 1/2 days of spring! Tuesday was utterly gorgeous here - the sun shone - it was warm and everyone seemed to be smiling. I spent the day visiting various members of my family - starting with my Grandma, then lunch with 2 sisters, a cuppa with another and then I went and collected my eldest niece from school (won't get many more chances as she's off to High School this year). I ended the day with a couple of phone calls to friends and family! I love having so many sisters (and my little brother)- there's always one to chat to and catch up with :)

Two last things - I've found via Twitter a couple of new blogs that people might like;

One couple are attempting to buy British for a year here.

Another are shunning supermarkets here.

Both worth a read I think.

I think that's all for now - see you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Ta-Dah Tuesday

Good morning

Another cold one here in Suffolk - least there's no white stuff falling (yet).

Now I showed you some fabric a week or so ago and here's it made up into a new frock for me;

 Firstly the little detail at the back - these buttons spent 10 days as part of our snowman - when he left us and I tidied up I decided that I'd use these on my frock!!

My new cheerful dress - yes using the pattern I always use (one I made up) - seems to work and fit fine - the bow means I can tighten it if when like the moment I am losing some inches! I know not the greatest picture - the light has been really poor here since I finished sewing!!

All ready and waiting to be worn when I go and swoon over Jon Boden & Bellowhead on Sunday night! Am sure he won't notice but I know I've made the effort!!

Next week there's the potential for two ta-dah moments if I get another sewing project finished and can get some more paint for the other project - almost finished yesterday but I ran out with just a little bit left to paint!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

3 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Whilst life here in the VV household isn't to great at the moment, I am determined to be British and keep calm and carry on - I will tell you eventually but its just too tricky at the moment to write it all down.

However I am determined even with all the less nice stuff to find happy things in my world and take pictures and share them - trying the glass half full approach ;)

Here's what has caught my eye this week;

1 - Gorgeous new fabric which I will turn into a dress for me - red is also a cheerful colour and if you add roses what is there not to love :)

2 - A charity shop find - a not-vintage-but-still-lovely printers tray - just needs a few coats of paint then attaching to the wall and filling with little pretty things.

3 - A sunny day and the first washing on the line for 2013 - here's hoping it won't be too long till I can do this again.

4 - Online scrabble - playing Little Son and various friends - I'm not particularly good at it but its great fun.

I have something else lovely to show you but that deserves a post of its own, so that will have a wait until next time.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

The clashing of seasons

Good evening 

It has been the most gorgeous autumn day here in Suffolk - blue skies with a slight chill in the air. Cool enough to be able to wear my favourite granny boots again;

Oh yes be warned - todays photos have been taken with an extra ounce of ponce in them ;) Well for once it was dry and I do love taking pics in natural light!!

Whilst I was outside, I spotted 2 tiny little signs of autumn - in the parts of the garden that shall remain shady and damp until next spring - I found these;

The first I've spotted this year - I shall be watching in the normal fungi places for the larger more photogenic ones to appear.

I treated myself to a magazine today;

Issue 2 of The Simple Things - I am rather enjoying this new magazine at the moment - a good mix of stuff and some great photos. I won't however be subscribing as I've gone off that since the MollieMakes muddles - late or missing deliveries and to be honest the quality of the magazine rather dipped after a few months. Instead I shall be checking out each issue and only buying if enough of it appeals to me.

The reason I went into the garden and the title of this post was to take some photos of more Christmassy makes towards the fair I'm doing. I've decided that the ivy on the side of the house is perfect for hanging decorations from for photography purposes;

 Just a small forest of trees at the moment - I've more in my pile of shapes to put together.

I am really loving this new shape I've come up with this year - Rudolph & friends are rather cute I think - must make sure I make one for myself too.

I have a list of makes that I'm hoping to get finished - the end is almost in sight.

Off back to my sewing seat and some Wartime Farm watching.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

I've actually made something!!!

Good evening

How has your week been so far? The weather here in Suffolk has been mostly kind and I've been plodding on with my late for 2012/early for 2013 'spring' cleaning!  Blooming spiders they been so busy.

As well as the boring stuff, I've found time to do some making - first I've really done since May;

 I went back to my S&B group last night for the first time in ages - a combination of the weather, apathy and lack of mojo meant I'd not been for a couple of months. Was lovely to see friends again and have a good catch up - new babies, graduations and other news. I quickly made this little felt owl as a pressie for one of the groups birthdays as I knew she was an owl fan.

 As the weather was kind, I took photos of some of my other makes in the ivy on the side of the house. All of these are destined for a fair next month.

 I love making felt gingerbread men - must have made over a 100 in the past few years.

When I was in town the other day I went past one of the charity shops and something colourful caught my eye. I remember these books from my childhood - we had a vast Ladybird collection (wish we'd keep them all). The collage pictures of paper & wool brought back many happy memories - of reading these to myself and later on to my younger siblings.

Who else has been watching this on BBC2? Whilst I've enjoyed the other programmes in this series this one is my favourite. My Grandmas family lived in the countryside and she's often spoken about wartime life on the farm. I've ordered the free booklet that accompanies the series and I've added the official book to my online wish in case someone wants to be buy me something for the event in December that we must not mention yet!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Weekend views & Monthly Makes (May)

Good evening

Phew what a scorcher ;) Another lovely hot & sunny day here in Suffolk.

The weekend was gorgeous - this was my view for lots of it;

Blue skies through the leaves & bunting

I found a string of bunting in with our camping stuff - it has been used many times to identify my tent at festivals - it was just long enough to tie between a tree & the swing.

My corner - pink deckchair, table, drink, lunch and a magazine - happy days

We did get out and about - as well as a car boot sale (dire - lots of overpriced clothes and tat :( ), MrVV & I headed to Aldeburgh for a walk - we parked at the top of the town and here's the view over the houses to the beach;

What you can't see are the 100's of day trippers - we opted for a quieter walk along the seawall between the sea & the river.

Right - its that time again - Monthly Makes photos - it was just going to be this;

A crochet T for our WI banner, a flowery frock (front & back) and my finished granny square blanket.

However on Saturday I came over all patriotic and decided I needed a new dress for the Jubilee weekend! I popped into my friends shop and left with some fabric in the most gorgeous 50's style print. I added in a strip of polka dot fabric I had already - and here it is - red,white,blue with a hint of 50's too;

Oh and on the back I added a couple of buttons I'd bought months ago;

I might as well add my Monthly Mosaic picture to this post too;

Now this is post 399 - I've taken some pictures this afternoon for something special to celebrate post 400 - and also to celebrate reaching 400 followers too :) I missed my 2 year blogversary in September, I was too plastered to celebrate!! So watch out later this week - Vintage Vicki's 400 posts/followers giveaway will be happening :)

See you soon - here's hoping there's another sunny day tomorrow, I getting rather used to them.

xxx Vicki xxx

It's a charity thing

Good evening

Firstly - thank you for all the lovely comments on the frocks in my last post. However trust me I'm not talented - I was put off sewing at school by a very fierce teacher - whilst I've finally got to grips with my lovely basic sewing machine, there is much more I'd love to learn. Put it down to lots of practise and a determination not to pay high street prices for stuff when I can buy pretty fabric for a fraction of the price locally.

What a week - like most of the country Suffolk has been soggy - rain showers - some very heavy, claps of thunder and today the bonus of high winds. I've managed to avoid some showers but have also got soaked through several times. I didn't get wet today but got blown around by a head-wind which tried so hard to unseat me from my bicycle - I won (just).

Another shift in the charity shop today - am loving working there at the moment. My new boss is brilliant and has been training me in all sorts of new things. I love being on the till and meeting people but also still love the back-room stuff too. Contrary to popular belief we don't get first dibs at stuff - our shop is pretty strict and goods have to be out on the shop floor for 24 hours before staff are allowed to buy. Some nail biting moments sometimes if you've seen something you like and someone picks it up!! One item I loved was out this week and luckily no-one else picked it up;

Whilst the colourful needles look lovely in their jug (see this post ) - the boring grey ones needed somewhere all together - this vintage Bakelite box is perfect in every way.

I got the chance to wear one of new frocks last night - a girls evening at my Mum's for yet another sisters birthday. My Dad sensibly headed off to spend the evening with one of my BIL's - he's learnt its quieter that way. When said sister was visiting last she took a shine to my birthday pressie from Dawn - the first picture in this post. I decided to make her something similar - based loosely on her house which we all refer to as the Little Blue House;

Lastly for tonight - something I forget to tell you the other day - a cause for a big smile on my face. I heard on our local radio station the other day that one of my favourite groups were playing in a small theatre not far away later this summer. The tickets were due to go on pre-sale last Friday. After a battle to register for the sale I managed to get sorted and waited poised to strike when the tickets were released. A decision to pay via paypal meant I got lucky and on the Jubilee weekend, MrVV & I are off to see Mumford & Sons :) 

BTW - we've got seats - no dancing will be attempted ;)

See you soon - here's hoping for a dry day or two this weekend - well we can all dream can't we ;)

xxx Vicki xxx

The Tale of 3 Frocks

Good evening

Can't believe its been 7 days since my last post. No exciting excuses - just life getting in the way. 

I've been continuing with the ongoing spring cleaning, doing extra shifts in the charity shop and just doing everyday family stuff too - oh and avoiding the rain. We've had rather a lot of that this past week and this week looks set to be another of rain shower dodging.

However back to the post title - in the last week or so there's been lots of this too;

Frock making :)

Firstly one for a sister - part of her not-so-secret-santa pressie was a voucher which for for a dress for her - she just needed to choose the fabric (I'd pay and make it up for her). It took a while to get the fabric bought and given to me but it got finished the other week, in time for her holidays;

I've had 2 lengths of fabric to make frocks for me, hanging around my sewing room for a while - this weekend whilst the menfolk were busy working/revising/marching I spent time creating 2 new frocks for me - one is the standard 3 tier design I've made before;

The other is slightly different - I'd seen a dress in the CK shop in Cambridge I liked - a simple vest style top with a gathered drapey skirt - it was £90 so it stayed on the rails. However the other week I was lucky enough to find some gorgeous drapey fabric in the CS - and there was enough for a frock - the CS gods were shining down on me that day. This got turned into my version of the CK dress this weekend and I love it - the fabric is just lovely;

Each dress has ties at the back so it can be more fitted - the ties get hand sewn on and as an extra pretty buttons get sewn on too;

I used 2 of the gorgeous buttons free in the last Molliemakes magazine on this dress.

and 2 cheerful polka-dot ones of this one - I think I used these buttons also on my sisters dress.

This just leaves the bargain £1 tea dress to alter - I just keep forgetting to get someone to mark where I need to cut when I have visitors I trust - if I don't remember soon, I may have to ask one of the males to help!

The record from the last post has been handed over and my sister was thrilled - I'll tell you more once she's had a chance to blog about it ;)

Right - off for a wander around blogland - I've been very slack in this in the past week and when I have visited blogger seems to not want to let me comment :(

See you soon 

xxx Vicki xxx

Monthly Makes 2012 - January

Good morning

Thanks for all the comments on the CK review - I'm just sorry that so many people have had problems with stuff and have been left feeling disappointed. I do think that if we have a problem with things we should email these companies and let them know - I did - just waiting to hear back.

Anyhow, I thought I high time to show you my makes for January - I know its not over for another 9 days but next week is looking hectic so I don't think I'll get much more done.

I've started well - lots of smallish makes - some for pressies and others are destined for the craft fair pile. There's even a few of things in there for me!

From top left - a purse for a friend, infinity scarf for craft fair, owls - a mix of pressies and fair stock, 2 teacup candles - one for me and one for a pressie, THAT CK cushion, my first attempt a crocheted jar cover, bunting for the fair, my upcycled Debbie Bliss Eco cotton infinity scarf and more bunting.

I think that's not a bad load for a month - looking at my to-make list theres loads more still to make towards the fair - I need a raggie making week I think. Plus I've still loads of family birthdays coming up and several for my S&B group friends too.

I'll leave you with a self taken pic of my new scarf - its so soft and snuggly - I think more of this yarn needs to find its way into my stash;

Right - I can finally hear noises from upstairs - guess it means MrVV & the teenagers are starting to wake up. Time for more coffee and then lets see what Sunday has to throw at me - nothing to taxing I hope - I'd rather be crocheting!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

 

Definately Autumn

Good evening

If there was any doubt about which season it was last week,  then over the weekend its become more and more obvious that we are in the throws of Autumn;

The weekend started with a Friday night comfort food type meal - sausage stew and mash.

Whilst the weather on Saturday morning prevented me from getting out to see MrVV & Little Son in their parade, at least the rain stopped by the evening and we were able to get out to my littlest sisters bonfire & fireworks party. Taking pictures proved to be tricky whilst hanging on to my crutches, so here's one of the few I managed - small children having fun with sparklers;

The fireworks were great - the garden backs onto many others and it seemed we weren't the only ones having a party that night - the sky was very pretty.

Sunday was also damp & grey here - not really going for a hobble weather. Instead time to be indoors crafting - 2 works in progress;

 A mini-raggie - just over 15cm tall - along side a 'normal' sized one.

The start of a knitted monster for a my little nephew for Christmas.

Today was pretty grim here too - if you've got my sunshine can you please return is asap.

Leftovers from a roast dinner yesterday meant soup for lunch today;

This afternoon was back to the physio for another leg massage ;). I've been set a task for the next week - to try to wear a pair of shoes!! Feels rather strange at the moment and I'm back to walking very slowly & carefully. For a while the rule is shoes in the house and moonboot outside.

Right - off the computer now - I've done something to my email and I can't access any at the moment - here's hoping MrVV can fix it!!

xxx Vicki xxx