Sunday, 29 April 2012
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Car Booty
My first car boot of the year and what a haul.
To be honest I wasn't really expecting to find much as it was only a small one held at a care home that I pass on my way to work, and it's in quite a run down area of the city.
You can imagine my excitement when I saw these.
What's more, I only had to part with £5 for the lot!
Bitten by the bug I asked Mr. H if he fancied popping down to Hillsborough to a few of the local charity shops just to see if there where any other bits and bobs just waiting to be snapped up.
I think the promise of a sausage roll clinched the deal and 15 minutes later he was stuffing his face and as for me, well I was stuffing my bag with this little lot (much better for the waistline!)
a gorgeous pair of barkcloth curtains in perfect condition and quite a good size, also spotted next to the curtains was the pretty crochet blanket made from lovely soft wool, which I think has been made for a pram but also a perfect size for keeping my ageing knees cozy!
I'm a sucker for a wooden coat hanger so I was more than happy to hand over the 10p asking price!
Last but not least the blue and white striped pillowcase, another absolute bargain at 50p
You think that would be enough treasure for one day, but NO there's plenty more where that came from................
A Woodsware 'Jasmine' coffee pot to add to our everyday crockery , a lovely green glass vase with painted flowers and a Hunstanton pepper pot also to add to our little collection...................but this by far has got to be one of the cutest things I have ever seen!
O.k it may need a little scrub with the old toothbrush before I would ever let an egg within an inch of it but I couldn't resist buying it.
Returning home with an empty purse but wearing a massive smile I asked Mr H if he fancied helping me out with something......................
Hope you are having fun : )
To be honest I wasn't really expecting to find much as it was only a small one held at a care home that I pass on my way to work, and it's in quite a run down area of the city.
You can imagine my excitement when I saw these.
What's more, I only had to part with £5 for the lot!
Bitten by the bug I asked Mr. H if he fancied popping down to Hillsborough to a few of the local charity shops just to see if there where any other bits and bobs just waiting to be snapped up.
I think the promise of a sausage roll clinched the deal and 15 minutes later he was stuffing his face and as for me, well I was stuffing my bag with this little lot (much better for the waistline!)
a gorgeous pair of barkcloth curtains in perfect condition and quite a good size, also spotted next to the curtains was the pretty crochet blanket made from lovely soft wool, which I think has been made for a pram but also a perfect size for keeping my ageing knees cozy!
I'm a sucker for a wooden coat hanger so I was more than happy to hand over the 10p asking price!
Last but not least the blue and white striped pillowcase, another absolute bargain at 50p
You think that would be enough treasure for one day, but NO there's plenty more where that came from................
A Woodsware 'Jasmine' coffee pot to add to our everyday crockery , a lovely green glass vase with painted flowers and a Hunstanton pepper pot also to add to our little collection...................but this by far has got to be one of the cutest things I have ever seen!
O.k it may need a little scrub with the old toothbrush before I would ever let an egg within an inch of it but I couldn't resist buying it.
Returning home with an empty purse but wearing a massive smile I asked Mr H if he fancied helping me out with something......................
Hope you are having fun : )
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Busy Busy
It's funny how things just slip back into normality after having two weeks away from work/ school.
As usual the Hotchpotch household is very busy with lots of ongoing projects.
Here are just a few of the things going on around here at the moment.
The chicken run
still not started due to Mr. H having to fix next door's fence as no attempt was been made by neighbour to get it done (would have left it but it's right where we are having the chicken run... GGGGRRRRRR!
New fencing
the fence seperating the main part of the garden from the veg garden has finally given up and is in real danger of collapse.....still not started due to having to fix next doors broken fence... double GGGRRRRRRR!!!
Loft
new hatch made but not much else so far, although plans are afoot to get wood for bracing and insulation some time this week......YEAH!
Plum tree
still not planted as had to remove old lilac tree that had grown to about 50feet high.
As for me I have 101 things on the go, because like most crafty people I very rarely complete one project before I embark on something new.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to projects that are half/nearly finished, there is another box upstairs with about 150 knitted squares all ready to be made into a blanket for the camper, there is a picnic blanket waiting for badges of all the places we have visited to be stitched on and oh yes a stack of little fabric squares waiting patiently to be made into a cushion........the list goes on.
That's why I love reading other people's blogs because they are just the same as me and I find that a great comfort!
Maybe there may be a TAH DAH moment one of these days
As some of you already know, I am a regular here
It's a fantastic fair with lots of lovely vintage goodies and I have been lucky enough to get a table at the next fair in May so as you can imagine there are even more unfinished bits and bobs lying around waiting for my attention.
I have however managed to get these made between gardening and rain showers this week.
All ready to tie onto bags.
Also managed to crack on with a couple more Jubilee tea cozies as I sold the last two I made more or less straight away at the last fair.
Also inspired by this lady here I made a few circle pincushions, I hope they are as popular as the circle cushions I have made for previous fairs.
Off now to finish some of the above mentioned projects.............or maybe start another little make I have in mind!
Happy Wednesday everyone : )
As usual the Hotchpotch household is very busy with lots of ongoing projects.
Here are just a few of the things going on around here at the moment.
The chicken run
still not started due to Mr. H having to fix next door's fence as no attempt was been made by neighbour to get it done (would have left it but it's right where we are having the chicken run... GGGGRRRRRR!
New fencing
the fence seperating the main part of the garden from the veg garden has finally given up and is in real danger of collapse.....still not started due to having to fix next doors broken fence... double GGGRRRRRRR!!!
Loft
new hatch made but not much else so far, although plans are afoot to get wood for bracing and insulation some time this week......YEAH!
Plum tree
still not planted as had to remove old lilac tree that had grown to about 50feet high.
As for me I have 101 things on the go, because like most crafty people I very rarely complete one project before I embark on something new.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to projects that are half/nearly finished, there is another box upstairs with about 150 knitted squares all ready to be made into a blanket for the camper, there is a picnic blanket waiting for badges of all the places we have visited to be stitched on and oh yes a stack of little fabric squares waiting patiently to be made into a cushion........the list goes on.
That's why I love reading other people's blogs because they are just the same as me and I find that a great comfort!
Maybe there may be a TAH DAH moment one of these days
As some of you already know, I am a regular here
It's a fantastic fair with lots of lovely vintage goodies and I have been lucky enough to get a table at the next fair in May so as you can imagine there are even more unfinished bits and bobs lying around waiting for my attention.
I have however managed to get these made between gardening and rain showers this week.
Also managed to crack on with a couple more Jubilee tea cozies as I sold the last two I made more or less straight away at the last fair.
Also inspired by this lady here I made a few circle pincushions, I hope they are as popular as the circle cushions I have made for previous fairs.
Off now to finish some of the above mentioned projects.............or maybe start another little make I have in mind!
Happy Wednesday everyone : )
Sunday, 22 April 2012
A trip up North
Iv'e been looking forward to this jaunt for ages and I was definitely not disappointed.
We left a very sunny Sheffield on Friday morning with a huge picnic and a gigantic brolly bound for one of the wettest places in the country..........Manchester!
Just as we expected, the sky changed from beautiful blue to dismal grey as we crossed the pennines :(
We have been to Manchester so many times during our years together (25 this year -EEEK!) I have lost count, mainly to see bands at The G MEX (showing my age now!!!)and one or two trips to Affleck's Palace and not forgetting another hair raising train journey with my mum to The Trafford Centre when I was about 8 months pregnant with the blue eyed boy!
This trip was slightly less Rock n Roll.
Our destination today was here
Sadly the photos taken from inside really don't do the place justice as it's just so vast and quite dark and atmospheric but mainly because my photography skills are seriously lacking!
this was taken from the viewing platform overlooking the Salford quays just before I went slightly queezy and a lovely delicate shade of green according to Mr H!
Back inside with my feet firmly on solid ground we explored every nook and cranny of this huge place. There is so much to see with collections from the First World War right up to modern day conflicts.
The blue eyed boy (or little H as he seems to prefer) and I were really interested in the Second World War.
taken by little H
taken by me
whereas Mr. H spent a lot more time looking at the modern day war exhibitions.
Little H couldn't believe this was an actual piece from one of the twin towers and he stood for ages just staring trying to take it in, I think he was quite overwhelmed by it, in fact I think everyone felt the same.
We scoffed our fantastic picnic in the car, which is no mean feat when you consider Mr. H is 6ft 4 and we have a little fiat 500, only to discover there was a special designated room for you to do exactly this... Oh well you live and learn!
The rain eased off just long enough for us to cross the footbridge over to the other side of the Quay to The Lowry.
I do love some of Lowry's paintings but this was much more Mr H's thing than ours so me and Little H had a mooch around the Annie Lennox exhibition which was suprisingly interesting.
A good day all round and we would definitely make a return journey.
Back to normal tomorrow and the endless routine of work/school.........roll on June and the Queen's Jubilee.
Happy Sunday : )
We left a very sunny Sheffield on Friday morning with a huge picnic and a gigantic brolly bound for one of the wettest places in the country..........Manchester!
Just as we expected, the sky changed from beautiful blue to dismal grey as we crossed the pennines :(
We have been to Manchester so many times during our years together (25 this year -EEEK!) I have lost count, mainly to see bands at The G MEX (showing my age now!!!)and one or two trips to Affleck's Palace and not forgetting another hair raising train journey with my mum to The Trafford Centre when I was about 8 months pregnant with the blue eyed boy!
This trip was slightly less Rock n Roll.
Our destination today was here
Sadly the photos taken from inside really don't do the place justice as it's just so vast and quite dark and atmospheric but mainly because my photography skills are seriously lacking!
this was taken from the viewing platform overlooking the Salford quays just before I went slightly queezy and a lovely delicate shade of green according to Mr H!
Back inside with my feet firmly on solid ground we explored every nook and cranny of this huge place. There is so much to see with collections from the First World War right up to modern day conflicts.
The blue eyed boy (or little H as he seems to prefer) and I were really interested in the Second World War.
whereas Mr. H spent a lot more time looking at the modern day war exhibitions.
We scoffed our fantastic picnic in the car, which is no mean feat when you consider Mr. H is 6ft 4 and we have a little fiat 500, only to discover there was a special designated room for you to do exactly this... Oh well you live and learn!
The rain eased off just long enough for us to cross the footbridge over to the other side of the Quay to The Lowry.
I do love some of Lowry's paintings but this was much more Mr H's thing than ours so me and Little H had a mooch around the Annie Lennox exhibition which was suprisingly interesting.
A good day all round and we would definitely make a return journey.
Back to normal tomorrow and the endless routine of work/school.........roll on June and the Queen's Jubilee.
Happy Sunday : )
Monday, 16 April 2012
I ♥ The Lakes
Just back from a lovely weekend in the lake district.
My mum and I hopped on a train Friday morning bound for Kirby Stephen (Actually it was bound for Leeds where we had to change to another train bound for Kirby Stephen, but thats a minor detail!)
The weather was beautiful and the journey was a pleasure, although my mum was convinced someone was going to nick our luggage and she would never cope without her hair straighteners all weekend. My mum is so much more glamourous than me, her toiletry bag alone weighed more than my little trolley case! (only kidding mum if your'e reading this)
A snap taken from the train sadly I can't remember where we were at the time, far too busy drinking tea and chatting!
I forgot to take a snap of the Station at Kirby so I borrowed this from the internet.
It was here we were met by our friend who had so kindly invited us to stay with her for the weekend, this is the second time we have visited so I knew I was in for a real treat, her cottage is absolutely gorgeous and I would love to share it with you but it somehow doesn't feel respectful to plaster photos of someone else's home all over the world wide web. Instead I will share some of the views from the cottage.
these were taken from my bedroom window.
These are views of a small part of the huge garden and beyond.
From the station we had a lovely tour around enjoying the scenery ending up in Windermere for a quick mooch around Lakeland and refuelling on hot chocolate and toasted teacakes (I am an official member of the toasted teacake brigade!)
we then tootled off to Bowness for an hour which was suprisingly quiet considering it was still school holidays.
Always on the lookout for a charity shop bargain I managed to pick up these little beauties.
Saturday was freezing but it didn't stop us doing a bit of fell walking.
This is taken looking down to Ullswater.
luckily we didn't have to climb, as you can drive part of the way up and walk across the top.
A very large black cloud hovered directly over us so we decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat back to the car. Although I consider myself an outdoorsy type of girl, I'm not convinced I'm cut out for fell walking, I appreciate that it's very beautiful but at the same time it can be very bleak and unless the sun is shining it can be very depressing, and much to my disapointment there wasn't an ice cream van in sight!
Just before we headed off the the village hall for the quiz night we took this gorgeous fella for walkies.
just a short walk to the bottom of the lane you come to this, the local village church sadly it could be in danger of closure due to the very small congregation.
.
As we were heading for home on Sunday there was just enough time to squeeze in another walk to Brough Castle. I have done this walk before so I knew our efforts would be rewarded with an ice cream from the lovely ice cream parlour on the farm next door.
Before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes and head off for home, the train back to leeds was packed so we had the luggage issue all over again but this time it was the worry of mum's bag getting crushed under the mountain of student rucksacks and breaking her hair dryer....OH MUM you are priceless!
We were greeted at Meadowhall station by the lovely Mr. H and the blue eyed boy who I had missed so much.
The icing on the cake was a gorgeous chilli made by the husband while watching gardeners world in my p.j's........ ROCK AND ROLL!!!
Just in case you were wondering team "Him and us" came 7th out of 10 for our efforts in the quiz night, managing to score the highest in the music round with 20 points out of 24, so we left the village hall with our heads held high!
hope you all had a great weekend : )
My mum and I hopped on a train Friday morning bound for Kirby Stephen (Actually it was bound for Leeds where we had to change to another train bound for Kirby Stephen, but thats a minor detail!)
The weather was beautiful and the journey was a pleasure, although my mum was convinced someone was going to nick our luggage and she would never cope without her hair straighteners all weekend. My mum is so much more glamourous than me, her toiletry bag alone weighed more than my little trolley case! (only kidding mum if your'e reading this)
I forgot to take a snap of the Station at Kirby so I borrowed this from the internet.
It was here we were met by our friend who had so kindly invited us to stay with her for the weekend, this is the second time we have visited so I knew I was in for a real treat, her cottage is absolutely gorgeous and I would love to share it with you but it somehow doesn't feel respectful to plaster photos of someone else's home all over the world wide web. Instead I will share some of the views from the cottage.
these were taken from my bedroom window.
These are views of a small part of the huge garden and beyond.
From the station we had a lovely tour around enjoying the scenery ending up in Windermere for a quick mooch around Lakeland and refuelling on hot chocolate and toasted teacakes (I am an official member of the toasted teacake brigade!)
we then tootled off to Bowness for an hour which was suprisingly quiet considering it was still school holidays.
Always on the lookout for a charity shop bargain I managed to pick up these little beauties.
Saturday was freezing but it didn't stop us doing a bit of fell walking.
This is taken looking down to Ullswater.
luckily we didn't have to climb, as you can drive part of the way up and walk across the top.
A very large black cloud hovered directly over us so we decided it was time to beat a hasty retreat back to the car. Although I consider myself an outdoorsy type of girl, I'm not convinced I'm cut out for fell walking, I appreciate that it's very beautiful but at the same time it can be very bleak and unless the sun is shining it can be very depressing, and much to my disapointment there wasn't an ice cream van in sight!
Just before we headed off the the village hall for the quiz night we took this gorgeous fella for walkies.
just a short walk to the bottom of the lane you come to this, the local village church sadly it could be in danger of closure due to the very small congregation.
As we were heading for home on Sunday there was just enough time to squeeze in another walk to Brough Castle. I have done this walk before so I knew our efforts would be rewarded with an ice cream from the lovely ice cream parlour on the farm next door.
Before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes and head off for home, the train back to leeds was packed so we had the luggage issue all over again but this time it was the worry of mum's bag getting crushed under the mountain of student rucksacks and breaking her hair dryer....OH MUM you are priceless!
We were greeted at Meadowhall station by the lovely Mr. H and the blue eyed boy who I had missed so much.
The icing on the cake was a gorgeous chilli made by the husband while watching gardeners world in my p.j's........ ROCK AND ROLL!!!
Just in case you were wondering team "Him and us" came 7th out of 10 for our efforts in the quiz night, managing to score the highest in the music round with 20 points out of 24, so we left the village hall with our heads held high!
hope you all had a great weekend : )
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Collector's Corner
Despite the long weekend being over in the blink of an eye *sad face* it's a lovely feeling knowing I still have two weeks holiday stretched out before me, although I realise this will also pass me by just as quickly and I won't have managed to do half the things on my list.
I did notice something today while I was pottering around the house trying to look busy but not actually doing anything useful.
It seems we are fast becoming a family of collectors. I don't know how or when it happened but it's pretty clear we all have the collecting bug.
I dont intentionally collect any one specific thing as there are too many gorgeous things I like and I just wouldn't have enough room.
Mr. H has been collecting Rupert Annuals for about 15 years now, and still manages to pick up the odd one but the ones he really needs are going for silly money so until we win the lottery he will just have to settle for the latest copy at Christmas.
This is his favourite - 1966
my favourite -1960
Some of the copies he has are signed by the illustrator but my favourites are the older ones, the colours are more subtle and the paper is just so much more tactile.
This is little H's collection of football badges.
Sheffield Wednesday are his beloved team and he buys a badge at every match.
This is our collection of green glass that we seem to have acquired over the last few years. Most of it has come from charity shops and car boots and one or two pieces were gifts from friends.
Last but not least this is THE bud vase collection.
they are on the landing windowsill and I love the way the sunlight shines through them (even though it does highlight the dust!)
They are at their best when they have just been washed and the glass sparkles, sadly this only happens once in a blue moon as it's a 2-3 hour job.
Off now to iron and pack ready for my little jaunt to the Lakes on Friday, hoping there is room in my little trolley case to squeeze in a few balls of wool and a crochet hook!
Toodle pip : )
I did notice something today while I was pottering around the house trying to look busy but not actually doing anything useful.
It seems we are fast becoming a family of collectors. I don't know how or when it happened but it's pretty clear we all have the collecting bug.
I dont intentionally collect any one specific thing as there are too many gorgeous things I like and I just wouldn't have enough room.
Mr. H has been collecting Rupert Annuals for about 15 years now, and still manages to pick up the odd one but the ones he really needs are going for silly money so until we win the lottery he will just have to settle for the latest copy at Christmas.
This is his favourite - 1966
my favourite -1960
Some of the copies he has are signed by the illustrator but my favourites are the older ones, the colours are more subtle and the paper is just so much more tactile.
This is little H's collection of football badges.
Sheffield Wednesday are his beloved team and he buys a badge at every match.
This is our collection of green glass that we seem to have acquired over the last few years. Most of it has come from charity shops and car boots and one or two pieces were gifts from friends.
Last but not least this is THE bud vase collection.
they are on the landing windowsill and I love the way the sunlight shines through them (even though it does highlight the dust!)
They are at their best when they have just been washed and the glass sparkles, sadly this only happens once in a blue moon as it's a 2-3 hour job.
Off now to iron and pack ready for my little jaunt to the Lakes on Friday, hoping there is room in my little trolley case to squeeze in a few balls of wool and a crochet hook!
Toodle pip : )
Sunday, 8 April 2012
Easter Day
You are never to old for an Easter egg hunt!
I love that the blue eyed boy still gets excited by the little things.
I'm feeling the need for a snooze now lunch is over and the house is quiet. Not sure that toad in the hole was appropriate as it's hardly traditional Easter Fayre but the rellies seemed to enjoy it so that makes me happy.
I haven't had much spare time lately so I didn't even get around to baking a simmnel cake this year (Mr. H is still sulking!) but I did make his 2nd favourite, scones with jam and clotted cream and mum made a truly scrumptious banana and walnut loaf.
She also brought me these and they smell gorgeous.
I did manage to throw together a new Easter tree as last year's branch had become a sorry excuse and was nothing more than a twig.
Mr H was not a bit happy about me chopping into the pear and apple trees but I think I just about got away with it as I managed to convince him it was essential spring pruning, I also muttered something about him having his Easter egg early if he didn't make a fuss!
Sadly the Easter bunny didn't manage to bring me this as requested
never mind there is always next year!
I'm looking forward to the next two weeks at home pottering around finishing a few projects, snuggling up on the sofa with the blue eyed boy and having the traditional Harry Potter day as we do every school holiday.
I'm also excited about the trip to the imperial War Museum in Manchester we have planned.
I also have a little excursion of my own to look forward to, I'm off up to the Lakes on Friday with my mum, we have been invited up to a friend's cottage for the weekend and I'm really looking forward to spending a bit of time with my mum as I haven't seen much of her since I started my job, it's also the quiz in the village hall on the Saturday evening which should be a good giggle.
Wishing you all a very Happy Easter Day
I'm off now to brush up on my general knowledge.......just after Iv'e snatched 40 winks!
; )
I love that the blue eyed boy still gets excited by the little things.
I'm feeling the need for a snooze now lunch is over and the house is quiet. Not sure that toad in the hole was appropriate as it's hardly traditional Easter Fayre but the rellies seemed to enjoy it so that makes me happy.
I haven't had much spare time lately so I didn't even get around to baking a simmnel cake this year (Mr. H is still sulking!) but I did make his 2nd favourite, scones with jam and clotted cream and mum made a truly scrumptious banana and walnut loaf.
She also brought me these and they smell gorgeous.
I did manage to throw together a new Easter tree as last year's branch had become a sorry excuse and was nothing more than a twig.
Mr H was not a bit happy about me chopping into the pear and apple trees but I think I just about got away with it as I managed to convince him it was essential spring pruning, I also muttered something about him having his Easter egg early if he didn't make a fuss!
Sadly the Easter bunny didn't manage to bring me this as requested
I'm looking forward to the next two weeks at home pottering around finishing a few projects, snuggling up on the sofa with the blue eyed boy and having the traditional Harry Potter day as we do every school holiday.
I'm also excited about the trip to the imperial War Museum in Manchester we have planned.
I also have a little excursion of my own to look forward to, I'm off up to the Lakes on Friday with my mum, we have been invited up to a friend's cottage for the weekend and I'm really looking forward to spending a bit of time with my mum as I haven't seen much of her since I started my job, it's also the quiz in the village hall on the Saturday evening which should be a good giggle.
Wishing you all a very Happy Easter Day
I'm off now to brush up on my general knowledge.......just after Iv'e snatched 40 winks!
; )
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