Vintage Delights, Bags for the Boys and a Quilt Kit!

First on the list in this post is a big thank you Lynda, Nikki and Kerryn for your generous and positive comments about my blog so far. I am very touched and encouraged to keep on going - thank you!


The items above were sent to me as a belated Christmas present by my lovely friend Michael in Castlemaine. I am just thrilled with them! The vintage knitting patterns belonged to his grandmother, which makes them very special indeed, and the wool is from the Victorian Handweavers and Spinners Guild.

Here is a close up of the wool. It's all hand dyed, and one hank is recycled. I already have a beanie in mind and am looking forward to getting my hands around the knitting needles again. Thank you Michael! By the way, Michael is an ambassador for beyondblue and you can make a donation at their website to help them continue their vital work.

During the school holidays my nephew visited from Melbourne and we had a play date at my place with one of his Hobart friends. I organised a treasure hunt and the prizes at the end were these zip pouches inspired by Denyse Schmidt's designs in her book. The green square of leafy batik represents a krynoid from one of the old Doctor Who series. My nephew and I love watching those shows together and 'The Seeds of Doom' was voted best series so far!

I put the boys' initials on the back and used a string of vintage buttons as zip pulls. My nephew uses his for his Nintendo - it is the perfect size and he is chuffed to have a special safe place for his favourite game.

People keep asking me for renovation photos, so here a couple so far. This is the bathroom window after sanding. I finished it at 9pm last night as I was determined to have everything done and most of the dust cleaned up before I went to bed. There is still a fine layer of dark brown dust over some of the walls, and I'll clean that up before the long weekend ends. I didn't have the strength last night!

Here is the first coat of undercoat - fresh on this morning. I'm a little concerned that residual wood stain has wicked up through the paint, but I'm hoping that a second layer of undercoat will seal all that in before I start on my top coats. The bathroom seems a lot brighter already with the dark brown wood gone.

Last of all in this post, I am excited to share with you my new quilt kit! I bought the latest copy of American Patchwork and Quilting and totally fell in love with the quilt on the front cover. I hopped online and bought the kit and it arrived in a week! I think everything else will go on hold while I get straight into my lovely American Jane Row by Row quilt!