The Edge of Reason..........

Oh dear, another wet cold day, another crochet trimmed pillowcase.

Well, what's a girl to do when it's pouring with rain outside, the washing's on, the dishwasher's on, loads of shirts have been ironed for my husband, a dress hemmed for my daughter (she's off to Paris at the weekend!!!), the dog's been trimmed ( not with crochet..............yet! ) and brushed..........so time for me to play a little so I edged another set of vintage pillowcases!

This one in blue and white Sirdar Calico.

The colours reminded me of the lovely blue and white Adriatic Pheasant dishes I bought in an Antique shop on holiday last summer in Devon.

I bought three of varying ages, all old - one is possibly turn of the century. I love them for their gorgeous blue, faded, cracked and slightly chipped charm, and they always look beautiful filled with bright citrus fruits

Nearby another couple of favourite vintage finds catch my eye

a vintage japanese blossom design flask in duck egg blue, rusty and charming, bought for a pound at a boot fair

 a rusty old tin in faded pink, with decorative scrolls and courting couples, bought for a few pounds at the Decorative Living Fair at Eridge Park last year.......so pretty

And they form a useful purpose as book-ends for my cookery books on the kitchen window sill.

Also catching my eye in my kitchen today, whilst the rain beat against the windows, was this vintage butter dish from the 30's, with a green honeycomb design and gold trim, and the pretty coffee coloured mason and cash measuring cups I bought for my daughter

..............cheerful red gingham hearts hanging on my cream painted dresser................

and pink roses..........not real ones, but roses on my tea caddy and favourite mug of the moment............

on my Greengate tea-towels..............

and............... 

on my favourite soft brushed cotton pyjamas, washed and ready to wear tonight! 

( Nooooooo!!!!  I can't believe I took a photo of my jimmies!!!!!  Good grief I wish the rain would stop!!!!)

But here's what has really made me smile today - my furry companion!

What's making you smile in your home today???

Getting Edgy Again

Hi everybody, and thank you all for the comments you left on my last post. 

I have now finished the second of the pair of pillowcases edged in green and blue, and have since moved on to a few more. Am loving these crochet trims and am on a bit of a roll with them!

Several people have asked what yarn I used for the blue and green crochet trim, and I have since worked out that it must be Patons 100% Cotton DK, a mercerised cotton, based on finding a ball of this in my stash with the label still wrapped round it.

It makes up beautifully and is machine washable.

I found this pillowcase below that I edged with a simple crochet trim several years ago, but I crocheted the trim first and stitched it on afterwards rather than doing blanket stitch then crocheting into that, as I have above.

 I might have a go at some more like this as I like the pretty, subtle edge they add. You could add them to a vintage pillowcase or just perk up some of your current pillowcases. As I'm usually trying to give new life to unwanted fabrics, I like perking up any clean and good conditioned vintage ones I find.

I bought a few balls of Sirdar Calico cotton yarn last week, in white, primrose, pale pink and a pale apricot, as I managed to find another couple of sets of vintage floral pillowcases in the charity shop, again only 50p each.

The photo below was taken at night so the colours don't show up well. The pale pink looks more like the colour in the second photo below.

This is one of the vintage pillowcase sets I found, covered in sprigs of yellow tulips ( I think ), and I have trimmed them with a lovely coral Sirdar Calico DK yarn (60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic) from my stash, combined with a pale lime green Sirdar Luxury Soft Cotton 4 ply (100% Cotton) to pick out the colour of the tiny leaves. 

I now wish I had used the Patons mercerised cotton for the contrast green though, as this 4 ply kept splitting as it's very like a 6 strand embroidery thread, and it also wasn't really thick enough. 

It also didn't have the same visual impact as the Patons, and instead of giving that strong pop of colour I was after, like the green and blue trim, it looks scanty!

This new crochet book arrived at the weekend - I think I saw it mentioned over on Annette's blog My Rose Valley, and thought it looked a goody. 

Full of lots of inspiring granny squares for all levels of crocheters, with both written and diagrammatic instructions, and some project ideas too.

Moving away from crochet, it struck me this morning whilst doing the washing up, that the basil on my windowsill is still going strong.

I've had this pot of basil since last spring, when I sowed a large pot of basil seeds in the greenhouse, and it's been flourishing on my kitchen windowsill ever since, providing fresh basil leaves for numerous dishes throughout summer, autumn and winter. It is still producing new leaves even now although some parts have died back.

This prompted me to take my camera outside this morning into the soggy and sad garden to see what is happening out there, and I spotted a few hopeful signs.

The first daffodil......

a scattering of the first purple crocus, closed against the rain and dull grey sky

a lone bright pink cyclamen hiding under a rhodedendron...............

This hellebore I planted last spring, and as the weather has been so foul for weeks and weeks, I still haven't yet taken off the leaves as advised by Alan Titchmarsh.

This shouldn't be flowering yet!

A single snowdrop

new foliage unfurling on a rose bush

lots of bright orange berries for the birds

.................last years trailing blue lobelia in the hanging baskets is regenerating................

................and indeed is still producing the odd flower!

Sprouting fuschia against a backdrop of wet leaves............

And although the sun is trying to come out now, after a very wet morning when Logan and I got drenched walking in the muddy, soggy orchards, I think I shall just settle down to some more of this.........

Have a good week everybody!

Crochet-edged Vintage Pillowcases

Whilst the weather continues wet and windy, my afternoons, when I am at home, are being devoted to indulging in the creative whim of the moment.

And this afternoon's whim was adding a crochet trim to a pair of pretty vintage pillowcases I found in a charity shop a week or two ago, for the bargain price of 50p each.

I have crochet-trimmed vintage pillowcases before, here and here, after being inspired by the gorgeous crochet-edged pillows in Rosehip's blog a few years ago, and buying this Mollie Makes Crochet book a couple of months ago I was excited to find that it included several edgings designed by Rosehip.

So finding these pretty pillowcases covered with tiny blue roses and even tinier blue spots, buried amongst piles of old duvet covers, sheets and curtains, was serendipitous.

And so, with the rain battering the windows, the wind howling outside, a good fire roaring away in the wood-burner, and a friend in for a cup of tea and a chat, I finished one pillowcase this afternoon.

As I had two balls of cotton, both which matched the flowers on the pillowcase, and not being able to decide which one to use, I went for using both. 

I used the green yarn to blanket stitch the edges first, then crocheted the first round in blue, then the second and final round in green. I'm glad I did as I like how it's turned out.

Another project I've pulled out of  the pile of WIPs for finishing off are these patchwork cushion covers started over a year ago. Made from new fabrics for a change, these are pieced from reproduction 1930s and feedsack fabrics, with simple embroidered hearts on white squares.

Even though I'm using new fabrics, I am using second hand embroidery threads that I picked up from the antique and flea market.

A peachy pink for these pretty yellow and pink tiny florals...........

.......and a pretty pale blue for the blue fabric patchwork top

I've marked the heart shapes ready for embroidering in a simple running stitch, and then I just need to make them up into covers and put them in my Etsy shop with some other Spring-like products.

I am still working on the reverse applique cushion cover, using these three shades of oranges and red, and I'm liking the look of this sea green thread as a pop of contrasting colour. 

Not sure yet how or where I'll use it.

Linking up with Chrissie Crafts and Ladybird Diaries in the Bloomin' Crochet-a-Long today, so check out the others linking up here.

Hope you have a happy and creative week!