Missing in Action .. . . . .

To those who have missed my blogs, and those who have sent me messages.. Thank You.
My Computer (which is very old), had decided it does not like Blogging, and just hangs or seizes up completely after I read one or two blogs.

So, In a few weeks time I'll be looking for a new computer (aaaarrrrrr I hate change).

Meanwhile, Miss Soon-to-be-12 is here (Moloko to those who follow her blogs), and we are having a very nice holiday, but not getting any blogging done.

Transmission will resume again soon I hope.

a lovely surprise ...

A lovely parcel arrived in the mail for me this week and I can only say not only was I surprised at its arrival,(as I had completely forgotten about it), but the contents were so sweet and the accompanying letter and card absolutely lovely.

Some time ago I entered a give away, run by Sarah at thimbles and crumbles
at that time Sarah was making the sweetest brooches from vintage completed embroideries and making sweet lavender sachets from Unworked embroideries, with their simple, clear lines.  she also wraps things in pretty cotton, see the embroidery frame? it is now holding a ribbon with a picture frame attached, on my bedroom wall, and I feel sure my young grand daughter will lay claim to the 2 pretty hand made hair clips next week.

All the above were wrapped in some pretty white cotton, hand stamped with pink flowers.

I did feel rather special, and it came at just the right time, as I've had a couple of 'down' weeks lately, and not done much blogging.

Sarah has not been blogging either, she's had computer and Internet problems and changes in her life that take up lots of her time.  I hope we' ll see her back here again soon.

so, thank you Sarah.♥

Is my Tea Cosy? I'll say it is !

I read a cute post about having a Tea Cosy over at duchess declutters blog, so I followed the link to Enchanted Moments to show off my not so woolly Tea Cosy.

I have been married to an Englishman for over 30 years now, and one thing we do have at home it Tea, from a ceramic, (never metal) Teapot, with real Tea Leaves, 2-3 or even 4 times a day!!  We have always had tea cosies, fabric, woolly, knitted, crocheted, felt.. you name it.  However a year or so ago the then current Tea Pot broke and I went shopping for a new one.  I came across this darling at T2 shop. It's French, white ceramic, with a felt lined metal sleeve that fits over to keep your tea warm (and serves as a lid)   The tea leaves are in an infuser inside the pot.  Vic loves it, easy to use, and keeps the tea very warm for that much loved second-cup.

Ours is the larger size, but from memory they came in 3 different sizes.

I rarely make the Tea, that has been Vic's job since the week I met him.  He also used to make the Tea at work, and at home for his Mum and family since he was a little kid.  He drinks his milk, (in first), no sugar.  I have milk with one!

So, I'm linking up with Enchanted Moments to show off my very Cosy Teapot.

oh dear, what a laundry load

I mentioned some time ago, to an elderly neighbour that I liked old linen and crochet, embroidered doilies etc when we were chatting outside the newsagents.  She is moving to assisted living soon and when she saw me down the street on Monday called me over to say she had a bag of all her old crochet on her porch for me.  Most had been in the linen cupboard, untouched for years, and is quite grubby and in need of a good soak, but there don't appear to be any real stains, just years of dust and dirt.  Nothing looks torn or damaged either.  I was just so thrilled.

It is mostly ecru crochet, and mostly doilies with a couple of table cloths and a few motifs not made into anything in particular.

The embroidery is all doilies, mostly small ones.

So I need a tub of Nappy San, and a free day, and some Sunshine, and I'll have a suitcase full of lovely linens and crochet.  She said if I didn't take them, they would just go out with all the other rubbish her nieces didn't want.  I had a quick look thru what they'd left, nothing at all really, they even took the sheets and blankets for pet rugs, but couldn't think of anything they could use these ''useless lacy things'' for.
Aren't I lucky?

in the Pink this week . . .

I managed to pop into a few Op Shops this week between my busy to-ing and fro-ing.. and here's what I found.
PINK THINGS! ~ a great chenille quilt, with wavy lines pattern and a fringe around the edges. Not one but TWO single bed pink sheets in a very cute floral pattern.

a small length of navy blue lace edging and a lovely piece of gold, green and orange ribbon. And a gorgeous old tin from Belgium

when I opened it up, what was inside??

Just more wooden cotton reels.  I have a real stash of them know, not sure what I'll do with them but they do look cute.
I'll be linking up with Sophie and her Flea Market Finds again today, I have already had a sneak peek and there have been some exceptionally great items found this week.. must be all those people Spring Cleaning, and taking things to the Op Shops.

Op Shopping on Tour

always try to stop off in a town with an Op Shop if I can when we travel, but Vic's never too keen to 'do' so many stops so I was slightly curtailed.
However, i did manage quite a nice haul (funny I kept a bag in the back of the car and just added a thing or 2 here and there, surprised how they piled up).

First, a great orange circular table cloth, love the pattern. but as I don't have a round table, it will be on eBay soon.
Then in Goulburn Salvos, I saw a staff member emerge from the back room with not One but TWO genie bottles, OK, they are only in amber glass, not as desirable as green or blue, but I did like them and the price was right, so she didn't even have to find a place on the shelves for them!

talk about right place, right time.

Lots of sewing, knitting and doll books, of course, always good sellers on eBay, and a Pyrex cookery book, very water damaged but some nice illustrations of Pyrex dishes.

These two strips of embroidered linen were once shelf edging (probably on a Welsh Dresser or open pantry). one's a bit damaged and I really don't need them for anything, but I think I know an embroidery collector who will gladly add them to her stash !

.. and the little roses cotton crochet pot holder was just too cute to leave behind too.

So, hopefully now we are home, and Vic's into a routine, he's not in the best of health and doesn't look like improving either in the short term, I'll be back to Op Shopping in and around Melbourne again, with lots to show.

I need to get into a new eBay routine too, otherwise grand daughter won't be able to fit into her bedroom in the forthcoming school holidays.

I love showing my finds, and I know lots of you like looking.  If you want to see more fantastic finds for the week, pop over to Sophie's, where all the Op Shop-aholics hang out!

Home again ~~ been a great week away

Our week away to NSW to attend the State Antique Bottles and Collectables Show was great. We started off with a couple of days in Sydney visiting our darling grand daughter, our son and his partner. Always a good start to a holiday.  They are all well, and have lots of exciting things going on in their lives.

Then we were off to Penrith for the State Show, where the whole venue was packed with exhibitors and swap and sellers, with a wide variety of goods for sale. I only took a few photos, but I did rather like this tin

and I loved this 1930s Filing cabinet, with a little pull out shelf on the side to rest your files on while working at the cabinet

but I resisted all temptations, and did not add anything to my collections.

Vic and I entered 15 items from our collection in the Inkwell Category and took out first prize.  I was very pleased for him, especially as we had quite strong competition from a few other collectors.  There are rules as to what you can show, and how many items, judging is on rarity, variety, information, etc.  All competition entries are placed on tables around the hall and must stay in place for the two days the Show is open to the public.

The large bottle in the center is the Show Prize, not an ink bottle!

Then the weekend was over and it was time to drive home again.
On the way we stopped off for a coffee at Gundagai and I discovered The Niagara Cafe !  Established in 1902, and visited by Prime Minister Curtin in 1942, this large cafe has the original booth style tables and a wonderful long counter with black and gold decoration. I took a few photos to show you all

Amazing !

So, now I' ll try to catch up with some blog reading, and emails and get all the laundry finished and get back into the swing of things at home.
I do love a trip away, but also love to be home again.  2044 km driven in my new VW Golf, and I'm pretty happy with it too.

on my Mantel / getting to the end now . . .

we have now progressed the entire length of my mantelpiece, and this is the last vase.
Made in the 1980s, Australian Pottery by Robert Matheson of Melbourne.
We have several pieces by him, his work with cut out shapes was very popular, this was from one of his first exhibitions on the Mornington Peninsula.

I call it a vase but it's really just an ornament, as it is cut away the entire length to showcase the gum leaves and gumnuts.

So that is it for now from my mantelpiece.  I'll like up as always with fortune favours the thrifty

And this will be my last post for a week or so, off to catch up with family and friends, and away from the computer  ~~  be back soon with more exciting things (who knows, may even buy something new for the mantelpiece)

bright Orange on a dull Day

Wednesday was a cold, wet, grey day in Melbourne, and I had to go out on an errand, so, what better way to cheer up than with a quick stop-off at an Op Shop?
To my amazement, I found not only this wonderful green and orange table cloth, in great condition, for a bargain price, but also...

this lovely trio of vintage Tupperware.  Funny thing is I saw these on another blog last week and thought, how cute I remember buying some like that in the 1970s when I was a Tupperware Lady.  Now I have another set (my original ones are long gone!), too many house moves since then.

I also found a nice hand knitted (in nylon ribbon), handbag with bamboo handles, how very, very 1970s.  So, 10 minutes to spare landed me a great haul.

Now, I'm off to the hairdressers.. only 1 Oppy I usually stop off at on that trip.

moving along my Mantelpiece .. on a Monday

I didn't get around to moving along the Mantelpiece last week, so I'll cover 2 sections today.
First up we have a group of Doulton Stoneware the Pixie and the Queen of Spades are what Doulton called Bibelots, made around 1925, just little trinket dishes.
The white baby on a blue plinth is a bit earlier, probably 1910
the ashtray on the far right is a Doulton advertising piece, for their Pipe Works, and features a small drain pipe in the center.

moving right along...
a large Doulton Ale Jug with a motto on the front
a miniature cast iron fireplace  [we have a collection of these... well we have THREE different, so I guess that's a collection],
and a recent purchase a KOSTA BODA glass owl.. so cute. I bought him to re-sell but once i had him in the house I could not bear to part with him (well not just yet anyhow).

so there you have a few more centimeters of our very long mantelpiece, and we have not reached the end yet.

If you have interesting things on your mantelpiece why not pop over to Fortune Favours... and add them to the list of Monday Mantelpieces.

Knit one, Purl one, over and over again ..

Some of my readers will know I am a keen Yarn Bomber, happy to add a splash of colour to otherwise mundane poles and seats and bus stops. If you are not familiar with this form of street art, check out my other blog, Blue poles.....

Well my fellow knit and crochet friends, from The Yarn Corner (a facebook group) are at present working on two new installations for Melbourne, so imagine how happy I was to come across this whole basket full of wool.  It was gifted to me by a lovely lady who can no longer knit, aren't I a lucky girl!
The basket is just perfect for keeping my current 'project' in, and the spare wool is in one of my vintage suitcases.

Here's just a sneak peek at my September project...

I only started yesterday, and the aim is to do the whole lot in black / grey / silver tones.

so although not strictly a Flea Market Find, but rather a Lucky Find, I'm linking up with Sophie's blog and all the other wonderful stories of weekly treasures.

Diamonds from Diamond Creek ~ my weekly finds

Late on Tuesday evening I was reading a few Blogs, and mentioned I was going out Op Shopping on Wednesday.  Gina from Patra's Place emailed me that she'd like a day out too, and maybe we could meet up and she'd show me around some of her local Op shops. We both contribute to the I Op therefore I am blog, a collaborative blog about op shopping in Melbourne, so I knew just how keen she is on op shops, so I couldn't wait to meet her.

I have lived in Melbourne for 30 years now, and never been to Diamond Creek, so Gina and I met up in Eltham and did some shopping !  She managed to buy a lot of great things for her crafts and her collections, but I hit the best load of Knitting Patterns I have found for a long time, in a lovely Op Shop in Diamond Creek.

I love old knitting patterns, the older the better, and in this huge lot were even 3 from the 1920s/ 1930s.

aren't these Ladies divine?  Lots of the patterns were from the WWII era too, with notices inside the pattern books saying that due to the factory supplying cloth to the Armed Forces, some knitting yarns may be in short supply.

this was the first time I had met Gina, but I am sure we will have a lot more Op Shopping Days together in the future.

I' ll be linking up with Sophie for the weekly Flea Market Finds, as always.  Lots of goodies to check out over there.

a while ago I join up with others over at Faith Hope and Charity shopping  to do a Swap. Well, it's almost past the time I should have sent my parcel off, but it is only 1/2 done (or 1/2 NOT done, it that's the way you look at life !).

Today the lovely Carole from Serendipity, Raindrops and Roses  sent me this parcel  - I opened it to the smell of Roses (gorgeous potpourri)

so many lovely parcels to unwrap.... there was a sweet vintage Tea Cosy, some Honey Soap, truffles in a cute 'handbag' box, Melting Roses for my bathtub, and a wonderful... I mean wonderful vintage silver and brownstone brooch.(Divine ♥)

I just cannot wait to wear this, tomorrow!!!
Carole is great at sewing and makes all sorts of things, but these little Cup Bags really are the best ! drawstring top, pop your cup in, pop your sugar/teabag / teaspoon in the side pockets and you are ready to go to any meeting, hobby night, market day... fantastic.

and I just love the Bathing Beauties fabric too.. One of them could be me!  but I'm not telling which one!
Now as if that all wasn't enough, at the bottom of the box was the largest parcel....A SETTLER BEAR, her name is Jeanette, and she's all decked out in her best vintage gear!  Isn't she lovely.

so Thank you Carole, you have made my day, and thanks too to Lakota for organizing this Swap.  Promise my COMPLETE parcel will be in the mail next week♥

my Best hard rubbish find .. and so close to home.

I have way too much stuff at home, so I rarely check the hard rubbish in my area these days, but I did find a rather nice old pattered cardboard suitcase to bring home, dusty outside but clean inside and a bit of polish has brought it up nice enough to use at the market to sell bits from.

Then, one day I walked down our driveway to check the mailbox and There She Was, -- outside my opposite neighbours house, waiting for me...  Helen of Troy ...

I was so excited I skipped across the road, grabbed her and put her in my garage.  Now I have had a very busy week and not had time to explore her, she seems to be a cardboard Form-o-matic just like Nick at Collecting Feathers featured recently.  At some stage she has been covered with a woolly fabric.  I'll investigate her further, but don't want to damage the underlayer just 'cause I need to know!
Took the pics quickly late yesterday, sorry about the mess in the garage as a background, no time to bring her inside and style her yet.

It's early on Sunday here and I'm off to my Sunday Market but had to share and hope you'll all pop over to Sophie's Flea Market Finds this week for more great bargain hunting.

~Lyndel
PS for all our non-Melbourne friends, Hard Rubbish is conducted twice a year by our Local Council.  They come around in trucks and collect you larger rubbish to take to the tip/landfill.  Once Hard Rubbish Week starts you see lots and lots of cars, vans, wagons driving up and down the streets looking.... looking .... looking.... for Treasures amongst other peoples Trash, and saving our Planet from more landfill.

PPS why Helen of Troy? well my dear old neighbour is Greek, so I thought a good Greek name would be in order. -- I am open to other name suggestions of course!

My Mantle .. but not on a Monday

Moving right along the mantlepiece, (I have mentioned it is very long), we have a small green ashtray from the 1924 Wembley Exhibition in London, with the exhibition logo of a Lion in each corner.  Next a very tall jug, decorated with dogs all around,  dates from 1880s and the artist was Miss Hanah Barlow.  Next is a very funny chap, a drowning sailor, with his wet head thru a life ring, with the words SAVED on it.  Made in about the 1920s.
Finally a stoneware London River Thames advertising barge boat, from about 1900/1910.

All are made by Doulton at Lambeth in London and form part of Vic's Doulton Stoneware collection.

I'm joining up with Estelle at Fortune Favours... where she shows some of her collectables on the Mantlepiece every Monday (I'm just a slow starter).

I also managed to cook a wonderfully yummy Bread and Butter Marmalade Pudding this week.

almost overcooked it, but Vic thought it was wonderful♥

my weekly finds .. .. some days are just better than others

week started out with a cute Willow Australia Tin Household Budget Box, and just got better.
The inside is small compartments, and each one has a slot for the money, labeled Milk, Electricity, Insurance, etc... so sweet . I loved the illustration of a burglar to show off the 'Insurance' aspect of saving!

I also scored a lovely vintage handbag to take to North Melbourne Markets next Sunday, heaps of lovely fabrics only from the 1990s but good colours to mix and match, and then....not one, not two but half a dozen vintage cards of replacement elastic for men's underwear.  hee hee... not exactly exciting but look at the sweet cards they are on, who could resist them??

No indication of where they were made, or anything, plain white card backs, the elastic still stretches but there are some rust marks on some of them.
I'm linking up as usual with Sophie (the Birthday Girl), at her Flea Market Finds.
If you love to see what people are buying... that's the blog to check it out at.

On Saturday, Vic and I travelled down to Tyabb to the VINTAGE SHED, just for a look around and to check out Shabby Vintage Junk's newest outlet.  Wow, I could have stayed all day, so so so so much to see.  Tyabb is on the Mornington Peninsula an hour's drive from Melbourne, well worth the trip any Thursday / Friday / Saturday or Sunday.

NZ vs AUSTRALIA -- the Pavlova War? - no just a very lovely present ♥

A WAR? oh No !!

Today this lovely present arrived in the mail for me, Handpainted wrapping paper, yummy ribbon, crochet trimming and all 

And what was inside ??

Yes, a Teatowel from the lovely  Bridget, in New Zealand.

together with some yummy Nescafe flavoured coffees,  and a sweet note.

Bridget wrote that her husband pointed out that there is a bit of controversy over the Pavlova between Aust and NZ... whoops !! but she thought it was a cool design, and so do I.  I just LOVE it.

I mean who could not love ladies like these♥

Thanks Bridget, it is fantastic, and we 'll just stick to arguing over the Rugby and Cricket and leave the poor ol' Pav alone.  OK?