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.