Yarn Along

I have finally finished off projects started, sewing in ends and blocking which is a lovely feeling.

 

I have started to make a record of gifts made and who I want them for, its a lovely feeling to know that I am giving something made with love.

 

 

I have started yet another lacy shawl, I love the pattern and the yarn this time is a lovely smoky grey which is perfect for who I have in mind.

 

 

I am reading Thin by Grace Bowman, a memoir of anorexia and her recovery,  a really sad heart breaking account of her addiction to starvation.

 

 

I am once again joining Ginny over at Small Things, why not pop over and see what others have on their needles/hooks and what they are reading.  Have a wonderful day.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

Finished Quilt And A Stroll Around The Garden

No car boot treasure this week, yesterday when I normally go to the car boot sale was a wash out.  The rain lashed down and the wind was howling, it certainly didn't feel like a summer's day.  Today we are fairing a little better, we still have rain but little showers and the wind has dropped.  I spent a fair amount of time yesterday in the craft room finishing off the quilt for Wilbur and having a general sort out.

So here we have the big reveal, drum roll please...

 

Made with love little man, hope you enjoy it.

 

I have just had a walk around the garden to assess any damage to plants or boundaries.  Everything is looking pretty good, no damage that I can see.  So let me take you for a quick stroll around the patio, where I have a mass of containers growing food for the table.  You can grow herbs anywhere and I love to have a variety to add to soups and salads.

 

 

Mint, a great addition to new potatoes/potato salad.

 

 

Chives, it has just flowered and looking wonderful in all its glory.  Shame about the photographer who is obviously distracted or cross eyed, at least you can see one of the flowers.

 

 

Lemon thyme, which we love with chicken is having a growth spurt.  We also have basil, rosemary and 2 varieties of parsley.

 

 

The strawberries are quite prolific this year and looking good so far.  That won't last, you may remember the guilty trio from last year (my husband and the 2 dogs) eating them. 

 

 

The gooseberry bush is bearing lots of fruit, not sure about the brown on them I need to keep an eye on that.

 

 

Believe it or not this is a dwarf apple tree grown in a pot, we are so excited that we have apples, despite the small harvest.  Just goes to show that gardening can be done on a small scale.

 

 

This is a experiment, we are growing green beans in a pot to access the yield   Slow growth so far but time will tell.

 

 

Finally we have tumbling toms, tomatoes grown in a hanging basket.  In fact we have several hanging from the shed.  We have had huge success with these in previous years.  What have you got growing in pots?

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five on Friday

Summer is here, the season anyway.  Unfortunately here on the East Coast we are still catching up, the weather has been atrocious with cold winds and rain.  We finally managed a couple of days of sun but alas no heat from it the cold winds kept the temperatures down.  So while everyone has been basking in the sun we are still wearing our winter woollies.  I have managed to get out into the garden and get some work done,  progress is slow but at least something is getting done.

I am once again joining Amy over at Love Made My Home for the Five on Friday post.  Why not pop over and join in the fun.

This week I have chosen my garden for my five and will share five vegetables that are doing reasonably well considering the weather.

Lola Rossa a variety of lettuce which we are just starting to harvest and enjoy.

 

We grow it in a large ceramic pot on the patio and pick from it on a daily basis through the summer months, a few leaves at a time to mix with rocket and little gem.

 

The broad beans are really healthy considering the winds, we have tied them to a supporting cane so that must have helped the flowers this year are prolific so are looking forward to them.

 

 

Spring onions are growing in a plastic trough, at some point I think they should have been thinned out a little so time will tell how they turn out.

 

 

The cabbage are doing well planted out in a raised bed, one or two have been attacked by slugs I suspect so I have been saving the egg shells to put around the base which apparently helps.

 

 

You can see that this one has been nibbled on slightly.

 

Finally the little gem lettuce, we started these off in the little plastic greenhouse that we have.  We had a storm awhile ago and the greenhouse along with all the seeds trays were strewn across the lawn.  Not a pretty sight, so we had to start over which was a little disheartening.

 

 

The lettuce is grown in a wooden container on the patio.  It just goes to show that you can grow food even in the smallest of gardens.  I have herbs growing out of allsorts of strange containers including an old watering can which just adds to the charm of the garden.

 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

Yarn Along

Whilst not a lot of actual crochet has been achieved here at Mamas Mercantile this week,  I have however achieved so much.  I have spent a couple of afternoons sorting through the hundreds of patterns I have and decided which projects I am going to do for gifts for everyone for Christmas.  There will be some secret crafting going on from now on.

 

I made that sound like a chore, I can assure you it wasn't.  It really was a pleasant few hours.  The next task is to sort through the yarn and match the chosen patterns to appropriate yarn.  I am hoping that I can use yarn that I already have and therefore do a little stash busting in the process.

 

 

These are a few that I have picked out, now I need to get those fingers working.

 

 

As you can see, not a lot of progress made on the shawl.  I did however finish reading the Snow Geese, it took awhile to get into but is well worth the read  Williams Fiennes has a rare talent for descriptive writing and takes you on a mesmerizing journey.

 

I am once again joining in with Ginny at Small Things for the weekly yarn along.

 

See you soon.

 

100 Followers Giveaway and Car Boot Treasure

Drum roll please....and the winners are...

 

Janet from Yellow Pink and Sparkly and Mrs Tiggywinkle from A Shropshire Patch, if you could email me at mamasmercantile1@gmail.com with your address I will get your little parcels in the post.

 

 

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments, I appreciate every single one.

 

My husband and I took the birthday girl (my sweet Mum) for a stroll around the car boot sale this morning and are meeting up later for afternoon tea.  I managed to get vegetables from an allotment holder this morning selling some of her surplus so it was all at bargain prices.

 

 

The turnips were 10p each and the rhubarb 30p a bunch, I bought several to put into the freezer.

 

 

I once again managed to get 3 more games to add to the nursery for the children.  £2 for all 3 with all of them in perfect condition and complete. 

 

 

These rubber animals were a bargain at 20p each so I picked up £2 worth to add to the box, the children have a tendency to take them home with them so I am always topping off the box when they are at bargain prices.

 

 

Finally, a baby's crib...no there is not another baby on the way.  We picked it up for the bargain price of £4.  We bought it for the wood, it is  solid pine and we want to upcycle it into a dressing up box, we couldn't buy wood for that price.  Watch this space...

 

Did you bag a bargain today?

 

I was asked to show my favourite/special buttons after my five on Friday post yesterday so here they are... another drum roll please...

 

 

Here are some of my favourite buttons, they are quite large vintage buttons that I use when I am making cushions.  They all have a story and some special memories of places and people I bought them from. 

 

A very warm welcome to my new followers, I hope you enjoy my little adventures and pop in now and again for a visit, the kettle is always on but I am cutting back a little on the cake and biscuits.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Five on Friday

Last week I shared with you my yarn stash, this week I intend to show you my button haul and the places that I display/hide them.  I have an extensive collection of buttons which is one of my great loves.  My son - in - law says I own all the buttons in Lincolnshire and teases me constantly about them and yet sits with me and helps me sort them into colour pots, I am sure he is a secret button lover.  I suggest you hurry back Mike as I have another pot that needs sorting.

 

This is the button collection in all its glory.  What a wonderful sight!

 

Number one storage solution is glass jars.

 

 

I have 16 glass jars which have been sorted into colours, with the exception of the jar with the burlap which is mixed and waiting to be sorted.

 

 

Number two is the Cath Kidston button tins that were bought for me as gifts feeding my passion for both buttons and Cath Kidston.

 

 

The top picture shows the buttons that came with the tin, a real mixture of sizes and pastels.

 

Number three is the small jars that have been little gifts and are a delight, adding a little charm to the collection.

 

 

Number four is the rather large plastic boxes, there are 15 of them.  They have been sorted in to colours, as well as wooden toggles and vintage buttons on cards.  They do need an alternative storage solution as they are not very attractive and detract from the beauty of the button itself.

 

 

Finally my number five is wooden canisters  that I stuff buttons into, usually vintage buttons or those that I consider special.

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed your little tour around my five storage solutions to my button collection.  I have surprised myself how many I have.  I am once again joining in with Amy at Love Made my Home for The Five on Friday link up.  Why not pop over and join in the fun.

 

I am having a giveaway to celebrate 100 followers , today is the last day so don't forget to leave me a comment on the giveaway post.

 

See you soon.