patching & pottling or pottling & patching...

last week before the end of summer feeling was upon us, me and my lads of three went on a bit of a jolly across the waters to the olympic peninsular. having lived here for 12 years it seemed somewhat of a crime we had never been before and so we went. we pottled up a mountain in clog boots, (me not them), we pottled around places and we pottled amongst the shelves of despair in thrift stores and vintage malls (still in clog boots). after our pottling days, we spent our eves around the fire pit and then watching old movies. upon arriving home we all agreed it was a few days well spent pottling and none more so than myself. for amongst the moments of pottling, i found several pieces of vintage linens which had my heart skipping a beat and my crafty cogs turning.

with the 'great mossy shed shuffle of 2012' coming to an end, it has resulted in where once my old studio desk stood, then a settee, now resides our kitchen knook table. upon discovery of 6 squares of old linens i was spurred into action with making some fireside seating. now here is the thing, its not much of a thing but its a thing worth mentioning. the thing is, this fireplace was once red brick and brass surround. it was not to my liking but it had potential and with a can of soft white paint the potential was realized. when the cold winter nights draw in and the power outages arrive, we do rely upon this little fireplace inner to give us warmth despite its unpretty looks. hence the 'warmer days' decoration is removed and heat comes forth. so what more lovely then fireplace cushions me thinks to distract from the rather not so pretty gas fire.

 i rustled around in my linen closet upstairs amongst the towels, bedlinen and unearthed several spare pillows for beds. brilliant i thought, that will do nicely if ever nicely would do.

after finding a few other willing fabric victims including a wonderful piece of vintage cross stitch tapestry, i patched and pieced to my crafty hearts content, three fireside cushions... reversible no less.

uppers showing

unders showing

i have noted in the days which have passed since placing my patched cushions in situ, an abundance of short white hairs sticking to the tapestry cloth, pointing to the fact there has been rather a lot of illegal parking going on from a pesky little doggie 

Tif

curiosities, collections and clusters...

a few days previously to this one i am on right now, i found a little wooden shelf out and about. i took the little wooden shelf home noting its distressed state. for it was painted in a distressed fashion on purpose. i told the little shelf i noted its distressed state and not to worry, i would give it a nice coat of glossy soft white in the hope of it feeling less distressed about things.

yesterday upon waiting patiently for several coats of paint to dry i put up my new little friend upon my new wall of vintage wallpaper. 

as i did so, i felt a rebel, for i have read on several occasions, where i do not recall, it is somewhat risque to place things upon wallpapered walls. after my small act of rebellion i plonked several curiosities and clusters which pleased me greatly.

upon going about the rest of my day i noted there appears to be a growing band of little shelves of curiosities, collections and clusters around the shed these days. here is just a sprinkling of a few i noted

technically not a shelf but a side, however i noted it quite the cluster and therefore felt it qualified for inclusion 

in my new and improved studio space

another collection from my new and improved studio space. this is a bit of blur, a bit like the whole summer really

next to my man's side of the bed, thought he would appreciate a few forsaken souls to look over him at night

above my little office corner, hard to see but is indeed a shelf amongst the inspiration bits and bobs

Tif :)