The story of Mabel the trolley

Meet Mabel, my new, well old companion.

She's in need of a makeover (only a slight one), but as she was only bought for £4.00, what do you expect.

She was found in the back of a traditional charity shop - a rare sighting now.  A charity shop where there's no formality, no 'new' items on display, no inflated prices, and certainly no order to anything.  A shop where you see old school type floor tiles on the floor, the pricing is little scraps of hand written paper stuck on with sellotape to the shelves.

The shop on first glance could be a nightmare to most people, but one that I love as you never know what you will unearth.

A shop where you can buy Woods Ware for 10p an item, pretty floral bowls for 10p, sheets for 50p - shall I go on!

When I saw Mabel as she's now affectionately called, I did deliberate for a time wondering where on earth I would put her, what I would use her for, what colour would I paint her etc etc. I decided against her - walked to the car where hubby and the boys' were sat playing with various phones, electronic devices etc.  Having already named Mabel in the shop, I explained my dilemma to them - their first question was 'who is Mabel?' followed by 'what do you want a trolley for?'  Hubby already realises that there are some questions you just don't ask, and sometimes it's just easiest to say - 'get it, and think about it later'.

He kindly went off to the shop for me and duly paid for her and carried her back to the car.  He most certainly didn't want to be seen pushing a tea trolley along the pavement.........

Next problem - it didn't fit into the boot of his nice, but small car.  Ha ha.  I did jokingly suggest that we leave the boys' behind - take Mabel home, then come back for them later......After some jiggery pokery we managed to get her in.  Hubby was rather stressed as he didn't want his car damaged trying to wedge Mabel in.......

So there you have it, the story of Mabel the trolley.

Diamond Jubilee (of a different kind)

Whilst perusing my cookery books yesterday seeking some inspiration for afternoon baking, I came across this book

The WI Diamond Jubilee Cookbook printed in 1975.  Many of the recipes have been chosen for their clear instructions, the more interesting recipes, and some because the names intrigued the author - Sly Cakes, King George I's Christmas Pudding, Buttery Dick, Guernsey Bean Jar, Oozie-woozie Tart, Australian Jack, Stone Cream, Cawl Mamgu, Fat Rascals, Lord Welby's Sauce, to mention a few!!

I can assure you I didn't attempt any of the above, but did bake some simple Ginger Crispies which went down well with the boys' as most have already gone!

In future I must explore other cook  books as I do frequent the same ones time and time again, and neglect ones I feel I may not cook from, but with a bit of time I'll find a whole host of recipes I've never used before.

Do you find yourselves using the same cook books?

The week that was

Hello All - hope you had a wonderful half term for those who were having one!  Ours went by in a flash and I have to say that I feel absolutely shattered.  I normally find them quite relaxing, but this one seemed quite intense.

There was a bit of this (but not much)

Celebrating a 10th birthday

watching this great film

and a little spot of this

I won't mention the comings and goings of friends, sleepover, marginal bickering, constant changes of clothes, and the hourly supply of food and water through the week!!  If I ever want a career change, I think I'm quite well qualified to run a B & B! 

I'm off now for a lie down and an extremely big cup of coffee....

See you later in the week.

Keeping the home fires burning

I did think that we would never get any snow, not that we had much mind you.  This, however gave us the perfect excuse to stay in, light the wood burner, the boys' to lollop round, me to bake and to play with my recent thrifty finds and to finish off a pair of patchwork curtains.

I have even got the youngest hand sewing some pieces of fabric together to make a new cushion cover for his room - bless!  He's made a good start and for someone who has never picked up a needle and thread before, I think he's done a good job!

Our kitchen window looked rather bland and having such a big window I thought I would soften it with a good old faithful bit of patchwork! (note the lack of snow).  Better call it a day now on the amount of patchwork now in the house!

A few weeks ago I picked up a couple of pretty cups and saucers, both for a mere 50p.

We were in desperate need for some new place mats and this brand new set of 6 at £2.00 was a bargain.  I love the cottages and would quite happily settle in any one of them.

What would be your dream home?

Happy Days

After having a rather turbulent 2 weeks, I buried my head and did a few crafty pick me ups!  Some good has come out of it as I've got lots of stuff finished (although I wouldn't want a re-run of the last 2 weeks).

Remember in my last post I was doing a patchwork hexagon hoop - I wasn't altogether pleased with the white fabric I had chosen but I was at the point of no return.  To rectify the choice, I added some embroidery stitches which has made me a little happier!

My bark cloth curtains were an unexpected find on Ebay - a snitch at only £3.00, it was a
wonderful turn-up. 

Having spent quite a lot of time cooing over CK's Patch book, and loving the flower picture in there, I set to with making my own.  I used a pretty frame I got way before Christmas.  It was one of those moments where I thought 'I'll eventually find a use for it' (that was my justification).  I think it was meant to have a 'crafty' project in it rather than a photo!

I was quite pleased with the result and it was fun cutting out floral flowers and arranging them.

Hopefully, service will resume fully next week!  Have a great weekend.

For the love of

embroidery hoops and patchwork hexagons, both of which I can't get enough of at the moment.

I remember seeing in Liberty's a couple of years ago, fabric displayed in embroidery hoops which I thought was a novel idea.  I soon came home and replicated it.  You may remember me posting about it.

As my love of hexagons grew, I fancied combining the two.  One, I made towards the end of year using various oddments of fabric.

The one I'm currently working on is a little more structured.  I'm kind of wishing I hadn't used the white fabric but we'll see what the finished article looks like.  The hoop is a big one - 12" in diameter.

It is a cheap way of creating a new hanging item for your wall.  If you don't fancy sewing hexagons together you could just display some pretty fabric with some ribbon, alternatively there's lots of lovely wrapping paper around so that could be another use with the hoop.

Have a lovely weekend!

Something old to something new

At the start of every year, I always have a good clear out - most goes to charity some gets free cycled, other bits and bobs either get sold on Amazon or Ebay.


This year, I thought I would do that, but also utilise my crafty stash and other items round the house to give everything a bit of a lift.


Re-work scraps of wool and an old hanger into a nice woolly one

an old treacle tin into a container for some bulbs

some old jumpers into a cosy winter cushion

vintage fabrics and scraps of lace into lavender sachets

and an old tin of paint to add some colour to the bannister rail

Who know what else I'll come up with!  What's on your agenda this month?

Up I come!

Hello folks - remember me! You may think I've been hibernating all this time (since September), but you know how life just gets in the way sometimes?  No excuses, just plain day to day stuff here at The Blueberry Patch household.


I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year?  Isn't the weather different to a year ago.  Unlike the last few days, it could almost be Spring here (albeit cold).  The birds are singing, the bulbs are growing, I still have pinks and roses flowering. All very odd.

Anyway, plans are afoot for lots of projects and makes - most of which I'll share with you, but here's one I made earlier!

I'll be back again shortly (I hope!).

Have a good weekend.