More Meakin

Hello there. I hope that you are having a good weekend. This week I was lucky to find not one but two casserole dishes that match the Studio Meakin coffee pot I found last week. I can only assume that they must have had the same owner, so now I am hoping that I didn't miss anything else.

I also found another Studio Meakin casserole dish with a lovely rose design.

These were all just £1 each! Unfortunately I am a terrible cook so casseroles won't be being made in any of these. They will remain for ornamental use only, maybe that's a good thing.

And finally something that I have been looking for for a long time.....

1960's pillowcases! I love this kind of print and am always on the lookout for it. I would love to find it in larger quantities, maybe a bedsheet, but for now I am happy with these. Now I have the problem of whether to use the fabric to make something or use them as they are. I'm not sure that I can bear to cut into them. The one on the left even looks as though it has never been used.

For more thrifty finds pop on over to Sophie's...

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I love......

The weather is still no good for taking pics. I am still working on the latest doily, it does seem to be taking a while but it was my littlest ones birthday this week so I had to prepare for that.

Meanwhile I stumbled across this truly delightful room....

So, so lovely.

Found here ...

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Pot Holders

After feeling all doilied out it took a while for me to decide what I wanted to make next. Thank you for the suggestions, I am still considering them. For the weekend though I wanted something quick and a little less complicated. I finally decided on pot holders after seeing them in numerous blogs and loving the way they look when displayed on a wall. It took ages for me to find a pattern but I eventually came across this and had to give it a go.....

It is a fairly easy pattern to work with and makes a really lovely and thick potholder. In fact I liked it so much that I had to make another.....

I have now gone back to doilies (it didn't long!) and started a new one today. I hope that the light gets better soon so that I can show you.

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Thrifty Things

Hello there. This week my favourite thrifty find is a wonderful 1960's coffee pot by Studio Meakin. I love coffee pots and this is the second one I have by the same maker. I will photograph the other one at some point when it's not so grim outside and I can get some better light. 

The flowers on this one remind me of when I was growing up as we had these kind of flowers on a lot of things around the house. The coffee pot is perfect condition with no cracks or crazing and only cost £1 ! Amazing!

After a little bit of snooping on the net I have discovered that the range is called Topic and it was designed by Alan Rogers in 1967. It really is looking good to say that it is older than me. I wish I was ageing so well!

I also found this rather twee cup, saucer and plate set. I didn't think it was very old but I thought it was quite sweet and for only 50p I couldn't leave it in the shop. It turns out that it is actually circa 1940's and made by Royal Vale who also happen to be the company that made the tea cups that I found last week. 

It is such a shame that many of the companies around Stoke on Trent are now no longer producing as they made such fine pieces.

For more fabulous finds pop on over to Sophie's...

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Pink Daisy Doily

I finally finished the pink doily and wow that took a lot of blocking! When I had finished the crochet it was so curled up that I thought it would be completely unusable. After a lot of stretching, pulling, pinning and wetting followed by three days waiting for it to dry and a lot of re-pinning thanks to the cats I finally had a usable doily. Phew!

Yesterday I finished a more traditional looking doily, again in pink. That too needs to be blocked but not in such a drastic way.
I think that I am now all doilied out. As much as enjoy making them I am running out of room. There are only so many surfaces that can take a doily! The only problem is that I am now stuck for ideas for what I can do for my next project....

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

This a photo from my little patch of earth.

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Grey Day with W.I.P.

The greyness has popped it's dreary head up in this neck of the woods again. It has been gloomy and overcast for most of the day so I haven't been able to take many good pictures. In the brief few minutes when the sun managed to poke through I took a couple of pics of another one of the projects I'm working on from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts - Lacy Crochet. 

I'm still not altogether sure about working with the diagrams but I seem to be coping. I did have to a little bit of frogging but then I still do with written patterns sometimes. This is a pattern for a Pot Pourri Sachet but again I'm only doing the front so that it will be another doily. In case you were wondering, yes, I do have a little bit of a thing for doilies much to the rest of the family's horror.

I thought that this would make a nice doily because it's a little different. I love traditional doilies but sometimes it's good to try to do something a little different.

On a slightly different subject would you please allow me to introduce a very dear friend of mine?

Her name is Plum Plum and she loves to sit on my arms while I am on the laptop or to lie across the wool while I am trying to crochet (as cats do!). I thought that now would be an appropriate time for you to meet....

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