Thrifty finds and a little mending

I always enjoy poking around Charity Shops, especially when I am visiting different parts of the country.

On our recent trip to Canterbury I spent a happy hour wandering around the many Charity Shops they had, including an Oxfam book shop where I found an excellent copy of a children's song book, music as well as words.  Lovely to keep at home for when our 4 year old granddaughter visits.

In another shop, one which was aptly devoted to a children's charity, I found a little girl's pretty pink duvet cover and matching pillow case set.  The design was fairy princesses and castles which was very appropriate for Little Granddaughter who loves anything pink and princesses are high on the list too.  Reasonably priced so I bought it as a little gift from Canterbury. Spare bed linen for children is always useful.

 

Isn't it pretty?

 

 I washed it yesterday and as I ironed it this morning I discovered a little hole in the duvet cover.  No problem as I knew I could cover it with a little heart shaped applique. 
Took about 15 minutes, and here it is:

 

Can you spot my applique?  It's the heart directly above the princess's head.  I used Bondaweb and tiny hand blanket stitch in a matching embroidery floss.  Hope our little girl likes it too.

 

I pass on a lot of things to our local Charity Shops so it's nice to find useful bargains myself.  I am a fan of "making do and mending" and not throwing away items that still have plenty of life in them.  So my two Canterbury finds fitted my bill exactly.

Poppies for Remembrance

Yesterday was a very important day in our country's calendar. 
6th June 2014 was the 70th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings, also known as D-Day, when the Allied invasion of Normandy during WWII began.  This eventually lead to the end of the war and meant that my generation was able to grow up in a peaceful Britain.  We owe everything we hold dear to those gallant men who fought and, in many cases, died that we could be free.

 

My newly planted pot by our front porch was appropriately flowering yesterday, in time for those celebrations.

 

On the sewing front there has been a little hand blanket stitching taking place during our few days away in Kent.  Whilst we were resting before dinner I managed to do a few more stitches and completed almost three of the seventeen Sunbonnet Sue blocks I need for the baby quilt I am currently making.

 

Here they are:

 

I love hand sewing so this is not a chore, although I do need to get a move on with these blocks now and start to put the top together.  I will be hand quilting it too so lots to do and the baby this is intended for is due this month. No pressure there then!

I have been continuing to admire Alison's QAYG quilts for her Soy Amado Project.
Each one is completely different and she has now finished 35 quilts!  Alison turns these quilts out so rapidly it just amazes me.  If you haven't seen her quilts, do take a look at her blog: littleislandquilting.blogspot.co.uk

I have 5 blocks ready to send and one more I want to complete before I post them to Alison.

Off to do more blanket stitching!