fiveandtwo

Good Stuff

A really treasured friend up in Sydney sent me a parcel.

When I saw what was in it...my heart skipped a beat, possibly more. Vintage patterns, buttons, an unusually shaped embroidery hoop...

 

 

 

Very special. Thanks to my buddy, we go back years - we started school together as five-year-olds at Katherine Area School.

Haven't posted any op-shop stuff for some time. I go every week, but haven't been in the mode of photographing and uploading the finds. Op-shopping is a hit-and-miss endeavour, as you know, mostly it's been more miss than hit lately. However, I found these nice little pictures of French cathedrals today.

 

And  some vintage haberdashery.

 

Some applique patches. I think that all the dog patches would look pretty cute all together on a t-shirt.

I know there's one too many alls in the above sentence but if I try to delete one Typepad goes whacko and "freezes" and I have to turn the computer off to resolve it.  So the extra one remains.

I hope you all from Victoria, NSW and South Australia have survived the tremendous heat. Yesterday, and last night were particularly ghastly. We have a smoke haze which can only be from the frightening bushfires many kilometres away. So many lives lost, so many homes...and North Queensland is inundated. Such extremes - searing heat and bushfires out of control, torrential rain and flooding.

Hang in there people.

Some Goodies From The Swap Meet

I didn't photograph the keys of the scissors, old ones added to those collections.

 

I've had my eye out for one of these pencil sharpeners for a loooong time. It will sharpen all our pencils, from the tiny one I keep in my bag to the huge Lyra Super Ferby pencils that Clare and Ally have.

 

More buttons for the somewhat vast collection. Believe it or not I am forcing myself to be more selective with my button collecting. They are small but you still need somewhere to put them, somewhere accessible, you know, so you can actually find buttons to sew on that shirt you're making.

 

Two pencil tins (empty). I am going to put some seriously nice drawing pencils in them for Linsey, as a Christmas present.  She plans to study art. We're going to Melbourne, to the Victorian College of the Arts, on Thursday for an interview. She's also applied at Monash Uni., RMIT and Swinburne. Interviews at those institutions to come.

 

I wanted to put my sewing machine feet, spare needles and so forth in this but they don't all fit. It does hold a good selection of threads though. I think the fellow selling on this stall had whiskey for breakfast. Very jolly and very "fragrant". Plenty of funny banter.

 

This "clam shell" thread case came with all those lovely wooden cotton reels in it! My heart was aflutter when I saw I tell you. However, on the way home it was knocked by something and developed this crack. Never mind. It's high enough to store the modern reels of thread, so it will be well used.

 

See the crack! Incredibly minor life event. Really.

I'm not sure how posts will go in the next month. I'm having a carpal tunnel operation tomorrow, on my right hand. I'm not to use that hand for three weeks following.

I'm psyching myself up for lots of whingeing as the older kids have to do tea, with me supervising. Think how skilled they'll become! They should be hanging out for this experience!

Since the Bendigo trip I'm aware of how much those teenagers need to learn. Three week domestic training experience to follow!

Old Magazines

I got the magazines at the Bendigo Swap Meet, and I'm captivated by the advertisements in them.

Definitely from another era.

 

When things like the whiteness of your wash was important.

 

The regularity of your bowels. I think this fellow needs to lay off the All Bran though.

 

Tampons gave this kind of freedom.

 

But these were the kind of undergarments women wore.

 

When they weren't obsessing about their bust size.

 

Or their double chins.

 

The many uses of cellotape. That little girl might not look so cheerful when she realises how short her fringe was cut.

 

The perfect gift for mother. Really?

  

 

Oh, the evils of the less-than-clean toilet. Beware.

 

Make sure it's the right fabric.

 

This woman is really pleased she got the right thread. See her smile. She's definitely happy.

 

My kids were very taken with this advert. Must get me some of these.

 

 They aren't chipper like this when doing the dishes though.

 

The "fabulous" 1950's...

Road Trip And Swap Meet

We went to the truly huge Bendigo Swap Meet! Swap Meet, you say? Aren't they just old car and motorbike parts, bloke's stuff? Well, not always. Many of them are a treasure trove of op shop-type stuff (I am being very generous revealing this secret to you).

You see, many of the fellows are accompanied by their wives, and rather than sit around doing nothing, these women have their own sideline in vintage and secondhand goods.

So, while my husband fossicks for old motorbike parts my eyes are peeled for additions to my collections. I bought buttons, old keys and scissors, books, wooden bobbins, a vintage suitcase and ice creams for Clare and Ally, my faithful sidekicks. They also got parasols because I forgot to pack hats for them.

If we go to another of these enormous Swap Meets I think some sort of trolley is in order, for carting the loot. Many more experienced than us had something on wheels for this purpose. Plenty of these:

Much improvisation of the humble bag trolley:

 

An array of shopping carts:

 

 

You've probably guessed I was very taken by the array of "transports".

Human ingenuity is a wonderful thing.

It wasn't all poking around at Swap Meets. We took the "talking tram" (running commentary pointing out landmarks and giving historical background) tour around Bendigo, took a tour of Central Deborah Mine. Part of which was underground - a big thing for claustrophobic me. I concentrated hard on the guide and refrained from looking up at the tons of rock above my head...I breathed slowly and deeply...and survived.

A visit to the Victoria Hill Reserve was rather easier. The remains of diggings and mines in that area, with the mine shafts sealed off. I forgot to ask the Central Deborah guide why the tower-like lifting structure over the mine shaft is called a poppet head. Google hasn't even been able to tell me.

 

 

The journey home took us via Shepparton, morning tea at Benalla, Bright, lunch at Harrietville, over Mount Hotham (some hard, icy patches of snow remaining) to Dinner Plain and Omeo, then on to Bairnsdale. A very scenic route.

The teenagers seemed pleased to see us after five days fending for themselves. The dog was ecstatic. I am hoping that a greater interest might now be taken in learning to cook well, and generally care for, and organise, a household. What do you reckon my chances are? Truly, I have shown each one of my three older offspring how to use the washing machine. Obviously it didn't imprint, they got a friend to come over and show them.Sigh...

Larry and Snugbomb

A book I found at the op-shop (where else):

 

It's just plain weird, but I find it strangely compelling. It's set on Magnetic Island which I have good memories of. Went there on school camp in year 8 - 1977. The best food of my entire boarding school life. We collected coconuts and husked them on star pickets. The island was undeveloped then, as far as tourism goes. I don't know what it's like now.

I went to boarding school in Charters Towers which is 100km or so inland from Townsville. I went to Townsville every six weeks for a couple of years to get my braces adjusted.

 Anyway, back to the book.

 

How do you like this fellow's hairstyle? He's one of the ambulance officers. The shirt, shorts, shoes and socks are just like what my dad wore to work.

 

The kids go to the clinic to see the doctor, read comics and the nurse gets a needle prick injury. Her name, according to her badge, is Iva Pain. I do like that pic. of the kids on the plastic chairs reading comics. Oh, and one with eucalypt leaves. In case the koala gets hungry.

 

 Mrs Spigot is a dill.

 

 Yes, when your koala  just goes back to bad habits it's a good idea to wipe your hands of koala business and go play in the creek. A good creek too, by the looks of it.

Just Some Stuff

I made a quick visit to one of my regular op-shop haunts last week. Two of the Wednesday volunteers, Gwen and Monica said, "We've got something for you", and brought out a pile of fabric. "You're always buying fabric here so we saved this for you to look at". I felt really honoured.

Since I am in the process of a big fabric purge I carefully selected two pieces and put the rest in the material box.

 

My fabric collection has become insanely huge. Boxes, suitcases and drawers full of it. Piles all over the place. It's hard to get your head around sewing and crafting when getting to the machine requires moving piles of stuff, and then moving it all back to enable getting into bed at night!

So, I've been through it all once, and the monster has diminished slightly. Another go should see it back to manageable proportions. Man, do I find it hard. Every piece suddenly seems rife with potential. The ideas that pop into my head as I sort make the process more difficult, even though I know they'll never be realised (who has that much time?).

Some use was made of my stash on the Sewjourn weekend. Here is the first thing I made, based on what I think was a "housecoat" from the op-shop (I pulled it apart to use as a pattern).

 

My top is actually blue and my leggings purple (and it was really hard posting a pic. of myself on the blog...). I"ll make this pattern again, I think, and fix up the neckline gape when I do so.

Some weeks ago I raised the sides of my vegie garden using besser blocks, those concrete blocks with holes in them. I filled the holes with soil and compost and planted seeds and seedlings. I am most pleased with the result (and they will keep the mulch in the garden too).

 

Coriander seedlings and strawberries.

 

Pick a salad. The hole goes all the way through the block so reasonably large things can be grown - the roots go out the bottom of the block and sally forth.

The Chicken Recipe

I've just had a wonderful weekend of sewing at Sewjourn in Lancefield. In the company of a bunch of splendid women. I can't show what I made just yet - buttons and buttonholes need to be done.

Requests were made for the recipe of the "french-style" chicken we had on Saturday night.

Here it is:

7 chicken maryland portions

butter and olive oil for browning chicken

1 bulb garlic, peeled, finely chopped (yes, the whole thing, not just 1 clove)

2 leeks, halved, finely sliced, rinsed of dirt

2 carrots, peeled, finely diced

2 sticks celery, finely diced

half a bottle of dry white wine

salt and pepper

fresh parsley, chopped

Brown the chicken in butter and oil and place in a large baking dish. Heat a bit more oil and butter in the same pan used for browning the chicken, add garlic and soften a little. Careful not to burn it. Add celery, carrots and leeks and stir for a couple of minutes. Add wine, salt and pepper. Stir and heat through. Pour mixture over the chicken, spreading the vegetables around. Cook in a moderate oven about 1.5 hours, until the chicken skin has crisped a bit and the "sauce" has reduced.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve. Very nice with plain cooked rice and a green salad.

All I added to the dish at Lancefield was an extra carrot and 3 extra maryland portions (to serve 10).

Since I don't have a picture of the cooked dish you'll have to make do with this somewhat disturbing one.

 

It comes from The River Cottage Family Cookbook by the quintessentially english-named Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Fizz Carr. A lovely cook book aimed at the novice cook of perhaps 11+ years and onwards. Or younger, if cooking with an experienced helper.

And now for something completely different.

I found four Kathie Winkle plates and two Kathie Winkle bowls at the op-shop yesterday! And a cup and saucer in a green I particularly like.

 

It's a wonder you didn't hear me hyperventilating from there.

The Offending Vegetation.

Yes, I do have an overplanted nature strip, something I consider to be a Good Thing.

 

There are six young trees in amongst the shrubs and grasses. I'm aiming for a park-like effect in time. When the shrubs get all rangy and straggly I'll remove them. Spread around are walnut, almond and mulberry trees, two judas trees and a black wattle.

The owner of my favourite local CD shop was telling me that the council bulldozed his nature strip plantings a couple of years ago! I consider myself lucky after hearing that.

Just have to show these little coffee spoons that I found at the op-shop this week.

  

I've been keeping my eye out for some of these for years. The oppy Gods were smiling this day, for sure. Not just one spoon.  A complete set. In original box.  Swoon.

The very next shop yielded large, lustrous mother-of-pearl buttons. Those grey ones are the size of a fifty cent piece!

 

Ahhh, lucky me.

More Stuff Which I Am Most Pleased With.

Indeed.

A Kathie Winkle cup. I looked and looked at this oppy but no saucer, no plate, no bowl. Just the cup, and a mighty nice one too.

The bottom half of an olden days butter/cheese keeper. For putting stuff in, of course. It presently has seed packets in it, I'm in the throes of sowing seeds in punnets for summer veg.

The green glass is lovely. Green being my favourite colour and all.

A bounty of buttons.

My button collection grows ever larger...

This makes me laugh:

Plastic. How exciting! The poor woman can scarcely contain herself.

I've mucked out the chook run today and put the partially composted "muck" on the vegie garden. The dog helped herself to some of the less composted bits. Ugh. The chooks are revelling in the new straw I spread in their run.

Yesterday I met with The Man From The Council regarding my (cough) overplanted nature strip. I was worried that I'd have to pull everything out but the fellow was very reasonable. I am under instructions not to plant any more, and when things die to not replace them. I was mighty relieved I tell you.

More op-shop goodness soon.

The Op-Shop Crawl

Linsey and I went to see an exhibition of David Moore photos last week, at the Latrobe Regional Gallery in Morwell.

I love black and white photos with a lot of contrast (light-wise) so these were right up my alley.

The journey involved passing a number of op-shops...how could I not stop. In fact, I think there may be some mechanism in the car when I'm driving it that causes it to park itself near op-shops.

I loved the children in this knitting pattern leaflet, and the retro knitwear. Little girls' dresses were so short back then!

Those long socks and polished shoes, the wetted down hair and toothy grins. Sigh. I bet they wore those clothes willingly, too.

This fabric was a ruffle that would have gone around a bassinet. I unpicked the elastic and lace. Cute little sailors, aren't they.

Some florals which are sheets and a curtain. I'm brooding about making curtains for Clare and Ally's room with the left and right ones. I'd really like to make them a dress or top, but that would be folly.

There's more loot but I wanted to show this before the small fry get home from school.

A most generous gift from a fine lady called Norma (who is blogless as far as I can tell). Lovely, eh.

I'll post more op-shop goodness soon!