A Polite Beggar and a Scruffy Man

Liberty Print Fabric, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

The Cailleach will be girning!
Cailleach- Old woman, Girning- Complaining

We had a short interlude in the City of Melbourne last week, going to see King Kong and having a meal out.

King Kong was very enjoyable and afterwards we walked up Collins St to have a late lunch. Now, call me old fashioned but whatever happened to keeping to the left on the footpath? That was drummed into us as children especially on busy streets. People just wander about all over the place, stopping suddenly to look at their phones or go into a huddle about where to have their coffee! We had a beggar propping in front of us and he stopped the traffic going both ways. But he was very polite and asked nicely for money.

After our lunch we battled our way back down to Swanston St so I could visit a fabric and notions store I have wanted to see since it opened. We found the building and I went in the lift and my husband went to have a coffee. A very scruffy man who had been loitering in the corridor doubled back and dodged into the lift behind me. Some instinct kicked in and I hit the door open button and told my husband, who had only gone a few paces, I was taking the stairs.

I hope I am not doing the scruffy man an injustice, but he didn't visit the fabric store or the bead shop. I wonder if I did avoid an incident?

L'uccello is full of beautiful things and I bought some Liberty Print fabric I have been admiring for some time.

Vintage Paper Dolls

Vintage Paper Dolls, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

I spoke too soon on Sunday when I said I was feeling better. My flu developed into an ear and throat infection needing antibiotics and then another visit to the Doctor with the worst Migraine I have ever had. These days Migraines are treated with a nose spray which was luckily very successful, avoiding a trip to ED.

Tonsillitis was quite a problem for me when I was a child and they were taken out at 4 years old and again when I was 11. Entertainment for the invalid were books, drawing and occasionally I had paper dolls to play with. We were never given colouring books. Being talented at painting and drawing, my mother didn't believe in them.

I loved Betsy McCall and also remember we had some of George and Martha Washington. There are plenty of sheets of paper dolls available from the Internet and I have printed a couple to cut for découpage. It is comforting when you are unwell to revisit a simple childhood pleasure.

Feeling Poorly

Lunch when you're feeling poorly., a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

I came home from Melbourne last week with a cold starting which developed into the flu on Friday night and I have been feeling very poorly ever since. I was tired of lemonade icy poles and chicken noodle soup, which is our standard diet for the unwell in my household, so boiled a couple of fresh Isa Brown eggs to have with toast. I am feeling much better this afternoon.

Vintage Sheet Project.

Vintage Sheet Project, cutting squares and triangles., a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

The power was off here today so I spent some time cutting squares and triangles from my Vintage Sheet supplies.

June Finish

Rail Fence Quilt, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

My finish this month is a Rail Fence Quilt in some very pretty coordinating fabrics. It is 145x145cms which is a good size for the little English Caravan we have.

Vintage Sheet Project, pieced bib.

Vintage Sheet Project, pieced bib., a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

I have been doing lots of cutting of my vintage sheet supplies and also working on my June finish. There is a bit of waste with the sheets, the middle usually more worn and faded. These bits make good dusters and rags for our son's workshop.

Thrifty Shopping and Sewing

Thrifty Shopping and Sewing, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

On my way home from visiting our Daughter and her family, I sometimes call into a charity shop called "Friends of Hillside" It is quite large and gets in some very good fabrics sometimes. There is a very nice patchwork shop nearby that runs classes as well and I think some of the fabrics come from there. This little bundle was $5.00 and I have already made some bibs. Lots of potential in this lot for paper piecing, more bibs and there is a piece of printed felt that I plan to make into a light using battery led's.

Saturday Gardening

Winter Garden, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

There was lovely winter sunshine here today and I have done some more gardening. The sky is still clear but the afternoon is closing in and we are in for a chilly night.

Bantam Chicks

Bantam Chicks, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

I have grown some wheat in a seed tray as a green crop for the bantam and her chicks and they seem to like it. The pen they are in has no access to grass, but a hawk or a fox would kill them if they were let out to free range. They are growing rapidly and we think the dark one may be a cockerel.

"Fossick and Find" Find.

Vintage Sheets, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

There are three thrift shops that I frequent in a town about 40 minutes drive away from the farm. They have the Salvos, St Vincent de Paul and one called Fossick and Find and that is where I found two cotton double bed sheets in very good condition for $2.00 each. My test to see if any unlabelled fabric is cotton is to iron it with the hottest setting and if it catches at all, I know there is some polyester in it. These sheets are definitely pure cotton and very retro coloured and patterned.

Vintage Sheet Project, Bibs

Vintage Sheet Project, Bibs, a photo by The Witch on the Barn on Flickr.

More bibs, this time made from some of my Vintage Sheet supplies.