Tuesday Treasures

Melody at  The House on the Side of the Hill has taken over from Tuesday Treasures from Clare at Clare's Craftroom and while I have never played before, I have long been an admirer, so here goes my first foray into Tuesday Treasure playing ...

First, I have my needlebook, purchased from Como Markets, Sydney about ten years ago, before kids. Regardless of whether I am knitting or sewing on a button, I am always relieved and happy to find this and use my needles!

Secondly, I have a little brown two person teapot I purchased from Vinnies at Bankstown last week for $3 (half price day). How could anyone throw this out? No chips. Just perfect. I've made tea for one in it with one teabag and enough water for two mugs and it is the perfect size for that second cuppa.

Thirdly, I have a little teapot I purchased from Peter Stephens of Seavington Road, Elizabeth Park, South Australia, which I got on Ebay about 3 years ago. Peter has been in the Potter's Directory, and his write up said "Currently producing earthenware teasets, casseroles, lidded containers, vases, bowls, and other tablewares. Also makes individual, handbuilt vessles and objects making contrasts in the shapes and forms for an evocative artisitic image ... Developing a poetic and simple form of art or craft, for a more ecological and aware society." "Studies and practised in Adelaide, Hobart and Sydney."

My photo doesn't do it justice. It is more bluebelly!

It is a bit "I'm a little teapot ... " isn't it!

Happy Tuesday Treasures!
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What Does $9 Buy You These Days?

Not blooming much these days. Perhaps two cups of coffee, if you are lucky.

BUT perhaps if you shopped at the oppies at Padstow, you could get REALLY lucky, like me and $9 could buy you this:

Shop X
Bag of Books $6
Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes
To Love, Honour and Betray by Kathy Lette
A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
Constance by Rosie Thomas
Freedom Land by Anna Jacobs
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (Longmans 1963 ed)
Cordon Bleu Memorable Meals (1971) (I'll be checking out the china)
Kings Go Forth by J. D. Brown (1957) (my husband may like this one ... cover is good)
Wild Brother by Mary Patchett (Collins London-Sydney 1954 hardcover). Reminds me of The Call of the Wild, but Australian, with dingoes. Just looked it up. Listed on some collector sites as up to $A61.
Coffee Pot, Sugar Bowl and Creamer $1. (Made in Japan) I kid you not. Perhaps the person that served me was as disgusted as I at the person who rejected the donation. I said "Are you sure?" and she said "Yes."

Padstow Community Bargain Centre (41 Howard Road, Padstow)
 Creamer (pattern matched sugar bowl I recently bought)
 Made In New Zealand Mug for $2.

 If you live local and have donations, take them to Shop 2.

Have a great day!

Two Things to Share

The first is a scarf I completed last night which might have Sharon's name on it! It is in Lincraft Surprise yarn.

I promise you, I have no commercial arrangement with Lincraft, even though I do use Lincraft Surprise Yarn a LOT. It appears I am drawn to this yarn.

It is knitted on the diagonal, the first time I have tried this. I cast on 21 stitches on 4.5 mm needles, knitted the first row and on every second row, knit the first two stitches, and lifted the first stitch over the second, knitted to the end where I knitted the last stitch and increased.

The next photo is a teapot I purchased at Ulladulla Second Hand Shop in Boree Street, just down the road from Coles Supermarket. I'm not going to mince words. It has to be one of the most disorganised second hand shops I have ever been in .... but ... the people were nice and there were bargains to be had.

My friend Kylie who was with me picked up a 1920's Grindley teapot for $30. Grindley is an English brand of china, that has since ceased production. I've tried since I got home to find her pattern on the net, but not been able. It is beautiful shape.

Mine cost me $3, and has "Made in Japan" "36" on the bottom. I would say it would make tea suitable for two. I think it has tea cosy written all over it.

They also had a Willow pattern blue and white teapot for about $50 ....

I could have spent more time in Ulladulla checking out the second hand shops,  if I hadn't had a 5th birthday party to plan that afternoon for my son Angus, with cocktail franks, coloured popcorn, chips, watermelon, donut cake, and 24 kids!

Little Treasures

I went shopping today. Yes, I know, again. Yes, I know, more Amber Glassware. Who could walk past this beautiful vase for $4.50? Not me. My neighbour even assisted by being at the same store and carefully driving it home for me, while I went and did more shopping. She was going home anyway.

I also got this cute Butterfly sugar bowl and the Pennine Wedgewood Cup for $3.50 or thereabouts. Not bad when I have just seen the same Wedgewood cup for $10 on ebay. I've also seen 6 cups and saucer for $15 + delivery, so  .... The Pennine Wedgewood was manufactured from 1965 to 1971, was "Made In England" and is marked "Oven to Table" on the bottom.

The Butterfly sugar bowl has no mark of maker on the bottom or country of origin. I just liked the shape and the motif, given my name is Vanessa and it means "butterfly" in Greek if you look up the baby names book.

I'm quite liking 70's cups at the moment in brown for some reason....

Royal Albert

I've been thinking this week about Glory Boxes and wondering if any mothers (and fathers) in this modern world we live in still keep Glory Boxes for their daughters?

My sister and I both had Glory Boxes which were started for us from about the age of 10. I married at 23 and she about six months after me. We are 14 months apart in age and I have been married 15 years at the end of the month.

Anyway from about the age of ten, my sister and I got as part of our Christmas present (from Mum and Dad and also from other relatives) part of a Royal Albert dinner set each. I got Peach Rose pattern, which is now discontinued and she got Memory Lane.

My mother helped us select our pattern on a shopping trip to the china section of David Jones when we were about 10 apparently. I don't remember much about showing interest in any china!

My parents bought most of the dinner set at once (when it was on sale) and then gave bits with each occasion, ensuring the pattern didn't discontinue before we were finished completing the set, with a large proportion given at 18 I think.

When we left home to live with our husbands (yes, we didn't live with them out of home before we were married!) we both had a Royal Albert dinner set for 8 people (8 dinner plates, 8 cereal bowls) with 2 pepper and salt shaker sets, 1 cake plate and 1 sandwich tray and 8 cup saucer, and plate sets.

I have to admit I have rarely used mine, though I do display cup, saucers and plates in my china cabinet along with other things ...

Wonder if my sister uses hers much?

Did you have a glory box? Did your mother? Do you or your mother have a Royal Albert pattern? My mother's is Lavender Rose.

Drinks Trays

I quite like collecting drink trays, especially Willow ones and most especially the Brian Baigent one above. I bought it at the Salvos at Bankstown about two years ago for about $5. Salvos at Bankstown is no longer in the shopping centre and it is a pity.

The middle Queensland tray is made in Hong Kong, but quite attractive and the top tray is by Maynard Waters and is also manufactured by Willow.

Earlier in the year I wrote an email to Willow and asked if they would ever reissued these trays.They said no.

I love bits and pieces of Australian memorabilia.

Ebay Australia currently have a tray the same as the Brian Baigent one for sale at the moment for $14.95 if you would like a similiar one!

For more info on Maynard Waters, follow this link.

Little Treasures - More Jug Covers

So I was at my Mother and Father's farm on the weekend and I was looking in the china cabinet and look what I found, and of course I had to photograph them to preserve the images forever and share them with my blog readers.

These are from my Grandmother's (Nannie's) collection and from my mother's Nan's collection. They are a little tattered and a little bit unravelled, but you can expect that for their age. I'm not sure who made them, but my mum said that her Nan crocheted but didn't knit, so she could have made them.

I have one more to share with you, but I'll save that for another day.

Quack, Quack, Quack

I don't know if this is a goose or a duck, but I found it in my laundry the other day (when I was cleaning the rung where the clothes and hangers go, I know ... hard to believe).

I am pretty lucky to have it I think, being one of four children and this being the only one my family had when I was a child.

Note the tatty ribbon. It says I'm nearly 40.

Purple Tweed Indeed

Once upon a time ago when my mother was young, she knitted herself this very heavy this purple tweed jumper.

And once all the pieces were knitted, she discovered that it wasn't wide enough.

Did she panic? Maybe a little, I wasn't there to witness.

Did she find a solution? Yes, she inserted a rib gusset up both sides of the jumper and partially along the sleeves.

I call that clever. My mother is a resourceful woman.

Mum and I had a lovely time digging these jumpers out for their recent photo shoot.

While this jumper may not be as old or as patched as Dad's, it's still going!

Once a sister so loved

her brother Russell that she knitted him a heavy 16 ply wool jumper when he was 18. Twice. First time too small and was frogged.

And the second time too large.

There wasn't going to be a third time, so she used the one she had knitted the second time and made sure that it fitted by sewing the side seams up on the sewing machine, trimming about two inches from either side of the body of the jumper.

Now the brother so loved this jumper that he wore it nearly to death, until it became almost a museum piece as the jumper that was the longest running, still in action jumper that Australia had ever seen.

He wore it drenching cattle, digging out scotch and saffron thistles, building stockyards, poisoning wild briar roses, rounding up cattle, pruning fruit trees and for a great many of other farm related activities.

He coerced his wife to patch it and mend it and reinforce it so that it would never wear out. Which she did. A lot.

Note the finely stitched reinforcing of rib and the red dot signifying "the back".

Now it may surprise many, but this jumper is still worn to this day. In fact, one day when the Russell gives up the ghost, it may become a framed museum piece.

The Russell (my Dad) was born in 1943, the jumper knitted in 1961 (or thereabouts), making it about 49 years young, with plenty of time left to serve, riding motorbikes and crawling through barbed wire fences.

The knitter was my Aunty Helen.

J & G Meakin, England

This plate and pattern is from my mother's collection and is special because my father went as a small child to Farmers Department Store in Sydney and choose the pattern with his mother.

More on J & G Meakin, England

I promise to post more knitting next week. I have been knitting squares for the Made With Love blanket I am working on and have nearly done all my coloured ones ...

Cherry Bowl

For years this carnival glass cherry bowl sat in the cupboard on top of my microwave because I hated it. Truly hated it. Wished it would drop out of the cupboard and break into 1000 pieces kind of hated it.

But guess what. I got it out of my cupboard within the last six months and put it on the bench near my apricot kitchen blinds, and slightly apricot tiles (hello, house built in the 1990's) and suddenly I loved it and appreciated it. Maybe even adored it. And wondered why that thought had never occurred to me before.

When my husband's grandfather moved out of his house and into a retirement home, we were not involved in the "clean house for sale" process at all. In fact, I wonder if my father-in-law was either. Anyway, we were relegated this, which I seem to remember being told was worth "a lot of money". Many times in the era of hate, I thought "should find out how much that thing is worth and flog it".

But now I am glad I got over that, it looks great full with apples and bananas and the regulars in the fruit bowl. Admittedly no cherries.

I don't know how much it might be worth. I have googled today trying to find another "the same" but can't.

It does have some slight imperfections (like crack lines in the glass ...) so for anybody that thinks it might be worth a fortune, I seriously doubt it (unless you have evidence otherwise!)

For those concerned I might go all carnival glass collecting, be assured, ain't gonna happen. Still love my Amber Glassware ...

Little Treasures

 This is a milk jug cover which came from my grandmother. Notice the tiny tea cup of top.