The mysterious P.J. Townsend

 

I'm going to start off by blathering about charity shop buys, which isn't unusual for me, is it?  The photo above shows recent finds - a copy of 'Dominion', found the day after Vintage Vix mentioned reading it.  (If you've not stumbled across her blog, please follow the link for fabulous clothes and a handsome feline.)  I also bought yet another Phillipa Gregory book and 'Emily's Ghost' by Denise Giardina.  Not an author I've heard of, but it's described on the cover as 'A convincing imagining of the Bronte story, perfect for Bronte fans',  One reviewer described it as 'Haunting and beautifully written'.  The books have found a new home in the towering To-Be-Read pile that's threatening to topple over.  I'm currently a few chapters into Maggie O'Farrell's 'This Must be the Place', which I'm enjoying.  Also from the charity shop came three mens shirts, to add to my fabric stash.  Once they've been through a wash cycle though.  I can't abide the strong fragrances charity shops use to steam their donations.  I mean, I understand why they do it. No one wants a sweaty, smelly purchase.  But it's way too 'fragrant' for me.  

When I'm cutting up shirts I'm saving the cuffs and collars.  I can't yet work out how to use the collars in a quilt, but I've figured out that I can sew the cuffs into strips, joining them button to buttonhole, then sewing those strips together, arranging them in a brickwork pattern as I've done in the photo above.  I need to collect up a lot more cuffs to make a decent sized arrangement, but it could look really good once it's assembled.  What to do with the collars though?  

Someone suggested turning them into 'prairie points' which I've looked up and they're triangles inserted into the seams for a decorative edging around quilts.  That could work.  I like the thought of having a 'zero waste' approach to using the upcycled shirts.  Using every bit, wherever possible, of the original garment.  I decided to keep the garment labels too, and incorporate those into a quilt.  To emphasize the fact the material's been re-purposed, rather than bought new.  

In the charity shop I also picked up two bags of crewel wool.  I've been trying to learn embroidery this year, and was only thinking the other day I'd like to experiment with embroidering with wool.  Confirming my theory that pretty much everything you want turns up in a charity shop sooner or later, these vintage skeins were a bargain.  I really like the paper labels on them too.  Evidence of the original owner's handwriting, plus an intriguing name label.  

Was P.J. Townsend the embroiderer?  Or was that her husband or son?  We'll never know.  

I've been enjoying yet more strawberries from the allotment today.  They've been abundant this year, and the freezer's stocked up with tubs of them that I couldn't eat straightaway.  Everything on the allotment is growing like crazy after the recent rain, and my outdoor cucumber plants and squash plants are barely surviving the ravages of the Evil Slugs.  Those slimy little monsters!  I've been deadheading the Love-in-a-Mist, collecting their seed pods that like look like alien space craft, and they're drying out in the conservatory.

Not much more to tell you about, it's been a quiet kinda day.  I've got a new slow-stitching project on the go, but more of that another time.  I'm going to read another chapter of the Maggie O'Farrell book, and - having just got home after a long evening walk - relax on the sofa, feet up, pyjamas on.  

Bye for now.