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Handmade books, slow stitching and more bargains from the charity shop

I'm still immersed in trying to uncover my family tree, but in between I've been catching up on 'The Archers' (George - what a nasty piece of work he's turning into) and re-watching the grim but compelling Scandi Noir series 'Wisting' on the BBC iplayer.  I've also been making a couple of art journals, using papers I'd painted and stenciled ages ago but that'd sat around waiting for me to do something with them.  There are certain crafty activities that're immensely pleasing and that definitely includes putting simple books together.  Compiling signatures, using a bone folder to make sharp creases in the paper, choosing fabric or a printed paper for the covers.  If I can get my act together I want to make three as Christmas presents, but with December just around the corner I really need to get a wiggle on.  
I'm also sewing another Jude Hill inspired piece of slow stitching.  A moon in a starry sky.  It's going to be a little wall hanging, & I've lots of tiny metal bells - saved from a broken Christmas decoration - to sew along the base of it, so it'll make a jingling noise if you brush past it.  
I'm still really enjoying 'The Girl in the Blue Dress' by Gaynor Arnold, and managed to add another four books to my never-dwindling-too-much pile of charity shop books waiting To-Be-Read.  I've read a couple of Janice Hallett books before, and they're very cleverly plotted, but don't think I've read anything by the other authors.  
I also spent four quid on this charity shop bargain, and I've been after a small bag with a crossbody strap for ages.  I'd wanted something I could use when I go out for a walk.  To carry the essentials - phone, house keys, tissues, lip balm - rather than trying to stuff them in my pockets and risk them falling out while I was doing a brisk circuit of the nearby RSPB reserve.  One of the charity shops I browsed in had a beautiful vintage Singer sewing machine.  Black with gold coloured letting on a polished wooden base.  I was tempted, and at £40 it was reasonably priced.  It was also certainly more handsome than its modern white plastic counterpart, but it's not like I'd actually use it.  So in the shop it stayed, and let's hope it'll make someone else's day to find it and take it home with them.  




 

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  1. Sharon15 November 2024 at 16:13

    I love your slow stitching piece. It's something I really want to try but have to add it to the crafts I'd like to learn list lol. Well done for tackling the to-be-read pile. I need to read more from my shelves!

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    1. Valerie blogs at rubykittyruby18 November 2024 at 04:10

      Hi Sharon. Thanks for commenting. My list of crafts-I'd-like-to-learn grows every time I browse Instagram! I ought to ban myself from social media for a month or two and concentrate on what's to hand. Hope you're well. Val

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  2. Vix16 November 2024 at 05:54

    That slow stitching piece is a wonderfully cheery sight on a gloomy day! At one point we had five Victorian Singer sewing machines lying around, I think almost every home in the Uk had one at some point and we seem to have inherited more than our fair share (and I much prefer my 1970s Frister and Rossmann) so in a fit of generosity over lockdown we left four of them outside with a note for passers-by to help themselves and enjoy them - they didn't hang about for long! xxx

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    1. Valerie blogs at rubykittyruby18 November 2024 at 04:13

      Hi Vix. I love it when people leave things outside the house with an 'I'm free!' notice. I used to live in Bristol and it happened all the time, but here in Yorkshire people aren't quite so inclined. Though I do see boxes of windfall apples at that time of year.
      I'm tempted to buy a vintage Singer just for the pleasure in looking at it. Daft but true! Val x

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