Check this site: a quilt for Katrina's survivors.

I don't 'do' patchwork and quilting, but I certainly appreciate the work that goes into creating these works of art, and I have two small ones myself, done by dear friends just for me. An Australian quilter had the wonderful idea of creating a quilt to sell to raise funds for the American Red Cross, to help survivors of the Katrina hurricane. She invited well known patchwork artists to contribute a block each, which will be made up into one quilt and auctioned on eBay in the USA. If you click on this link, you will be able to see the blocks that have so far been submitted for this worthy project, as well as some extra ones that people can vote for as their favourite in that selection.

60th Anniversary card.
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60th Anniversary card revised!

Some time ago, I posted a photo of a card I had stitched, showing a glass and bottle of champagne, with '60' on it. I had intended to give it to a couple who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next month. But the more I looked at it, the less I liked it - for that occasion, I mean. So I ended up giving it to my cousin for his 60th birthday (see Patra's Other Place) and stitching a more appropriate design for my elderly friends. What do you think - much more suitable for people in their eighties? I made a few slight changes to the original instructions, by using silver thread for the lattice in the window behind the swans, and using metallic thread for the heart between the birds. Hard to see it properly here, but it does look really pretty. I think Mrs S will be thrilled, as she used to do a lot of cross stitch herself when she was younger.

My Opshop Peg Apron
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And this is the last bargain for the week!

I just can't resist popping into opshops, even if I was only there the week before. You never know what might come in during the week! I always drop into a busy little opshop in Diamond Creek after I have worked with my last Home Care client for the day on Friday each week, as she lives not far from the shop. It is a tiny shopfront and inside it is a HUGE mess. Well, I shouldn't say that because somebody who works there might read this and be offended. Shall I say a huge INTERESTING mess? There are two rooms full of clothes and stuff, then out the back is a larger room with furniture, books, tins, ornaments, you name it. So today I wandered in and headed to where the manchester is piled up on shelves, and found this cute Peg apron for $1.50. I have a very old plastic thing that has seen better days, and have been meaning to replace it, and now I'm glad I waited. This is one that is tied around the waist, with a huge pocket in the front to hold the pegs. Mind you, I have several other embroidered peg bags and aprons, but they are much older than this, and are part of my collection - definitely not for everyday use!

Peacock runner - forgot to include this one while I was on Picasa!

My $7 sampler...what a treasure!!
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Centrepiece with pansies. This pic doesn't do it justice; the colours are prettier than what it looks here.
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Centrepiece with mauve/violet flowers.
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And now for today's loot...

First stop for the day is always the post office where I collect my mail. Today I received the last of the peacock embroideries that I had been buying from the USA via eBay. I was surprised to find this one is exactly the same pattern as the doilies I received a week or so ago - but this is just one long runner, with a peacock at each end, and the stitcher has chosen a different colour scheme. So I didn't mind having it twice!
I arrived at the office about 1 pm, collected my roster, and headed across the road to a Salvation Army Thrift shop that had caught my eye as I was parking the car. Didn't find anything there to interest me, so I hopped in my car and drove about 2 blocks up to the next opshop on my list. There were two in a row here. At the first one I found two exquisite centrepieces - on with mauve flowers and the other with pansies. $4 for the two of them.
Driving on a bit further I discovered a second hand shop (different to an opshop, which are usually there to support charities). This shop was huge, absolutely chockablock full of junk! An older lady of European descent sat at the counter near the front door, and didn't even look up when I walked in. After stumbling around for about 20 minutes, I decided that as interesting as it all was, there was nothing that I needed/wanted. As I approached the counter, the lady looked up and smiled, and as I smiled back, I spied something on a shelf behind her. She asked if there was something in particular I had been looking for, and I replied "old linen - and by the way, is that for sale?" She turned around to see what I was pointing at. "Oh yes, you can have that for...$7 - is that all right?" I could hardly contain myself. For $7 I got myself a genuine sampler. Not just a simple cross stitch sampler, but one with hardanger, beading, and other intricate stitching. It was stapled on to a piece of masonite, which I suppose has at least kept it from being crushed. I took it off to scan it here, but the scan doesn't do it justice.
I found a few more opshops down the road, but found nothing to excite me as much as the sampler. All you ladies in Melbourne who are opshop-addicts, drive the full length of High Street, from Separation Street to Murray Road - it has to be one of the best streets for Op shops in Melbourne!!

I forgot to mention this piece last night on my comment. There are two pieces - the larger piece, and the narrower band at the bottom of the picture. I couldn't figure out what it was, but Linda suggested because there are two of the bands, it may have been meant for a blouse. I won't be making it into anything; for me it is simply a fine example of unusual stitching.
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This is the centrepiece I picked up yesterday for about $3, I think. It has the tiger lily motif at each end.
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This is part of the large doiley my home care lady gave me yesterday, with the sweet robin redbreast on a branch of blossom.
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Lots of 'eye candy' - with apologies to those on dial-up!

I do not often have a week like this, where I have so much luck at op-shops. Today (Thursday) I had to go to Northcote (about a half hour drive from home) on a work-related matter, so once that was dealt with, I had the afternoon free to do as I liked. I always carry my Treasure Hunter's Guide in the car, so I checked it to see if there were any interesting spots over that side of town. Well! Did I strike gold!! So I have quite a number of pictures to post here. But first, I will post the items I described in last night's post. After I do that, I will write another comment about today's finds, and then more photos. All aboard!!

A profitable Op shopping day..

For me, anyway. I spent Wednesday afternoon with Linda and Sharon, going out for lunch before Christmas swamps everyone. Sharon directed us to a small suburban shopping centre which had more craft and secondhand shops in one area than anywhere else I have been! The other two were much more disciplined than me, but I did enjoy myself. Unfortunately I ran out of money and had to borrow $10 from Sharon in order to purchase 10 copies of an English cross stitch magazine at one opshop. But it was fun to browse through them when we got home, and plan what we will stitch...dream on, Gina..
As well as the magazines, I found a doiley with tiger lilies on it, a small cloth with roses in cross stitch, and at the craft (patchwork) shop I found a Semco traced linen kit of teacups, and a Leisure Arts cross stitch chart that I had been unsuccessfully bidding for on eBay in the past. As if I need any more kits and charts, but it is nice to have a choice. All right, MANY choices! My latest acquisitions are soaking in Napisan right now, so as soon as they are pressed I will scan them and post here.
That reminds me - I came by another doiley today, that is also soaking in the tub. One of my home care ladies had it on her table when I arrived this morning. She said "I was cleaning out the linen cupboard and was going to throw this out, it is so old and tatty now, but I thought you might like it". I did like it - very much. Yes, it is old (this lady has been married 60 years), the crocheted edge is coming adrift, and there is a small hole worn in the linen. But her embroidered robin redbreast is so beautifully done, it will be a lovely addition to my collection.

Picassa is working again, so here are two more pics.

When Picassa is working properly, I do prefer them, despite having learnt how to post photos via Blogger. So here are two more pictures. One is of the fridge magnet that I posted the other day when I hadn't quite finished it, but I finished it off today with a blue border, and put the magnetic strips on the back, which unfortunately, show up in the photo! Still, I think it is nice, and I hope my swap friend will like it.
The crinoline lady is one of a pair of the same design, on large white linen squares. If they were oblong, I would have said they are pillowshams, but as they are square, they are more likely to be antimacassars...sorry if that is spelled incorrectly, but most of you reading this will know what I am talking about! These were auctioned twice on eBay before I bid for them. I saw them the first time around, and the photo didn't look crash hot, so I didn't bother bidding. The next time they were listed, they were at a lower price, and the photo was a bit better, but obviously still not good enough for the other C/Lady lovers out there, as I was the only bidder. I am sure if the seller had scanned them like I have here, she would have sold them for a lot more, as they are really lovely.

One of a pair of Crinoline ladies won on eBay for a bargain price!
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Revised photo - finished article with border.
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FINISHED IT!!!!!!

Hooray!!! Finally finished this sampler at 2 am this morning, keeping Ken company while he watched an old John Wayne movie on DVD. You can't really tell by looking at the picture, but I used some of Pam's metallic thread in the word 'Cabernet'. I used one strand of metallic and one of DMC and it looks great. Hell to work with though, even with the help of Thread Heaven!
Now I have figured out how to post pictures here using Blogger, Picasa can jump in the proverbial lake. They have been offline for the last few days, and there are a lot of very unhappy people out there, going by their online forum.