I like making things: Wednesday was a good day!

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Wednesday was a good day!

Tuesday, I went to get some groceries and some potting soil and pebbles. Whilst looking for the pebbles and soil I noticed that the pavers we have been buying for our front porch were getting really low and we needed another 30 or so to finish the job. I could only get 4 in the vehicle as I already had groceries in the back.

I came home and put the groceries away and we put the 4 pavers down.

I said to my husband that we needed to get the rest of them before they were all gone so yesterday morning we set out quite early, got breakfast in McDonalds and went over to the Ace hardware store to get the pavers and to see if they still had the birdhouse feeder they had advertised in their flyer. They had sent a flyer with their sale items and 2 x $10 coupons if you spent more than $50, even if it was on sale items. Well they only had 21 pavers which didn't come to $50 and yes! they had one birdhouse feeder left. Original price was $44.99, reduced to $29.99 in the flyer and I had my $10 coupon so I was so very happy.

This birdhouse feeder is supposed to be squirrel proof and I believe it will be better than all the others we have tried.

It is solidly made from all metal and the perch for the birds is spring loaded so if anything heavier than a bird gets on it it will close the entry to the bird food.

So then we went to Walmart to get some bagged compost and went in to pay and we saw this magnificent Cuisinart grill on sale. Reduced from $492 to $178 dollars. We couldn't believe our luck. We have been looking for some time for a new grill as our existing one is over the hill. 3 out of 4 burners do not work and all the burner covers have corroded away. In fairness we have had it a long time and it has been well used but it was time for it to be replaced.

But the prices had gotten so high we couldn't really afford to replace it, but when we saw this we couldn't pass it by.

The old one is in the background. Externally it looks great but the workings are shot.

Just waiting for a cool day so we can assemble it and use it.

Hope all is good in your worlds.

XXXXX

1 comment:

Cheryl KimbleySeptember 13, 2024 at 11:29 AM
Great finds. Love the birdhouse!
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As in the words of Thumper: If you can't say 'nuffin nice don't say 'nuffin at all.

Glad you stopped by

I started this blog in 2011: Ever since my Mum taught me to knit at the age of about six or seven I have made things. Back then it was doll clothes. I was also inspired by Mrs Levitt an elderly lady who had a sewing room in a conservatory type room on the back of her house. I would sit and watch her in awe as she sewed.

When I was a child living in England the school system was such that you started at 5 years, did two years in Infant School, then four years in Primary School then five to seven years in Secondary School, depending on whether you chose to stay on after fifth form to get qualifications to go to University. I can't remember much of the Infant school other than making the standard square doily thingy from fabric that had holes in it so you could embroider patterns into it. A bit like the modern day cross stitch fabric but with bigger holes and spaces to make it easy for small hands to use. I also remember with great joy getting a toy sewing machine one Christmas which sewed only chain stitch but I did make doll clothes on it and that was before I started Primary school. I do have very vivid recollections of Primary school and having sewing and knitting lessons. In Primary school I knitted gloves and made a dress from scratch hand sewing it all.

Secondary school continued on with sewing by which time I had progressed to using full sized sewing machines and was making more intricate skirts and dresses. My parents bought me a proper sewing machine when I was thirteen. I used that same machine right up until I emigrated to Canada at age forty six years.

I have always had a fascination for sewing machines and knitting machines. I bought my first knitting machine at around age twenty one from an ad in a newspaper for twelve pounds. I had absolutely no idea what one was just that I wanted one. I trundled on the bus to the address in the advert and handed over my twelve pounds having absolutely no idea what I had really bought. Fortunately it came with a manual. It was an aged Knitmaster, very basic and I loved it. I wore it out. Next was a Brother push button one which I didn't keep because it was at a time in my life when things were difficult. Later on in my life, around forty, when things were better I bought a brand new Brother punchard machine with a ribber attachment. I loved it and made many things. Life took a different turn, I moved countries twice and along the way, regrettably I sold it.

Now, through the universe's blessing I now have another machine. It is a vintage one because they stopped making them early 90's but works perfectly and I love it. So I decided to make this blog to document my knitting progress and include sewing projects.

In 2013: we embarked on a new hobby, leather-work. My husband got started with it and it drew me in. It is something we can do together. We have a workshop so have plenty of room to work. We added another workbench for me to work on in 2013. We already had one but we were tripping over each other both trying to work at it. We only make things we want to make. It is strictly a hobby. We made some things for our good neighbours who help us out a lot. I am also working on Christmas presents. So this blog now incorporates the leather-work. Knitting and sewing will always be my first love though.

Fast forward to 2023 and now age almost 75 years. I have seven sewing machines, four knitting machines, several ribber attachments and a garter carriage for one of the machines. I am blessed beyond words, but I know that I have more than enough machines to keep me going in my lifetime so I don’t think I will be adding to my collection any time soon……….unless a nice embroidery machine manifests itself very cheaply.

I am a Brit living in the USA, sometimes I spell like a Brit and sometimes like an American. Sometimes I use slang and even make grammatical errors. I blog for the pleasure of it and to record my endeavours in the event that my memory fades, as I am sure it will with more age. I will be able to look back and remind myself of the things I have made along the way. So please forgive my mistakes when reading about my life making things here in the hinterlands and I hope you get as much enjoyment from my blog as I do from reading the blogs I follow.

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Thursday, September 12, 2024

Wednesday was a good day!

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