Car Booty

We went to Sully car boot yesterday. It was a good day with decent weather and lots of sellers. Last time we went, I came away empty handed, but this time, boy did I get some goodies!

Some glass dishes for £1.



A couple of cookery books. £1.50


I don't know when the Sensible Cookery book was printed, but one of my favourite bits in it is this section!


There are also pages telling you how to make a haybox cooker, and how to cook using a gas cooker. There are loads of recipes, some sound quite nice, others not so nice, such as Ragout of Cowheel. Also, I noticed that one of the recipes in the vegetarian section included dripping!
It's fascinating reading though.

I also got a preserving pan for a fiver, but the piece de resistance was this:


(not the cat of course, he's just helping to model it!)

and look what's inside





Someones old sewing box, complete with a mix of vintage and newer notions. Just £6. I'm guessing it came from a house clearance. I'm glad I can give it a new home.

Another wet miserable day

But I've been cheered up by a delivery from Tescos and the postman brought my latest ebay win.

Last week I was browsing the Tesco Direct site and saw a cast iron table and chairs set that I'd had my eye on, had been reduced. Twice. From £64 to £32 to £16! I ordered it straight away and it was delivered today. Now, I just hope that we have some nice weather for me to use it (along with my swing seat).

Then the postman came with my ebay win. A pyrex *Gaiety* lidded dish complete with a warming stand, still in it's original box. And it's pink, so it will match my kitchen perfectly! I love it already, and I think I will keep this one out on display instead of hidden away in a cupboard.

We didn't do any thrifting at the weekend, so I decided to learn how to crochet. My nan showed me how to make (appropriately enough) a granny square when I was a child, but I never remembered how to do it. I've been wanting to have something to do whilst I'm sitting with the family while they watch tv, and thought that it was about time I tried to learn to crochet. I'm not very good at knitting, the only stitches I know are garter stitch and, with a reminder of how to purl, stocking stitch, and I'm always either dropping stitches or somehow, adding stitches. Over the years I've tried many times, but I just can't seem to get in the groove, so maybe just having one hook instead of two needles will be easier.

I first tried learning from a book, but found it awkward to hold the yarn the way it said, and also found that there were a couple of bits that I felt weren't shown or explained very clearly, so then I had a look at the tutorials over at Crafty Daisies and found the videos were more helpful and I started to *get* it.
I've had a few goes at the various stitches, and then discovered another video tutorial on youtube that shows how to ripple, so I've had a go at that too, and it worked! So now I'm on the hunt for some nice yarn!

In other craftyness, I whipped up a new cover for my ironing board out of that thrifted curtain, so now it has a pretty pink flowery cover instead of the horrible blue abstract cover that it came with (that was also a pain to get on and off).

Now I'm planning on making a couple of cushion covers with a mix of vintage and new fabrics.

Still no photos I'm afraid, the camera charger still hasn't been found and it looks like I might have to buy a new charger. It's all hubby's fault, he was the last one to use it and he's really bad for losing things. He can pay for the new charger!

First Post

Welcome to The Cottage on the Hill.

Here I will write about my crafty endeavours, latest thrifted finds, cooking, and life in general in the Welsh hillside cottage I share with my husband, 15 year old son, a dog, 2 kittens and a goldfish.

Today is Sunday, and that usually means I will be cooking a roast for dinner, but J, my son, defrosted some pork chops by mistake a couple of days ago, (he thought it was bacon, and was very disappointed to find he wouldn't be having bacon sarnies that evening) so I need to use those.

I will be making spicy orange pork chops for the boys, and a quorn fillet version for me (I don't eat meat). The recipe is a big hit with everyone. I serve it with sweet potato wedges and steamed carrots.

As I won't be spending hours cooking a roast, I might also make some cakes. I got a new vibrant pink silicon bun pan yesterday, so I want to try it out. I also got a new pink mixing bowl with a handle and a pouring lip. It matches my other pink mixing bowls perfectly. I seem to have a bit of a thing for pink.


The coffee pot in the picture is one of my charity shop finds. It cost £2.75. I'm going to make a cosy for it, but I'm not sure which fabric to use. I just got some lovely fabrics from ebay and they're all so nice, I'm having trouble deciding, but I think I might go with this one.


and use this binding which I bought in Oxfam yesterday. 9 yards for 99p!


While in Oxfam, my husband saw this:


he knows I love pretty china!