MY HAT PIN HOBBY.

Hat pins have been around since the 1400's,and collecting hat pins is very popular as you can find bargains to suit your budget.Pretty pins of brass with paste stones or steel pins with enamel or porcelain flowers or figures,can be bought for just a few pounds.The more expensive pins are made from gold or silver,CHARLES HORNER pins can fetch hundreds of pounds
Hat pins range in size from 6 to 9 inches,they used to be much longer than this,depending on the hair styles and the size of hat,they could be at least 12 inches or more.
In 1908 a law was passed to ensure pins were no longer than 9inches,as they were considered (by men !! ) to be lethal weapons,this was because of the suffragette movement in Victorian London.All pins had to be cut down to 9 inches or less,for fear of  punishment.
It is a rare find indeed if you come across a genuine very long pin,I do not know if this law still exists,??
Any pin collectors out there,let me know.

I have put up a few pins from my collection,cleaned them,for the occasion.!!
These pin are 6 to 9 inches,silver,some with amethyst,3 are Charles Horner,a Welsh hat,a stetson hat,sword,Victorian knot,green enamel shamrock,mother of pearl button back.
Georgian silver hat pin stand.

These pins are ideal for any one starting a collection,they are modern brass pins ,set with genuine old Victorian and Venetian glass beads,the orange one is real amber,these pins can be found for next to nothing. Not worth a lot,but very pretty.

These  are all stick pins,used to secure scarves,cravats,ties etc,they are also very collectable.
These are all solid gold and were not cheap !!
They are set with ruby,diamonds,pearls,amethyst,sapphire and opal.
Gold flower head and 2 horse shoes.
Victorian antique silver pin stand.

Hope this post will appeal to any one wanting to collect something,but does not know what,!! give it a go,you will be surprised how hooked you will get.

MY FIRST AWARD

THIS AWARD IS FROM SURF CHICK 100 ,Click for link.

I am so honored to get this award,my very first,I am so glad my blog is liked.I spent months blogging to just my own family as I did not have the confidence to leave comments on other sites.Now I have 20 regular followers and am really enjoying keeping in touch with people from all over the world. Please look in on surf chicks blog,she has such interesting articles and she makes beautiful cards.
Thanks again JO.xxx

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN

My grandson took these photographs last night,they are a bit out of focus but I have posted them to show the extent of the fire.
Every year the local sheep farmers set fire to the mountain,they do this to clear bracken,to make more grassy areas for sheep grazing.It is totally illegal !! but they do it anyway.There is a road running just down from the fire also some houses,very dangerous to drivers and house holders.My son ,who is a fire officer,(see blog-follow me' ome )  or known as Kipling,      was out for hours with his crew risking their lives to fight this needless fire.
The mountain is almost in our back garden,but thankfully the fire was well away from us,but near enough for it to light up the sky around us and I am sure my grandson,who was staying with us last night,must have been worried about his father,fighting the flames.
This morning,the fire is out,aided by some timely rain and the fire fighters are all home,safe and well,till the next time and there will be another fire because there always is this time of year.

D I Y ,USEFUL SEATING.

In this day and age where we are constantly reminded to recycle,this pouffe is not only practical,but is made from recycled materials.It is in the sitting room ,and sits at least 4 adults,is easy to make and can be covered in any material and pattern to suit you.Ours is covered in heavy gold brocade with gold tassel trim.

You will need 1 tractor tyre,scrubbed clean,any farmer or garage will be glad to give you an old one for free (how we got ours )
A wooden base,we used some left over marine ply.
6 /8 wooden bun feet,we used small wooden door handles.
plenty of old pillows,cushions,blankets,douvet /quilt or any thing clean and dry,suitable for stuffing.Family and friends will be happy to off load unwanted items,(as in our case )
Large old curtain(s) for cover
Old douvet(s)/quilt to make padded ,inner cover.
8 to 10 screws with washers,depending how big the tyre is.
screws for the feet
length of elastic
trim of your choice.

Having cleaned the tyre,cut a circle of wood to fit .
Screw tyre to base through the inner rim,use the washers over screw ,so that the screws do not cut into the rubber.

Stuff the inner tyre rim as tight as possible with pillows (THESE ARE BEST )though anything else will do.Then start padding out the middle.Make sure it is stuffed as tight as possible,or it will sag after a while.(i also put a couple of old blankets over the top,to cover the tyre tread )
Cut 2 circles from douvet/quilt to fit top of tyre,remember to add enough for the seams.
Cut 1   length of  of douvet /quilt to make skirt round the tyre,allow enough depth to skirt to fit under tyre base.

Stitch the 2 circles together,then sew on the skirt.
Fit this over the tyre and pull under the base.I used a staple gun to attach the material to  the base.Trim excess material.

Make a cover,as above,from the material of your choice,leaving enough depth to the skirt to go under the base and to make a hem for the elastic as this cover will be removable.
Add trim,screw feet to base,make a cup of coffee,sit on it and relax.

Please let me know if you do have a go at this ,as I would love to see a photo of it.

click on photo to enlarge.