Christmas preparations...

Mmmm - I am certainly not the best blogger on the planet or even in my little corner of it! However I have been busy getting ready for Christmas and trying to get ahead with my proper work in order to free up more time!
Recently I have had a stall at  two vintage fairs with my sisters

Not the best photo but this is one corner of our stall - merrily sold one tin that I now think was full of vintage haberdashery that I had forgotten all about.  Also sold my lovely 1930s patchwork quilt - I am now thinking  why did I do that!!
In true thrifting tradition, I have been making gifts for my sisters - as some may know we sisters have had a pound threshold for the cost of our presents for many years now - so making them gets round this very neatly.  Here is the patchwork that I  made and then turned it into a purse for one sister:

Thank you to Minxy Magic I went to Waterstones and had a gander at the latest Cath Kidston book about patchwork and sure enough there was  this very pattern - complete with buttons.

I have also been sorting through the Christmas decorations - one or two to get through!  Remind me that I do not need any more vintage Christmas tins or (lovely though they are) glass baubles - I counted at least a dozen boxes...gulp.  Each tin is stuffed with more Christmas items and lovely though they are it is becoming difficult to display all as prettily as I would like!

I particularly like tins that have an equally delicious design around the sides - just like this one!

There is something particularly nostalgic about an old tin and I love it when people gather and recognise objects from their own past on our shelves.  Still plenty more to uncover!

Vintage Autumn leaf china today

Today some friends came round for tea - Dom made a very nice Vicky sponge so my job was to get the china ready.  Not an onerous a task you might think - well it bloomin' well is in our house!  I selected one or two cups but then  rooted around and more turned up.  I now wish that I had chosen a different leafy tablecloth (I am sure that there is another one in the house..).

This has all been bought from various jumbles and car boots over the past few years.

Added to this it has been a lovely sunny afternoon here and it made this room very bright.

Forgot to take a photo of the cake and a pretty orange cake stand - now that I am writing this I have just remembered that I have a cake stand with nasturtiums on it!  Maybe tomorrow!

Lampshade making - simple but quite effective!

This is yet another of those jobs that I have stored away in my head - well today I finally got around to doing it.  These lampshade kits are very easy to use (I have not mastered the art of anything other than this cylinder!) - choosing the fabric is the most time consuming part.  I had some other 50s fabric in mind but thought it a bit too girly for this particular room.  Geometrics it is then.

This fabric was designed by Herzberger (something like that anyway) in the 1950s and comes in various colour combinations.  Makes for quite a smart lamp.  I have recently purchased one of those huge shaped lampshades that I was going to attempt to recover - the art must be in getting the bias right.  Any tips gratefully recieved.

Sewing with the wrong glasses!

Sewing whilst watching the telly last night - a dangerous game as I need two pairs of glasses (should get bifocals really).  So I either see a blurry telly or blurry sewing!  Well the result is this:

What I really need are two eyes that can move independently from each other!!  That way all events are covered!  On top of this I chose silly fabric for the white - too thick - as a result of that my fingers were aching by the time I finished the wretched thing!  Changed glasses at the final hurdle only to find I had missed all sort of stitches...grrr Still it is only for pins.  Made this with some little scraps left over from the CK make.  My sisters are planning a trip to London to track my purses down in her shop

Getting distracted....again

Meant to have a very quick search for a particular tea cosy (more properly a tea cover as it has no padding) didn't find the one that I was looking for but did remind myself of these:

Some of them I have used to make lovely (I think!) little bags (just right for little things) - so often these cosies are embroidered on both sides so double the value I reckon
I particularly like one with houses on:

This type always seem to have lots and lots of embroidery - the more the merrier!

Still clearing out stuff....

It can be tricky deciding what to 'hang on to' and what to move on to pastures new.  I keep a selection of nice childhood things that I think the children will want in later life - all too often I put things by the front door (ready for a new home..) and then change my mind.  I have already donated a little wooden cot to my local charity shop (who, by the way, are asking extraordinary prices for some of the things that I have previously donated) - this one is particularly nice I think.  I am thinking of making a little Miffy quilt for it. What do you think?
When I took this 'photo I rememberd a vintage Galt puzzle that I have - I do love the graphics on these puzzles, I have a few of them.

Then I started a bit of tin rearranging..then a whole morning goes by and I still haven't finished my bloomin' essay!

Getting ready for Christmas - starting too early??

Well I have already starting opening the vintage Christmas cupboard and sifting through the contents.  Vintage 'stuff' lends itself very well to the Christmas festivities don't you think?  I am in the process of sorting through my Christmas bits and bobs - but started making little Christmas displays that I can then photo for my Christmas cards.

This is a favoured Christmas tin - just right for mince pies!
This wreath I made back in the summer, on a very hot day.  I am just in the process of making some more as my sisters have persuaded me that it would be a good idea to have a stall at one of the popular vintage fairs next month.  I fear that I will only have the shabbier end of shabby chic to sell so I am trying to 'up my game'

In fact I know what will happen - my sisters and I will end up just swopping with each other and we might just as well stay at home.  I intend to remain resolute and clear some space in our house!  Watch this space!  Can I just add here that for some quirky reason I cannot comment on my own blog or the blog of anyone else - not sure why. Any solutions gratefully received.

Is the saying 'More is more' or is it 'less...'.? Anyway purses nearly all done!

There was a little bit of vying for pole position in these photographs!!  Not q-u-i-t-e finished (you might be able to spot this!) but wanted to take a photo of them on a sunny morning - all in rows like soldiers.  Off to a shop that had kindly ordered this batch - I hope that they like them because there are only so many purses that I can use in a lifetime! 

You may have heard of the shop that ordered these purses - if you see them when you are tra la la'ing around town please let me know.

I will post a picture of the backs of these purses as I think that the fabric is rather lovely

I see that this has been on Pinterest for some time and just to demonstrate that I will post this - where people do clearly read what I have written but then clearly choose to ignore it -  it was merrily repinned by the person who had read that 'I was not happy'...mmmm

lovely re-use of embroidered linens

29 likes    4 comments    107 repins   

Birdie Blue onto crafty

Wilma O'Dell LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!!!

Sandy Reid This is tooooo cute!

Melissa Meyer Ely This would be a great gift for a bride on her wedding day. Does anyone know of a pattern? I checked the host website and she does not offer any instructions, just pictures of her projects (and she doesn't seem to be too happy her pictures are being posted on Pinterest!). I have my late mother-in-law's embroidered pillow cases and these would be fabulous to give to her granddaughters.

Off travelling....vintage style

I have been going through things in the house to get rid of - rediscovered this lovely little suitcase in the back of the wardrobe (oh, don't pretend that you don't have a stock of stuff there too!) and decided that it has to go.  Took one photo - then added in the vintage Worcester Ware tin tray/table that I bought at the car boot at the weekend (by the way had sucessfully hidden this in the boot of the car - Dom decided to take a holiday from work yesterday and took the car to do the shopping...busted!) - then added in some 1950s fabric that seemed to match - then thought that the purses that I have been making might go too - then remembered that 28 years ago (yep, my mind works in a strange way) someone gave me these vintage holiday labels.....phew, my work is done!

Dom winced when he saw the tray and said that two of this type was the maximum allowed...

I love this Miss Dannimac - it is the most delicious yellow and perfect for Spring.  I thought that Bronte might like it as it is a great style...sadly she has told me that yellow is just not her colour.  I may have to 'move it on'...sniff, sniff.  The Horizon holiday labels were given to me many years ago - in my early days in London I worked as a nanny to the then casting director of the National Theatre.  Quite simply the best job I have ever had - I would go to the theatre at least twice a week and always go back stage and meet everyone in twinkly theatre land. Everyone knew Gillian and she would always kindly introduce me - though I was very gauche and had no idea what to say.  I was a little stage struck by it all.  Anway long before she was a casting director Gillian was a holiday rep in the 1950s and these were a souvenir from those days.  Of course I kept them as Gillian was so kind to give them to me!

Vintage cushions for a bit of cheeriness

Now I do like a bit of colour and have one of two (cough, cough)  vintage bits and pieces to try and introduce colour and pattern into the home.  Dom chose the decoration for our 'front room' (known previously as the 'other room' - this is because I was brought up in a two up, two down house and we had a kitchen and the 'other room' - gradually changed to being the 'other room' - now upgraded to the 'front room'. Phew!!).  Anyway Dom chose the colour scheme for the 'front room' and that colour was......beige!!!! Triple yuck - he is on the brink of capitulation as two girls and I keep on moaning and complaining about the dullness of it all.  I have been gradually sneaking in colourful, vintage (of course) cushions and Bronte sneakily said last night:'Let's bring colour in slowly and he won't notice...tee hee'.

Here is cushion number one:

Bag in the making

It would be very nice if my photos remained on my blog rather than be scattered to the four winds.  Thank you.

Now some of you will know that I am partial to a nice bag made from vintage fabrics - I have them piled on my vintage coat hooks (five deep plus in places!). Shocking really but I find it hard to give them up - even more so when I see the price of a bag in Miss Cath Kidston's Emporium!!!  Staggered that cloth bags, made with vintage fabric, cost £38!!!!!!  I spied a bag in there made from my old bedroom curtains - fortunately I still have my old bedroom curtains so....

Anyway the bag that I made last night has a vintage embroidered spring basket (topical you see!) and delicious wooden red button and ditsy daisy fabric.  Just right for trit trotting around Miss Kidston's Emporium and tut tutting at the cost of her items!!  You may have noticed that I am rather fond of exclamation marks!!!!