The love of little things - this week sewing machines..

Ah - there is something compelling about 'smallness' - I have previously posted one of our dolls houses and the things therein.  Today I will add in some of my little sewing machines.  Here is Little Betty - a bit dusty around the edges - but she lives with me in my sewing room.  She is not very good at sewing larger items.  She cost  30p.  She is dusty.

Little Betty used to live in the 'room of redness'.....

....the 'room of redness' also suffers from a dust issue.

What is not to love about a Vulcan!

I cannot find my photos of the Junior out of its box but rest assured it is lovely

The Vulcan is not dissimilar in appearance the The Darling...which is of adult size!

I bough this from a car boot and is complete with all its Bakelite accessories

Not the best photo - but in 'real life' this looks so moderrrn.

A few weeks ago  I came across this wonder in a charity shop - I have owned several little sewing machines over the years but never one this old with its original case.

Small but perfectly formed

I might make something small today...

A weekend of tra la la'ing...

Ah the sun is well and truly out and the clocks have leaped forward (so did not wake up at 4 but 5!  Hurrah!).  Finally got some seeds planted -  we had promised that we would do them extra early this year but the best laid plans...Did a little bit of sewing but mainly supped tea with friends and did little 'arrangements' around the house (nothing new there then!).  Still not decanted all vintage eggs from hidey holes but nearly there. I very nearly did not buy any tablecloths but luckily one came into view when the weekend was nearly done.  I also bought two bags - the Welsh tapestry one is not really my sort of bag (too refined really) but it ticked the boxes of cheap and pretty so....

 Just two stalls along there was this scarf for 20p and I thought that it went quite well with the bag - one day I will photograph my scarf 'collection' (I am wincing at that thought).

This other one was such lovely colours and it was only one of our English pounds - I have one or two of these wooden handled bags but....

Also in a proper shop ( this is such a rare event it merits underlining and italics) - I bought myself two vintage dresses.  Rare indeed to find old dresses that now fit my expanding girthage and rare again to find them, at what I call, a reasonable price.  I do realise that I have lost touch with the 'real' cost of things - just to highlight this I will share that I only have two pairs of shoes.  Both pairs are well over 6 years old and both were bought in a sale - I alternate shoes daily.   I think that I would faint if I had to buy shoes today. Dom hates my shoes...I am a bag lady...mmm...I am now wondering if I could fashion some shoes out of vintage embroideries...

The other dress is a cotton frock from the late 50s with a wonderful little bird print - nice and chirpy.

When I produced my purse to pay for the dresses the shop owner asked where I got my purse from...a bit of chatting later and she asked if she could sell some of my things in her shop.  I will be a little boastful here and say that I have been asked this before always shy away from it - today I said yes.  I decked out a little vintage basket with some items and tra la la'd back to the shop on my bike - I felt very Dickensian taking my goods to the Emporium.

By the way whilst sorting through tablecloths for tea on Sunday I came across the matching tablecloth to the bag that I made - surely you didn't think that I would have just the one!!!

Sad though that this photo is now on Pinterest - it would be so much kinder if people who used Pinterest asked first or even if you could leave a kind message here but the taking without asking is poor indeed

As my dad would say - this looks like delerium!!!

I must GET ON WITH PROPER JOB 

Finished business...

Thought I had better show a more positive side to my sewing and post some images of bags that I have completed.  I cannot find most of my older photos now... of course this might be because I have thousands (!) of photos all in one big file all unlabelled - needle in a haystack!  Here are the ones that I have managed to unearth

The embroidery on the  one above  is particularly well done and pretty - I spent ages searching for the right button I remember and it was on the brink of going on to the uncompleted pile!!!

I love the sweet peas on this one

Pansies nestling in the corner

I often spend just as long searching for the 'right' lining - this one has  vintage embroidery inside and outside!

The one above is a clutch type purse made for Easter time and tra la la'ing around.  I love the colours.

I particularly like big buttery buttons - I thought that this one went well with the big buttery flowers (I do like the stitch that has been used for these).  For the reverse I used some wonderful soft green vintage velvet so this is nice to touch and to look at!

This was made as an Easter Egg hunt bag (daft I know) and went tra la la'ing off to France I think.  The stitching was superbly done.

The one above was a Spring bag (as with purses I think that it is useful to change bags according to the season) - a nice Mother of Pearl button was used here and I used vintage embroidery for the handles, which you can just see.

This little red one hangs on our lovely 1950s coat stand when not being used - it acts as a daily reminder of the care that women (and  men too) have put into making the world a prettier place. It is the perfect size for a little (vintage embroidered of course) penny purse (I will post about those one day too!) and house keys and the embroidery goes all the way round.  I love this one very much indeed.

Blue birds are back in fashion I think - never been out of fashion in our abode - this is another little bag that I made for the children. You are never too young to go 'tra la la'ing'.  The lining is some marvellouso vintage fabric that I could eat for breakfast

Below is an example of my recycling the recycling that has previously been recycled.  As you know I use my old embroidery bags every day and for my shopping.  The bag was a little worn so I used buttons to replace worn out flowers and added a stronger lining to take the weight of the shopping!

Found a photo of my pansy bag with handles (just to show that it can be done if I really try hard).

I wonder if anyone is thinking that I make too many bags...

Of course my really, really lovely embroideries I have not yet used...

Put it all together and what do you have....a bit of a jumble but it keeps me happy.  Jenny could we please ask if you have now exhausted all the vintage embroideries in your house? Answer: Some things are best left unsaid..


 Most of these photos are already on Pinterest sadly taken from my flickr photos........I am on the brink of giving up!  If only I were an international super, duper business then I am sure I would love all the free adverts - sadly with my myopic vision I don't see that aspect...Watch this space as The Custards on-line shop will be opening very soon and then I will be begging everyone to put onto Pinterest!  Ho ho

Found this today on Pinterst - my lovely cushion reduced to a bloody pin.....

Let us have a cup of tea together...

Just passing by - thank you for all your kind words, I will respond in full when time and tide allow.  Let us have a quick cuppa until we meet again...lovely sunny weekend and able to eat my sarny outside for a change! Actually I had a cup of milk on Saturday - I drink more than enough tea!

Ah - here comes the tea, in case you were worried.  Different day, different tray!

I know that the dish (from the 'under the bed china range') on the left doesn't 'go' - it was serving a different purpose which I will add in tomorrow.  Note that I like my tea weak please and no sugar thank you very much. Until we meet again my old china....

My sewing room - not so tidy today!!

This shows my sewing room not long after we had decorated it (after a fashion) - so not quite as full as it is today!! Most of these photographs have already been taken from Flickr and posted on Pinterest - so I will ask again for this not to happen.  I was upset yesterday by my photos being posted there within a few hours of me taking them...mmm.  I was up at 4 today (yikes - so that might explain the tired and crabbiness) and was going to shut flickr and blog down in a fit of pique! I could hear my mother telling me not to cut my nose to spite my face so I will continue for the time being.  

Separate posting needed on tins I feel.

I hate it when the fabric I really, really want is at the bottom of the pile...you cannot see the dust that I can see....

In the photo above you can just see the remnants of how the room used to be decorated - I painted a piece of cardboard box to look like a fire so that Maille could sit beside it and make tea for us both...awww, sweet (also teeny tiny vintage oven in view bottom right!)

The photo below is a year or two old now - a few things have changed in here since..

Below is the truth behind my sewing - I spend a HUGE amount of time sifting and sorting.  I do work, I do have a proper job but sadly I only sleep about 5-6 hours a night leaving me with plenty of hours to fill with the sifting and sorting.

I actually have a teeny tiny space that I sew in - some might say that is because there is toooo much stuff..

Bitterly regret getting rid of my old sewing machine (I do have some 'proper' old ones mind) as this one has been useless - I bought it with my 'ebay money' - so felt quite virtuous that it had not cost me anything.  If a business would like to sponsor me with a new one I will sell my soul for that offer!!!

The shelf below does not change too much - except at Christmas when they have to make way for vintage Christmas tins of course! 

The awful truth of fabric sorting - this is what takes so long (separate post to come on embroideries..oh dear)

Looking back I can clearly see that things do not remain the same for very long in our house - the mantle piece below is quite different today

This is where I sit and trundle away at my sewing machine - it looks quite bare here, in the early stages of adornment....