Wednesday 23 October 2013

.....creative distraction........

..hurray the sun is shining again today...
...and the squirrel has been busy stitching....
..after my last batch of kokeshi dolls sold out so quickly
i thought i'd better replenish my stocks...

(quick little fabric purchase from 
donna flower's  amazing vintage fabric website)
i particularly enjoy making these smiley little ladies....
...matching the fabrics to the trimmings to the ribbons...
....and the hair of course!
...but it's quite a surprisingly time- consuming process...
so although i really enjoy all the stitching and piecing-together...
....somewhere along the way
i started day dreaming and got distracted.....

...and as if by some mystical fairy magic....
..these little christmas pixie hats appeared!?!?...
....i knew i had to re-focus and get back to my kokeshi's..
..but once i'd started....
...i knew i'd have to finish.....
...so this is my prototype mr.snowman for my festive range....
...more to follow....
....to add to my creative distraction
our poor dog tess hurt herself....
...waiting for an X-ray tomorrow....
....but feeling very sorry for herself....
....eventually I managed to focus....
...and finish stitching my girls......

....currently available in my
....what's been distracting you this week?
X

Friday 18 October 2013

...dot...dot...dash....


...it always amazes me how much expression you can put
into a little face with just a few
dots and dashes....

does anybody remember the 'shaker' shop?
...it was right at the time when the primitive/shaker/americana style was all the rage....

...one of these shops was right down the bottom end 
of the king's road in london...
...and we would trek all the way down there
especially to seek out these shaker dolls....
(christmas was the best time for this adventure)
...such simplistic 'stick man' styling....
...but i still love them now....
...and wish the shaker shop still existed!
(this is vintage 'heartsandcraftsbysj')

...this week a new little cutie arrived at my door...
....i have admired melodie stacey's quirky creations
for a while now.....
'
...but I could no longer resist when I spotted 'pebble' in her 
...her little simplistic face reminded me of my 
old 'sticky' shaker dolls...
....and this time of year with all the pre-christmas excitement...

....but that's something that never changes though.....
..i just had to share this adorable christmas window display
i spotted in castle cary....
....... and i'm beginning to get the buzz!

...have you started your shopping yet?
X

Tuesday 15 October 2013

popping in to the pop- up vintage fair.....

...yesterday my partner in bloggy crime miss daisy and i
were lucky enough to visit the pop-up 
vintage at the village hall fair in blandford....
as you know we were more than a little excited...
...so we took some calming deep breaths...
and made time for a coffee...
....before scrambling into the car and getting there ASAP!!!

..before we had even got inside we spotted liz and her
beautiful washerwoman stall....
i loved this tulip mirror...
...but started the 'shopping' ball rolling
with this gorgeous vintage embroidery...
( i think liz had a funny feeling i might like it!!)
(oh dear.... so predictable....but it was mine wasn't it?)

..the town hall in blandford provided the perfect backdrop
for the fair....
imagine our excitement as we walked in to the buzz of all this....
....we hardly knew where to start...
we were warmly greeted like old friends 
by the fair's clever organiser
who looked the part in a stunning vintage hat...


...this was the table set up for pearl lowe's book signing...
we would be back!!!......
oh my goodness there was just so much to see and fall in love with..
it would be impossible to show you it all....
so i have really tried to whittle it down....
suffice to say i know you would've loved it...
..the squirrel indulged in a little retail therapy
at marina's vintage jane pitch....
...i loved the pups of course...
..but i joined pearl lowe at her vintage clothing rails...
...and fancied a rather fluffy mustard mohair number...
(more of that later.....)
we were so pleased to meet ellie from
jelly jam at last.....
...ellie's stall was colour co-ordinated
and offered a wonderful selection of her homemade goodies
(she must have the most amazing fabric stash!)
mixed in with lots of retro vintage goodies....
...just next door to ellie we met the lovely sue from
her eclectic mix of adorable plushies and irresistible cushions and bags proved to be very popular...
...she even had some quirky lavender 'prawns'!!!
..these amazing hand stitched creations were the work of
....just had to have the squirrel didn't i?
...the whole event was so brilliantly organised...
 the talented sara sinaguglia was even there
running an informal crochet workshop
and kindly signing copies of her popular book
she was so friendly and her tiny intricate crochet work
was beautiful!
...after taking some fresh air and a few moments to reflect..
we returned to meet pearl....
we overcame our blushes(went a bit shy!?!?)
and had a lovely chat.... she was just charming...
...and told us about her new project which sounds very exciting...
...all in all it was an amazing time...
...we met so many people....
bloggers...IG followers...facebook friends...
i even met the delightful 'willie'!!!
(as charismatic and charming as you would imagine ladies!)

i managed to keep to my strict budget....
....although this was a struggle....
...i still seemed to do very well....
...i needed this tiny little sailor brooch for instance...
...i found lots of amazing embroidered trims...
(almost too cute to cut?)
...and my snuggly vintage mustard mohair cardigan...
....i will think of all my new bloggy friends
and this special day....
...every time i wear it!
X

Saturday 12 October 2013

....the vintage fair is coming to town.....

oh me oh my....
.....look whats coming to a town near me!



miss daisy and i have been counting
down the months,weeks,days...
...and now sleeps....

...it has been organised by elaine
there are going to be lots of amazing stalls
full of vintagey goodness...

...and pearl lowe...

...will be there signing copies 
of her 'vintage craft' book...


i will be wearing my squirrel badge...

          ....and daisy has crocheted
              this little beauty......


....so please say hello if you see us...
(probably hear us first due to excited squealing?)

can't wait!
x

Thursday 10 October 2013

...keeping trim.....

...meet my lovely mr.bubblehead....
...i breifly introduced you in my previous post....
...but here he is proving his worth...
...because he very much DOES have a purpose...
...i seem to have an ever-increasing collection of ribbons and trims...
...and he is keeping order for me...
...i found this pretty trim
 in 'the works' yesterday...
....i had also picked up this blouse...
(have a bit of a collar thing going at the moment)....
(not from 'the works' mind you!)
...whilst unpacking my shopping...
..i had a little inspirational moment...
.....all set for my girly lunch date today!
nothing is safe from embellishments in this house!
x









Tuesday 8 October 2013

...i don't know why i love you......

...but i do...
...you have no real purpose...
...or function in my life..
...but somehow i feel i need you....

...it may be that i foresee a future
for us together at some later date...
....or that you just always seem to
bring a smile to my face....
...maybe i'm just too sentimental...
...and nostalgic...
....but once i have found you...
...i just can't leave you behind...
...these are a few 'keepers' that
i have rescued recently....
....none of them costing more than
a few pennies.....
...but i have just had to have them!
...anyone else have this problem?
X