Friday 18 July 2014

'Tweedy Pies'.......


look who just flew into my
etsy shop.......


....a little flock of 'tweedy pie' chicks.....


...made from upcycled vintage wool blankets......


....with the softest cashmere tummies and wings......


......but which colour tights to chose?

X



Sunday 13 July 2014

Talent For Textiles......



......if you love vintage fabric.......


......or vintage quilts..........


.....or beautiful habadashery......


.......and adorable fripperies.........


.....then i'd imagine you would've loved this beautiful fair......


.....set in the idyllic surroundings of brownsword hall in poundbury......


....with a cool breeze wafting the beautiful linens......

(three little pigs quilt so gorgeous 
on sue meager's beautiful stall)

....it was hard to resist all the amazing temptations.....


.....but i was very well behaved.....


.....(maybe just a little bit sulky
 to have to leave some of those quilts behind....
....oh and a cute peg doll in a top hat and crochet coat
that really ought to have belonged to me?!)


......and i adore my little scoop of foraged treasure....

(yes.....vintage french squirrel stamps.....
thank-you so much lovely washerwoman!)


.....off to stitch again......
......my fingers can't keep up with all this inspiration!
X




Wednesday 9 July 2014

by the sea, by the sea, i long to be.......

hurray it's summer!
....and summer for us happily means joyous long holidays and glorious days in our house in lyme regis.....
.....it's no coincidence that coastal towns attract a creative and artistic population....
.....i always feel more relaxed, more creative, 
more inspired when i'm here....
.....i even quite like the squawking of those wretched seagulls...
..and find myself channelling dottie angel....
..stitching and charity shopping in  
lollipop coloured vintage housecoats....
 ...or can sometimes be found sporting a nautical stripe 
with a jaunty kerchief ....
...one of my favourite treats is to go foraging at the bridport saturday market...
...you never know what you might find....
...maybe a crusty little white rabbit for the garden?
.....or a vintage corgi toy ice cream van...

...with sliding windows, mister softie posters and a little man who spins around inside?
...or maybe a little green sylvac bunny matchbox holder
 (thought it was for flowers at first...
....he's more versatile than i realised!)
...but if the market's not enough for you there is the amazing vintage quarter that boasts vintage and antique shops to tempt you to part with your pennies...
...this is my favourite....
 ....i never knowingly leave empty handed!
i love these stars....
but they are quite expensive....
....they just look amazing though 
so worth it i think?
....and of course no trip to bridport is worth it's salt 
without a sneaky peek in zeitgeist...
there's always a warm welcome from caroline...
....and lots of lovely items you won't have seen anywhere else....
.....so will just have to buy!!!!
...not that i spend my life
floating around vintage markets but....
....i'm just a bit excited
to be going to the
'talent for textiles fair'
in poundbury tomorrow!!
promise to report back or i might see you there???
X

Tuesday 10 June 2014

...cabbages and roses summer brocante........

.....last weekend christina strutt 
(of cabbages and roses fame)
...opened the doors and beautiful grounds 
of her stunning home near bath....
...to host a summer brocante.....
...as you can imagine...
...there was much hype and excitement for this event...
...and the setting was nothing short of idyllic...
....the drive to the fair was an adventure in itself...
single tracked and higgledy piggledy.....
....the lanes were challenging 
and i was happy not to be at the wheel!
...once we'd managed to balance the car in a lumpy field
....we walked in the sunshine
....until the pathway opened up to the pretty venue....
....unfortunately we weren't able to go on friday (the first day)
....which was apparently absolutely heaving...
....and involved an element of ladies having elegant
'bun fights' over the c & r bargain rails of clothes....

...however...

the weather forecast for the following day was so bad
that many of the stalls packed up and returned home....
....and subscribers received emails basically
suggesting that the saturday might prove to be a bit of a wash out...
so i'm so glad we decided to 'risk it'and ignored all the warnings....
...the sun in dorset was definitely shining...
....and thankfully we were proved right!(phew!)
....it did mean that there were fewer stall holders....
....and pretty much all of the sale c&r clothes had been knobbled....
....but one of my main 'raisons d'être' for going at all
was to meet a special person....
...for quite some time i have been in contact with a fellow
old toy lover....
michele at cowboys and custard is like a kindred spirit....
....we definitely love the same things....
(see what i mean????!!!)

....and through emails and exchanged gifts...
....have forged a friendship...
...it was so wonderful for us to meet at last....
....and her stall was like 7th heaven to me....
....who to adopt?????
...i have been admiring this bunny on IG from afar...
... so when i spied him waiting for me on the shelf...
....he just fell into my arms....
true love!
...i also invested in some gorgeous fabric from
....but came away thinking i could've had so much more!!!
....these lampshades for instance....
....and a few of these beauties wouldn't have gone amiss either...
...and i'd never say no to a gil fox hat!
....gil was so lucky to be able to set up
in christina's tree house...
....she made it look SO beautiful....
...we decided we could happily live in there!
..it proved to be such a fabulous trip out...
....and certainly gave a glimpse into the ethos of 
christina's stunning new book....
.....beautiful surroundings...
....beautiful stalls...
....beautiful people.....
...and best of all for me...
...a beautiful new friendship!
X