Tuesday 30 November 2010

'Vintage at the Village' Booty

'My adventure yesterday took me past the rolling north Hampshire hills, dusted to the palest of hues by a heavy frost, then skirting past the tawny edges of the New Forest to Pamphill Village Hall, near Wimborne Minster, for the first ever 'Vintage at the Village' Fair.   It was a lovely journey, part of which I used to do regularly about 20 years ago, so a bit of a trip down memory lane.

When I arrived, the car park and lane were filled with cars and happy shoppers returning with their purchases.  I was pretty desperate to get in as quickly as possible before all the goodies had been snapped up.  I need not have worried as the stalls were still laden with lots of gorgeous items, though I later heard that it had been absolutely JAM packed as soon as the doors had opened, so no doubt all those early birds went home with some juicy worms!  I'll have to NOT think about the beauties I missed!

I had a little mooch around to start with, then spotted this fabulous French print.


The sort of fabric that I normally only ever manage to purchase a small piece of.  However on this occasion...


..it's trimmed with red lace round the edges, and pieced with wide panels of lace...


..and big enough to cover our small sofa (for display purposes only - it's too nice to be sat on!)  I think maybe it was a bedspread in its former life.  

On the same stall, which turned out to be that of Simply Chateau, were some strips of glorious ticking.  This one had to come home with me.


There's about a metre of the wider bit (on the left) and about six metres of the narrower bit (on the right).  I can think of all sorts of possibilities for these!  Both fabrics are now having a gentle wash in the  bath, ready for a bit of creativity!


Next thing I spotted was this little needlecase.


You may have seen similar on this blog before, but this one is tiny (about 10 centimetres tall).  And eminently copiable...

I think she was from Elegance Maison, though you know what it's like at these things, it's a bit of a blur! Might otherwise have been from The Washerwoman

Next came a little pause, sidetracked by the thought of an invigorating coffee and a slice of cake.  Okay, I admit it - it was really the cake!  Carrot Cake I chose and it was DELICIOUS!

Then onward and forward to find these two Grandmother's Garden pieces..



...from either Linda Clift or Lizzie Drake.
  
Other stalls included The Vintage Bothy with loads of tempting textile;, Lucy Bloom with all kinds of girly gorgeous-ness (a lovely peg doll I bought from her last year will soon be making a festive re-appearance!); jewellery by Mary Elliott and Random Jewellery; vintage childhood items from Yummy-Mummy; Wild Rose Vintage; bottlcap jewellery by Joanna Jacobs; and tempting tea party china and catering by both Miss Dolly and The Utterly Sexy Cafe.  A fantastic range!  I include them all, because if you are reading this you might well like to follow the links!

And last but by no means least, a festive touch was added to my bag when I bought these...


 ...which will look very good with mince pies piled on top.

And this (the likes of which I have been hankering after since last Christmas!)...


Both from Elaine of Ted and Bunny fame, organiser of this fabulous event! Congratulations!

A lovely little adventure, and one I will definitely repeat when the next fair comes around (pretty please!)

Monday 29 November 2010

8:57 am

The worst of the weekend detritus has been cleared...


The hoover has had a quick waltz around...


The ironing has been done...


The floors have been mopped...


I've even made some soup for Mr U-t-B's lunch... 


The sun is shining and there's no talk of snow here (or where i'm going, for that matter)...


I'm off on an adventure!


Thursday 25 November 2010

Time to prepare...

 Seems it's time to pull out a good thick pair (or two) of these...


Delve deep into the hall cupboard for one of these...


Discard the fashion footwear in favour of these...


Dust this down from the shed...


 Maybe even find these...


And be ready for some of this...



 

(Sorry, but the pernickety bit of me is deeply disturbed by this non-mathematically/geometrically correct snowflake!  )

Seems it won't be long before we can enjoy some of these...


Meanwhile I'm chuffed with the fact that I have finally got this framed (though not necessarily very well!) and on the wall - only eight years after I finished it!



Tuesday 23 November 2010

Can't-think-of-a-title Tuesday!

With a fourteenth birthday to be celebrated, we had a busy weekend! 

First, a joint birthday meal with friends for Miss U-t-B and her best friend (who happens to be two days older than her) at Frankie and Benny's, then what I shall loosely term a 'sleepover' for eight (can't really complain - they were all quiet by about midnight!), then a birthday tea for family on Sunday...


A good excuse to get out the decent china and make lots of sweet and savoury nibbles!

Delia's 'Posh Sausage Rolls' went down well, as did my old faithful 'Chicken Ribbon Sandwiches' (parsley butter on one slice, lemon mayonnaise and diced chicken breast on top of the second, topped with a third - yum!), though what I like best are the egg and roasted red pepper ones (which were my Granny's favourite).



The food went down well, but not as well as Miss U-t-B's new ski jacket which was, apparantely, being lusted after by her big brother!



Suits you!

The birthday girl was delighted and extremely surprised by her present, which was a decidedly-girly, PINK laptop.  She works very hard on her homework and we thought this would help her with her GCSEs, which she starts next year!


Here she is getting some expert help in setting up from big sister and her boyfriend.
My Mum brought along three teapots for me to make tea cosies for.  Two were bought in a charity shop and one was a very kind donation from our lovely friend, Sheila!  Thank you so much, Sheila, if you are reading this! 

I'm not sure that this one from the charity shop doesn't go rather well with my favourite Noritake teaset (seen on the table above, which sadly doesn't have its own teapot). Mr Used-to-Bees is coming round to Art Deco style and likes this too!



Yesterday I tried to gear myself up for the thee Christmas Fairs I'm attending over the next few weeks.  

First I melted the last of my soya wax, scented it with 'Fresh Cut Roses' oil and made 16 tea or coffee cup candles, most of the china gleaned from the vide-greniers on our summer holiday. 




 Then a spot of printing, Bonda-webbing and zigzagging...



'Back to Blighty' passport covers...



 ...and matching notebooks.



Saturday 20 November 2010

Happy Birthday!

Fourteen years ago today, this little bundle came into our lives.   It was a beautiful cold, crisp November Wednesday, and she was eleven days late.  But from the beginning, this Wednesday's child was more full of 'whoah' than the traditional woe - like she'd decided she'd never be late for anything again.


From day one she's been stylish...

 

Full of fun...


Always ready for a cuddle...


Our happy, hard-working, singing, dancing schoolgirl...
 


Happy Birthday Gorgeous Girl! 

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Guess what Wednesday

I was just about to put this in the recycling bin the day before yesterday...


...when I was struck with an idea!

First I peeled it apart, turned it inside out and re-glued it.
(Not sure that this was essential, but it made me feel more creative!)


Then  I three-quarter filled it with rice.


Next a strip of wool felt, some tiny scraps of vintage fabric (I knew these bits would have a use one day!) and a bit of Bondaweb.  




Then a bit of couching...


And a bit of embroidery...


Then a bit of blanket stitch, some carefully cut triangles and a bit of stuffing to create these...




 Mini-Cottage Pincushions!