'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!)