Koumpounophobics beware!

Well, there's a catchy little title if ever I saw one. Somehow I think it unlikely that anyone will ever find this post after a Google-search for those words!   Anyway, if you are a koumpounophobic, the first part of this post is safe for you - I will give due warning when the things you aren't keen on are about to appear!

The weekend has been an exciting one for me because at long last I have a camera of my own again!  I am so pleased!  No more delving into Mr U-t-B's camera bag for his expensive digital SLR, no more swapping of lenses depending on what I'm taking snaps of and no more getting it wrong all the time!

I am now the proud owner of a lovely little Lumix...

We used to have one and found it very good, but it died after spending too much time in the concrete-and-sand filled pockets of my husband!  

To celebrate we thought we'd finally open a bottle of the Elderflower Champagne I made way-back-when (I won't put a link to the post as most of the photos have disappeared - anyone know why this happens after a while?)  We took it out into the garden and I tried the 'burst' program as Mr U-t-B popped it open and poured.  The camera dutifully took loads of shots, but I'll give you the edited highlights...

So what was it like, this delicately coloured liquid that had lain bubbling away in its stylish bottles inside the sleeping bag (my insurance against explosions) since late May?

I'd like to tell you that it was worth the wait, that the careful selection of ingredients and lavish care with which it was made had resulted in a brew par excellence.

But I can't.

It was horrid!

Maybe my pinch was too big after all...

Onward and forward!  Sunday morning we got up reasonably early and headed off to Guildford to my favourite car boot sale.

We were going to do the '£20 challenge' (Spikeyhead - whose family dreamt up this challenge - later told me that it's meant to be £1!)

If all had gone to plan, I'd have put our purchases - mine and Mr U-t-B - on here and got you, dear readers, to judge who should be the winner.  However, things once again didn't quite go to plan.  Here's my booty...

And here's Mr U-t-B's...

That's it - nothing!

The only thing he saw that he wanted was a hot water cylinder - well I ask you!

So I'll just have to let you enjoy my purchases.

First was a remnant of pretty fabric...

Then a couple of little bowls that will make nice candles...

Then a little Barbola frame...

Then a beautiful snowy-white, fine cotton embroidered and lace edged double sheet with two pillowcases...

And last, but by no means least, a tin... 
(Koumpounophobics, you might want to give the next bit a miss!)

...full of buttons...

...lots of different colours...

...lots of beautiful designs, including some lovely Art Deco ones...

Turned out to be a great opportunity to see how my new camera could cope with close-up shots...

Mr U-t-B ended up feeling rather charmed by the buttons and spent a goodly while helping me sort!

Aside from the buttons there were all the other things you normally find in a button tin - poppers and buckles, fluff and bits of perished rubber band,
crumbs and little metal heads!

Can you find him hiding here?

How good is this close-up?

I am truly thrilled with my new camera.

Make Do and Mend Monday

Every Monday, Heidi at 'The Cranberry Chronicle' posts about making do and mending, and I always love visiting her blog to see what clever transformations she has achieved.  

Finally today, I am getting round to joining in - though if I'm honest I didn't actually do this today, it's just that I can at last share it as it was given as a present yesterday.  I did do quite a lot of the work on it on Mondays, honest!!!

Remember this tray from the last car boot sale I went to?

It was good and sturdy, but somewhat damaged by spillages.

It got a quick lick of Annie Sloan paint, in Old Ochre, and then a protective waxing.

Then I raided the computer's store of old photos (I think you know how much I love these).  A selection were printed off, trimmed and 'artfully' arranged.  Next, a nice thick sheet of glass was cut to fit and sealed in place with some silicone sealant and quadrant beading.

Here's the result...

A 'Tree Tray'

(rather than a tea tray - gosh I'm so sharp I could cut myself...) 

of old family photos.

A Golden Wedding present for my parents from a good family friend, who has just come over from his home in Ireland for a visit. 

Definitely a worthwhile car boot purchase - I hope it will have many more years use now!

Don't worry _ I haven't forgotten I mentioned a giveaway!  I just need to rootle a bit deeper in the boxes, and make a little something that fits in with the theme!  Hopefully back with all that tomorrow.

Car Booty

I did get to the Car Boot in the end yesterday, and the rain held off until later in the morning when it sent me scuttling home from the allotment.  The  Car Boot was not as busy with sellers as the previous time, but I came away pleased all the same.

Here's most of what I found...

A vintage nightie pattern - not sure how with four and a half yards of material this is an 'economy' design, though.  I'm quite tempted to make this but know that Mr U-t-B would laugh his head off if I wafted into the bedroom dressed like this.

Then another pattern, for a 1 yard set of aprons.

50 p each pattern!

Next I spied these sweet coffee cups (on the stall of the lady I bought the 'Herb' book from last time I went)...

The jug matched and it did seem a shame to separate them!

The tray was only a pound, and it is good and solid.  I think the Annie Sloan paint will be out shortly...

Then I saw this sweet little doll. 

Her face is ever so sweet, and look how bright the colours are! (Even if she does look like she's got a nasty case of 'slapped cheek' syndrome.)  Her eyes are the prettiest of blues, and they work properly.

 Her dress looks original, though rather faded, and she has her nappy and slip too.  She's a 'Pedigree' doll.  She has lost her voice though!

I think she has spent most of her life just sitting there looking sweet as she shows very few signs of having been played with.  But she does have one problem.  She had a plastic bag of hand-knitted clothes...

..and out of the bag (in a rather gruesome way) fell... 

...one of her fingers!   

 I don't know what happened to her - maybe she put her hand in a fire, but she has a discoloured stump for a right hand...So she had to come home with me!

(It's true - up until the point when I spotted her problem, 

I was just looking out of interest 

(I'm not really a 'dolly' kind of person)

but once I saw her poor hand, a wave of sympathy swept over me 

and I found myself asking 'How much?'  

And the young man obviously wanted her to find a home, 

as the answer was  'One pound, please!')

Mr U-t-B had better get better soon, so he can accompany me on my Car Boot trips and restrain me!

Leaden Skies and Sunny Music

Awake rather too early today, and disappointed to see steely grey skies and big raindrops plopping into puddles (yes, puddles!) outside!   

I ought to be pleased - we've had practically no rain for weeks on end and things at the allotment are getting a bit trying.  

But I was looking forward to a mooch around the big 
Car Boot Sale near Guildford 

(Miss U-t-B is at a friend's and Mr U-t-B sleeps his way through most of the morning these days, so I thought I'd go and find some entertainment) 

but if it's wet, I'm not sure how it will be. 

Anyway, I have plenty to keep me busy here at home, as yesterday I wended my way up the A3 to Kingston-upon-Thames (makes me sound like some crazed, erratic driver) to visit John Lewis in search of some dressmaking fabric. It's nearly two months since I bought a little pile of patterns (see this post) but so far all I'd made was a little baby sundress (which you can find here - nothing like a bit of blatant self-promotion!)

The journey to and from John Lewis was made much better by the recent arrival of this...

Oh, yipee!  This was a great purchase!  

It's the kind of music that puts pictures (mostly of the grainy, 
black-and-white variety) in my head - which I guess from the title and the little intro to each track in the lyrics booklet, is exactly what it was meant to do.

Listen to this and I'm sure you too will find yourself imagining sitting in the darkly atmospheric, smoky bars of the 1930s; driving something red, sporty and typically 1950s down precipitous mountain roads leading to the shimmering Mediterranean; standing on an ornate balcony in New Orleans, watching the jazz band inside through the louvred shutters...

There's even a homage to the hero of Saturday evening television...

'Dr Wanna Do'.

It seems I am not the only one whose thoughts immediately turned to David Tennant when I heard this immensely catchy song - I 'YouTubed' the song title and look what popped up...

(Prepare yourselves ladies!)

Oh my!


ANYWAY...I digress.  And the sky is now blue and car-booting looks on the cards again, so I'd better hurry up with this!


So to John Lewis I went, and after a while of difficult decision-making I came away with these...

 This yummy one is to make the cap-sleeved top, middle row on the left. The colours are gorgeous.

The paisley was bought on ebay over a year ago - I bought the blue for the contrasting band to make the right hand skirt.

This one looks a bit boring here, but it's nicer in reality.  And it was only £4 the metre!!!
I already had this pattern - bottom left version is the one I intend doing.


I cut out the top last night and nearly finished it, so there will be a reveal sometime soon.


7.20!  Better get my skates on!

My little chip off the old block

After my grand day out on Saturday, it felt a bit self-indulgent to even think about going to a car boot sale on Sunday.  But it was the one I was meant to be going to last Sunday (Mothering Sunday, when I ended up otherwise occupied with the paramedics...) and Miss U-t-B wanted to go too. It was meant to be a Mummy-and-daughter outing, so it just had to be done!

We set off at about 7.20, as setting up is from 7.30 and we didn't want to miss any gems!  Of course, when we arrived, it was already in full swing - I'd love to know what time people really do arrive!  

There were more stalls than I've ever seen there before (there being Nuthill Farm, just outside Guildford, on the A3), maybe because it was only the second one of the season and with the weather so cracking, everyone knew it was a safe bet to clear out yesterday and car boot today!

Of course, you had to look past the mountains of plastic toys, the piles of clothes and the heaps of, well, tat, to find something desirable, but there were goodies to be had if you hunted.

Miss U-t-B and I had a companionable meander round the field.  In the end she spent £11 and I spent £3.50 - probably an accurate reflection of who has the most disposable income!

So what did we buy?

My purchases...

And hers...

Destined to go in a room with the cot she bought at a vide-grenier last year (That's another of her buys that I failed to get a photo of, and it's such an Art Deco beauty too! When Mr U-t-B is back on his feet and we get out to work on his 'project', I'll remember to take a picture of it.) All with her niece (due in June) in mind!

She did buy one more item - a tiny chest of drawers to either paint or 'Decopatch' but I forgot to take its picture.

A bit more detail...

A pack of nursery rhyme Happy Families with cute illustrations...

My favourite is Mary, Mary, even if she is quite contrary.

Miss Muffet's quite nice too!

Little Boy Blue looks as if he's been at the scrumpy, what with those pink cheeks!  I always used to feel sorry for the poor overworked boy, but no more...

Not sure about this Humpty either. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the contents of

that pipe...

 Hidden underneath the nursery rhyme cards (3 or 4 of each) was an unexpected set of 'Old Maid' cards.  These have different 'professions' on them.

 Female roles are limited to dancer, nurse, cyclist or old maid... Definitely pre-PC.

Who does this look like?

Prince Charles used to model for playing card illustrations it would seem!

Also bagged was a pretty sugar bowl...

A saucer-less cup with a dreamy swans-on-a-river scene... 

An advertising booklet (1920s)...

Great advice contained therein...

My favourite is 'Don't worry over trifles'.  I have a passion for trifle so this tickled me...

 So that was our little jolly! We were back home by 9.30 and ready to tackle all the jobs that had been neglected over the past few days (the shopping, the ironing, the washing to name but three). But those jobs always go with a swing when you've sneaked in a bit of preparatory retail therapy, even if it was at a car boot sale!