Swatches

This morning's post delivered two beautiful fabric swatches from Sarah Hardaker Ltd. This fabric is printed on 100 per cent linen. I discovered it last year and saved hard to buy enough to cover an armchair in the olive green colour. Now I am ready to do a second one, and I am going for a dusty rose colour. Sarah Hardaker is a small British company and the fabrics are really beautiful. Find more info at http://www.sarahhardaker.co.uk/ .

I won't be making the slipcover myself - sadly, my skills with the sewing machine extend only to going in straight lines - so to compensate, I got busy with my staplegun last night and covered an old stool with a fabric remnant from the last chair. I have been meaning to do this for so long, and it was great to get down to it at last. The results don't bear close scrutiny (you can see a brass tack that I couldn't quite conceal under my trim), but it was really satisfying and the only cost was £4.99 for a pot of Copydex glue...
I know everyone is going Fifties and retro in their interiors now, but I still have a great fondness for these sludgy pastel colours and polka dots.

Persephone diary

I first discovered Persephone Books last year, and I visited their shop in Lamb's Conduit Street, London shortly afterwards. It is a beautiful small space, a little away from the beaten track, with rows of elegant pearl grey spines of books written by lesser known or forgotten female authors. Each book has a 'fabric' endpaper at the front and back, using beautiful period textiles, many of which were designed by anonymous women designers.
This diary caught my eye recently. The Persephone Ninety (so called because the company now has 90 endpapers in various patterns). It costs £10, or three for £27, plus post and packing from http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/ You can find the shop at  59 Lamb's Conduit Street, London WC1N 3NB.

Vintage Welsh blanket

I have acquired this wonderful old Welsh blanket. I love the graphic pattern and unusual colours. I almost didn't buy it because it did not have a price on it and I was afraid that I would fall in love with it and then it would be beyond my purse, but I was pleasantly surprised. The source was the Lincolnshire Home Show at Lincoln Showground. I have bought many items here over the years (it recently changed location from nearby Swinderby).

This latest buy makes up for the fact that I missed out on a fantastic turquoise version when visiting a car boot sale near Hay on Wye (it was £6). And the fact that I threw away a funky mustard coloured  model three years ago (don't ask).

Autumn apples

So many apples are loading our tree this year. So far, I have made apple and blackberry jam, apple and pecan cake, apple crumble, apple pancakes, baked apples, apple pie and apple sauce and I've given some away. There is still at least half a tree left. They are late apples, beautiful to cook with...which is just as well really.
I made six jars of jam for 59p, which is almost food for free and streetcombing at its very best.