A bit of pretty

Little lavender pillows. Betty and Violet www.bettyandviolet.com

I finished off a huge pile of work late last night to make time for a day off today. Fellow blogger Foxtail Lilly and I set off for Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, to a Vintage Christmas Boutique fair organised by Betty and Violet. It was extremely foggy outside, but off we went into new territory and, apart from getting lost (I always get lost)  it was absolutely lovely. I haven't taken exterior pics, as it was so gloomy, but inside, a real treasure trove of vintage and handmade awaited. So many talented people making and displaying their wares....here are a few favourites.

These toile mice were gorgeous:

Lots of seasonal shimmer and sparkle.

Vintage dresses, shoes, bags and accessories galore.

Kitchenalia by Carole at www.vintage-treasures.co.uk  Her blue display....

And her red one....

And all rounded off with smoked salmon sandwiches and home made shortcake in the tea salon.

A thoroughly good day out. Tomorrow, it's Foxtail Lilly's Christmas preview, so I'll be getting my own wares ready tonight. 

Christmas covers

We were making the cover picture for the December issue of Nene Valley Living today. These are only my quick snappy snapper photos, not the real thing. Twigs and baubles was the theme. It took ages to get every bauble hanging in just the right position....but I am very lucky to be working with my friend and colleague Lesley Anne Churchill. 

Rag wreath

I've been busy making this rag wreath, triggered by an idea in the little Christmas makes magazine that came free with Prima this month. It only took me one evening to complete and it's a good one to do while you listen to music or watch TV or sit by the fire. The main component of my wreath is an old Cath Kidston night shirt, the softer the cotton the easier it is to tie on the strips of fabric. I also used up lots of stray ribbon, the kind you collect (or at least I do) from chocolate boxes and parcels, and can't bear to throw away. I bought the wire wreath  from Amazon. It started life like this:

I cut the fabric into strips and knotted them on to the wire. 

I squeezed on as many strips as I could.

This picture above shows the wreath just before I finished the final layers of fabric.

I bought three lovely craft books from The Works yesterday, one of them is the much talked about Granny Chic. It only cost £5.99 and then there was a 10 per cent discount on top. I picked up an unexpected piece of extra writing work last week, from a new magazine which contacted me out of the blue. So, the books were my little treat to celebrate.

Stuck in the middle with you....

I could hardly believe my luck when I saw this dress hanging in the charity shop. It is silk, with a beautiful floral pattern, very summery, but just too beautiful to leave behind. I'm usually a pretty good judge of my size and while many vintage dresses are too tiny to be considered, this looked about right. 

Later that evening, all was quiet. Husband was away all week working, eldest was at a Chelsea match for an 18th birthday and youngest was fast asleep in bed. So I decided to try on the frock. It was a bit snug, around the waist, but I thought I could just about get away with it. And then, when I came to take it off, I found that I was stuck fast. Absolutely stuck. The zip would not budge and the fit was so tight that I couldn't remove it without ripping that lovely silk.  
Half an hour passed, the struggle continued. I went to fetch the scissors and began to search for a seam where I thought I might do the least damage. Just one more try, and thank goodness, the zip moved, shot down, and I was a free woman again. I'm just so glad that I didn't try it on in the shop....
Does anyone have any idea how to expand the waist of a dress?

Rabbit, rabbit

I must admit, my blanket cat caused some hilarity at the tea table last night. Eldest son was convinced it was watching him in a not entirely kindly way. So I decided to try something cuter: enter the rabbit. 

Same pattern, different ears. I got the idea for these ears from a book I've had for some time now.

The rabbit ears in the book have a small pleat to make them hang in a suitably floppy manner. 

Whatever next??

Story of a blanket

On Saturday afternoon I went to an old fashioned jumble sale in a small town nearby. It must be the season for them, as I have noticed that some other bloggers have been doing the same thing recently. I have not been to a jumble sale for a long time, but it was quite exciting peering through the doors and seeing tables laden with heaps of clothes and bric a brac. In fact, the excitement was a bit premature as it wasn't the best jumble sale ever, but I did find a few lovely books, and this old wool blanket.

Now, I find it almost impossible to walk past a real wool blanket in any charity shop or car boot sale, and especially at a jumble sale, when the price is only 50p. It is a problem, because blankets take some storage and that's something I do not have any more, thanks to my vintage addiction. I tried to leave this one on the table, but I just kept thinking, '50p for a real wool blanket, 50p for a REAL WOOL BLANKET?' So I bought the blanket, promising myself that if I did, I would not move it around the house, I would actually do something with it. I washed it in a hot wash as soon as I got it home, dried it on the line, but there were some marks which wouldn't shift, so I cut it up into pieces.

And then I remembered the pattern for this cat....(yes, it is a cat, in case you were wondering, oddly enough I think it looks like a mongoose. I think whiskers might be needed)

This is a book that I got for Christmas when I was eight or nine.My Learn to Sew Book.  I made so many of the things in it, bodging my way through, just as I do now. But it is a great book, the instructions are clear, and in those days, there was no faffing about with enlarging templates on photocopiers. The template was the size it should be, so you can just trace the pattern and off you go. So, my Seventies cat became a 21st century version. I whizzed up his seams on my mini machine and then filled him with lavender. I love the clever design, it is a 3-d triangle, so the cat stands up on his own. And it could be adapted into other creatures. 

Whiskers are on the way....

More making

Saturday morning and the clouds are low, it looks as if some making might be in order this weekend (too wet for leaf raking after all). When I was making my Christmas patchwork baubles I found some old scraps of thick linen, off cuts from a stool that I covered a couple of years ago. I printed some words on the scraps, and then decided I would make some little tags and gift packs.

An old photo, a vintage greetings card, some music sheets, and a bit of glitter.

Anything that involves messing about with my stash of printing numbers and letters is okay by me.

I've also been sewing button cards. I have one more sale this year, on November 16th, and I want to include lots of smaller stocking fillers.

I've also been making lots more of these....

I hope you fit in some making time this weekend

November magazine

The new issue of Nene Valley Living is out now. As usual, I compiled our annual gift guide, using products from local independent shops in what always turns out to be a rather marathon photo session for photographer Lesley Anne and I. Although we style the shots, the products aren't necessarily the ones we'd personally choose, as we are trying to cater for all tastes. That's fine, it's always a challenge to make them look as good as we can. For the cover, I made some cookies, and slipped in a lovely piece of fabric, a 1930s print with a kitchen theme that I found at an antiques fair last year. I think it was £3 and I really love it.

Some of my other finds came in handy, too:

The dog and the bear were auction purchases and I knew if I bought them they'd have to earn their keep. The little tin stacking toys are also from my stash. Now I am thinking about a Christmas cover and I'm wondering if I can utilise those home made patchwork baubles that I can't stop making at the moment.

Seeing in black and white

This is me and my two best friends from university (that's me with the bow...vintage lace, I believe!). I've been making 50th birthday cards today, as these two both have their birthdays in the next two weeks. I trawled back through old albums and  made memory scrap books for them both. I still have letters that we sent to each other, tiny notes that we passed to each other in the library or pinned on the notice board (no mobiles, or even a house phone in those days), cartoons and drawings of people and places, scraps of poems that we either wrote or copied out, and issues of our university newspaper that we all worked on. Then there are our adventures in London, followed by partners, weddings, babies and now teenagers and even twenty somethings, in R's case. What a roller coaster ride. I need tea and a good book now. 

Weekend make

The weekend passed in a flurry of family activities, and by Sunday night, I was itching to sit down and have a go at a simple making project, inspired by a Christmas magazine that I bought recently. This was such a lovely, simple thing to do. I had a pack of cheap, bog-standard Christmas baubles in the cupboard, so I got those, and all the teeny tiny scraps of fabric that I haven't been able to bring myself to throw away over the last few years, just off cuts from various schemes of mine....

I just covered each bauble with a selection of square or rectangular shapes, and pasted them on with Wilko's wallpaper adhesive, which is my go-to glue of choice ;)

The result was very satisfying. I found that an old egg box was the perfect accessory to help me make the patchwork baubles, and to display them afterwards. 

You could make retro baubles, by theming your scraps, or just a random mish-mash, like these. I might also try just using one fabric. The possibilities are endless. Best of all, it involves fabric, but not sewing, which as you may know if you have read my blog before, is not my strong suit. 

Finally, some roses from the market to cheer up the house, and another of my cracked old jugs with writing.

Have a good week everyone

Birthday wishes

Birthday wishes to my Mum today. It's a special birthday, but she'll kill me if I say which one....we had coffee and cakes in a lovely new tea room in Stamford this morning.

Latte and an almond croissant, made properly on the premises. Lemon meringue for M.

Just too pretty to resist taking photographs.

We're going to see Warhorse in London next week as her birthday present, and there is another little trip lined up for her at the end of November, too. Clue: Christmas. Market. 

Home

Still feeling bruised after yesterday's news, so have battened down the hatches today. The house is full of the smell of ginger biscuit tray bake (my son's favourite and the easiest recipe in the world). I am planning the local magazine's Christmas issue but not concentrating very well. 
The table came home with me from the weekend's sale, It belonged to the stall opposite me, and I could not resist those little legs and the formica top.
Thanks for all the comments yesterday, it was really helpful.

* PS Full ginger biscuit recipe now in 'comments' section 

Something cheering needed

It has been a dripping, grey, foggy day here, so I needed to look at some photos that are warm and friendly.
I am feeling sad because we have just heard that an elderly family member has been the victim of a scam that has robbed him of a lot of money.
Please, if you have elderly folk in your family who live alone, warn them not to accept work from strangers who call at the door offering to cut their trees or replace loose tiles. 
My relative, who is in his 90s and physically frail, but usually very much on the ball, has been defrauded and intimidated by three cowardly men who knocked on his door. The fraud took place over a number of weeks. I simply cannot believe that people could be so cruel.
The police are involved now, but I wrote this post because I want others to be aware of this practice.