Mission Accomplished

Inspired by all the red, white & blue that is everywhere at the moment I decided to sort out my stash of hexagons

Whenever I work on a project I keep every incy wincy scrap (because you never know when they could come in useful!) ..... in odd moments I sit and cut out hexis and store them in a box for when the fancy takes me to sit and hand stitch some more together.

I wanted to keep a little bit of randomness to the design and based the central diamond shape on a layout in an old quilt book.

There is a mix of vintage and contemporary fabrics ..... the blues are from a Clothworks collection, the stripe is from a shirt that my friend had ruined while trying to remove a stain (her husband hasn't noticed yet), the red floral is from a vintage dress acquired at a car boot a couple of years back

The blue rose fabric at the top is vintage Laura Ashley and the plain cottons are new Klona

Some Laura Ashley toile de jouy and a few pieces of Chinese Willow pattern

Another recyled blue paisley shirt

I didn't bother with wadding for a more lightweight summer throw and used plain blue cotton on the back.  The outlines on the diamonds have been hand stitched with blue embroidery thread and some left over squares of the fabric machined together and cut to size to make the edge binding.

I do love it when a plan comes together ..... I've managed to reduce the stash again and make something out of nothing!

Ooh forgot to say that the paper pieces for backing the hexis were all ready cut .... I found a big bag of them at a vintage fair last year .... somebody had precisely cut them from 1970s greetings cards, reader's digest letters and envelopes so there was some interesting reading as I went along too.

Now for the next mission ..... watch this space x

I'm just wild about Harry.....

Ahhhh ..... I fall in love again every time ..... with the sad news in the press today about innocent young children's lives being snuffed out I really cannot understand how people can be so cruel even in the most dire circumstances :-(

Our new little man is thriving and if he can sleep through the din in our house he can sleep through anything.  Nanny will be babysitting him and his sister next Sunday whilst the rest of the family head for Wembley.

Quelle surprise this morning to awake to blue skies and dryness so there was only one thing to be done ..... head for the hills and the car boots of course!

We weren't particularly early (I had two of the other grands in tow) but we all enjoyed the wander around and the littlies were on their best behaviour.  A few bargains were bagged and Jack was happy when he found yet another fire engine to add to his collection and Ellie found some gardening gloves for when she is in the garden with her grandad.

Nanny found a pretty Beswick toast rack and a pair of carved wooden Scottie Dog bookends

Now I can't wait till tomorrow morning to go off bargain hunting again this time just with Ellie who is becoming a seasoned professional and can spot a bargain quicker than me sometimes.  We had just said this morning that a basketball hoop would be nice to put up in the garden and lo and behold she found one and it was just a pound .... just have to get someone to fix it on the wall now.

I did manage to get to our bigger CS last weekend and ended up blitzing their bric-a-brac shelf ..... I was in vintage heaven

Yesterday afternoon was spent doing a few hours on the desk at Country Matters in Hexton ..... it's lovely to sit in the middle of a wonderful Aladdin's Cave of goodies with a cafetier of fresh coffee and chat to the visitors ..... even better when I am selling them some of my handmades!

I found a couple of bargains there too for myself

This lovely old wooden box is going to be used for display at the vintage fairs ..... haven't quite decided what for yet :-)

This afternoon I have been finishing some cushion covers ...... I saw the cuckoo clock design in Mollie Makes magazine and decided to design my own grandfather clock and mantle clock to compliment it.  Some old Aida and linen was dug out of the stash and teamed with some blue ticking fabric.

This week we have also welcome some more new additions to the family .... as if we didn't have enough mouths to feed my OH has acquired six Chinese Quail .... yet more eggs!

 

Well best be off to bed now if I am to be up bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow!

Have a good weekend whatever you are doing x

Such a perfect day .....

 ............ well actually a perfect weekend !

Yesterday was the first Northampton Vintage Jumble organised by Ann & Trevor .... the buyers were certainly champing at the bit and when the doors opened at 11 it was manic.  A bit of post Christmas vintage shopping withdrawal I feel and they were certainly quenching their thirst (in the tea room area too ... it took me an hour before I could battle my way through the crowds to grab a cuppa !).

Not complaining though as a lot of old stock was snapped up, did a spot of bargain hunting myself and had catch up chats with the lovely sellers.  Here is a collage of the day ...

On our way home we stopped in Great Doddington to visit Poppy Patch .... a little bit of fabric retail therapy and of course to spend some of my cash

The weekend just got better when I awoke this morning to another beautiful sunrise and sharp frost and trotted off to Hitchin for the Sunday car boot sale.  There I was ambling along having just bagged some vintage cotton reels for a pound when I heard a voice beside me say we will wait 30 seconds.  Wait for what I wondered ..... then it dawned on me that the church bells were ringing and when I turned to my left there stood Eric Knowles and a BBC film crew.  They were filming the next series of Put Your Money Where Your Mouth is.  Just around the corner by the river was another crew with John Cameron.

So good readers if you watch this autumn's series look carefully for a daft old bat in the background with a pink flowery shopping trolley and a sewing box tucked under her arm ;-)

All in all a great weekend doing what I like best which was a great pick-me-up as my OH starts a three day week from tomorrow into March with a whole week off at half term.  He also had a return visit to hospital last week about ongoing problems with his replacement knee .... looks like Mr Surgeon messed up and there is nerve damage so now he goes back for blood tests this week and a biopsy in February with the possibility that they will have to operate again to sort it out.

Keep smiling :-)

Winter drawers on ......

Well what a difference a week makes!

Went off on a little road trip to Hitchin flea market this morning and then onto Hexton and boy was I glad I'd popped back indoors to get my scarf ...... it was a bit taters out there.  Not much on the flea market this morning but they have started to put the Chrissy lights up and there was a new Pound Shop to investigate.

I arrived at Hexton Country Matters just in time for the first fire lighting of the season in the tea room and decided to plop myself in the rocking chair right next to it with a caffeine fix ..... I could have cheerfully nodded off and it was only eleven o'clock.  I'd taken another box of goodies to sell down there and will be taking my Christmas stock next week.

I love that when tea or coffee is ordered you just don't get one measly cup you get a whole caffetiere or pot full served with lovely china.

I have been making some Christmas stockings this week in a vintage style using some lovely tactile fabrics in autumn colours.

Think I am going to curl up with some Christmas pattern books this evening and get some more inspiration.

I will be in Olney tomorrow for the 2nd Vintage & Handmade Fair arranged by Ann & Trevor .... a fantastic friendly event with lots of lovely sellers, bloggers and of course vintage goodies to drool over.

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing x

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That .......

I've been for a country drive this morning.  We needed some supplies for the animals so I headed off to Wheathampstead via the cross country route which I always find quicker and a much more pleasant drive.  I'm not a very confident driver and hate motorways but give me a country lane and I'm off!!   My family reckon I would make a good rally driver ! I had to stop at an old friend's on the way back and this is the view from his garden .... I could sit and stare at that all day long.

Last weekend we went off to Flitwick to a new vintage & craft fair .... I was on a reccie really with a view to booking a table at the next one because it is only a 20 minute drive away and I am so pleased that there is another local one to add to the calendar.  I had a lovely chat with Linda of TabbyRoo who I will be seeing again at the Northampton Fair on 19th March and there was lots of lovely handmade items on sale and vintage bits of course.

I've been buzzing away at the sewing machine for a couple of weeks now to build up stock for the forthcoming Northampton fair and another that I am doing on 12th March in Potten End in Hertfordshire.



Some peg bags using pre-loved fabrics & trims mixed with some contemporary ginghams

A patchwork lingerie bag

The starburst quilt is coming on nicely too ... I just have to decide what border and binding to use and it will be finished

I always have a little basket of something to fiddle with in front of the goggle box in the evenings and my hexi collection is coming on nicely and using up lots of remnants too.

On the way home on Saturday we stopped in Hexton at a little craft co-operative that is in the old Village Hall .... Country Matters is an Aladdin's Cave with a good mix of vintage and hand crafted items. I am going down there again in the morning to sign up so that I can place some of my work in there ... more on that later.    I spied this little bunny on the way out and with a price tag of just £3 he had to come home with me ....

Now I just have to keep myself away from the choc egg counter till a little closer to Easter ;-)

I bought this Amarylis in our local greengrocers a couple of weeks ago .... it now has four enormous blooms on the top and the little second sprout is now as tall as this one and about to burst open.

Another sign of Spring ..... the rhubarb is sprouting ..... better start planning this year's planting ..... why aren't there enough hours in a day ????

A big round of applause please ....

Not for me but for Sian over at Diary of a Tinyholder who is working relentlessly at the moment to raise funds for the Alzheimers Society .... such a worthwhile cause I am sure you will all agree.  I should think every family in the land has been touched in some way or another by this cruel disease ... my own nan, mother in law and sister in law all succumbed to its evil clutches at the end of their lives.

At the end of last year I bought some tickets for Sian's vintage eiderdown draw via the Just Giving website .... I am not usually lucky in such things despite how many tickets I purchase but can you imagine my surprise and delight when I realised I had won!!!

With all the kerfuffle of Christmas and snowbound delivery peeps I told Sian not to worry about posting it till things got back to normal ..... then that law of sod came into play on Saturday, the only morning I had gone out all week and what happens ..... the bliddy postman tries to deliver it .... aghhhhh  ..... frustration, now I had to wait until today to go to the sorting office and collect it.

Well it was worth the wait .... excuse the quality of my photo as I have had to take them on my phone because I cannot find the download cable for my camera at the moment .... it seems to have disappeared in the black hole that is my home.

Are you ready ?????

Pretty pink floral cotton with a peachy frilled edging and feather filled and in lovely condition.

Don't be afraid to admit you are just a tincy wincy bit jealous and if you fancy helping Sian raise even more funds for some wonder Cath Kidston goodies visit this link NOW!

Pssst ..... don't mention the C word ..............

It seems blogland is split into two camps at the moment ..... those who are laid back and going with the flow and those who are stressing about how much there is to do.  So this post is a 'C' word free zone ! 

This life is not a dress rehearsal dear people so don't worry your socks off about the things you have no control over and concentrate on the things that you can do and changes that you can make.

One of my pet hates is waste.   Waste of any kind really be it food, clothing, possessions and most of all time. 

Since joining the world of blog and visiting crafting forums I have discovered Freecycle, Scrapstores and more recently Ecobees ... each has an ethos of avoiding sending unwanted items to landfill and offer a wonderful opportunity to recycle.  You know what they say about one man's trash being another man's treasure well it is totally true and I love nothing more than rescuing something from the past and giving it a new lease of life.

Over the past couple of weeks I have adopted this little Edwardian sewing cupboard and when the weather improves (we have a light snowfall outside as I write) it shall have a little session with some Nitromors to remove the peach gloss paint and then I shall decide on whether it shall stay as it was intended as a dark oak cupboard or give it a fresh coat of paint and prettify it a little.

A few days ago a vintage Silver Cross Dolls Pram was offered and my heart skipped a beat ..... I hadn't heard anything and presumed that another lucky freecycler was the new owner.  Until this morning that is when I opened my mailbox and there was a message inviting me to arrange collection.  It was described as a restoration project so I was expecting the worst but was delighted to bring home this little baby .....

 She isn't in too bad condition at all and with some TLC and elbow grease she will come up a treat

 The original shop sticker is still attached and the Queensway shopping centre was opened in 1959

 A lovely little Rose cartouche is on both sides of the pram

The hood and cover are in a brown suede-like fabric

 

I am really looking forward to starting on this one!