Classic Car Boot Sale

Sorry for the delay in reporting back on my first vintage fair of the year but it took me a while to come back down to earth after my most successful fair ever! Great way to start my year eh? Big thank you to all who wished me luck….it worked!!

This was my pitch….bit of improvising as we weren’t supplied with tables this time and I already had my hands and shoulders full so couldn’t carry one. People seemed to enjoy having a rummage around the floor as well as looking through rails so it worked well. The sun shone on us all day and I sold lots of everything,met lovely people…..among them Mrs Fox Finery,who bought a dress from me. So great when the blogosphere brings us all together! I had no chance to leave my stall so only have a few images to share…..

This gorgeous girl loved her Hollie Hobbie dress and wore it very well I think you’ll agree….

And this little cutie went off wearing her new dress on top of the one she arrived in! Nice!

Walter the Rolls Royce was my neighbour for the day and went home with two of my Scottish cushions as that’s where his owner had found him.

All round it was a fabulous day and I went home tired but happy. It feels so good when some of the coolest people you will ever meet love what you create and then want to give you money for it!…..roll on the next!

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Loo(ve) Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry!

A match made in my 70s gift wrap loo heaven,don’t you think?

It was as a 15 year old in 1970 the movie Love Story captured my heart and I really did buy the album,book and t shirt! So the cover of my,not played since,vinyl had to have pride of place in the loo….

Hope you enjoyed your trip to the loo(ve) and agree its a fitting tribute to all those marriages since the 70s that went down the pan!….Cynical? Moi?…..never!

Sunshine,South Bank and much Vintage Attitude

Saturday saw me at The Classic Car Boot Sale on London’s South Bank. What a fabulous day it was….in every way….because after a nerve shredding day of rain on Friday I set off very early on Saturday morning with much trepidation and lots of polythene sheeting! But someone was on our side because as I stepped out of Waterloo station,the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Hurrah!

My stall was soon set up with fellow up-cyclers and next to an adorable little Fiat from 1972.

Fellow upcyclers.

I chatted to so many people that my voice was fading by mid afternoon and the queues stretched away along the pavement. I did get a few photos but would have liked more but of course I was happily chatting about and selling my wares.
Here are some images I managed to get.

Just wanted to partake of tea and cake here.

Shady character selling nylons on a bin!!

Scooter boys …..and girls.

My favourite car…..so cute!

Pink Cadillac…..of course!

And the nicest thing was meeting Kate from MasonBently who was the first person to follow my blog. So good to put a face to a name and here’s to our next meeting and the next Classic Car Boot of course!
I was very restrained and didn’t buy any clothes but when I saw this I could not resist….

I grew up with this magazine rack in our living room and have vivid memories of trying to say the French words as a child. It used to hold The Radio Times I seem to remember but I think it’s perfect for some of my vinyl collection….French music, of course.

The Three (Dun) Degrees

As regular readers will know I collect fabrics from charity shops and car boots and enjoy making them into something new,usually for girls or the home. However when I found this quilt cover a few months ago something drew me to it and I payed my £2 and took it home,thinking I would maybe make some boys wear one day.

…..and then a couple of weeks ago I received an email inviting me to trade at The Classic Car Boot Sale on October 12th on London’s South Bank. How exciting! I was to be part of a group of traders called Car Boot Remade,as we all use materials sourced from charity shops and and car boots. It was then I remembered the car quilt cover and a couple of boys paper patterns I had amongst all the girls ones.

…….and the dungaree was born.

And voila….The Three (Dun)Degrees were born! Bad retro joke I couldn’t resist….sorry!

….maybe this is why I can’t walk past a charity shop. You never know what treasures are within or when something you acquire from them will be perfect some time in the future. Classic indeed!

Fisherman,Friends and Fireworks

Had a fabulous time this weekend at the Ipswich Maritime Festival,held each year on the waterfront of this Suffolk town. I shared a stall with a group of friends,which is always more fun than flying solo. The fact that we were displaying our wares under 2 gazebos gave an opportunity to display my work in different ways and seemed to prove popular.

Charles and Di took pride of place and caused a stir!

Some odd items for sale including these trays of succulents which made for a great photo opportunity …..as did the surrounding dockside buildings….in various states of disrepair.

Oh how I love a bit of peeling paint!
After a good days trading and chatting with lovely punters it was time to enjoy,funfair,beer festival and fireworks….

Who doesn’t love a carousel ?

And here’s to doing it all again next year!…..

My Jane Austen Week

It all began with my friend Jo asking me to look after her hairy boys while the family went on holiday. I have done this in previous summers and always enjoyed my time with the dogs, Humphrey,on the left and Bernie on the right. I called this time with them my Jane Austen week as I would take lovely walks in the countryside,do lots of reading and some sewing and generally be a lady of leisure for the week.

The countryside seemed at its best and I felt rested and inspired all at the same time. It made me realise that we don’t need to travel very far to feel renewed and all this is 5 miles from where I live! We just need to take time to just BE!

And how about this as a reminder of how lucky we all are…..a little building in the churchyard used to educate the poor of the parish. Makes you think doesn’t it?

…..of course I wasn’t totally idol and had great fun with a pile of souvenir t towels and some lampshade frames I had been meaning to do something with

Such fun and I am looking forward to my next stint as Miss Austen……shame no sighting of a moist Mr Darcy…but a girl can’t have everything…can she?

Serious Addiction….

Less distractions this week as the sun seems to be staying a while. I have had a productive week,largely due to my ongoing addiction to vintage curtains and embroidered table linen.

I love this jacket pattern and decided to use these very fragile curtains and one of my beloved embroidered cloths….do not fret…I have many!

A bit of appliqué here and there to cover small areas where the fabric is very weak.

Then I delved into a stash of fabric recently passed to me from a lady who worked in the rag trade all her life…..more about her in a later post.

This was her sewing basket…makes my heart leap with joy! Such a treasure to be given.

…..and to round off my productive week,this little skirt.

…and now I am off to lay down in a darkened room.Phew!

Fashioning A Tablecloth Mk2

Gosh,the gorgeous weather has been a distraction,hasn’t it?lovely but not conducive to sitting at my sewing machine indoors. However I have managed to make a dress which I thought I would share with you. I fell in love with the print around the border of a tablecloth I found a few weeks ago in a local charity shop.the pattern I chose to use is from the 80s and I knew by careful placement of the pattern pieces I could use the print to good effect.

Some of the images I cut out and then appliquéd to create interest on the shoulder line.

…..and then I did this….again!

Rhubarb On The South Bank!

This is why I love London….

Yes…it’s rhubarb,growing upside down in pots,on London’s vibrant South Bank!

Hopefully that explains better than I can. What a great way to use old windows and no matter how small your outdoor space is,you can grow something.

This is at the side of the Hayward Gallery/Festival Hall and brings a real splash of colour to the grey concrete( not my favourite buildings from the outside)
And then the National Theatre has put up a showcase of costumes you can hire with a fantastic wall print surrounding it. Love it.

The reflection spoils the photo a bit but I thought they were worth sharing. These are more reasons for loving the city and all it offers……and then we had CAKE!!……

Balthazar Russell St,Covent Garden……but you could be in Paris….and did I mention the iced lemon and ginger tea?…..

Long Lost Find,Wombles Would Be Proud Of.

In a recent bag of vintage swag from a very good friend I found this little treasure. A dress had been cut out and even tacked together with just the facings left to sew on. From the pattern shape and price it was clearly from the 70s and had been in a paper bag for a few decades…..well I just had to remedy that and bring it to life,didn’t I?

Then I remembered a recent charity shop find and it seemed a match made in heaven. Wombles bed sheet from 1977,colour and decade perfectly in tune.

……and the best thing of all?…..it’s my size!…Underground,overground Wombling free,The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we…..