~Catching Up~

At the end of a tiring week leaving home at 7am for work every morning (I look and feel rubbish!) I am quickly popping in to do a ta-da of my latest chair project.  All the chairs in this house are vintage ones which have had a makeover. I thought I'd show the chair I've painted for Laura's bedroom.   I posted a photo of this on Instagram earlier in the week.  The solid wood chair was in a family shed, rescued and given to me.  It was in bad condition with a PVC seat, but as you can see it's a lovely shape so just needed a good scrub, rub down and paint.

 

I used the Laura Ashley eggshell in Duck Egg blue I had left over from my sewing room chair project. The method here was 1 coat of primer, followed by 3 thin coats of eggshell, gently rubbing down between coats.

 

I then used fine glasspaper to distress the edges, and finished with a wiped-on coat of clear wax and a good buff with a cloth.  The finish is lovely and satiny smooth - worth the effort.

 

The seat pad was repadded with cotton wadding from Dunelm and recovered in this lovely duck egg check linen fabric (£19.99 per metre - Dunelm) I've enough to make some cushions too.

 

Just need to repaint her room now - but that will have to wait until half-term!

Hope you like it. 

Have a lovely weekend x

~Thrifty coastal find~

Thankyou so much for leaving bloggy comments, I love hearing from you.
I am remiss at replying but forgive me as I'm a whirling dervish with the paintbrush at the moment - chairs, walls, skirting boards -interspersed with a bit of crafting and much ebaying of stuff with the aim, of course of a simpler life...
There is definitely a 5 year plan with regard to coastal living, and I am determined to streamline and organise. For my coastal cupboard of loveliness, I found these late 60s early 70s tin canisters in the Care and Share charity shop in Filey on Saturday for £1

They have twist on lids and are in fantastic non-rusty condition.
One of my crochet WIPs is this cushion front in Sirdar Sublime yarn which is also *ahem* coastal inspired...

 

 

The colours are inspired by this collection of seaside prints from my favourite artist Tracy Savage who is based in Hornsea.

Not sure how I'll feel when September comes and my fix of pebbles, sea and sand are reduced :(

~I ♥ Vintage Knitting Needles~

Anyone else obsessively fond of colourful vintage knitting needles?
I have a lot of old knitting needles...mostly AERO metal ones from the 70s and 80s from my Nana and other family members.  I have also tried to get 'with it' and use bamboo needles - I like the look of them but I'm not a fan of actually using them.
How can you not like the gorgeous 1950s colours of these beauties...

 

I've seen loads at vintage fairs and on etsy for between £2 - £5 a pair, but mine are all charity shop finds - the kind of local treasure trove charity shops run by Nana's are the best, you know what I mean I'm sure  :)
10p to 50p a pair that's all...
I found some more today in my local shop for 10p a pair, which are currently soaking in fairy liquid.

I also found this vintage sizing tool at a vintage fair in York for 50p

There are modern variations of this for sale in most craft shops for a couple of pounds.
Have a lovely weekend x
It's raining here but the garden needs it!

~I ♥ Standard Lamps Part 2~

Remember my standard lamp from eBay? The one that turned out to be faux mahogany and faux working order...

It's had a sand down, a coat of (substantial) undercoat and 3 coats of paint.  I mixed some paints I had already to get this mushroomy beige colour which has a nice matt eggshell finish...

It's the result of Craig & Rose 1829 Chalky Emulsion in Deep Sung Cream

plus

Farrow and Ball Estate Eggshell in New White

It had a good result and the paint is a lovely texture and finish.

What about the vintage lampshade project? I have to admit defeat on that score. I watched several online tutorials and looked at kits, then I bought an old shade and stripped it down. I ordered some self adhesive vinyl from eBay and set to work with my precious vintage fabric piece. Unfortunately it didn't work out - what my son would call an *epic fail*.

I shall consign lampshade-making to the same place that my crochet-fear resides. 

Well, I can't afford £50-£80 that handmade shades are selling for, so I gave in and spent some pennies (£10) on this shade from TKMaxx, then added some ricrac braid and a bobble trim. 

The shade is probably a tad too small, but I'm quite pleased with it anyhow as it looks nice with my new wallpaper.

~York Festival of Vintage~

On Sunday we went to the vintage event at York racecourse - a fantastic day out and well worth the £8 entrance fee.  Lots of vintage homewares, furniture and clothes to coo at and covet.  I wish today's cars were as aesthetically pleasing to me as these old Ford Anglias. I could just hop into one with a headscarf and some red lippy on...

I got my fix of eiderdowns...

Of course, as usual at these things, too much loveliness and too little pennies - but I did buy a vintage Butterick blouse sewing pattern for £7, these recycled crocheted flowers for £3...

This linen floral fabric for my standard lampshade project.  A bargain at £4.50 I thought.

Three pairs of sugar tongs...

Daughter: "Do you really need those; you already have some?"

Me: "Yes"   (For my vintage tearoom/B&B of course)

It's also interesting to look at the work of vintage-inspired crafters and designer-makers.

Daughter L loved this memory quilt and took some inspiration from it for her Textiles 'A' level

I also met Kelly Reagon, the designer-maker of 'Martha and Arthur' , vintage-inspired children's wear.  Kelly has used her talents from the fashion industry to create a range of well-made gorgeous garments for children.

Childrens clothes in gorgeous fabrics

Kelly behind her stall,   pinafores and dresses in florals and  plaids

Martha and Arthur are in the process of creating a website, but can be found on Facebook or via the contact details below

Now I am off to carry on cutting out my prototype vintage blouse!

~Knitting Book Giveaway~

As promised here is my first giveaway of 2013...
It's a lovely craft book called 'Vintage Knit Knacks' by Sue Culligan, and you can read more about it here

I was going to have a gardening giveaway, but as Spring has not sprung and the snow and cold snap are forecast again this week, what better than a bit of knitting by a toasty fire?
Along with basic knitting advice, there are patterns for 20 projects including socks, mittens, bottle cover, cafetiere cosy, bookmark, gadget case, to name a few.
To enter just leave me a comment below before 12 midnight on Friday 22nd February.
Good luck
x Sally

~Pretty roses jewellery~

If you have a moment to pop over and have a look, I have some pretty jewellery listed on eBay
They have a real vintage feel, with resin roses and pretty bows and some with larger beads.

Many thanks for indulging my bit of self-promotion!
Back soon
Sally x

~Vintage Bauble Loveliness~

Here's some vintage bauble loveliness! I've had a few lucky vintage glass bauble finds via my local charity shop and the car boot sale earlier in the year. I love finding them and marvel that they've survived intact.
The tree's up early as I'm having an Open House shopping event on Thursday.  I've decided to go for the full-on (bad taste?) Christmas tree from my 70s childhood because it makes me feel nostalgic and happy.  The tree is of course fake, for kitsch-ness reasons , as well because I am unwilling to spend another New Year extracting hundreds of pine needles from the carpet with tweezers.
Here are some of my favourite baubles...

The glass birdies with feather tails were bought as a set from

Sugar Pie Lemon Drop a couple of years ago.

and the full tree with coloured lights...

17 year old daughter L says it's 'Soooo Garish' and wishes we had a normal tree.  Well I don't do normal, so there!

I've made some wool felt bunting for the fireplace, and found this little tree in the charity shop...

So pleased I found it as I'd coveted Thea's little red tinsel tree at Hearts and Bluebells...

 In this part of the world we call this festive prettification  'trimming up' - what a fab phrase.

What do you call getting the house ready for Christmas? 

~Busy making and crafting~

In amongst all the usual family stuff this half-term, I've made a few things to sell and also to give as Christmas presents.  I'm having a stall at J's school Christmas Fair, as well as a shopping evening in the next couple of weeks.
These brooches were made using Homemade Gifts Vintage Style by Sarah Moore . I used loads of felt, wool blankets, velvet, vintage fabric, doilies and vintage buttons.  I'm a bit too safe and precise with crafting, but I did try to be random with my fabric choices, which worked out better than over-thinking it. These will be lovely gifts along with some wristwarmers!

Some stockings made from wool felt - and I'm going to make some larger versions from a cream Early's blanket...

A hot water bottle cover made from a felted fairisle jumper (accidentally felted I have to say, but never mind)...

I love the velvet ribbon on this.  Remember to keep a look out in charity shops for jumpers suitable for felting. 
Is anyone else making their own Christmas gifts this year?
ooh and by the way, I have started work on the Lavender Attic shop, but being a technophobe it's taking me a while to plod through the process, but I'm getting there...

~Half-term catch-up~

It's half-term, which means time off work for me to catch up on stuff at home. 'Stuff' being household jobs like dripping taps, leaking radiators, overgrown garden needing putting to bed and an ironing pile the size of York Minster - you know the score. Plus household appliances going *kaput* all at the same time.

I am now also on a mission to make as many gifts as possible for Christmas, in the name of much-needed thrift, but also in the name of being grateful for all that we do have. We do not need big and unnecessary material spending - just time and a smidgin of love.
So, do you remember this pile of wool bought at a local car boot sale?...

Well, I taught myself to knit in the round using 2 sets of flexible needles in the Summer.  It was fiddly at first, but just remember  to use 1 set at a time - one is your working set and one is your sleeping set.  Detailed and excellent instruction to be found in this book by Loani Pryor...
Once again I am knitting wristwarmers; but these little beauties require no sewing up.

1 working set, 1 sleeping set - half the stitches on each set

A finished pair of these lovely wristwarmers finished

off with some vintage buttons...

The pattern for these wristwarmers is a lovely one found via Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits here
See you soon, keep warm x

~Shopping Event~

Tonight I'm selling my wares at an open house shopping event in York hosted by my friend Jo,
of Hello Lola

As well as a range of seasonal frangranced  St Eval Candles ...

Image from
www.stevalcandlecompany.co.uk

Lubylu rainbow candles ...

Image from www.lubylu.com

and handmade Zesty Soap...

 I'm taking a bit of vintage and handmade stuff too.  Including these cushions I've made this week...

I used the Vintage Caravan fabric with a 1970s vintage floral pillowcase, and a wool tweed fabric and wooden buttons on the reverse...

Also this little bunting cushion...

I'm hoping in the coming weeks that I will open a proper online shop on my blog too.
Have a lovely weekend! x

~Spread the Love not the Lurgy~

Last week of the hols and yesterday I developed tonsillitis- lovely red swollen spotty tonsils, a temperature, and feeling grotty.  I haven't been to the GP, just attempted a 3-pronged self-medicating approach...
1. Gargling with aspirin
2. Hot lemon and manuka honey
3. Ben & Jerry's ice cream :)
I feel a bit better though my throat *hurts*
Must be better by tomorrow as I am off here to the NEC for a girly jaunt serious buying trip to look at lots of lovely gifts and homewares...including my lovely suppliers at St Eval Candles in Cornwall.
Sewing in my pyjamas today I made this...

...made from vintage paisley glazed cotton and a felted blanket, backed in red linen.
So, I'm spreading  *the love* not *the lurgy* and wishing all you lovely folk a smashing weekend x x

~More thrifting finds~

...Following on from my last post, my recent finds have also included these 3 beautiful brooches from the same lady at a car boot sale.

I'm not sure I can part with the cherry brooch, but I will probably be selling the strawberry brooch and the pink flower. Aren't they pretty?

~Thrifting Finds~

I'm not enjoying this muggy, oppressive weather which just leaves me feeling sticky and moody! I've decided I'm definitely a Spring and Autumn girl.  This afternoon and evening I've been in the garage continuing the painting of my dresser, but I thought I'd share some recent thrifting finds...
A couple of vintage 1970s cellular blankets...this pink one's wool and is destined for eBay...

...but I'm keeping this blue one, which I got for £1.

  Some Sirdar Sublime and King Cole Merino Wool for £1 at the Car Boot Sale.

Vintage book about York printed in 1951, 10p at the Car Boot Sale.

Woods Ware tiny cup and saucer (50p car boot sale) for my expanding utility china collection...

I know often we thrifters have slim pickings, especially at the charity shops, but there are still bargains to be had, especially at the less regular boot sales.  I think there are more householders having a good declutter, rather than the regular boot sale traders.  I could have spent a lot more, there was a pre-war teaset and a bevelled mirror I fancied, but I only went with ten pounds!