Cushy number!

Seemed like ages since I'd written a blog post and now I see that it is! As it's some time since I did a show and tell I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

I noticed when I was plumping my cushions that my random occasional purchases are sitting together very nicely. Not one for having a matching set of anything I have bought cushions when I have found the right fabric or the right price.

There is no theme or colour combination I particularly look for but I do like the old fifties fabrics - barkcloth or linens.

I recently bought a couple at Spitalfields market and was told by the supplier that she buys feather cushion pads from an online source Marrick and Day who happen to be about half the price of John Lewis so I thought I'd share that nougat with you. Speaking of sharing nougat I should also mention to those who asked about lampshade making (previous post) that there is a company called "needcraft.co.uk" who provide everything necessary for making your own lampshades including the flameproof backing for the fabric or paper you choose to use. I managed to find several drum shades at the car boot yesteday that I will be able to transform.

I'm finding it more and more difficult to find lovely old fabrics but do still turn up the odd nugget like the one top right. Note to self - get sewing machine serviced and make your own cushions!
I really like the cushion with the band of fabric with a buckle detail on it.

and the yellow one with the crackle background.

I've had some luck recently finding old packaging - I've been looking for medical packaging as I often find that nurses and doctors collect such things. Anyone remember Electric Lung Mixture No 14?

Also loved the little Dairy Box that I found yesterday - I don't remember this packaging from the first time round so if you do please let me know. The mother of pearl button is just to show you how small the box is.

I've been asked to supply a new vintage shop locally so am busy trying to find new items and today have been asked to find items for a third shop! If you are local and would like to visit feel free to let me know and I'll send you the details.

And now I must prepare my basket of goodies ready for my weekend workshop with Julie Arkell next Sunday...Life's good right now - oh and Niobe's home too! Yay!

Hope life's good for you right now.

Love Wend

A merry vintage Christmas!

Merry Christmas from a very behind Ticking Stripes!

Please choose your own card

1. Naff decoration made from what was described as "old baking thingy" and vintage film canister



or 2. the festive scene on my latest vintage Christmas tin!



Comfort and joy to all

Love Wend

My new companion

I had a lovely time at Northampton's Vintage and Handmade Fair but completely forgot to take any pictures. So I thought I'd share my finds with you.

Do you know what it is? I've been looking for some of these for ages. I only managed to find one but snapped it up straightaway. It'll be known to the flower arrangers amongst you as a flower frog but either you dont see many these days or I'm looking in the wrong places. I suspect there are lots languishing in people's sheds. "And what are you going to do with that thing?" I hear you ask?



Why my dears doesn't it make just the perfect photo holder? I love this picture. Sorry it's not a good picture of a picture but you get the idea. A great snapshot of a little boy, yesteryear, seeing the world from a different angle!



In case I get lonely when Niobe's away at uni this typewriter promises to be "The good companion " in her absence. We'll see!


I haven't tested it yet and don't expect it to work for one minute so it won't come under the useful category. Or will it? I think it too makes a great display stand. It is currently holding the envelope of a letter (posted 1922) to my Great Aunt, who succeeded my Great Grandfather as Registrar of Births and Deaths locally. I don't have the letter, just the envelope but think that's lovely in it's own right.



I think it too makes a great display stand. It is currently holding the envelope of a letter (posted 1922) to my Great Aunt, who succeeded my Great Grandfather as Registrar of Births and Deaths locally. I don't have the letter, just the envelope but think that's lovely in it's own right.



Later this week I'm expecting distant cousins interested in family history coming to visit. I think they will like this little vignette incorporating her photo...

Button it!

Last week I was contacted by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Buttons) when they saw that Lesley over at Printed Material was about to take some buttons to THE TIP. Those of us in the society know that TIP and BUTTON shouldn't be used in the same sentence. Aware there was no time to waste I contacted Lesley on a mission to save these souls and she very graciously relented. She'd found a use for the white amongst the pack but let me have the rest. I've never removed my whites so was delighted when the buttons arrived and poured both coffee and buttons. The sorting of buttons is a serious business requiring full attention. The resulting collection of buttons was a joy to sort through - the whites dilute the colour of the rest! (I'm easily pleased!)



I found lots of buttons that I could add to my various categories assisted by my trusty baking tin.



I have collections of 50s and 30s, floral, leather and mother of pearl to name a few.



Buttons on cards can be found in little corners around the house



Also jars of specific colours a particular favourite being green.



Lots of the buttons I find that have been discarded are these very simple but colourful Jasons buttons. I keep these in a jelly mould ready to run my fingers through as I walk past. Again - simple pleasures!




I like the cards the buttons are mounted on just as much with the manufacturere desperate to convince the buyer to by his buttons. Fashionable buttons. Exclusive buttons



and on this one - The EGO brand! Love it.



I spent a happy hour sorting through before going on to examine some of my other recent finds. (Funny isn't it how "Happy hour" means different things to different generations!)



I never tire of looking at old packaging and advertising - be it paper, card or tin. How can I use this binding without damaging the wrapper? I might just have to leave it as is...



Might leave the Water Closet paper package intact too!

I found a scruffy little book in the bottom of a box and was delighted to find it full of colour plates of birds. The book is falling apart with a lot of marking but well worth 20p!





The paper bag below was holding some 60s fabric and I don't think had been opened since then - a 60s dress had been cut out and is ready to stitch up. Far too small for me though! The shop disppeared over 40 years ago to become Debenhams.



Also managed to find some more of the chemist labels I found a couple of years ago.



and some wonderful Weldons Shilling Guides once all bound together (at some point but now just a heap of paper which I needed to sort into some sort of order). These guides are instructions to the hobbyist in a variety of areas. These are just some of the great illustrations...



Crinkled paper shades for your piano candles!!!



Lovely woolly (scratchy) drawers for babies!



And the knitted knee cap. How on earth have we managed without these? Let me know if you need the pattern!

I collect therefore I am

Inspired by Lesley (over at Printed material - see side bar) I thought I'd share some of my collections over the next few months...Check out Lesley's blog for some great inspiration.



For a while I had a "thing" for art deco and went to lots of Deco fairs but couldn't afford the prices of Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper etc.

One day at a car boot I came across this jug at my car boot and the owner wanted £2 for it. It had a bit of a hairline crack in it but I liked it and thought it would look good with some flowers in it. When I got it home I did some research on the maker, Myott. It was far less well known than the other factories from the thirties and there were very few collectors (this was in 2002). It turned out that this was actually quite a rare design and a perfect one had fetched £200. I started looking out for these pieces and finding out more by talking to one or two specialists at the deco fairs and got to the point where I knew more than many of the non- specialist dealers in terms of what was "special" and what wasn't. Over the next few years I picked up pieces wherever I could find them at a good price. I don't have a lot of disposable cash but would occasionally have a car boot or sell some of my other "stuff" to fund my habit. (So far they haven't developed a rehab place for those of us who have addictions to "stuff" so I'm safe for the time being)



Over the next few years I acquired quite a few jugs, vases, bowls etc and had them randomly displayed about the house but it wasn't until I put them all together on my shelves that they really came into their own as a collection. The different shapes have names and would be instantly recognisable to other collectors. But there was a problem around the time of entering Blogland. I went off orange! I'd never been a fan of orange but something about the iconic combination of the 1930s orange and black had appealed. But I no longer wanted a room dependent on orange. I've tried to reduce my collection - but the market at the moment is eschewing Myott and the prices have dropped (for the time being). So at the moment the orange is packed away and my shelves have morphed to include pieces from some of my other collections.



The cage with the dolls in it? Well what would you do with a canary cage bought for £3? Any suggestions gratefully received. For the moment it houses my collection of forsaken souls with a nod to the old Victorian fair ground.



It's a grey day - time to sort out one of your collections?

Serious Booting Time is Back!

The car boot has been light on finds of late but on Sunday I struck lucky. It started with this Ladybird book which had lost its cover - although it looked uninspiring something made me look inside where I found pictures and a story which I hadn't thought about for years.



I must have read this in about 1963 -does anyone else remember it? I loved the illustrations then and once I'd seen one of the pictures the others came flooding back. Isn't it funny what triggers memory? A simple image buried for years was enough to take me back to my regular seat in the armchair curled up with a book and an apple - simple days!

Loving these vintage curtains - 3 of them. Irises and roses on a crimson background... not barkcloth this time but probably 50s.

I'm a sucker for black, white and red 50s ceramics too so this tureen came home with me ...

as did the Coronation and jubilee mugs - both pre war.

Also some bits of haberdashery including a bunch of crochet hooks which will be great for my crochet class tonight...

and some vintage advertising cards.I'll have to do a separate post about them! They appear to have been used routinely to advertise all manner of things and I was amazed to find these Ross fish finger cards!Lately I've picked up all sorts of these advertising cards - from fish fingers to batteries to stockings!

>

The little habd painted jug had to come home

and then I spotted a table groaning with Beryl ware. There was no way I could carry it all so I had to satisfy myself with a tureen and a couple of other bits

but my favourite finds were these delightful boats seen here ridng the crest of a cheap as chips Afghan!

Hope the thrifting gods have been good to you too!

All the fun of the (Northampton Vintage) Fair

Just pictures of the fabulous vintage fair last Saturday ...















And for me the winner of "Best item in show" (sounds like a prize bull!) is this delightful quilt by Debbie of Lalalibaby. Handstitched loveliness and backed with Liberty fabric - what more could you want?