Green Fingers

Well, after promising the earth in terms of blogging, I let myself down.  I was distracted by the garden and the fact that it has been sorely neglected.  There was no excuse any more and that's where I have been spending all my free time.

The photos are deceptive.  The flower beds are meant to look bare as I have been forking and digging out crocosmia and some other yellow flower that have totally taken over the ground.

And what a nightmare job it has turned out to be.  Bags of the bulbs and roots have been taken away by the council recycling people.  I know that there will be a few bulbs etc left but I am hoping that they will be easy to get out next year and I have (hopefully) halted the invasion!

New plants have been planted instead.  Now all that is left to do is to sit on my new bench and wait for the new plants to flower.

Still on the green theme, I bought this lovely felt bag thinking it was an old one.  1940s or possibly 1960s.  Took it home and nopw can't decide. 

Do any of you ladies agree with me?  I know it's difficult to tell from a photo.  But what do we think>  New/Old?

Old or new, Dulcie certainly took a shine to it!

To keep or not to keep ..............

Having been relatively restrained in the book buying depatment lately, I decided to have a browse on line and see what took my fancy.  I already have a book by Kaari Meng and love it - so that was the one that went into my shopping cart.

And don't ask me how/what I did but I also ended up buying this book:

The Kaari Meng book that I really wanted has turned out to be the one that I think I shall be sending back.  Although the photography inside is lovely, the project are beautifully photographed and made with equisite fabrics but all very basic.  So it's not for me.

I am more impressed with the book that I accidentally bought.  There are some ideas in there that I haven't tried before - but I think I may end up sending them both back.  Shame as I was really looking forward to a new read.  Any recommendations gratefully received.

But these lovely patterns are definite keepers

Aren't the illustrations just divine.  And not as eye catching but certainly worth buying is this one

I suppose it balances out:  two books out, two patterns in.

Left Behind

I was so busy the day before Love Vintage that I completely forgot to collect the embroidered pictures from the framers.

I picked up two embroidered pictures on my travels - very beautiful but completely filthy!  The linen was stained and brown, the glass was filthy and the backing of the pictures was practically non-existent.

I took a chance on them and bought the pair.  Several hours later the linens came up beautifully.  That left just the frames that needed work.

So off I went to the picture framers and tried not to cringe as I took out the manky frames.  The worst part about it was telling the lady that one frame needed new glass and PLEASE could I keep the mounts (as they were just the right side of shabby chic)!  Oh, and could they add new backs and hanging string please.

But the end results were worth it.  Shame they didn't make it to Love Vintage.  

But there will be other events.  So Cinders will get to go to the ball ..........................

Back with a bang

Well, what can I say?  I lost my blogging mojo for SO long and hopefully it has returned to stay.

Nothinjg like diving in at the deep end and update my sorely neglected blog with photos from Love Vintage which took place last Saturday.  It was a glorious day and the sunlight streamed through the windows of the Victorian school.

We had a wonderful selection of stallholders with just one thing in common: vintage.

So there was something for everyone.  What more could someone who loves vintage ask for?  

I was very restrained and only succumbed to a lovely chenille bag.  I was lucky enough to be given some money for Easter and this bag fitted the bill perfectly.  The contents of my handbag have been whittled down and transferred into my new bag.

So I would like to apologise my long absence and hereby do solemnly swear to blog more often.  But in the meantime, please enjoy the photos ............

Success!

That's it. After months of planning the day of Love Vintage has been and gone. And thankfully it was a very sucessful day. The night before was a sleeplesss night which meant that I was up and at the hall long before everyone else started arriving.

The doors were opened to the public and the waiting began. Thankfully there wasn't too long to wait before people starting coming in and looking at all the stalls. Then Maggie and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

We had 14 stalls all in and here is a selection of some of them.

A small portion of my stall with some of the vintage goodies that have found new homes

Maggie's stall which was also severely depleted by the end of the day:

Here's the lovely http://thewasherwoman.blogspot.com/ Liz who travelled to us with all her vintage goodies.

Helen had a wonderful selection of kitchenalia

Yet more gorgeous kitchenalia from Nest Living

As well as these and the other stalls, the other draw was the tearooms. The tables all beautifullt laid with vintage tablecloths from my personal collection, flowers on the table and all served on vintage bone china. A perfect way to end a shopping spree!

We had a fabulous day and would like to thank everyone involved (the stallholders as well as the customers who came through the doors).

Which means we are planning another Love Vintage Fair. Love Vintage 2 which will be held early next year.

If would like to have a table or find out more about Love Vintage - please get in touch. And if you have any photos that you took on the day, I would love to hear from you too!

Pretty Pictures

I know this is the second post in quick (for me!) succession for the Love Vintage Fair, but it is time to start really advertising the event and to get some posters etc ready for the event.

My friend and co-organiser came over and promptly started to re-arrange and dismantle my dresser and display cabinet. We ended up with some fabulous shots but in the procedss there was some chaos.
Nothing too major - but all my carefully placed items were put here, there and everywhere and possible items gathered from all over.

We have decided to print out postcards to distribute as well as posters and general flyers. The thought process behind the postcards was to make them as appealing as possible so that people would want to keep them after the event as well as maybe having them on show on a noticeboard.

Here's the sweet girl who is on the front of our postcard


We also have a collection of vintage and made items that Maggie so artfully put together.

And although this was done yesterday and the postcards have been ordered and the poster is in the process of being sorted, I can't bring myself to dismantle the composition just in case!

So what do you think of the photos - any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Do you think we have the "feel" of the event right?

Getting Ready

It's not that long until the Love Vintage Fair (Saturday 21 November). We have a wonderful selection of stall holders including Melanie who has a beautiful shop called Forever Vintage in Penarth. Which means I have to make sure that I have enough stock for my table.

I have been like a magpie, accumulating items here and there, wherever I see them. I thought you might like to have a sneak preview. So here goes:

First up a vintage 1950s cat string holder. I have a row of three of these and a dog in my kitchen wall.


Vintage Pomanders - what's not to love about these?


Next is a rather random selection of objects that caught my eye. Vintage saucers -just waiting to be filled with pretty gifts and hankies. This is only a small collection and I will be adding to it. So please keep popping back to see and hear more about the Fair!