latest thrifts

I've had such a massive run of luck with my interiors thrifting lately - the 1950's cabinet, bottles, teapots, jars and tins - that I thought a quick trip round the charity shops wouldn't really turn up much more. How wrong could I have been?!

On the way to toddler group on Tuesday, I saw a floral teapot in the window of the Rowans Hospice shop - a quick investigation made me realise it was a little pricier than I like to pay for thrifted bits, but I did find something far, far better.

I've wanted a globe to go on my makeshift mantelpiece for absolutely ages, so when I saw it just sitting there, all shiny and perfect looking, priced at just £3, I almost did a little dance of excitement. I could have posted a hundred pictures of this little beauty - the detail, drawings and type are all absolutely wonderful, and as well as the usual countries, there are also pictures of mountains, ships, trees and sea monsters. The globe itself sits in a little stand (bottom photo), which has the signs of the zodiac and the months of the year on it, with the names written in what I think are their Latin variants. It's made from a lovely solid wood, and had a sticker on the bottom saying 'Made in Italy', but I couldn't even begin to guess how old it is, or even whether it's one of those things that looks old, but was actually made a couple of years ago! Either way, I don't care in the slightest - it's beautiful and looks quite at home with all my other vintage bits and pieces.

 

I actually had to ask the Husband to put up an extra shelf for me, above the first one, as everything was getting a little too crowded. I've got no idea what I'm going to do once they're both full up - move onto a different wall maybe?

The second wonder-buy came from the Sue Ryder shop, on the way home from the doctors on Wednesday (a bad throat infection, boo). I had stopped to talk on the phone, and a mustard yellow tassled lampshade had caught my eye, but when I got inside it was one of those clippy-types, and wouldn't have been any good for a table lamp. I did however, come out with yet another tablecloth - I seem to be amassing a small collection of these, which I buy for fabric and then can't bare to cut up.

 

This one is really marvelous though, and I certainly won't be taking the scissors to it - colour wise, it's an almost perfect match to the other table cloth which sits on the back of the sofa, so I've decided to tuck it over the back of our little leather armchair. 

 

I think some more cushions are needed for this part of our living room, but it's slowly getting there. I've got a million different ideas, and no patience to actually wait to find the things I want - the only down side to thrifting is that you can't just nip off to Ikea to buy what you want. You have to actually wait for someone else to decide they've gone off them!

circular

Finally, after much procrastinating, and veering off onto other things, I can present my first finished-project-post in my new blog-home. The stripey cushion cover gave me a lot of grief from the word go - flat circles are (for me, anyway) something that require lots of concentration and careful counting. Not the best thing to do with one eye on the blogs and one on Eastenders, then. But eventually this evening, I decided that enough was enough, and that I was fed up with a cushion pad and half a cover taking up space on my lovely cabinet in the hallway, and I got my finger out and finished it. Hurrah!

I backed it with some floral fabric I bought in a charity shop - several metres worth for about £1.99 - which I've already used for one of the cushions I made for my Mum's birthday. Its a lovely thick cotton, and always sews together really nicely, and I do love the pattern. All in all, it's not the most spectacular of creations, but it's been going on for so long that I'm just glad it's finished!

I've also started working on a giant patchwork granny blanket, using the wool the Husband bought me for my birthday. The colours are utterly delicious, and it crochets up like a dream - all my trebles just sit happily next to each other, tidy little rows jostling together. How I'll go back to splitty Stylecraft wool, I don't know!

a grand day out

A week or so ago, the Boy had a minor hospital appointment (he's fine, by the way!), so the Husband and I both took the day off from work and after we were finished, decided to take him to the City Museum... and we may have bypassed our favourite shops on the way....

The weather looked promising, so I decided to rescue my favourite vintage jacket for the day. I love everything about it; the delicate print, the cut, the drape effect at the front, and also the fact that it's been re-made from a 1940s cape. The shop where I got it, Tango Tea, is my absolute favourite antique shop, and sells all manner of things from clothes and accessories to old magazines, newspapers, homewares and jewellery. I never ever come out empty handed, and this day was no different - I umm-ed and ahh-ed over a 1970's YSL leopard print top, but eventually decided that I really couldn't justify spending that much money (£32 - a bargain for vintage YSL, but we are super-super skint at the moment, sigh), so opted for a couple of handkerchiefs and a crocheted collar to sew onto a dress I've been waiting to rework.

The bottom one will (like so many others in my collection!) eventually be made into a cushion cover, and the top one is pretty small, so I've decided to put it in a frame.

We wandered down the road, and I looked around, thinking how lucky I was to live in such a creative and historic heaven.

 

As a bonus treat, we discovered a brand new cafe had opened recently, and it was probably the sweetest place I have ever had a cup of coffee in! Although, I wouldn't say we were exactly 'in' - it was also the smallest cafe I've ever seen, with only one table that was outside on the pavement! Inside, it was like walking into somebody's kitchen - the cakes are all handmade on the premises by the owner (whose name escapes me), and the decoration is retro and vintage heaven. I wanted to take some pictures of the inside, but we had caused a queue anyway, so just made do with photographing our lovely table.

You can just see the fabulous cushion on the window perch inside, and I loved the jug of flowers on the table outside. The brownie was deeeelish, and I have to say most of it was chomped by the Boy, who sat very proudly on his very own vintage wooden chair. I can't even remember the name of the cafe, but I can remember that it's only open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. That's the only downside about this part of town - there are never any set opening hours!

We finally made it to the City Museum, only to discover that the Boy's idea of fun wasn't exactly looking - he's more of a hands on kind of toddler, and after he showed us exactly how put out he was at not being able to climb into the staged rooms (the only permanent exhibition is mock-up house that shows living through the ages - how exactly do you explain to a two-year old that they can't climb into bed with the dummies?!), we decided that maybe he wasn't quite old enough to benefit from museum visits.

I've had some great success with thrifting this week as well - two new lampshades, a green printed one from eBay, and a tassled one from an old furniture shop, a new bedside cabinet for the Husband from the same furniture shop, and a beaded cardigan and 1980s dress from eBay. I also finally spent my birthday vouchers for Cath Kidston, and got the most beautiful tea dress. All in all, a grand week!

car booting

Southsea is quite renowned for its car boot sales, but when we went out for the day the other week, I got a tip off from a shop-owner that the council had STOPPED them, and the two that usually ran over the summer months were dead and buried. I must have looked on the verge of a panic attack, as he went on to let me know about a gigantic indoor boot sale that happened on the last Sunday of every month. Unlike the others, this one runs throughout the year, and means that even if its pouring with rain, you can still get your junk-fix. Hurrah!

I decided to wear my new vintage cardigan (with no coat!) that I'd bought the week before, because obviously indoors meant toasty warm. Stupidly, I hadn't considered that there would be a queue a mile long, and that getting there ten minutes before the doors opened didn't really qualify as 'early'. Doh!

The second photo above actually has nothing to do with the car boot sale, but we snapped it while walking down the road - how wonderful is the door knocker? And I love the little engraved letterbox too, I'm going to file that photo in my 'future home' folder I think!

Once we had queued in the freezing cold for what felt like days, the doors opened and before we knew it, we were through the main door. Then, more queuing, trying to bump the buggy up some steps, a 50p entry fee and....we were in! It started off calmly enough, but unlike outdoor boot sales there was limited space inside and we started to regret bringing the buggy (but not the Boy, he was on his best behaviour, takes after his mother for his love of junk!) almost immediately. There were heaps of people (some with buggies, others with wheelchairs), extremely narrow walkways and quite a lot of elbowing. I managed to come away with some real treasures, though, and the Boy was given an inflatable lemon and a blow-up guitar. Result!

I literally dived on the kitchenware - I have a real thing for olive green and mustard yellow at the moment, and I love the 1970s pattern on the biscuit barrel. The design on the teapot is quite similar to a cup I bought from a charity shop a little while ago, and I just love the colours.

The little car was a Matchbox original, and belonged to the son of a lady who was selling a whole load of trinkets and delights. I picked it up immediately, thinking that it would look perfect on the long shelf in the Boy's room, and she told me how it had been well loved. A little way along I discovered the engraved box, which was only £1 - bargain of the day, I think. It smelt slightly of sandalwood, and my Mum said it had probably been used to hold incense. It now sits happily on my shelf, holding nothing but looking lovely! I can never ignore a nice plate or saucer, and the blue ones above were only 50p each - I'm starting to amass such a collection that I've run out of room in the kitchen. Plate display ideas, anyone?!

I think my very favourite stall was the one where I found the button tin and vintage fabric. I picked up the tin originally, and asked how much it was, and the lady told me £3 - after opening it, I discovered it was full to the brim with vintage buttons, and she said she should have asked for more, but someone else had priced it. I said that as it was going to such a good cause (she was collecting for a local hospice) I didn't mind paying extra, and we settled on £5. As I was about to wander away, I noticed she had some fabric in a basket, and she asked if I did any quilting - I said I hadn't, but I do sew quite frequently, and she showed me these little beauties! I'm SO happy with the fabrics (you might recognize the green one from the previous post where I covered my old chair!), and they were only £1 each, for roughly a fat quarter sized piece. The lady told me that they used to run a family fabric business, and since retiring had been trying to sell off the leftover stock - we were talking about all the old things she has that used to belong to her mother and grandmother, and that her daughter hasn't inherited the love of old things, and keeps threatening to put it all in a skip! I told her it was criminal, and that I would see her next month. A skip!

 

On the way home, we stopped at our local furniture flea market, and somehow I ended up coming out with a 1950s cabinet and a nest of two tables! Cue much flustered swearing from the Husband as he tried his best to squeeze everything into the boot of our rather tiny car, while I helpfully danced about shouting, "be CAREFUL! Don't SCRATCH them!"

I love absolutely everything about the cabinet - the beautiful metal carved handles, the old smell, the fact that next to our MDF horror-furniture, it seems so sturdy.... When I opened the doors in the shop, I saw that someone had used either wrapping paper or wallpaper to line the shelves, but sadly it was damp and torn around the edges. Never one to be defeated, I peeled it off carefully, and think I managed to salvage enough to put in a frame on the wall.

The cabinet and one of the tables were quickly put to use in the hallway, housing my sewing machine and endless crafty bits and pieces. I know it sounds sad, but I get such a thrill from seeing them every time I walk past - so much better than an awful desk from Argos!

projects-in-waiting

I spent the winter working on a long list of crocheted hat orders, for a lovely group of ladies I know from baby groups and forums, and as a result my own projects seemed to fade into the background. I went through everything the other day, and have cushion covers to make, a circular crochet cushion to finish, dresses to mend and alter, furniture to breathe new life into and scarves to frame or make into some sort of soft furnishings.

I had a spare half an hour on Sunday, and so decided to give my favourite wooden chair a little makeover. It used to be my Mums, and at one point had a seat pad on - since I've had it, the seat base has been painted every colour under the sun. I was fed up with painting, and had considered doing a little decopatch on it, but wanted fast results (me? Impatient? Never!), so decided to choose some fabric from my overflowing stash, and get to work with the staple gun.

The staple gun really is my best friend - you can finish projects in record time, and there is no danger of anything coming unglued or unstitched. As you can see from the photograph above, somebody else had also been a big fan of the humble staple!

I was really pleased with the results, especially as it had been such a quick project. I love the fabric, which came from a car boot sale (future post coming soon!), and it looks just perfect sitting in the corner of our bedroom. Happy days!