Craft portraits!

Whenever I am charity shopping/car booting I always make a point of looking out for the at the books! It is there you will find a host of retro or even vintage needlework/crafting books on everything from needlepoint, macrame, patchworking, embroidery to cross stitch, cut working and lace and candle making. Over the years I have gathered together a little library of these and I am always on the the look out for more. These books from years ago have given me loads of ideas to copy but also what and how to customise and bring upto date... I have a feeling that a famous designer has recently taken these ideas and used them in her own books which she has produced recently.

I have to smile to myself as I noticed the otherday that at the front of the book there is often a photo of the artist at work trying out different sewing techniques, trying her luck at candle making or just working at her desk. These books are to me interesting social documents of how people perceived crafting and as now as there is such an upserge in using old craft techniques that new books are being printed... I am sure that in 30-40 years our children will be looking at pictures from our modern books and commenting on us! Well yes... I must admit that I have had my hair in braids!

Applique Waistcoat

This is the charming little jacket from showing South American scenes from rural Columbia. This is what I believe. Look at the way that these are placed, that is an art form that I think is just not recognised in the UK!

Bric-a-brac bonkers on the way to Bournemouth

We took a trip down to the seaside and on the way we stopped at one of our favourite places for charity shops, antiques, bric-a-brac and collectables! On the way to Bournemouth is Boscombe and Pokesdown. Now years ago before 9/11 this was a street FULL of antique and collectable shops as well as charity shops. After the terrible happenings of that day the town seemed to die. Before then American dealers would come to the shops with their colourful sticky spots, go in and place sticky round spots on the items they wanted and then have them put in a crate and shipped back. This they did in all the multitude of shops! Imagine being one of the shop keepers trying to account for all the spots!

I have been going there for nearly 10 years and it was sad to see how few shops there are now. But there are still charity shops which are plentful that have survived as well as the collectables shops! One of our favourite Cobwebs is still there and the odd new one is sprouting up. One so new as not to have a name yet. They seemed to sell very retro (sticking to mainly 60 and 70s) gear!

In my pictures of Cobwebs the owner let me take as many pictures as I wanted and as you can see he sells a whole variety of gear.... and one of the pictures you will see some flying ducks! Well they flew home with me...!

Fox Hunting Cups

I am not a fan of fox hunting you know! But I like the imagery that is associated with it. During the 30s and the Art deco period there was much production of these images...from textiles to ceramics to painted pictures. These are two recent cups that I bought in one of my local charity shops on one of my patchwork quilts which I recently made. I love the fact that there is two different images on the cups and saucers. I also have an embroidered tray from the middle 1930s, scarves and also a wrap around skirt from the 70s. I'll have to up load them soon so you can see them!

From small things grow big things....

Can you believe it! These are little Oak trees.... yes I bet when you have seen little acorns lying on the ground at the beginning of Autumn that you thought "oh I think I'll bury these in little pots and see if they come up"... (well you might have when you were younger). But I know someone who did, who still thinks he is a little lad! Dylan!

These are the 3rd generation of Oak trees that he has grown! It has always been his favourite tree and is always using Oak in his creative woodworking endeavours (Which I must say are amazing!) Also, I don't think he will live long enough to use the timber from these little things, the humble Oak can live for over 600 years!

I never in my wildest dreams thought that the first one would come up 3 years ago.... but I do now! As they have grown, we have planted the other sapplings around the South East of England.. in special places... knowing that one day when we aren't here anymore that those little sapplings were given a little start by .....Dylan!

The stool no longer looks broken or old!!

... the staple gun arrived... horray! Fingers crossed.....well not to bad for the first try!

Sewing Box

Well here is another project... I have been using this old box for years for my sewing bits and bobs..... now I have my staple gun and a different patterned oilcloth which I love all systems go! Shouldn't take too long... here is what the box looks like now!

South American Dress

Oh my lord this is one of my favourite dresses! I have never seen another like it! It could be that in the United States people would come across these often but in the UK to see South American Columbian folk dresses is unusal (at least in my experience!) This type of naive applique art is to me very interesting as well as beautiful. The quality of the workmanship and superbly placed mural type design is humbbling. It is rural subjects of farming, with animals, with colourful costumes and farm animals as well as birds and rabbits is charming. I smile to myself at the larger than life rabbit... wouldn't it be scary if rabbits got that big!!

I also have a little waist coat. Which I will up load under a separate post.

Every thing grows with love.....

I have this in my hallway to remind me everytime I look at it that living with love in your life is so important... not necessarily for another person even but love and passion for something from diverse as cars, numbers, buses, textiles to cross stitch!... to me that is what living is about....!

Another charity shop find! Long live cross stitch. Funnily enough, I never was very into cross stitch but have recently come across some really love examples in the charity shops around London.

Bluebell beauty

At the beginning of the year I moved into my little flat with a garden and it was Winter! I thought...hmm it would be lovely to see flowers in the Spring. On a whim I bought some Bluebell bulbs and planted them in January! Low and behold they actually came up! These are a few of them My friend, he loves bluebells and I must agree they are amazing... he sent me a picture of a Bluebell wood, maybe one day I will get a chance to walk in one!... makes you happy to be alive!

Daffodil Delights

I love this tapestry! The colours and movement well...it just brightens up my living room!

Now.. if only I could read this book.....

This is a fantantic book from the Neatherlands published in the 70s with loads of before it's time styling or really styling that stylist must feast on now!..... a colleague, Eric says that some of the titles include....'antique and second hand'..'folk'..'sport'..... I don't think that I could expect him to read me the whole book... or could I??

Tapestry

I was in a junk shop and saw this just laying on the floor! I admire very much the beauty that is found in 'old' tapestries of past times and this is one of my most treasured. I think that it is probably late Victorian or Edwardian. I love this!... not just for the workmanship that looks freeform to me but also the moulded frame!

BAGS GALORE 1

Last year a friend of mine suggested that I could exhibit my handmade and recycled/reconditioned bags in a gallery that she knew. I had recently been making felt flowers (out of old jumpers) and decided to put them onto vintage and contemporary bags. I worked hard to get them ready to exhibit, with tags from my stash of fashion ephemera. They hung well and looked good in the gallery don't they are lovely to look at?! Take a quick look at the other ones that I made... here

A broken old stool!

At the moment I am really enjoying hunting out old furniture (that would be put in a landfill or just thrown out) and I hate to use the phrase ..'shabby chic' it up. Last week I found an old stool in a great little charity shop near me and whilst in the garden getting sunburnt, I rubbed down the wood and have painted it 'driftwood white'.... I bought some gorg oilcloth and now just waiting for the staple gun ...once I have that on will go the top! .... watch this space!

Well let's have a go...

So there I was talking to my new colleague about what we both liked to do and what we were interested in and I was waffling on about the sewing, crafting and charity shop hunting that I do when she suggested starting a blog...! What a great idea! I know I must be years behind eh! So go with it... is what I am thinking... so much to talk about so little time!