#WIPsLinky No.4 - Christmas is a coming...

Did you know there are only 8 weekends left til Christmas?

That may be enough to strike fear into the heart of many a crafter - especially if, like me, you plan on giving everyone at least ONE Christmas pressie produced by your own fair hands!!

So most of my works-in-progress this month will be Christmas pressies - which means I can't show you them here as some of the recipients read my blog! (however they don't use Twitter so I may be able to share some on there - search the #WIPsLinky hashtag if you are feeling nosey!)

Now there is a definite nip in the air I would love to get back to working on my patchwork cable blanket. I have only managed one more panel since I mentioned it last and I suspect very little further progress will be made this side of Christmas!  Ah never mind - plenty of time to cosy up with blanket making in the New Year . . .

Last month's main work in progress was the fab retro dance dress I was making for the 60's Dance and Joe Meek celebration at Newent which was last weekend.

You'll be pleased to know I managed to finish the dress - sewing on the last button just hours before I wore it and danced the night away in it!  I was a little nervous that the poppers holding it all together would unpop in the middle of the Twist but it all held together!

the dress was made like an apron - over the head then the back wrapped round the front

not the best picture - but you get the idea...

 Making my own dress was immensely satisfying - I will definitely be doing it again!  Now I just need to hunt out some cool patterns...


What are you up to this month? Have you started Christmas crafting yet?

Blog your current works-in-progress and link up so we can all see what you are up to - there's nothing like going public if you want to avoid projects falling by the wayside unfinished...  (trust me!)

As usual I will add all your projects to my #WIPsLinky Pinterest board too - it's becoming a little #WIP treasure trove!!

Happy crafting!

Pretty Nostalgic & Clothes Show Live sewing competition

Fabulous magazine devoted to all things vintage, Pretty Nostalgic have teamed up with Clothes Show Live 2013 and are calling all crafters, makers, designers and customisers to show off their creative skills in a great new competition.

The Best Customised Party Outfit Competition is open to everyone and the winners get free tickets to Clothes Show Live 2013 where you will see your work showcased at the Pretty Nostalgic Customisation Station plus a chance to feature in the magazine itself.

What do you need to do?

First you will need to download an entry form from here and send it in, along with before and after photographs of your reworked party outfit by October 1st 2013.

There are three catagories - mens, womens and kids outfits - and the initial stage of judging will be based on this entry so make sure you include lots of detail about how your outfit was constructed, materials used, inspiration and, of course, a picture of the final outfit being modelled.

A selection of entries will be invited to the Pretty Nostalgic Gathering in Bristol in late October for the next round of judging where the final three outfits from each category will be selected to go forward to the grand final at the Clothes Show Live 2013. Pretty Nostalgic will be hosting their own Customisation Station where visitors can bring their own outfits for advice on customising and redesigning. The final designs will be on display in this area.

You can enter all three categories if you wish and the judges will be looking particularly at good use of upcycled and recycled clothing and cast offs - so go to town, raid granny's button tin, scour the charity shops and ask friends for things they don't want anymore and get creative.

DATES and DEADLINES

Entry closing date : 1st October 2013
Semi finals :  26th/27th October 2013 at Pretty Nostalgic Gathering, Kings Weston House, Bristol
Finals : 6-10 December 2013 at Clothes Show Live 2013, NEC Birmingham

GOOD LUCK!

Craft Fair at Tintern

So, today I did my first craft fair of the summer, sharing a table with my friend, craft fair newbie, Marie.  Under the name Miss Willow, inspired by her beautiful baby girl, she makes lovely kids dresses and fab baby hats. 

Sharing a craft fair table with a friend when you first start out is a great way to dip your toes into the water and is much less scary than doing it on your own! Neither of us sold masses but it was a lovely day with lots of chatter, meeting some new customers, making new contacts and eating biscuits :-)

Plus I got to have lots of cuddles with THE cutest baby ...

The eponymous Miss Willow

Tintern is a small village on the banks of the River Wye situated between Chepstow and Monmouth, famous for its fabulous Abbey ruins that have inspired artists and writers for centuries.

The view from the window behind our table.

Good ol' village craft fair advertising (balloons are NOT optional!)

Our table - Forest Flower on right, Miss Willow on the left

Cute Owl dress by Miss Willow

After setting up my table I went for a little stroll across the cricket field to admire Tintern Abbey before the tourists arrived.

When I got back all the other stalls were set up...

sweet crochet baby shoes

This table was full of toy dogs modelling the funkiest dog coats!

Colourful tissue flowers

There were several stalls selling antiques and collectibles - I nearly bought this entire vintage alarm clock display!

Pretty vintage hand painted ceramic door plate (this nearly came home with me too!)

A selection of beautifully restored chairs and stools

A lovely day in a lovely location with lovely company.

And although I didn't sell a huge amount of stock at least I have some lots of pretty new things to add to my Folksy shop next week!

Vintage Singer treadle sewing machine

I have something to show you.

It's my new (but very old) toy!

Can you see what it is? Let's remove the cover...

Isn't she beautiful? She's a vintage Singer treadle sewing machine with lovely Sphinx decals. I think I'm gonna call her Cleo...

*sigh*

The belt is still in place, although it's seen better days and probably needs replacing...

 

The bobbin winding mechanism

The revolutionary 'vibrating shuttle' (fnarr fnarr) bobbin.. The metal plate that slides over the top is stamped as patented in 1886. Not sure if that means the bobbin shuttle mechanism or this particular version of it...

There is a plate with a model number which pins the year of manufacture down to 1900-01 so Cleo is well over 100 years old!

The cabinet is not in brilliant condition - it's badly in need of some tlc. Some of the veneer is flaking off, bits of the ornate turned pillars on the outside of the drawers are coming away and a only three of the six drawers have complete handles.

See that hole? It's a lock - two of the drawers are lockable as is the sewing machine cover.
And I have the key!

what a pretty piece of metal work.

The contents of one of the drawers (the rest were empty, sadly).

The base is cast iron and, apart from needing a good clean, is in excellent condition. This is the drive belt housing...

...and the all important treadle plate itself!

And just in case you were wondering who the manufacturer was...

and again...

 

Sorry, Cleo, who made you?

 

They certainly weren't afraid of adding a bit of branding back then were they?! ;-) 

I am so pleased with this - did I mention I was *given* it? For free? It would have been dumped otherwise and, well, Cleo might be a bit shabby round the edges but these machines were built to last and the mechanism seems to be ok. All she needs is a bit of pampering. A good old fashioned bit of spit and polish....

Then I shall need to utilise some modern technology (YouTube) and work out how to thread her up!

#MagpieMonday - it's car boot sale season again!

I am celebrating the first carboot sale I have attended this year with a sneaky little Magpie Monday post.

Car boot sales are possibly the only party where 'fashionably late' basically means 'you missed all the best stuff' although it can also mean that people are happy to part with what is left for much less just so they don't have to take it home again!

For the first time I gave Roo his own money to spend, with the warning that he could spend his £2 on anything he wanted but that included cake or ice cream - no extra sweeties from mummy or Nonny today! Fair play to him he purchased a jigsaw for 10p, a book for his Thomas the Tank Engine collection (yes, a budding collector already!) for 20p and Jolly Phonics work book for 10p. 50p went on a strawberry cupcake, leaving him with £1.10 to spend. Then he spotted the ice cream van...

"Mummy, can I have an ice cream?"  "If you want, but it has to come out of your money."  "Ok, I will have a look at these tables first - ooo look can I have this colouring set?"  "If that's what you want. But you won't be able to have an ice cream too..."  "ok"

And that was it. Not a flicker as we walked back past the ice cream van. Not even an attempt to persuade Nonny to by him one.   I was very proud of him!

Anyway - most of the booters were packing up as we strolled around but I did manage to get a couple of bargains...

First up is this adorable little milk jug from the iconic 40's and 50's Wood's Ware 'Beryl' range. I have seen this for sale in pristeen condition for as much as £12. On ebay they fetch around a fiver. This one has a little tiny chip on it which probably renders it nearly worthless but at 50p I am not going to grumble! I will be looking our for other pieces though as I LOVE the colour and the cute curviness of it.

My second bargain of the day was this lovely little carousel tin - it's not especially old (the best before date for the toffees it once contained was May 2005) and it is pretty beaten up but the colours are just fabulous and becasue of it's state it actually looks a lot older than it is. Which is kinda cool.

So how much? 10p. Ten whole pence. I couldn't possibly not have it :-)

I have to keep this post short and sweet as I am supposed to be sorting out my conservatory to make room for a most wonderful find that any self-respecting Magpie would be proud of. It is heading my way very soon so I must get cracking!

Go and have a look at what all my fellow magpies have been gathering this week on Missie Lizzie's blog, Me and My Shadow .

Magpie Monday - Clearing out the cellar

It's been a while since my last Magpie Monday post but I have had a bumper crop of finds this week so I thought it would be nice to share.

On Saturday we went over to the Shambles in Newent - it was a bit sad as after our three year lease ended last September we decided to close the motorbike shop and concentrate on the original premises in Coleford. The cellar beneath the shop had accrued all sorts of junk and needed clearing and the landlord had given us some grace as it was a lot of work but it was time to take the bull by the horns and finish the job . . .

But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining, and we uncovered some little gems leftover from the building's previous incarnation as a 'Museum of Victorian Life' hiding underneath the junk just begging for some love!

Check out this beauty!  It needs a damn good clean, maybe a coat of paint (i'm thinking white or maybe pale green) and a new top but it would have been skipped had I not grabbed it! I have no idea how old it is - I know a lot of the 'Victoriana' in the museum was made for the museum and 'aged' - but quite frankly I don't care! I love all the little details and I can't wait to turn it into the conversation piece it deserves to be.

   I also found a wooden curtain pole with lovely ornate finials and these giant brass curtain rings. One of the finials and the pole itself were split so I rescued the other finial to add to my collection of 'interesting wooden things' (yes, really) 

I really don't know what to do with the curtain rings - they could make a very impressive bangle stack!

Also I came across a number of bevelled mirrors. Unfortunately most of them were cracked or badly chipped but I did manage to salvage this one. (Please ignore me/yucky conservatory roof - ooo look, cute kitten! )  It's quite large and I haven't decided where it's actually going to go. I suspect it may be too heavy for our rubbish plasterboard internal walls which narrows possible hanging places down a bit. I'll let you know on that one.

But that's not all. My local hospice charity shop turned a couple of absolute bargains this week.

A lovely grey wool skirt off the £1 rail. Not for wearing but lots of gorgeous pure wool fabric to play with. I am thinking lavender hearts and birds with prety pastel ribbon and mother of pearl button trim (keep an eye on my Folksy shop if you like the sound of that!)  Maybe a bag and purse and, if there is enough a hat for the Little Man.

opaque white vase/bowl/goblet/Holy Grail type thingy

This was 25p. That's right. 25p. It had to come home with me. I have no idea what it's actual purpose is but I'm absolutely sure it will get used as a prop in my product photos . . .

 (if anyone actually does know what it's true purpose is, please tell)

linking up with Missie Lizzie's Magpie Monday

Folksy Friday - Stow it away

Definition of stow

verb

[with object and adverbial] pack or store (an object) carefully and neatly in a particular place

Now all the Christmas decs are back in the loft I have an overwhelming urge to get some order back into my home. Luckily I found some lovely items on Folksy to help me stow my clutter!

I am always losing my keys so this key holder made from an old oak cupboard door by skiprat creations would be an ideal addition to my kitchen! (I love the vintage key embellishment - I wonder if it fits the keyhole in the door?)

This beautiful and functional shelf is designed by Gafyn Owen of MijMoj Contemporary Furniture Design I love the dip in the shelf for loose change or keys and the inclusion of the single stem flower vase into the design is inspired!

This one off from Revival Furniture would make a great storage box for toys - quirky enough for kids to love and stylish enough to stay in the living room! Plus it doubles up as a handy stool.

I just love this idea! Vintage vinyl becomes useful book end in the hands of When the Music's Over who also produce clocks, letter racks and even jewellery from old records and tapes. This is repurposing at it's best!

Keep all your bills and lists in order so they are there when you need them with this fab wooden star peg organiser from Emma Lane Designs 

 

I love these cute owl print storage baskets from Alexia Claire . They are quite dinky but the larger of the two would be perfect for storing my latest knitted socks WIP!

There are more storage and organisation ideas on my pinterest board here

Enjoy!