Halloween Bicycle Basket Bazaar

Today was the Halloween Bicycle Basket Bazaar in Northampton's old fish market. Deb and I had a bike between us and we gave out lots of flyers for next Saturday's Vintage Fair In Northampton. We met up with some of the stall holders who are having stalls at next Saturday's Vintage Fair.

Our Bike was next to Lindsey of Elsie Sparrow.

Just round the corner was Aileen with her Halloweeny themed bike with gourds and pumpkins and her handmade natural wreaths.

Happy Halloween Weekend

The pumpkin is ready for carving later on, we usually leave it next to our front door lit with tea lights. The chrysanths are out in force in the garden in lovely autumnal shades. Amongst all the oranges and golds there are still a few remnants of summer, the odd pink rose and other tiny splashes of pink.

Earlier in the week I spotted this old wicker sewing basket in my local charity shop. I didn't have time to inspect it too closely so took a gamble and brought it home. I was amazed to find it crammed full of buttons, needle cases, old wooden bobbins, scissors, zips and numerous other things some of which I have yet to identify !

I have a day off today so will be preparing for tomorrow's Bicycle Basket Bazaar and next Saturday's vintage fair, so much to do and I really feel like putting my feet up and having a day relaxing with my lovely girl !

Vintage Linens and Embroidery

This last week has been very busy, both on the work front and also preparing for the Northampton vintage fair. I have been sorting through all my old linens some of which I had forgotten I had. I love the wonderful colours and designs. The work that went in to some of these is incredible, I remember my grandma teaching me to embroider when I was a child. She had lots of lovely transfers and I can remember embroidering a whole table cloth. I really should give embroidery another go, I remember enjoying it all those years ago.

These two pictures below are pillowcases, hence the creases, sorry ! They are currently in use on my bed. I have never seen any like this before as they are not only embroidered but also have little padded appliqued flowers.

The two pictures below are of an enormous pale yellow linen table cloth with lovely circular designs.

This table cloth is one of my favourites , it is embroidered with very pretty hyacinths which are one of my favourite flowers.

This cloth is embroidered with lovely delicate cross stitch.

This is a cast iron doorstop I found in a charity shop this week. I have always liked the Hubley doorstops but they are rare especially in the UK and very expensive. This is an original Hubley design but sadly not an original doorstop. Hubley sold their moulds in the 1940s to another company and I believe this is one of theirs but I think it still has some age to it. It has a stamp in a rectangular box on the back at the bottom. I can't read it properly because it has been painted over. If anyone knows any more about these please let me know.

1930s Watercolours

Last weekend's trip to the local tip yielded a number of treasures, among them this lovely 1930s water colour of the Northern Ireland Coast. Having spent many family holidays in Northern Ireland it was instantly recognisable to me. It is an original water colour in it's original frame but unfortunately I don't know who the artist is. I love the yellow and green tones which look lovely with the other two 1930s pictures I have on my wall.

The next picture is my favourite. It is an original 1930s watercolour of the Lake District by Frank Sherwin who was one of the artists who painted the wonderful railway posters. I found this in a charity shop some time ago and thought it was just a print but loved it. Some time later on closer inspection I found it was actually an original.

The next picture is a limited editon print again of the lake district and the

same era . It is signed in pencil by the artist W H Cooper.

On the same trip to the tip I bought this sad looking set of shelves which I then painted in Farrow and Ball and backed with the remains of my favourite Cath Kidston wallpaper. I used this to decorate my bathroom and still have part of a roll left.

I then used the same paper to line another old suitcase found at a car boot sale some months ago. This was quite fiddly as the insides of the case were very wonky but it was worth it as I now have a suitcase that will be great for displaying things.

Autumn Garden Sale

Well it's been a difficult week at work and to get up this morning to lovely Autumn sunshine and the prospect of Julie's garden sale was a real boost. Julie has a stall at the local collectors fair selling vintage jewellery and over the years Deb and I have been regular customers. She had told us about the garden sale she was holding with her neighbour to clear out some of their clutter. I knew that Julie's clutter would actually be more like treasure so I headed off with a large bag at the ready. I got there just ahead of my friend Deb so had a bit of an unfair advantage although there was plenty left when she arrived. Some of the things are destined for my Etsy shop whilst some will be put aside for the vintage fair and the rest I won't want to part with and they will be found a home amongst my already cluttered shelves. I particularly like the wooden crinoline lady dressing table set and the lovely flowery hankerchief box as well as the painted glass vase.The best bit is getting home and spreading it all out to admire properly.

Saturday Treasures

Well it's been a busy day today. Deb and I had a stall at the local Antiques and Collectables Fair. We haven't done it for ages but we had a lot of stuff cluttering up our spare bedrooms and we decided we needed a clear out. It's a lot of work and we usually end up buying as much as we sell so it defeats the object a bit. But it's good fun and it gives us time to catch up and have a chat.

I brought home some pretty embroidered linens, some old magazines and some millinery flowers and buttons as well as a few bits of ephemera from Debbie's stash.