Dreaming Spires and Vintage Fairs

This little lady arrived in the post this week. She was very grubby but after a gentle clean came up looking fine. She has now joined the rest of my little bisque dolls.

We have had a lovely extended weekend which included a trip to Oxford.

This time the sun was shining and we had a tour of the city on an open topped bus followed by a relaxing lunch in Jamie's Italian.

We always love wandering around Oxford, peeping in to the colleges and exploring the narrow little streets.

The mellow stone looked lovely in the sunshine although the sun seems to have disappeared behind a cloud in this picture.

Yesterday I somehow managed to squeeze in a small boot sale and two vintage fairs in to the space of a couple of hours !

The first fair was a lovely little vintage fair in the church hall at Earls Barton. The tea and home made cake was delicious and there was a lovely atmosphere. Sharon from Clover Cottage had a stall and it was great to catch up with her.

This gorgeous linen , embroidered table cloth was one of my favourite purchases this weekend.

The gorgeous pink eiderdown was a purchase from the second fair we visited and I couldn't resist it although I know I don't need another one ! As soon a I got it home I gave it a gentle wash in the machine and got it out on the line in the sunshine to dry. The two little hand painted glasses were found at the same fair.

The lovely yellow Jasmine Ware jug was found at the Earls Barton fair and the Tala cake tin and rolling pin at the second fair in Northampton.

The rolling pin is really pretty, I think it dates to around the 1930s and is hand painted with flowers and butterflies.

Saturday Sunshine

This morning the sun was shining when I woke up so I headed in to town to the monthly antiques market on the market square. It's lovely having a wander in the sun not under any pressure to be somewhere else. It's been a hectic week at work including a long day in London at a conference. Having an hour to myself browsing lovely stalls and sitting in the sunshine having a cappuccino is a real treat.

This afternoon was the annual Summer Fete at St Mathews church where we also hold our Vintage and Homemade Fair. We have gone to the Fete every year for as long as I can remember. This is the first year that my lovely girl hasn't been there helping on a stall with Guides or Brownies, but sadly she is too old for all that now. I went along with Mr C who I now have well trained in vintage treasure hunting . As there were two bric-a-brac stalls we split up and Mr C came back with this gorgeous little crinoline painted dish. I have to say I think it's my favourite find of the day.

The Deco bisque lady at the top was one of my finds for 50p. She is in amazing condition which made me almost doubt she was original, but the fabric certainly looks old. In the background is a vintage felt brooch and parasol brooch which I found earlier in the week.

The little Polish wooden doll was a find at the fair this morning.

The Triang number 50 dolls house was another buy at this morning's fair. I believe it dates to around 1963. Sadly it is missing it's original door so I now need to source a replacement door as part of it's restoration although generally it is in excellent condition.

The cottage ware cruet set was another find from the Fete, they are really sweet.

The Tala flour canister was also from this morning's market.

I am trying to keep a pictorial record of Mr C's David Austin roses as they come out along with the odd peony so please bear with me .

Lovely Linens

This is a lovely old lingerie case which I have turned in to a pretty cushion edged in some old pink satin ribbon. It's so satisfying giving something a new lease of life.

Yesterday I tried a different car boot sale and found it a little disappointing although I found more vintage linens for pennies. There were two embroidered table cloths, a linen willow pattern cloth, and a pretty embroidered pillowcase. The sweet pillowcase with 'Hers' embroidered on it was a present Deb brought me back from the States.

This lovely embroidered picture was one of two I found at Saturday's Bicycle Basket Bazaar.

I also found a pair of lovely soft candy stripe pillowcases on Linda and Jake's stall. I had been looking out for some of these so was really pleased.

This is the second beautifully embroidered picture now joining all the others on my hall wall.

Deb and I both had a bike at the Bike Bazaar to sell some of our vintage things. I ended up coming home with two of Debbie's pictures. They go really well together and fit in nicely with my other pictures.

I was pleased to find this collection of old Tala kitchen utensils at the boot sale just as I was about to call it a day and go home with very little.

Today was an open day at the antiques centre just down the road from my house. Carol who was one of the sellers at our Vintage and Homemade Fair has a booth there and was selling some very tempting things. I treated myself to this pretty glass vase and the lovely red tin to add to my ever growing collection.

The glass sugar pourer was another find from Carol and the tea cups were more boot sale finds.

I also found some of these old classroom posters, I have wanted the ducks one for ages.

I have spent the rest of the day cleaning and re-arranging my kitchen. I cleared out the bottom shelf in my cupboard to make space for my utility wear. I have tried to clear away some of my clutter and sort out things that I can list in my shop. I have the rest of the week off work so fingers crossed the weather will brighten up . It's revision week really but hopefully we can allow ourselves one day out as a treat, I guess it will be a trip to London as it seems to be my lovely girl's favourite place at the moment.

Hope you have had a lovely bank holiday weekend.

Weekend Finds

Well, it's been a hectic weekend. It was mum's 60th and we also had relatives arrive from Ireland to stay. It has been great fun catching up and yesterday sitting in the sunshine and relaxing. I had no time for boot sales this weekend but did squeeze in a little local table top sale on Saturday morning. I found this lovely old Arthur Woods piggy bank as well as a few bits of Babbacombe wear, some pretty mismatched cups and saucer and a Tala cook's measure so not bad I guess for half an hour's rummaging ! Oh well back to work now......