Vintage Brighton down at The Yard

If you should find yourself in Brighton over Easter (or on the 2nd or 4th Sunday of any month) call in at The Yard for an eclectic and eccentric mix of handmade and vintage things. 

If you're feeling lucky have a go on the Unlucky Dip ...

Or just browse through a variety of stalls and items...

Something from Nothing

I'm one of those people that doesn't like to throw any bit of my sewing leftovers in the bin. No matter how small the off-cut, how tiny the thread end, back it goes into the box. But now, I am vindicated!! I have found that they really are useful...

I've been doing my machine embroidery course for a while now and we are working more and more on our own projects, trying to use all the skills that the lovely Wendy has sweated to teach us. I am in a recycling groove, now that I have discovered that I can trap any old thing with the free machine technique.

Bits of old trims, felt, silk thread, sacking, even the frayed bits that get cut of the end of the fabric as you sew - it's all grist to my machine embroidering recycled mill!

I did a couple of things a while ago based on some Michael Miller fabric that I had left over which had birds and butterflies on it. Now there's no stopping me and I'm on about my 5th project all based around the same idea of reusing everything. 

On this picture I used some tiny  bits of chiffon and wool to make flowers and some bits of sacking made a nest and gave texture. Old leftover pieces of lace trim and upholstery edging all got trapped in the thread along with cut up bits of cotton and frayed ends from calico. The bird, butterfly and bunny are just cutouts from the Miller fabric, I trapped the edges and then outlined them.

I'm trying a bigger version now with a tree that I've sketched in and painted. I'm going to add text which I printed onto some linen for another project and was left over. It looks a bit sad at the moment but if I keep going I think it'll work if I keep adding texture. I've been overdosing on greens and browns, so this time I'm setting the challenge of filling in the sky...I'll post up a picture when I'm done.

Give it a go - it's very soothing to turn odds and sods into something new.

Car Booty

Happiness is... a car boot sale on a Saturday morning. Here's my haul!

 Never judge a book by it's cover...

inside this one there's loads of fascinating stuff...

...lots of 1930's maps to cover furniture, notebooks, etc...

Fab-u-lous French comics - "Lisette" from 1950 - not sure what to do with them yet..

A Lasso game - might make something with this I think...maybe a clock...I love the graphics

 A jigsaw - (!)

There's also a couple of embroideries that will look lovely in a quilt 

An unused house-hunting game from the thirties I think

a vintage valentine card (for next year)

a box of vintage sewing bits and bobs

and a great, vintage photo!

AND the rain stopped and the sun came out - heaven!

Vintage Fabrics and a bit of Embroidery

I've finished the first part of my machine embroidery project based on Kandinsky - Hurrah! I used the Moscow picture as my inspiration

and made a Brighton version of it. 

I'm quite pleased with it but I'm going to try another one with a different, flatter paint effect.

I'm working on a stuffed toy now - based on a later painting.

The rest of my time has been spent doing all my stocktaking and finishing off my accounts ..................

Not really!
I haven't done any of that at all. Instead I have been ferreting about and buying vintage fabrics. Here's what I've found to date.
I am constantly drawn to children's prints - I started off loving the nostalgia of Rupert...

 and Noddy...

... but I've broadened my horizons, so to speak, and will now consider anything if it's a bit of a classic theme.

Noddy and Rupert are still top of my list - with the Thelwell Ponies up there too...

but I'm also loving Paddington

 and The Magic Roundabout

and I was quite pleased when I found Curious George

 and Thunderbirds

Whilst I was rummaging for all of these I also bought a beautiful 1930's cot quilt

  and some lovely 1940's woven cotton.

I've washed and ironed all of them and am gradually getting them on the website - slightly slowed down by half term! Although I did go and see the new Muppet Movie -

  - I wouldn't mind some Muppet fabric now I come to think of it. The film was fab by the way - the chickens and the Swedish chef stole the show for me.

Vintage Stuff for 2012

Oh I'm such a slacker, I've let things slip and, well let's be honest, I've let myself down. Forgive me...it's been 2 months since I last blogged. 2012 - I'm going to do better.

I've been having a big sort out actually. In the run up to Christmas I was so busy making stuff and doing the fairs (too many I think) that I couldn't do anything else. Just before the family descended I gathered up all the work related stock, fabric and materials and stacked them in a giant cupboard that I've rented from one of those self storage places.

 

January was to be my STOCKTAKING month. I have frozen to death in a warehouse sifting through my stock and writing it all down.

Loads of it has come back home and been measured and photographed and now it's in the process of getting on to the website.

Man, it's a slow process - don't even mention the accounts - I was supposed to finish them before the end of the month as well.

 Still the website's looking better (I think) certainly a lot fuller. This week I have mainly been adding to Vintage Home. Next week it's Fabrics...


My machine embroidery group started up again this month. I LOVE that class. Now I'm officially no longer a beginner I get to plan and create my own projects within a given theme. These two, the picture and the pot, developed from one of them. I'm calling them my hedgerow series and I've got plans for a few more...

The current project has to be based on an artist you admire or who inspires you. I'm thinking Kandinsky inspired stuffed toys... I'll keep you posted.

Oh it's nice to be back...hello and thank you to anyone who reads this ... it's better than I deserve.