Slight conflict of interest this week.....

Us women are generally pretty good at juggling our lives, but this week was a tricky one for the washerwoman.... On Monday I purchased over 120 vintage items of clothing, mainly dating from the 1940's and 1950's. Things that had been stored away for years and in need of dunking in soapy water & a blast of fresh air. Most of this week has been spent trying to prepare these great garments for the Bristol Archive Fair on Wednesday & the wonderful Vintage Fair in Bath on June 14th.

There is always a great sense of the past when you handle such items, and the wonderful old labels conjure up images of a very different way of life. For example Frothy nylon petticoats to be worn under a full skirt by "Harlie"..... a CC41 demure day dress from the 2nd World War...... a 50's "Harella" coat made from Moygashel..... a flamboyant "Hillora" floral creation, a cotton polka dot frock by "Rodney" or a "Trimwear" dressing gown with a CC41 label tucked inside..... the list is endless!

Here is the reason for conflict. I recently started a part time job as a nurse working in a great little rural practice with some very friendly people. There have not been quite enough hours in the day, or days in the week to achieve everything..... but luckily the weekend is almost upon us so the washerwoman can keep on washing... and ironing...and sewing on the odd stray button!

Enjoy the weekend everyboday!

Wonderful Wychwood!

Anyone who follows my blog (with the volume on) will know that I am pretty passionate about music, so it might come as no surprise that I was very keen to visit the wonderful festival that is held every year just outside Cheltenham....The sun shone, the atmosphere was brilliant... these guys (above) are the Shtetl Superstars, they play witty funky Jewish ska! (oh and they have a female vocal lead called Barbara..)

..... the above shows the original "Grumpy old man" aka Attila the Stockbroker in full rant.. very clever observations & witty poems. Loved him!

This is the Wonderful Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara.. a brilliant combination of driving blues guitar and African lyrics.. and an instrument that looked a bit like a cricket bat with one string. Bought the album, its fab!

But had to wait until after dark to enjoy the best, Johnny and the boys, the Dohl Foundation. We saw them play a few weeks ago and knew we had to see them again.
and they certainly didn't disappoint. They were wonderful from the first drum beat to the final number, and had everybody jumping and doing that Bhangra thing which involves a lot of energetic arm waving (have just tried to google it to get the correct name..) and failed!

It was a wonderful day and has certainly wet my appetite for the WOMAD festival which is next month.

In the words of Lou Reed.... what a Perfect Day.....

Saturday 30th May 2009 started early with a calm misty sunrise over the Washerwoman's washing line (and very overgrown flowerbed!).. Luckily you can't see the weeds.

It was time to get up early & drive to the long awaited & much anticipated Vintage & Handmade fair in Chipping Sodbury.......
On arrival it was "all systems go" to unpack and set up for the fair.. Michele's stall was looking soooooooo tempting with fab vintage toys & goodies.....

The Green Shelves were soon groaning with an eclectic selection of textiles, trimmings, buttons & bits'n'bobs....

Niki had a selection of mouth-watering Nostalgic pretties....

Cakes were beautifully displayed in a tempting calorific array....

There were just so many wonderful goodies to tempt you.....

Wouldn't you want to give one of these a home? I shouldn't think that Nicky had many bunnies to carry back to Devon after such a fab fair. From the moment the doors opened at 10 am there was a constant stream of wonderful, enthusiastic and friendly customers. I met some lovely people including Sarah & Jo from Hardaker & Pope, Isabelle from Suzy's Vintage Attic, a pair of sisters who spent lots of time on my stall (and were so lovely & complimentary)..... Elaine (from Kitsch & Curious).. Judith & Viv who raided the slowly decreasing "Tweed Mountain"... Corrine Phillips...Annie (from a Sauncerful of secrets) and a super customer who was into Triang dolls houses (please do email me as you left one of your purchases behind.)

It really was a wonderful and special day, so BIG Thank you to Jayne & Michele for all their hard work..and also thank you to their hubbies & family (Mr Country Cottage you saved my life with that cuppa!!)

Come Dancing....

While I was in France recently I bought a scruffy looking old photograph album... inside we found gems of a forgotten age.....
What attracts me to these photographs are of course the wonderful flamboyant dresses and great hairstyles. I also love the amount of people in one frame, it is to great effect and if you click on these images you should also be able to see more detail.
The one below intrigues me, why is the woman precariously standing at the back leaning against the wiggly pillars?
I am planning to frame these photographs, some I will take to fairs to sell and others I will keep and add to my growing collection of "Lost People". A customer I met  at a fair some time ago taught me this phrase as she had a collection of old photographs that had no history or attachment to her life or family. I realised that over the past 25 years I have also accumulated a collection of "lost people".... there is a 1930's family of four strolling along a promenade in our bathroom.. there are a collection of 1940's people outside a train station in our breakfast room and there is a dreamy young 1970's french woman at the top of the stairs.....

What I love about France.......

Just got home from a wonderful few days in France. The weather was mixed as you can see, but here are some of the things that caught my eye. I love the stunning architecture of the cathedrals.

I love the fact that you can buy delicious sausages from barbecue-stands on every street corner on market day....

Secret gardens behind beautiful rusty old gates, and beautiful domestic architecture.

Very shabby Vide Greniers in the middle of small towns. Unlike the Car boots sales in this country everyone is relaxed and jolly, happy to haggle and they make a day of it. Even the rain doesn't deter the French, they just cover their stands with clear plastic sheeting and stand under their umbrella until it stops.

The lilac was particularly prolific this year, as was the wisteria and blossom.

Sunset over the graveyard, not a blade of grass in sight.. very French!

I love this old painted sign above the cottage where we stayed....

Flower shops bursting with colour were so tempting. I could have filled the back of the car with pots of hydrangea......

Another street market with an amazing cupboard that I would have loved to have brought home, but the car was filling up fast with vintage dresses, old linen smocks, flowery textiles, picture frames & some very pretty enamel teapots & jugs!





... and where else could you buy an ancient Mercedes hearse for £900!!!!! (but I resisted the temptation!!!!)

Five minutes peace........

When the boys were younger (a lot younger!) they had a wonderful book by Jill Murphy called Five minutes peace. A hilarious story about an elephant called Mrs Large who just needed to escape and enjoy a bath.... it has since stayed in my mind and years later I still sometimes feel like Mrs Large, craving for "just five minutes peace"!
Anyway, the above picture shows that after a busy few days at Ardingly Antiques fair I finally got there!
The book seen on the chair arrived from Amazon last week and is proving to be a very enjoyable read and a must for anyone who is potty about Vintage fashion. It is called A Vintage Affair and is by Isabel Wolff, and I am having trouble putting it down!

Had a wonderful 2 day fair at Ardingly & thank you to Lois for putting some splendid photos of my stand on her blog. http://morgaine-le-fays-textiles.blogspot.com/2009/04/wonderful-sunny-day-at-ardingly.html

Calm........

Yesterday I took a break from things (sort of) and drove down to the coast to deliver a few goodies to a lovely lady who has a wonderful shop in Lyme Regis. If you are ever down that way, do make sure you visit a shop in Broad Street called Suzie Cole. It is packed to to the ceiling with scrummy things, spotty china, photo frames, jewellery, vintage knick-knacks and much much more....

Suzie was in the midst of redoing the window, so didn't feel I could start taking piccies, instead I took these peaceful shots along the coast at Charmouth. A real quirky old fashioned seaside.... and beautifully serene at this time of year......

Dolly's Villa and other tiny things.......

Today I had great fun at an auction, and a bit of a "dolls house fix"....... The above is an amazing back opening house with a really unusual Lithographed front. I have no idea who made it, but there are a few clues to assist my investigations, It has the letters "CB" and the date 1892. There is also a charming sign above the front door which reads "Dolly's Villa number 1".....

Next is a little house to keep "Bijou" company (see earlier post!) It dates from early in the 20th century and was made in Germany.

and lastly.. a selection of other goodies which I purchased.... some of which I will have to keep, but the rest I will be taking to The New Forest Dolls house fair in Lyndhurst on April 5th. Early entry 10 am. See website for details.
http://www.wendysworldfairs.co.uk/

The contents of a wonderful sewing box.......

Last week I attended an auction and managed to be the lucky high bidder on 6 (yes six...) boxes of old sewing items.

A rather poignant selection of old knitting patterns, threads, trimmings, Crinoline lady shaped needle cases.... A lot of the items still in their lovely old paper bags with names of mostly long-gone local Somerset shops and departmental stores.

Also a fabulous old Deans toy catalogue....

What wonderful dolls....

Stitchcraft magazines from the 1930's to the 1950's, along with funky scraps of what appeared to be decorated shower-curtain plastic fabric. After further delving in the boxes I discovered templates to make plastic capes, the sort designed to protect your clothes when you were washing your hair!

These wonderful magazines advertising Baxters Felt makers, along with piles of old felt scraps....
A lot of these items will be coming with me to the Stroud International Textiles Rag Market on Saturday 14th March. This is being held at The Old Town Hall in the centre of Stroud, postcode GL5 1AP, go to multimap and it will show you the exact location.
The fair is open from 10 am to 4 pm. Entrance 50p

Hope to see you there!

PS Just to let you know my Internet problems have come to a head & I will probably be off line for the next week. Be back on Friday 13th for the house name draw!

Don't let it get to you!

I felt that I had to add this picture which a friend sent me yesterday. Somehow she and her family managed to find time to build this lovely smiling fella while her husband started major works on their home.... and I am talking MAJOR...... roof coming off and a whole first floor being added.. all taking place in the coldest winter for 20 yrs.

It's good to have a sense of humour.

Deep and crisp and (sometimes) even...

This is the view from my kitchen window at 6 am this morning, we woke up to an incredible amount of snow and no electricity! (This was NOT forecast, the official weather weather website said we would be having "light rain"......)

Time to light the woodburner & boil some water for a much needed cuppa...


Later, as it gets light the state of the lane becomes apparent, and all plans for the day are shelved (yet again).... The tracks you can see were made by tractors. A neighbour did attempt to drive along here in a normal vehicle... his abandoned car is just around the corner!

But as always I cannot resist wrapping up warm and stomping outside with the camera. The above view is the front garden. The weight of the snow has brought down a few branches.

The back garden, just love the way the bare branches of the apple tree are coated. All very pretty, but sadly it means we will not be selling at the Vintage fashion fair in Stroud tomorrow. In fact I have just heard that it has been cancelled.

As for the fair in Cardiff on Sunday, only time will tell......

There is also the small problem of food (and drink) supplies as I had intended to do a big shop today. It would appear we have a few random tins of this & that (what can you make with tinned tomatoes, pumpkin seeds and a melon!).... ah aha, whats this a whole bottle of port left over from Christmas... yummy!

The swinging sixties......

Last week I was fortunate enough to visit a lady who had kept some of her clothes from the late 60's. What a treat to have the opportunity to purchase some much-loved items from the Biba store in London, an Ossie Clark pair of fabulous silky trousers, a raunchy zip-up leather jacket, a pair of courreges French sunglasses and several other goodies.....
These will be coming with me to the Stroud fair on Saturday, but you are welcome to email me at jltg40@aol.com if you feel the temptation to purchase a slice of Fashion History!

Holiday time!

Just remembered that I bought this 1950's china just before my holiday. I had to have them to add to my collection of wacky vintage china. Each little skiing figure appears to be handpainted.
The mark on the bottom says "Broadhurst, England. Alpine". I bought them at the Exeter Flea market which is a new event & well worth a visit. The next one is on March 14th.

So, what is this all about then?

Here they are, let me introduce you to the annual "torture boots"..... We just got home from a lovely holiday in Austria, but on that first day in the basement boot room you really do wonder why on earth you are cramming your poor feet into these glamorous things....... and then to attach them to long pieces of fibre glass in order to hurtle down icy slopes at ridiculous speed..... why?

it has to be worth it for the view from the top.......


..or stopping at a charming mountain restaurant for a delicious cup of hot chocolate......( isn't that a wonderful shade of green on those shutters).


.. in order to ski further to enjoy more views......these trees were absolutely amazing....



Then back at the hotel one can admire the fantastic old painted furniture (how I would have liked to have smuggled this one home!)



Another fab view on another day. I do have dozens more piccies from the holiday, but I won't bore you all too much. We met some really lovely people, and some not so great ones (throwing furniture out of your hotel room at midnight is NOT the way to behave on holiday) ... there was also a ski instructor with an attitude problem. I endured 3 days of ski school with him, then played hooky for the rest of the week!
It is good to get away, but coming home is wonderful.... apart from the amount of washing that you have to face!