Favourite Childhood books. What is yours?

 This has to be one of my all time fave childhood books

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and beautifully illustrated by Marjorie Torrey and published in 1955

The wonderful pictures speak for themselves don't they? I must have looked at them all a thousand times (judging by the state of this book) the binding has gone and the pages are just about held together......

I haven't included every page, just the best in my humble opinion!

Have you still got a well loved childhood book that you would like to share? Enjoy the weekend!

Winter wardrobe and Shepton Mallet 3 Day Antiques Fair and .....Kirsty!

Busy, Busy this week (despite catching Mr W's rotten cold). I bought these amazing barkcloth curtains at the Frome Retro fair 2 weeks ago. I plan to use them as a backdrop in my stand at the Antiques Fair this weekend.

Here are a few of the Winter warmers.. vintage jackets and coats that are coming with me to the fair. Above is a French 50's coat, size 14 approx, very cosy.

Along with a selection of gorgeous vintage silk scarves (a few sold on ebay last week, but still have a HUGE stash of them!)

This gents cashmere coat is pretty cool, I also have it in navy, but that one has gone into the Dairy House as Sue is always asking me to put more vintage clothing onto my stand, so I have obliged!

This fur trimmed jacket comes with a matching skirt, very Mad Men I think.

 

Lastly this little gem of a childs coat! I bumped into a friend in a carpark in town yesterday and she has already said she wants first dibs on this one!! I still have a couple of reduced entry tickets to the fair so please leave a message if you are interested.

 PS. I have to add how much I enjoyed Kirsty's programme last night. I watch very little TV, but I felt this was worth giving up an hour for! Anyone who promotes reusing, recycling and making items for your home has to be applauded. Of course a lot of what she says and does it what many of us have been doing for years, BUT it is about time that this country's obsession with "buying new" needs to change. I will now step down from the soap box before I get started on Christmas!!!

1940's Wartime BUNDLES FOR BRITAIN BAG with Label

I have recently discovered this fascinating little slice of wartime history in a bag of old lace!

A cloth bag measuring about 12 ins across  in a purple/brownish colour. It has a discoloured white cotton lining with various pocketed sections and a closing flap with popper fastening. Inside there is a label as pictured above which reads ''from your American friends BUNDLES FOR BRITAIN '' .  These bags and many other items were part of a relief effort in the early part of the Second World War of non-military items  from the USA to Britain. It was started by a lady called Marion Newbert Jorgensen  and became a regional organisation across the USA under her management sending much needed items to wartime Britain .  The bag is in really very nice condition for age , all original including the label , with just a little wear to the lining . It has been used by a lady to keep her sewing and needlework items in so has been carefully looked after over many years .  A very interesting piece of wartime history which Mr W has listed for me on ebay..click here if you want to view the auction. Now onwards with the sorting....... I still have a way to go with my Autumn "Spring Clean".

Walpoles Fashions

This little slice of fashion history is a folder of designs from May 1939. I am guessing it was a type of catalogue sent out to (wealthy) clients to entice them to the store at 87 - 91 New Bond Street London.

Inside the folder there are outfits for every occasion. Underwear, dressing gowns......

..even what to wear for "cruising week 15th to 20th May 1939"

It is rather sad to think that this optimistic luxurious world is only months away from the start of WW2.

This is just one of the vintage fashion related items that I have listed on ebay. Click here if you are interested.
Now, on with the Autumn "spring clean"....

The Vintage Bazaar in Frome

Saturday saw us sitting in the van outside the Cheese and Grain in Frome with a flask of coffee at 6.30 am, these guys were sound asleep in their tour bus next to us. I would have loved to have seen them play the evening before, but I think a late night bopping away to a reggae band might not have helped us cope with the organisation of the long awaited 
Vintage Bazaar......

Once we had got into the building and allocated the stalls, we opened the doors to the enthusiastic stall holders. I played a few lively White Mink tracks to get the atmosphere going.. we had a few problems with the music, but a combination of my son's old stereo and Mike's clever arrangement with his iplayer and an amp we were in business!

Soon everyone was in place and the doors opened on the dot of 9 to allow the first wave of customers into the building. These are a small sample of the stalls on offer.

What I don't have are the images of the rails of fabulous clothing from the 1900's up until the 1960's. It wasn't a date lined event, but we wanted the clothing to be Antique and Vintage, and boy did the stall holders provide an amazing selection.... there were silk dressing gowns, 30's lame jackets, soft velvet 40's evening cloaks, faux fur 40's jackets (my mum snaffled that one!) and much, much more.

It seems that delicate china pretties are easier to photograph! Please visit the following blogs for more images of the day. Sal's Snippets, Tracy at the Vintage Bothy, The Vintage Magpie, Nostalgia at the Stonehouse, Suzy, Gaby and Maud and Elaine aka Ted and Bunny!

Of course Clare and I need to say a lot of Thank You's for the combined efforts and energies that made for a buzzing and spectacular day.

The team at the Cheese and Grain provide an excellent service, and were happy to accommodate every request. Nothing was any trouble.

Of course we couldn't have done it without Mr W and Mr Darling, and Clare's mum........ and all the friends who have supported us and assisted with spreading the word about the Bazaar. Edwin stepped in to assist on the desk in the morning, a much needed pair of hands to meet and greet the throngs as they came through the door... thank you to all 1145 of you and hope to see you next time on Saturday the 30th of April 2011.

This was one of the star stands of the day, Debbie's amazing Gardenalia stall. This was Debbie's first ever fair and she certainly put on a spectacular show, next stop The Country Living Fair eh?

Babyhead? Name the mannequin.

This week I have been busy sorting out my stock for the next run of fairs. I have quite a few new items, including vintage buttons, Victorian and French ephemera, postcards, vintage cut-out dolls, books on fashion from the 1850's to the 1950's.

I also have accrued a small collection of Vintage children's hats and clothing that have come my way over the past few months. I bought this child mannequin from Niki some years ago when she had a stand at Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair. Most of my mannequins have names, and after meeting Jo I realised that I had never given this one a name. Now, I am never really sure whether this is a boy or a girl? So, was thinking "Bertie" might be a suitable choice as it could be short for Albert or Roberta. Any suggestions please. It really is about time the poor child had a name!

Anyway today the mannequin is modelling a funky selection of Vintage children's hats which I just could not resist.

A selection of some of the vintage dresses I will be taking to Ardingly and Frome in the next week. It is the big countdown until the Vintage Bazaar that Clare and I have organised in Frome in Somerset. For anybody who hasn't heard about it, just click on the word Frome above and it will take you to the blog!

As well as the above, I have some fantastic vintage silk scarves and cashmere jumpers..... alongside my usual rails of winter coats, baskets of hand knitted gloves, hats and scarves

Vintage Jacqmar scarf from the 1950's modelled by ??? Wots her name?

Horrockses exhibition and a day out in London

Yesterday I treated myself to a day in London. My mate Emma has been on at me to visit this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NQsa-tbEQM

What a treat it was! All beautifully presented and relaxing beach/seagull background sounds to evoke a time on the beach in the 1950's when a girl could sashay on the promenade in her fab Horrockses cotton frock!

Sorry the pic above is dark, photos were allowed, but not with a flash. Don't you just love those seagulls suspended from the ceiling?

I got a beautifully illustrated catalogue - with all the history and story behind the Horrockses ready to wear range of dresses.

Once I had looked around the exhibition, there was one extra bonus. All the people who had visited the exhibition in the past months had sent in photos and letters of their personal memories of wearing these dresses. It was a delight to read!

After enjoying lunch with my brother I headed west to Portobello, a favourite haunt from when I used to live in London. This was a shop I wanted to visit for a long time. I met "Dolly" some years ago at a London Vintage Fair and soon got chatting about the joys of the county of Somerset. The window was beautifully colour coordinated with browns, creams, tweeds and a general Autumn feel to it.

The market itself was just about finished by the time I got there, but I did enjoy a stroll down there, taking in the sights and sounds of London. After which I was content to hop back on the train and head for home.

Choose me! Choose me!

Here are the finalists in the line-up, all competing for the chance to be on the telly.......The action took place last Friday at the Shepton Mallet Antiques Fair where the film crews were busy filming the next series of Bargain Hunt

"I think this is my best side"

So, which duck was chosen to accompany Mr Tim Wonnacott in the opening scene? I confess that I wasn't cheeky enough to take a photograph during the filming, so you will have to wait and see which lucky duck had its 15 minutes of fame!

September means Shepton Mallet 3 day Antiques Fair and the chance of free tickets

Just a short post today bloggers as lots going on at Washerwoman HQ! I will be at the IACF 3 day Antiques Fair at the Bath and West showground next weekend (the  17th ,18th and 19th September). The purpose of this  post is to ask if anyone would like complimentary/reduced entry tickets for the fair on the Saturday or Sunday. If you would like a chance for tickets, please leave a comment and names will be drawn out of a hat on Tuesday 14th September.

Just a small update as I have just returned from a few days away. It was our last chance to get over to France before the weather changes and ferry crossings become just too hideous for words.

 I was lucky enough to find vintage dresses, shoes, hats and bags..... as well as a few Boudoir dolls....

 Textiles, painted hatstands, little cupboards etc. Some of these items are going to the Dairy House tomorrow, and the rest will be coming to Shepton Mallet Antiques fair at the weekend. The draw for Shepton tickets will take place later, so there is still time to leave a comment!

The Washerwoman's winter collection!

The return of the good weather has meant that I have been able to dig into my storage crates to see what winter clothing I have squirrelled away over the past 6 months.

Waistcoats and tweed jackets from the 1940's and 50's have been steamed and hung out on the washing line to air.

1940's pinnies come in all shapes and sizes

 Beautiful hand knitted rainbow coloured  fingerless mittens from deepest Devon. Although we are experiencing a fabulous "Indian Summer" a girl has to think ahead.

Locally made hand knitted cardigans and jumpers. 

Last years "best seller" scarves in all colours! The above will be coming with me to The Vintage Fair in Bath this coming Sunday, and then onwards to Ardingly Antiques Fair on Tuesday.