HenHouse

A Lovely Trip

2012-01-27T12:33:00.008Z

Last weekend, we made a rare trip "oop North" to see my family in my hometown of Chester. For those of you who don't know Chester, it' s a walled Roman city and very picturesque (it also happens to have very good shops).

A week or so earlier, we had spotted that this fabulous poster went up for auction. As you know, we are quite fond of vintage railway posters.

So on a gloriously sunny Saturday, we all wrapped up and went off for a walk, to show Mr HenHouse "The Groves", which is the riverside location pictured in the poster. I'm pleased to say the poster is quite an accurate representation; many railway posters show scenes which bear no resemblance to the "not so pretty" reality!

Many of the town's most desirable residences border the River Dee.

Heading into town, I spotted this rather cute shop at the bottom of a street I wouldn't often need to wander along, and decided to take a closer look.

Oooh, isn't this shop positively dreamy? It's the sort of shop you read of in children's story books but don't imagine exists anymore in reality. Sadly, it was shut but promised to be a real treasure trove. I think as it is such a specialist shop, possibly it is one which only opens on request to collectors. Hmm, I think in the future I shall return.

Up on Chester's historic Rows, I made a beeline for this shop.

It's one of the cosiest shops I know and reminds me of the beautiful shops I once visited in New England. It has a good selection of patchworking fabrics, including many of the Civil War reproduction style ("sludge") and I was looking for something in particular.

I absolutely adore these little wooden buildings. I want!!! (But I was very good and restrained.)

Happily, I found what I was looking for, which was the checked border fabric for this dolly quilt which I pieced at the cottage over the New Year holiday.

It's another Kathleen Tracy pattern from her book, "Prairie Children and their Quilts". It is called the "Schoolgirl Sampler Quilt". A sampler quilt is one which contains many different blocks, the idea being that it gives the maker good practice in a variety of techniques, hence being ideal for a learner or schoolgirl. As Kathy says in her book: "The sampler has a long tradition in American needlework. Young schoolgirls may have practiced sewing and quilting simple blocks until they were more proficient at the craft..."

I can tell you that it was rather challenging to make, though undoubtedly enjoyable so long as one is not too exacting. So many little pieces and so many points to line up and not chop off! It measures about 16" x 20.5".

I have also just finished this little dolly quilt which is from the same book and called the "Crosses Mourning Quilt". For the rest of this year, Kathy is selecting one quilt each month from one of her four books for members of her "Small Quilt Talk" group to complete if they fancy. She also gives us a special variation on the design so members can choose which to make if they want to do so. This is the variation, a little smaller than the version in the book. It measures approximately 16" square.

Kathy's book not only provides beautiful quilt patterns but goes into the history of the pioneers, those who travelled the arduous journey in order to settle land in the West back in the middle of the nineteenth century in America. As Kathy explains, quilts were often taken along by the pioneers on their long journey and sadly, they might have ended up being used to comfort the sick or shroud the dead. Kathy designed the quilt as a tribute to those pioneers who died on the trail. Some of the quilt group members have made it using clothing from loved ones who have since sadly passed.

I have used new fabrics to make my quilt but I can share with you a special photo which my mum gave to me last weekend. It shows her "nain" or her great-great-great (I think) grandmother, nain being the Welsh word for grandmother. Mum also kindly gave me these jet beads which belonged to one of her ancestors, too. I think they look perfect alongside the quilt.

Happy weekend, my wonderful readers.

Posy Time

2012-01-26T12:27:00.010Z

Oh my giddy aunt. It's not, it is? It can't be? Is that... THE SUN...I see peeping out from behind the grey clouds?

Hello readers, that was a bit of an unintended absence there. It's not that I haven't been busy, oh I have, or that I haven't got anything to share with you, oh I have, but perhaps I've been so engrossed in what I've been up to that the thought of spending a whole morning wrangling with flashes and lighting and goodness knows what else, had me scurrying away from the camera and hunkering down with some crafty projects.

The Bagpuss Table has had a bit of a change over today. I still have been completely obsessed and inspired with the two binders of wartime mags which I found in Lewes a few weeks back (which Charlie Boy told you about). They are utterly delightful but what grabs me the most is that they contain lots of patterns for posy brooches which has always been a bit of an obsession of mine. So, a posy-inspired table it is.

A few weeks ago, we spent a marvellous Sunday at the flea market at Shepton Mallet. It was a glorious bright and crisp day and the stall holders were out in force. Oh it was really my idea of heaven! I managed to lay my anxious mitts on something I'd been after for a while. It may not be what you expected.

Ah there you are, a decidedly uninteresting and dark photo taken a few days ago, of the tweed jacket I bought at Shepton. For £5.

I was most thrilled to see that inside it bears the coveted label; this is a vintage jacket made from the finest Harris Tweed, Made in England. Hurrah! Off it went to the dry cleaners, bringing my total jacket spend to £10.

But the Harris Tweed's jacket story does not end there, oh no. Time for gratuitous photos. For in The Tweed's future were divine 1940's-ish vintage fabrics...

...delightful vintage embroidered cloths (oh dear, yet more came home from Shepton)...

...my very best flowery and vintagey buttons...

And also, a large pair of scissors and a needle and thread. The Tweed was too long in the arm and body for me so a little amateur tailoring went on. Gulp. Ah well, it only cost £10!

We're digressing though, from The Tweed, for a few moments. Back to my beloved wartime binder of "Needlework Illustrated".

Yesterday, I idly flicked through them and finally settled on a posy pattern to give a go, eager as I was to chop into the rather lovely wool felt I bought at the weekend. You can tell how very much better most people were at crafty stuff back then (by which I mean the early 1940s) as the instructions for making things are relatively sketchy. No hand-holding and squillions of photos like nowadays. I was reading another of my historical 1940's books the other day which informed me that jewellery was in very short supply during the war which is why ladies turned to making their own from felt, fabric and scraps of leather, raffia and basically whatever they could lay their hands on. Well, I'm so glad they did.

The posy I chose you can see in the bottom right hand corner of this page. The instructions are to make a leather bag and a marigold posy from "skiver". I have never heard this term before but it appears to be a type of leather (enlighten us, anyone?)

No skiver for me, but pretty wool felt instead and rather than making marigolds in yellows and oranges, I went for my more usual colour palette. Oh happy days!

It really is quite a whopping posy or as Mr HenHouse rather rudely said last night, "It's massive". What he and you don't know is that the pattern was actually for four flowers in the posy so imagine how gargatuan that would be!

Well I utterly love my posy and it really brightens up that Harris Tweed a treat and gives it the necessary feminine touch, I think.

I see The Tweed dressed down with jeans and a roll neck but I see it dressed up with a tea dress, too.

Aaarrgghh, I did not see it dressed up (or down) with a ginger furball!

Why is this silly jacket on my eidy where I take my naps?

There, that's better.

And whilst I was at it, I thought I'd have a go at another posy from my book. This time, daisies. Except you guessed it, there was no way I could stick to a two-tone colour palette! I'm wearing it today, on my beloved and very cosy Aran cardi.

Thanks for returning to read. By the way, the lovely Carol let me know that she'd been unable to comment on my blog for a while and suggested a fix which I've carried out. It's worked for her. Yipeeeee. All this...and sunshine!

Checking In

2012-01-18T18:18:00.005Z

Crikey, it's cold, brrr. It's dark (most of the day). What to do but cuddle up and get cosy? Mummy has got my heated pad out and plugged it in. It's under the cover of my cushion. Golly, it's warming me up a treat but it makes me sleepy!

What a change from the weekend when it was lovely and sunny and when Mummy left me again to go to something she calls a "flea market". She brought me back these old fake flowers and put them in a jug near my cushion-bed. Still, I suppose it's not a bad exchange for my fleas?

Vorey Puss has taken up residence this week on the armchair.

Mummy says to tell you she is still beyond excited at her find in Lewes the other weekend which is these old books. What is it with her and old scruffy-looking things?

She wanted to do a proper blog post about them but the photos were rubbish as it's so dark all day and they "don't do justice" to the old books. Hey, one has a black cat on. Is it Vorey?

Today, she's been fiddling round with bits of wire Daddy gave to her and bits of coloured fluffy fabric stuff called felt and looking at pictures and diagrams in those old books. Why she finds this so marvellous beats me.

She says she'll show you soon but is very time-poor at the moment (and sunlight-poor). She kept muttering on something like "how am I meant to work in these conditions?"

We're only keeping her company.

More Dolly Quilts

2012-01-11T14:54:00.003Z

I can't say that I found the Christmas and New Year period particularly restful. For us ladies it still seems to me that all that cooking and housework doesn't go away! We de-camped to the cottage a few days after Christmas and I did there find a few hours to get on with a bit of sewing. Before setting off, I grabbed my basket and shoved a few handfuls of Civil War reproduction fat quarters in, my "Prairie Children and their Quilts" book by Kathleen Tracy and a few other bits and pieces to allow me to get crafty on a small scale whilst I was away.

First, I finished off a couple of projects. As soon as Kathy's most recent book, "The Civil War Sewing Circle" came out about a year ago, I knew I wanted to make the "Hexagon Flowers Doll Quilt" on the cover. The hexy flowers are traditionally hand pieced over papers so it was the perfect project to take with me on our trip to Pickering back in October. I did most of the flowers whilst I was there, they take quite some time, each individual hexagon template is about 5/8". Every now and then since October, I have picked the project up and done a little more work on it; appliqued the flowers down, pieced the blocks and finally hand quilted this little quilt. I love the border fabric, one of Jo Morton's latest.

Although I've used "sludge" fabrics, I tried to go for quite bright ones in this quilt. It measures approximately 19" x 15.5".

Next, I made this pinky chocolately quilt, mainly as I wanted to practise hand quilting and this quilt had a particularly pretty "orange peel" design which meant a lot of hand quilting. It's not something I'm particularly good at but it's one of those things that needs a lot of practise. I try not to be too precious about it and just enjoy it. It does make you sit down and relax for the odd hour, not something I'm that good at! This one measure approximately 20.5" x 16.5" and is also from Kathy's book "The Civil War Sewing Circle" (the "Pink Patches Doll Quilt"). It was a joy to make, relatively easy and good to practise those setting triangles which all went together really well.

Once I'd finished off the pink squares quilt, I needed to choose another project one rainy afternoon in the West Country. I flicked through Prairie Children and opted for the "Bear's Paw Quilt" as it looked quite simple and was suitably scrappy to go with the limited range of fabrics I had brought with me. I had been working on a large Civil War type quilt at home so I made use of all the scraps from that quilt in this little one. In all honesty, this design hadn't captured my eye at first but I really loved making it and think it's a lovely quilt with bright, jewel-like colours. It measures about 18" square. I managed to compete this in a day or so, after my sister sent me an emergency piece of batting in the post! Somebody please open a decent quilting shop near the cottage!

Last but not least, this quilt caught my eye this week (pattern also in "Prairie Children") and I picked up a suitable border fabric in Lewes on Saturday. This was much harder to put together than I thought as there were a lot of points to match up and not cut off when it came to putting the blocks together. I ripped quite a few blocks apart and remade them, arrrgghhh. This one measures about 19" x 15".

Kathy had written a little message in each muslin triangle which I really liked and so did likewise. Kathy called this one the "Signature Quilt", each triangle could have contained a signature from a loved one instead of the little message of friendship. I tried polyester batting in this one but didn't like it as much as my usual thin cotton batting as I think it has a higher loft.

Now I'm going to try the Crosses Mourning Quilt which Kathy has challenged members of her Yahoo Small Quilts Group to make. Fun! She's a clever lady.

I'm getting quite a little collection of doll quilts now! Charlie Boy is happy.

How Not to Iron (etc)

2012-01-08T13:17:00.007Z

The only thing in favour of ironing in the HenHouse is that it gets done in the Den because that's where the ironing board (and it's friend, the iron,) lives. It lives here solely because patchwork necessitates a lot of ironing which does rather elevate the simple yet deathly task of ironing to another level.

How better to improve the terrible task than making sure one is ironing lovely things? For there's nothing quite so deathly as a week's worth of men's shirts with all their fiddly collars and cuffs in their boring pale colours; ooh a stripe, maybe a mini check, how riveting. Funnily enough, ironing the latest influx of fat quarters or, ultimate fave, the embroidered cloths, takes this task to giddy heights!

Yesterday, the HenHouse gang set off on a little family outing to Lewes, an outing which has many things going for it before one sallies forth from the threshold.

Ability to travel by rail from local station five minutes walk away, to station right in the heart of Lewes (at reasonable price with Family Railcard).
Prior knowledge that "The Patchwork Dog and Basket", splendid shop retailing all manner of fabric and quilty "must haves" shall be open.
Plentiful smattering of charity shops which just might yield reasonably priced goodies donated by the good folk of the desirable catchment area (or at very least, StarWars books to keep obsessed son happy).
Plethora of other fine vintage-selling establishments to facilitate hours of moochy, browsy pleasure not facilitated on the boring old high street.
Bumping into and chatting with the Mavellous Mary of the Vintage Cottage, whose amazing collection of vintage I have long admired from afar on Flickr. Who would have thought it? (Ok, this is not one I knew about before leaving home. Just an added bonus but it will be on the list next time, just in case Mary often frequents the vintage establishments of Lewes, and you know, I think she just might.)
Possibility of making feline aquaintances along the way and indulging in a hefty furry-purry stroking session. (Yes, I added this one afterwards too.)

(Hen with divine furry friend outside one of Lewes' vintage establishments.)

Find number one, which also happened to be in need of ironing, this rather divine floral vintage pillow case (which is rather giant, so suspect may be of European origins). Will it ever be cut up and made into other "things", knowing that Hen indeed has a weakness for justifying the purchase of such items for said purpose but never bringing herself to do the same?

Embroidered pillowcases: how can ironing not be a pleasure when smoothing out these little beauties? Who in this day and age, would find the time to beautifully embroider something just to lay one's weary head and close one's eyes upon (and snore the night away in the case of a certain inhabitant of the HH)? Thank goodness our talented predecessors did.

Find number two from Lewes: a barkcloth floral curtain. Ah ha, have been meaning to make new vintagey cushions for the sitting room for some time thinks Hen, this shall be just the thrifty ticket, lots of fabric for a bargain price. Better give that an iron, and ironing barkcloth which doesn't crease much in the first place, is so satisfying, yes indeedy.

Find from another outing in Bridders: a rather delightful vintage embroidered anti-macassar (what a super word). Whilst ironing such a beauty, one can basically forget the task in hand and instead transport oneself to a scene of sharp pleasure, chopping up said cloth and re-purposing into something more useful and still beautiful for the current day. Hmm, methinks a patchwork quilt is in the offing.

Entirely forget ironing at this point and ponder fabrics still on the cutting table, newly arrived from American shores this week, a late-delivered Christmas pressie from one's other half. Consider that they shall patchwork delightfully with the aforementioned perfectly ironed anti-macassar for a vintagey 1930's inspired quilt.

Realise that many more fabrics will need to be selected to go into making the perfect patchwork quilt. Find it handy that ironing board/iron are stationed in Den where one can peruse stash to arrive at ideal patchworky blend after much detailed consideration. Might there even be ... (gasp) ... gaps in stash that need filling? Should I just nip onto the computer for ooh, a few minutes, and see if there's anything suitable out there. No, no, nooooo, bad idea. Would not help get the ironing done?

Thinking of stash, wonder quite where I am going to stash newly arrived fabrics lingering on cutting table (x 2 lots from America, and trip to Patchwork Dog and Basket). Hmmm.

Realise that despite fabric buying sessions of previous weeks, I still don't have a fabric suitable for the border on this doll-sized sampler quilt.

Accept with a sigh, that heavenly as fabric pondering has been, ironing shall not do itself.

Stoically turn back to face the ironing...

... and feel grateful for presence in one's life of furry friend with in-built desire to cosy down in piles of freshly washed laundry.

A New Year, a New Table

2012-01-06T11:31:00.007Z

Hello again readers and a very Happy New Year to you all. I hope you all enjoyed a very Merry Christmas too.

So here we are, 2012, that makes me feel very ancient, in fact it's a date that feels a little "sci-fi" to me, as if we've fast forwarded into the future. I need life to slow down, please. I've never been overly fussed about the whole "New Year" thing, I just tend to get on with things regardless and I am inevitably asleep before midnight on the 31st December! I don't make resolutions, if I want to do something I just do it and don't feel the need for a "New Year" to make me get on with things. The inevitable diet does have to be started, of course!

I still have the Munchkin at home (just how long are school holidays these days?) so it doesn't really feel as if life has got back to normal just yet. I think my New Year starts next week when I get my days to myself again and having got through all the chores which piled up over the last few leisurely weeks, I can get on with some new projects. I have managed to finish three doll quilts over the holidays and have all the 60 odd blocks made for a large quilt top, too. I am looking forward to getting on and finishing that.

New Year's Eve saw us mooching in our beloved Bridport. It is now becoming fairly predictable that I will find something "new" (ie. old) and exciting each time we visit. For ages, I've hankered after a little display table to go on the landing, just outside my Den. It had to be pretty slim though, so that nobody would trip it over it when attempting to scale the stairs.

I wanted it just to be able to make pretty displays of pretty things, "things" which would inspire me in some way in my crafty making endeavours.

And so I found that little wooden table you see above and home it came; £30 and a bit of polish later, it's just the ticket for the space available and is allowing me to indulge my "shop window" tendencies. The idea is that I can change the display as and when I fancy so expect a fair few posts from now, dear reader, on "Hen's Bagpuss Table", home for "pre-loved/abandoned/ old/flea-ridden but very desirable and inspiring objects"!

The little table also has a handy shelf underneath. Oh goody, thought I, finally somewhere to stockpile all my quilts. Don't you think quilts look just delicious, displayed en masse, a big old toppling pile of them?

And so we arrived back from the cottage a few days ago and all set about unpacking our goodies. I was hell bent on "operation table" of course. There's no particular theme to the first display, I think I've yet to get into my "display table groove", it's just a collection of nice things. I pop downstairs for a few minutes and when I go to go back upstairs again..

Aaarrgghhh! Yes, Mummy, we like this idea too, thank you for creating the ideal kitty bed of many piled-up quiltys!

Jacky-Ginge wasted no time in getting on those quilts. Cats really are quite amazing, nothing escapes them!

Poor old Charlie Boy seemed a little disgruntled that he didn't get there first. They're mine!

(Please excuse the tangle of fairy light wires, now banished to the loft for another year! )

Jacky Ginge makes the fatal mistake of getting off at some point and is soon usurped as king-kitty of the castle.

So there you have it, my "Bagpuss Table", being a home for things "found", nay rescued by yours truly.

At the moment, there are some truly lurid flowers to brighten the place up, vintage books and brooches, little fabric flowers I made on the course I attended with Julie Arkell, Katy Kitty also made last year, and a very delightful fat quarter stash of reproduction 1930's cottons bought at the Festival of Quilts last year. So very pretty in their bundle that I've not done much with them yet!

And of course, vintage postcards to wish you a very Happy New Year!

The 1940's Christmas House

2011-12-28T09:29:00.006Z

Well I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas? For me it seems to have whizzed by in a flash and I'm now feeling a little sad that Christmas is pretty much over for yet another year. Something else we've been feeling a little blue about is the fact that a wonderful exhibition at the Imperial War Museum is about to close so yesterday, we thought we'd better visit it for a last time.

We initially visited this brilliant museum about the same time last year (you can read my post with more photos here) and we really loved the exhibition The Children's War. Not only is there lots of fabulous information and exhibits relating to the evacuees of the Second World War, the jewel in the crown is the reconstruction of a 1940's house.

The outside of the house has a light dusting of snow. Mr HenHouse is wondering if you'd like to see inside?

I've posted about the house before but I couldn't resist doing so again. I've just taken a few snaps showing you the house decorated for Christmas, 1940's style. I really love this sitting room. I can't believe they are going to dismantle this house when so much effort has clearly gone into making it. The attention to detail is brilliant. So as you can see, now there is a tree but without lights as would have been the case during the war, paper streamers abound and the odd Chinese lantern.

There are Christmas cards on the mantelpiece and the stockings hang above the fireplace, made of real socks and no doubt containing an orange in the toe, if they could get hold of one? A carrot and mince pie have been left on the hearth, ready for Rudolph and Father Christmas.

Somebody has been wrapping up their presents at the table, probably re-using last year's paper and they've been listening to the gramophone. Indeed, the crackle of Christmas carols filled the air making the house very atmospheric.

In the kitchen, no doubt the lady of the house has been busy.

She has done well to stockpile supplies, there is a chicken on the stove, and over on the counter, some sherry. She has even managed to make a Christmas pudding and mince pies. We watched a great programme the other night "Ration Book Britain", which showed how they made a Christmas pudding during the War, using powdered egg and carrot, as dried fruit was a luxury probably not available. There was no rum sauce but "mock cream" which looked pretty yucky! Ration coupons would be saved up to make the Christmas dinner extra special. We can see they had some crackers, these too were probably homemade using cardboard from the inner of toilet rolls and some crepe paper.

In the dining room, there was a little festive holly on the fireplace, at least that would have been free!

This really is a wonderful exhibit and if you have the chance to visit, it is open until 2 January so hurry!

Christmas Details

2011-12-22T17:48:00.006Z

Cats and Cat-sized Quilts

2011-12-19T14:30:00.006Z

Brrr, isn't it cold? I've grown lots more fur for the Winter but I'm still finding it a bit chilly. In my room, my mum has been sewing nice things again. I saw this quilt the other day and thought it was the perfect size just for me, Charlie Boy.

She seemed a bit cross when she found me asleep on it and I don't know why. What else is it for? She didn't make me get off though as I did my very best to look extra cute and furry and even started purring so she left me to it until I went for dinner.

When I came back, my quilt had gone which I wasn't too chuffed about. Seems my mum had finished it and was faffing around taking lots of silly photos of it in different positions.

She says to tell you it is based on a full size quilt which she saw in Tikki Patchwork, a shop which she loves to visit apparently. This quilt is perfect for a kitty, you know, at just 17.5" square. It was my mum's first go at applique on a quilt. She hasn't given me my quilt back and even worse, she keeps it in this wooden chest! (She came back with it one day from Northcote Road and was "thrilled with its original paint finish" whatever that means.)

With a silly old rabbit! There are lots of other quilts in there too. She thinks she forgot to show you this little log cabin one she made. She says the pattern is in Kathy Tracy's book "Prairie Children and their Quilts". She goes ga-ga over that lady's books.

Lots and lots of little strips, measures 12 3/4" x 17" apparently.

She made this star one, too (based on a quilt in Kathy Tracy's The Civil War Sewing Circle). It's a feline-friendly 18" square.

I can't understand why she makes all those little kitty-sized quilts then puts them in the box with the old rabbit? Never mind because my brother and I have found an even comfier spot on my mum's bed. There's not just a big quilt suitable for two kittys but an eidy too! Purrrrrrrr.

Happy Christmas from the furry friends (including Vorey, but he's off radiator-hugging).

In the Mood

2011-12-14T17:12:00.007Z

Off we went at the weekend, headed westbound for our little bolthole in the country. My parents came too and it was fun to find Bridport was looking and feeling rather festive. Dad was tasked with selecting the sprouts. Surely mum doesn't want to get them cooking just yet? Don't like the things myself but do so love the whacky little tree thing they grow on!

I was thrilled to find a brass band was playing, you simply can't beat it for creating an atmosphere but as Buckydoo Square is undergoing renovations, they had to find a little space on the street corner.

There was still space to squeeze in a fine tree, it seemed. Shame about those barriers, very unphotogenic.

The Farmer's Market was on in the Arts Centre and was bustling with folks buying the West Country's finest produce.

The big draw, of course, is the smiley chap in red, ho ho ho. The Munchkin looks forward to this each year (almost as much as me!) and I religiously take his photo next to the float and am then shocked to see how much nearer to the top of the float he is growing!

He is rather more interested in the Quality Street which get dished out. I think he will never be too old for those, I know I'm not. (Please excuse his mother's wrinkly fleecy gloves he has borrowed.)

The street market is doing a roaring trade and talented folks are plying their trades with a seasonal touch.

Meanwhile, I am predictably buying things I don't really need but just can't leave behind from junk shops. My Dad is a superb mule! However, I must train him not to come out with the inevitable, "What have you bought that for?"

Back at the cottage, we have a dinky Christmas tree for the first time. We usually just go with a few decorations but this year, we've gone the whole (baby) hog. I was chuffed to discover vintage baubles I'd bought and forgotten about, stashed away in the loft. Obviously, a better photo would have been taken in the darkening afternoon light but I simply forgot (oops, what an amateur). One of my peg doll fairies (a few still currently available here) has found herself atop the tree.

We have fairy lights all round the sitting room which creates a rather lovely grotto effect, a few vintage paper decorations and some vintage tinsel. All from local thrifty shops and markets.

Saturday night is a big deal for the Munchkin as it's Strictly Come Dancing night. We break open the crackers at dinner for the first time and he gets into the festive spirit!

On Sunday, we took advantage of the dry weather and headed off to the flea market at Shepton Mallet where we chatted to friends, munched on pasties and bought gorgeous fabric (thank you Lizzie!) and also wedged a 1940's cupboard into the groaning car. We'll look at that another day.

The heavens opened and back off home we headed but just when you thought we couldn't possibly take anything else home...

The HenHouse needs a tree too, you know, and we do rather like to go the whole fully grown (rather than the baby) hog here.

And there's always the roof!

When Hen met Cath

2011-12-09T13:46:00.005Z

Yesterday, I popped into ole' London Town to do a spot of Christmas shopping. I was taken aback by how busy it was, arrrgghh! It was rather lovely though, no need to rush home as the Munchkin was taken care of, happy people everywhere and beautiful window displays, not to mention the street lights. I thought this one was pretty spectacular.

I went to Liberty, they had a special discount event which quite frankly, you need if you're going to afford anything from there! There's no denying it's the most beautiful shop in the world, though, never more so than at this time of year.

The lights over Regent Street were pretty good though it's not really dark enough in this photo to show them to their best effect. The huge cobweb-type sparkly nets were very pretty.

St Christopher's Place had gone for a different look with suspended softly glowing balls. The pink was particularly pleasing, of course.

I must confess that although I did get plenty of Christmas shopping done (my arms are twice as long today), I really had another reason for going into London. Hands up who recognises this lady?

Eeek, yes it's none other than my heroine, the simpy marvellous Cath Kidston. She had popped into her Marylebone store (where I'm pretty much a regular) for a book signing event. I was thrilled to find it was not massively busy when I arrived and Cath was happy to chat away. Oh my, I still haven't come back down to earth! I'm honestly not one of those people who generally gets starry eyed over celebs, I don't buy those tacky magazines, but I'm afraid this was different!

There you can see Cath having a look at my patchwork bag; we had a good old natter about vintage fabrics, her new book and sewing, collecting vintage and well, all sorts.

I'm thrilled to say that Cath really didn't disappoint, in fact she exceeded my expectations. Warm, down-to-earth, friendly, chatty, I never imagined she would be that nice! Oh golly, it was so great because I was prepared for it to be a crashing disappointment (like when I met Nigella, grumpy mare).

She was happy to sign my book, you can tell how nice she is from her lovely comment.

Meeting the fantastic Cath has to be my best early Christmas pressie ever!

Well I Never

2011-12-07T18:30:00.004Z

If there's one thing I love in life, it's a good dresser or at least a set of shelves which I can then adorn with as many gorgeous things as possible.

(Photo from Homes & Antiques magazine.)

I actually amassed my Carltonware collection when I was in my mid twenties (ooh many years ago), buying it mainly from eBay or specialist fairs. Some came from all over the world, Australia and the USA mainly, for although the china was made in Britain from around the 1930s onwards, much was made for export, especially to Australia and indeed if you turn some of the pieces upside down, they will be stamped "Australian Design".

At the time, competition was fierce and prices much higher than I've noticed recently. Such is the fickle world of antiques and collectables. As such, so long as you've bought what you really love, you'll always be ok. And I do love my Carltonware. Look at those colours! They're so me, don't you think!

For several years, whilst I lived my "single girl life" in my late twenties, working in the City, footloose and fancy free, enjoying life in my quite modern flat (Victorian building but the decor was quite trendy), the Carltonware lived in boxes in the attic. Having met Mr HH and moving to the HenHouse, there was room and a fitting setting to get it all out again. We duly purchased a lovely art deco cabinet on eBay and brought it back on the roof of the car from a fabulous Arts and Crafts style house in Birmingham.

In went some of the Carltonware and it sits in our "adults' lounge" (I love calling it this for it does rather make me think of a lap dancing club. No idea why this should amuse me but it does!)

Oooh, pretty!

The ranges are all based on flowers. So there is buttercup, one of the most sought after, which came in delightful yellow and pink, the pink being very collectable indeed. The "lidded cheese dish", one of my most treasured possessions, is one of the most coveted pieces of all. As you can see, I have been known to use them as props for my wares!

Poppy is also quite collectable and came in green and yellow. Most of the ranges (foxglove, apple blossom, springtime/crocus, hydrangea and so on) came in yellow and green so the pink was always very collectable.

(Incidentally, a new batch of these cute pin cushions has recently found its way into my shop.)

Much of the wares were not actually that practical for use. The dinky butter or preserve dishes came in beautiful boxes with china knives or spoons and had gorgeous decorated box lids, many different. My sister has a huge collection of these. The spoons or knives are often missing or broken. The large jugs are also quite rare.

Anyway, back to shelves and dressers. Oh yes, what a lucky lass I am, after a few years, along came the cottage giving me whole new areas to decorate! Having filled that art deco cabinet back at home, shockingly, there was still an awful lot of Carltonware living in boxes. Onto eBay I went, one dresser purchase later (yes, that was also transported on the roof of the car!) and I had a new home for it in the kitchen at the cottage and could finally unpack the last of the Carltonware.

Not just Carltonware though, as I couldn't resist those divine French tins, a bargain from the sale in Bridport's church hall. As you can see, at the weekend, the cottage went festive and a few decorations found themselves onto the dresser but can't really compete with that Carltonware, can they?

Is it familiar at all, that dresser filled with its floral goodness, its Carltonware and its French tins? Imagine my surprise when the lovely blogger, Sairer, sent me an email on Friday night and asked if I'd seen the latest Homes & Antiques magazine, or more precisely the free catalogue with this month's issue?

There it is, our dresser, ready for Spring in April! I think maybe it will always be April in the cottage. (Thank you, Sairer.)

Christmas Vintage and Handmade Fair

2011-12-05T08:23:00.009Z

Here we are another Monday, another week and fewer than three weeks until Christmas. Aaarrgghh! Thank you for your messages of support in advance of Saturday's super Vintage and Handmade Fair, it was a really good day. I thought you might like to share the day in snaps...

Here is the front lounge area and you can see the doors where some keen folk were huddled ready to be allowed in. It was a bright but quite chilly day. There are quite a lot of stalls in this area too so shoppers can get at it as soon as they are inside!

Here is Donna Flower's gorgeous stall, groaning with fabric goodies of the best variety. The one thing I can say looking back at my photos today is that I'm now so sorry I felt too jaded on Saturday to do much shopping for myself (just a few baubles and a couple of pieces of fabric). I think we could do with leaving everything in situ for the Sunday! I'm now looking at my photos and spotting gorgeous covetable items that I missed on the day. Grrrr.

Stephen and Judy always amass a lovely collection of vintage collectables; the colours are delightful, as you can see.

Woo's handmade creatures looked so cute.

Jo had some beautiful and unusual items on her stall which were beautifully displayed, I spent some time admiring the antique quilt used as a table covering. Wish I'd bought the little mannequin, Jo!

Here is a view of the main hall just after the doors had opened to the public. The fair attracted many visitors.

Viv had a lovely selection of her handmade bags and brooches.

Oooh, I thought this lady's needle felted work was wonderful. I didn't actually get to chat to her and I don't even know her name so if you are out there or somebody knows, please feel free to add your details in the comments.

The Fair extended upstairs and the ladies from the WI were in charge of cakes and teas this time.

The window alcove was the perfect spot for all Niki's beautiful dolls and angels.

Back downstairs, if you were thinking the fair is just for ladies, well you're wrong. Take a look at this rabble of fine specimens (hiding in the corner!) Mr HenHouse certainly made the effort with his finest vintage clobber.

After that very early 5am start, the Munchkin was most intent on refuelling!

Next door to us, who did we find but Sal and her better half, the dashing Mr Snippets. What a photogenic chap, quite eclipsing Sal's fabulous vintage fabrics!

Finally, here are my goodies amongst their customarily pink set up.

Please feel free to visit my well stocked Etsy store if you see anything you'd like to purchase from afar or contact me direct if you prefer. This week sees the last guaranteed Christmas dates for overseas posting. I will be adding more to my Etsy shop through the week but it's quite a deathly job so please bear with me!

*************************************************************************************

By the way, Sal has written up a super post about the day over on her blog.

For details of all the other talented stall holders, please find details over on the V&H blog.

Phew!

2011-12-02T20:12:00.005Z

Oh dear, where has the day gone? I am posting much much later than I anticipated. I suddenly looked at the clock, it was 3.15pm and I thought I'd better take some snaps before it got too dark. I'm really still not used to the change in seasons.

So this time, I thought I had better have a trial run of my stall for tomorrow's Vintage and Handmade Fair as I had made some different items and had some new "props" and wondered how it was all going to work. It's a fairly exhausting exercise, putting everything out to pack it all away again and then do it all tomorrow but it takes the guess work out of things on the day so I have longer once I am finished setting up to "make myself smart" (after that early start) and mooch the other stalls. Never mind, it's my twice yearly chance to play shop keeper!

So the patchwork cushions turned out rather nicely, such a wrench to pack them away! The patchwork cover is tied onto cotton quilt batting and I have hand quilted round the heart appliques using pretty perle cottons. All the fabrics are vintage. Scrumptious! Perfect for a bed or armchair as a focal point (dahling!)

You may have spotted a pink-painted item just in the corner of that last photo. I have managed to get one pink crib ready for the fair. Never say never, but each time I do one, I say "never again"! This time especially so, as I was outside painting when it was seven degrees the other day. When I came in over four hours later, I couldn't feel my hands. Awwww!

There was no way I wanted to alter the lovely original paint finish on this duck egg crib so I have concentrated my efforts on making gorgeous bedding with vintage cottons and woollen blanket and a traditional patchwork mini quilt and it looks a treat I think. It's also smaller, if space is of a premium in little lady's boudoir.

Continuing a cute theme, there are plenty of owls and bunny teds coming along for the ride.

Of course, plenty of brooches too. I find it hard to sit still and do nothing and brooches are the perfect answer. Never can understand why I get so many funny looks on the Tube!

On a glamorous note, I've very much enjoyed making these "ball gown" clutch bags; I call them that because their pleats remind me of 1950's ball gowns. And so I decided that I would make them using vintage fabrics too, many very reminiscent of the '50s. Mad Men eat your heart out! Perfect to jazz up that perennial fave, the LBD. I agonised over choosing a complementary vintage brooch from my collection to enhance each one but then I realised it gave me the perfect excuse to go out looking for more. Winner! It also gave me the chance to use some fabrics which wouldn't sit well in my regular patchworks, those with darker hues which are so beautiful and striking.

On the pink shelves, there are the favourite vintage china cups fashioned into pin cushions and delightfully scented candles. Behind them you can hopefully see my latest covered notebooks, this time with crazy patchwork covers made using vintage fabrics. There are also some cute dinky pin cushions, perfect stocking fillers maybe, mainly in divinely pretty Japanese fabrics.

Up on top, a pair of feedsack felines (the black one is my absolute favourite, eek) is keeping a collaged applique picture company. A lady bought one of these pictures at the last fair for her grandaughter's nursery, who was yet to be born back then; I hope I get to catch up with her tomorrow. There's a lovely green vintage plates cake stand, too. We have three available with various patterns and colours.

Finally, most of today has been spent on these little peg dollies, fashioned as fairies resplendent with silvery wings, along with ditsy patterned dresses, net underskirts and a final flourish of vintage lace and paper millinery flower. So cute! I have painstakingly hand painted each one but had the most fun today, deciding on their frocks and accessories! Ah, you can never take the girl out of me.

The afternoon drew in so quickly and I was still adding things to the shelves!

Until I finally had to admit defeat when Mr HH came home to pack up the car for me!

I hope to see many of you good folk at the fair tomorrow. One really important point of note is that you will not find us in our usual position. This time, you will find our stall still in the main hall but at the end of the left hand wall, in the corner. Opposite I suppose, where you may have visited us before. Do say hello, it's what really makes the day! I know that so many people will not be able to come; I hope you've found a little inspiration and visual pleasure in this post anyhow. I will be stocking my Etsy shop next week to allow virtual shopping wherever you are. Sales plug over!

And now, glass of wine in hand (that's why my typing was so dodgy!), it's time for a little rest, a spot of Foyle's War on the telly and goodness knows what to eat. Ahhhh, lovely. Have a wonderful weekend, whatever you get up to...

Under Construction

2011-11-29T12:02:00.006Z

Well, I'm not sure whether I'm coming or going this week but one thing's for sure, it's a happy feeling all the same. My sister has been with me for the week so there has been much crafty nattering and moochy outings and now this week, it's foot to the pedal at the sewing machine. How can I not be happy when I am surrounded by such lovely vintage and handmade goodness?

Yes, if it has escaped your attention, as it surely shouldn't have, this Saturday is the next super, spiffing and splendid Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury. Here, yours truly shall have a stall peddling her wares, along with my accomplices, Mr HenHouse and Master Munchkin, not forgetting many other very talented makers and vintage vendors (at least their wares are vintage, even if they are not).

Today I have attacked my vintage stash and embroidered cloths and have been merrily patchworking away on some cushion covers. This one has a bluey purpley theme...

While this one, still being sewn together, has a pretty sugary pastel theme, all my fave colours.

There have been more crazy hearts, filled with delicious Provencal lavender.

To prove that I really have been patchworking like mad, you can see I needed to buy a new ruler and handle as the others broke, and whilst we were in Lewes last week, I thought I should treat myself to a new pink cutting mat. Well, it would have been rude not to.

Also in Lewes, sister/partner-in-crime and I spotted this extremely cute number.

Yes, we lugged it all the way round Lewes and all the way back on the train and I've loved giving it a pretty makeover. Just right for a special little lady to find under the tree on Christmas morning?

The vintage crib has received a new influx of bunny teds who are jostling for space with the owls...

There are also a few more brooches, a new design using vintage quilt patches teamed with my fave little felty flowers and a touch of hand embroidery.

Oh, if only my "to do" list was looking a little shorter and if only when I crossed one thing off, I didn't think of something else to add? Know the feeling?

Much better to be like Vorey and take advantage of the piece of foam abandoned under the ironing board?

What? Sleep in that nice basket with a cushion in it and a crocheted blanket? When I can have this chopped-into-curled-up piece of foam?

It's all far too much for Charlie Boy who is having to block out the daylight with his furry paw to take a cat nap!

As you can see from the calendar, I'm stuck back on the twelth! If only.

I hope to be back before the end of the week to show you the other goodies I am working on and (fingers crossed) hope to have finished. Hope you are having a good week. Now where did I put that paint brush?

Sometimes It Goes Wrong

2011-11-23T15:01:00.008Z

I was just sitting sorting through photos on the computer and it struck me that I'd never shared these with you, taken way back in the Summer. I remember this well because I sat outside in the sun doing much of the sewing in my spare time. I also remember it well as... the project which went wrong. Gasp!

Overflowing with enthusiasm after my time with the fabulous Julie Arkell at Cowslip Workshops, and being a little brooched-out back then, I hankered after making a fabric necklace. We weren't shown how to make them on the course though you will see Julie's necklace in the photos if you look with eagle eyes at this blog post, as Julie brought many of her beautiful handmade items to share with us.

Off I went, maybe it was all the sun (or all the wine?), merrily chopping out circles of Liberty Tana Lawn, as I decided this would be a good fabric to make the "balls" in (beads really?), being relatively light weight.

Ooooh, how I loved watching my little pile of balls grow. So very tactile, such delightful spriggy fabrics. (Note the Mollie Makes inspired photo!)

Having beavered away making rather a lot of the little balls, when I had finally sewn them together, I gaily flung my necklace round my neck and skipped indoors to the mirror to see how it looked. Giddy and exciting times, dear reader.

Oh horror of horrors! Had I not created the largest ever fabric necklace in history? It seems my sense of scale had deserted me. What size did you cut those delicious circles of Tana Lawn, Hen?

As such, I've rather preferred looking at my photos of piles or handfuls of Liberty fabric balls and when I just decided to write this post, I knew you would probably want to see a shot of the finished article. Well, goodness me if I had no idea where the necklace of disaster was, sadly discarded in disgust. However, a little search in the Den found it hanging on the back of the door.

(Look how dreadful the light is for photos. Oh I hate this time of year. Sulk.)

Admire my Ma Larkin-esque housecoat, why don't you, instead of that disgraceful necklace.

And while we're on the subject of housecoats and Mollie Makes-esque photos... I may as well add this one into the mix. Decidedly unflattering though this photo is, it still contains an undeniably splendid pink glass hen for my collection and another marvellous housecoat.

Maybe when the Munchkin is older and taller, he will not take such awful photos of me, shot from below, with me looking rather portly. Or is that when I stop eating cake?

Want to share your crafty disaster? Go on, it'll make me feel better (sob).

Crafty Old Bag

2011-11-17T14:31:00.003Z

I've been waking up pretty early at the moment which is great for getting on and sewing with gusto, not so great come mid-afternoon when I'd like to crawl into my cosy pit and have forty winks!

I decided to hit my Cath K stash which is fairly sizeable, and use some of the new fabrics I'd acquired. The fabrics are pretty full-on, especially when you patchwork a couple together, so I kept the design to a simple classic, the tote bag.

I love this one. The grey fabric has been used for the bags Cath sells in her stores (the bags made by little Chinamen), but hasn't been available as yardage so I was very hesitant cutting into it and only had enough for this one bag. The end result is worth it though, I think, paired with another favourite print, Button Rose, oh so cute.

I loved the Provence Rose design as soon as it was released so when Cath started producing it in different colourways, I was a happy bunny! This one in a soft red shade is particularly striking.

As you probably spotted, I added a handmade felt anemone brooch to each bag to oomph the vintage 1940's style. They each have a swivel metal brooch pin sewn to the reverse so can be removed and swapped to another bag or even a cardi or coat.

Each also has a pretty crochet trim. I try to make my bags more appealing than those you can buy straight off the shelves along with the rest of the world, and selecting the trims and brooches is also one of the best bits of the making process.

They're lined with Rosali cotton and each has a dinky pocket to keep your travel card, keys or similar in easy reach.

They are both one-offs, currently available in my Etsy shop.

Now how about that forty winks?! Yawn. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Brooching the Subject

2011-11-15T16:20:00.005Z

Time flies, dear reader! Before we know it, it's going to be the "big day". I think I can safely mention the 25 December now? Indeed, we were presented with a whole loads of gifts at the weekend and it rather took me aback that someone could be that organised!

Meanwhile, I am not doing well on the Christmas shopping front, unless you count buying early gifts for myself? Oh yes, I'm pretty good at that.

This morning, I was super excited to open the front door of the HenHouse and find a couple of boxes waiting for me in the porch, left at some ungodly hour by our friendly postie. One was full of lavender so that I may get stuffing some crazy hearts, the other was a rather delightful vintage goody for me that I'd just been unable to resist.

Fortuitously, it coincided with my having finished beavering away on a whole range of brooches to replenish my little shop. A perfect opportunity for a faffy photo session presented itself, along with a touch of sunshine, oh so welcome after recent deathly dreary days. As such, my gift-to-me could actually be seen as a legitimate business expense, wouldn't you say?

So I have had a lovely few days hand making. Lots of divine vintage fabrics, woolly felt and embroidery silks in mouth watering shades.

I always receive a flurry of compliments on my little clock brooch whenever I wear it so I have made a couple more which I am finding very hard to relinquish! Each of these has taken me over three hours to make as they are entirely hand cut and sewn. They even have their own little appliqued mouse (in lieu of Mr HenHouse's suggestion that I embroider GWR on the face!)

I enjoyed matching beautiful fussy cut patches of vintage fabric with plain cottons and hand cutting those dinky felt flowers.

I had a request for one of my felty heart brooches which sold out long ago and once I started, I couldn't stop! I loved thinking up the colour combinations for these.

An entirely different technique brought about these rather cute and pretty woolly flower brooches, inspired by the spirit of make do and mend, 1940's style.

More of my "cameo" style brooches, this time cutting into a treasured stash of Darlene Zimmerman reproduction 1930's cottons, paired with some pretty fussy cut patches of vintage hand embroidery. Can you make out the little carnations and tiny birds on the cottons?

I like my brooches to be just as pretty on the back and take care selecting ditsy print cottons or felts in co-ordinating colours for the reverse.

Haven't I been a busy bee! And my gift? How do you like my glorious 1930's toffee tin? I just LOVE it. Thank you, Clare, of Vintage Home, for finding the most sublime vintage treasures which I simply cannot resist. If ever I am in need of delightful vintage eye candy, your shop is where I always head.

All of the pretty brooches, and more besides, are waiting new owners here in my Etsy shop. Perfect as a Wintery pick-me-up gift for you, or maybe you can do better than me, and make inroads into your Christmas gift list!

What can I say? The cloth was another gift to myself at the Country Living Fair last week. A lost cause?!

Drink up thy Zyder!

2011-11-14T10:22:00.008Z

I think it's time to embrace Autumn, readers (you mean you have already?) and what could be better to mark this season than a trip to the cider farm. Off we go deep into the heart of smiling Somerset whereupon we stumble on a scene from years past.

In our opinion, there's no finer brew than the cider produced at Burrow Hill. Tucked away along a country lane, we stumbled upon The Somerset Distillery years ago, entirely by accident. We were entranced by the place and we return errm, quite frequently.

This area of South Somerset is notable for its fields of apple orchards stretching into the distance. Sheep graze under the old apple trees, there's even the odd snorting pig snaffling up the windfalls (it's true!) and there's an abundance of wild birds.

This cider farm is a ramshackle old place, and I say that in the very best sense of the word. Peace pervades, the air is filled with the scent of apples in the yard waiting to be turned into a delicious brew and if you've just £6 or so, you can walk away with a 4 litre container of the best cider you'll ever have tasted.

This place is also known for producing the popular "Somerset Cider Brandy" (an English version of Calvados) and they also make various aperitifs and juices. In the yard, there are various displays of old stills and cider making equipment.

I think this would be a great place to photograph some sludgey quilts!

At certain times of the year, you can take a guided walk through the orchards to view the blossom or the apples and hear the owner, Julian Temperley (father of fashion designer Alice and quite a character), tell you everything you could ever wish to know about cider apple varieities and cider making. I'm getting thirsty just thinking about it!

Harvest time, around October, is the most exciting time to visit. The amount of apples piled up in the yard and waiting in tractors to be pressed is quite jaw dropping. The scent in the air is rather heady.

Don't they look delightful?

On with the job then. The apples process along a channel in the yard's floor and are washed on the way. They then pass through various stages, pressing the apples, extracting the juice, disposing of the pulp and so on.

Hmm, that doesn't look so nice!

Finally, in the depths of the barn where the air is very cool, the cider rests in enormous vats.

Until we come along, that is! You can have your containers filled up from the oak casks, requesting dry, medium or sweet (and having a taster, of course).

In addition, there is a range of bottled ciders and juices which have a longer shelf life (we find the fresh cider lasts about two weeks in the fridge, if we haven't drunk it all by then!) I often buy these and put some in the hampers I make up as gifts at Christmas. You can also buy cider brandy truffles, cider vinegar crisps and apple chutney and recipes are available for interesting cocktails to make using the farm's cider and spirits.

Oh dear, it was really too early in the day for writing this post! Apple juice it is then...

P.S. To those of you very kind people who took the time to wish me "happy birthday", very many thanks, your thoughtfulness was very much appreciated.

Getting There

2011-11-04T11:43:00.003Z

Progress has been made in the bedroom...

And on the quilting front...

Finishing touches await...

Distractions of a very minor nature!

Time to recharge on a rare and indulgent child-free weekend away. One of the benefits of turning yet another year older? See you next week, in a little more detail, let's hope...

In Need

2011-10-25T18:06:00.007+01:00

Yesterday was one of those days: time to catch up on all the chores which weren't done while we were away last week; a fridge freezer to order which wasn't in stock even when the internet said it was or alternatively, that couldn't be delivered for weeks; and when I finally got down to a few hours sewing, my maths was all wrong and my blocks the wrong size. I think I was out of practise after my week off. Oh dear. Off out we went for a curry, instead!

Today then, how lucky was I when a promised trip to the Lego store was sidelined when one of the school mum's rang to invite the Munchkin over to play. Ahhh, I deserved to do something nice, something unchallenging.

So I dived into my vintage stash and decided to make a really simple quilt. The sort of quilt I made when I first started quilt making and the type I probably still love the best. A quilt all about the fabrics.

I wanted to use some of the fabrics I had collected most recently (I've decided I am now officially a collector of vintage fabrics!) These seemed to have a predominantly blue and pink colour scheme so although I was initially going to add some red, I stuck to just blues, pinks and whites for this quilt. I cut out large 10" one-patch blocks and many smaller 5.25" patches destined for four-patch blocks. Just like the first quilts I made.

I got entirely carried away with the fabrics. Fabrics from France...

Fabrics from aprons now too worn or stained to use for their original purpose...

Fabrics which were likely once bedding/eiderdowns...

Fabrics which were probably pretty frocks...

Fabrics which were feedsacks...

Fabrics which are simply gorgeous!

The larger ten inch squares...

Hmm, it took some muster to cut squares that big from my precious fabrics (given they are mainly fat quarters, around 18" x 22" in size) but there's no point in them sitting on the shelf forever.

Hooray, we love quilts, say the furry friends!

I joined the small squares into two-patches before going up to my quilting room to lay out all the blocks on my huge (table tennis) table. I don't always do this, mainly I just "fly by the seat of my pants" (wild) and join them as I go but sometimes, you don't always get the most pleasing arrangement that way. My fragile ego couldn't take any more mishaps!

Oooh, isn't it looking scrumptious?

And while I arranged the blocks, I had a furry friend keeping a watchful, not entirely selfless, eye on my progress.

Edit: Rarely I find vintage fabrics thriftily, more likely I find them at vintage fairs and buy from my fave dealers, Sal's Snippets and Donna Flower. The French fabrics were mainly from Sandy at Rag Rescue.

Postcard from 1943

2011-10-21T17:01:00.009+01:00

We've been lucky enough to enjoy another wonderful stay in the charming North Yorkshire town of Pickering this last week, something which is becoming a little ritual for our family, staying in the same super cottage right on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for the last few years now. The highlight, though it's hard to choose, is the annual wartime weekend which the railway held last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What a superb weekend it was! Step back with us to 1943...

There's really far too much to fit in on these weekends! Each station has its own events going on, this year Whitby joined in at one end of the line, and the main focus is Pickering at the other end, the whole town joining in is what makes this event so special. The boys are pretty keen on a bit of loco spotting, of course.

The Munchkin fancies getting onto the footplate. Hmm, maybe he'll be evacuated instead!

Is there a better, more classy way to travel than by steam train? Especially when travelling in an authentic 1930's teak coach.

The NYMR enjoys a relatively long stretch of track for a preserved railway (most were closed, mainly back in the 1960s), being approximately 18 miles long. The most stunning scenery accompanies your journey.

When not enjoying a trip by rail, there are so many other things to do during this weekend. There were more dealers than ever present in Pickering's station yard and it takes a pretty long time to go through all the stock on offer. There's the inevitable 1980's gear passed off as vintage at inappropriate prices but also some truly wonderful original finds to be made including real CC41 items. I still think the price of much true vintage is excellent given it is a unique quality piece of history. (More of the particularly splendid two vintage 1940's dresses I found this weekend another time.)

The stall holders usually look fab themselves and are very helpful if you are looking for particular items or to recreate a whole look. One thing I have learned is always to take along your tape measure and know your own measurements well (no cheating!) One of our favourite dealers told me that a vintage size 12 has a 30.5" bust!

There were opportunities for people watching a-plenty. So many people dress up for this event, it's really super.

Time to refuel? There are friendly ladies running the NAAFI on the station platform, complete with vintage pinnies. This side of the platform is reserved for re-enactors/those in period dress so always offers a top photo opportunity.

On the way into town, we spot make do and mend felt brooches for sale. A lady after my own heart!

The jewel in the town's crown and a must-visit for us where we are always greeted by friendly faces, is the shop Reeds, where fellow blogger Anne and her lovely friends turn her gift shop above the newsagents into a wonderful vintage tea room, just for the one weekend.

The Munchkin finds it impossible to choose between all the delights on offer!

Can you blame him?

Another day, another outfit!

What a thoroughly brilliant time we had. Do we really have to wait another year for the next?

Oh I do like

2011-10-20T08:01:00.005+01:00

...to be beside the seaside!

Turning Ten

2011-10-18T20:03:00.005+01:00

Happiness is...

Hornby...

A 1940's panda...

Proper big steam engines...

Full afternoon tea...

Chocolate cake and blowing out the candles...

Happy Birthday Muchkin.

Keep Calm and Clear Off

2011-10-14T13:09:00.005+01:00

In the midst of chaos and generally feeling out of control (something which is very alien for the control freak that is me,) what better than to look at fabric. Nothing is likely to bring me more pleasure (except maybe sewing with fabric and of course, buying fabric). Piles in the Den were getting seriously topple-y and as a few new supplies arrived, order was needed in the vintage quarter of stash central.

Handy then that you just happen to have a nine year old keen to earn a few brownie (should that be Cubs) points?

I'm actually quite enjoying this Mummy, he declared after a while. That's my boy. All will not be forgotten when you turn ten next week. Really? How did that happen? That explains the grey hairs then.

But the real chaos is not going on in the sanctuary of my Den, the Den was merely a little diversion. We have never decorated our bedroom since we moved into the HenHouse and it really is (past) time. Yes, that plastered patch on the wall was a doorway that was blocked up and has remained unpainted ever since. Shameful. My beautiful silk curtains took a battering in the fierce sun that floods this room and have become tattered so have now been taken down.

We've never really liked this fireplace. It is not original to the house and doesn't really suit this room though it is an authentic antique piece. We're not going to the trouble of replacing it but I did think it would look better in a less dominating colour. I've got so far as priming it and buying the eggshell paint but there I've had to stop for now.

The real issue you can see below. In one way, it was great to move in and have this whole wall of wardrobes. In another, it would have been really nice if they'd actually had doors! We've had trouble in the past getting someone to make doors for us but finally we've struck gold with our faithful and much treasured handyman. But my oh my, how much stuff we had squirrelled away in there. It took me most of yesterday to clear my section. And the dust; oh dearie me.

The spare room now resembles a cross between a charity/junk shop (which has not received the Mary Portas treatment) and a car boot sale without well, the car boot.

I show you these photos not because I think you're going to find them thrilling but because I want to be able to look at them in a few weeks and see progress! So tomorrow, in comes our super decorator and the transformation can begin. Usually, I love the decorating process and I'd have the whole room scheme planned but other than choosing the wallpaper, everything else is still up in the air.

On to prettier and more fanciful things. As you know, I have a thing for these little felty and/or vintagey brooches.

This special one came from Niki's fabulous shop when we visited a few weeks ago. It's so unusual and seems to be made from a thin plastic, dating to the 1940s.

The big anemone was made by yours truly one morning and has adorned many an outfit since. And then there are these treasures...

I bought these from the Vintage and Handmade Textiles Fair a few weeks ago. They are clearly genuine 1940's pieces, the felt has those beautiful colours it's hard to replicate. I love the round one with the little whirls of felt and I do believe the other is in the shape of a "V" and would have been made to celebrate victory in the Second World War. A bargain for a fiver (see what you miss if you don't visit these fairs?!)

What I really love is that when I turn them over, I can see they never actually made it into brooches and I am enthralled by all those hand worked stitches from seventy years ago, imagining the hands cutting all those little felty leaves, selecting the colours. As a maker, seeing how someone else works is really really interesting.

So, a sneaky half hour in bed this morning, (in the spare spare room - Charlie Boy is thrilled and has taken up permanent residence on the pile of eidys,) saw the little felt pieces finally become brooches as my own fair hands sewed on brooch pins. This weekend, they finally shall be worn as we recreate a little of the era of 1943. Yes, off we go for a little jaunt while Steve the decorator and Lola the cat sitter take over.

(Dress from the London Vintage Fashion Fair in Hammersmith last Sunday.)

See you in a while...

A Pretty Interlude

2011-10-10T12:19:00.007+01:00

A brief departure from the sludge then, today, for I have still been busy with Civil War repro fabrics but let's have some prettiness, yes? It's a funny old day here today, blowing a gale but it's really quite welcome as it's Monday and so I feel like I am struggling against a mountainous pile of laundry. Yeuch. Monday is a day of chores, not of sewing, and not one to be savoured but needs must, you know. I'm sure you do. However, going out to peg out the washing did result in some other outdoor activity which was much more fun, including picking this little posy of flowers from the garden.

On my way, I couldn't help a gay chuckle when I found Vorey had a new hidey hole, right in the sun, of course.

We found the old wooden crate when we went fruit picking back in the Summer and the farm let me re-home it. Since, it has sat looking interesting on the patio, not knowing that its fate lay as a kitty bed! Further down the garden then, we find that it is pleasant enough for another furry friend to be outdoors. Here is Jacky Ginger in what we call his "grass bed". If he cannot be found in the usual spots (eidys, quilts, beds, arm chairs), you can bet he shall be curled up here. Were you thinking we had a nice tidy garden? Now you know better! (It is a work in progress, honest!)

One way to distract yourself from the surrounding jungle begging to be tamed is to gratuitously fill the space with items of a decidedly more pretty and textile nature.

Remember my gift from the folks over in America at Accuquilt? Well, many many cranks of the handle later and my first tumbler quilt has been born. I started this way back in the midst of the sunny Summer (well, we had a few nice days?) so the fabrics were drawn from some appropriately gorgeous bright fabrics I'd been hoarding, many Japanese Lecien "Flower Sugar" with some Red Rose Farm and other 1930's reproduction cottons.

This tumbler block is 3" in size so it took an awful lot to make this lap-sized quilt. I also spent an age pinning all the rows so the points lined up as well as I could make them, and then ages quilting which in truth was a very dull job, outlining each and every seam a quarter of an inch either side. I stayed sane by doing a few hours then wandering off for a while before going back for a few more hours. I wouldn't do it again!

(Delilah the owl and her friends can be found here.)

I backed the quilt with a jolly polka dot fabric and added cute pink and red heart binding.

It managed to stay on the line for this flat shot but soon whizzed off in the wind!

The tumbler quilt is not the only pretty thing going on round here. My car boot sale Ted has found himself a cosy spot in this crib I've given a new lease of life.

Several pain-staking licks of pretty pink paint, vintage bedding and blanket and a mini patchwork quilt made, and this crib is ready to make a little lady (or even a lady who is young at heart!) happy. How many days until 25 December, dare I ask?!

Details of the pretty pink crib can be found in my blogshop here.

Back to the quilt though. Time to find it a home. I decided to have a little move round in the sitting room, it had been on my mind for a while (not a bad thing to have on your mind?) Out went the enormous chest of "not-often-played-with-anymore" Lego to the Munchkin's playroom upstairs, in came the cute turquoise-painted table I bought at the Bridport street market a while back. With a new table lamp at the cottage, we needed to re-home this one (old design lamp base from Cath K, with an old shade I covered with one of my fave old Cath K fabrics), so onto the turquoise table it went along with our old 'phone (a Shepton Mallet flea market find) and the afore mentioned posy of flowers.

I do so love it when you can create an entirely new scene from bits 'n' pieces you've already got at home.

It's a very pleasant spot to indulge in my latest hand sewing project.

Feline Pretty

2011-10-05T08:16:00.004+01:00

My recent crafting has had a decidedly feline tone. For ages, I've wanted to make a quirky kitty doll so one day, out came the linen and off I went.

These ended up being no quick make but that's not something I mind at all. I drafted a pattern onto freezer paper for the head and body and made separate legs and arms which I sewed into the body. I had plenty of inspiration while I worked!

I had fun making kitty's face with felt and some machine embroidery so everything is securely stitched down. I drafted a heart shape for her nose.

Probably the best bit was deciding on the fabric for kitty's dress. I wanted it to have a bright, colourful feedsack look. I twinned this with a lace tie at the neckline so the dress could be removed and I embellished the skirt with patches of vintage floral embroidery and a little word patch unique to kitty!

I soon found making these kittys addictive and so Purrfect Ruby soon had a friend!

Then my mind started to buzz with the possibilities of a whole litter of kittys in different colours! I think the black kitty is my favourite of all but then...

Obviously I also had to make a ginger kitty.

So there they are, resplendant in their fancy frocks, my "Feedsack Felines"!

Vorey is not sure what to think of it all...

I was making these kittys to sell but I must confess, I am finding it hard to let them go. But I have given myself a stern talking to and realised that I would love to make more anyway, so for now, I have listed one in my Etsy shop. She's a very learned kitty and is patiently reading a book waiting to go on her travels to pastures new!

What a Doll

2011-09-28T15:23:00.008+01:00

Well well, who would have thought that sludge could cause a little disturbance? I had no idea sludge was not a widely known phrase. For those of you wondering what on earth I've been rambling on about, there's a rather grim description of sludge here (read at your peril). I suppose sludge is indeed a muddy, silty type substance which is generally fairly negative in its connotations. I use it to encompass a colour palette which is rather murky in tone. This is how I always viewed these Civil War type fabrics, to be fair I really didn't "get" them but I'm glad to say I've widened my tastes (and my stash!) It was probably a little unfair to dismiss my recent handiwork as sludgey. There is beauty in that there sludge!

I have been indulging in more sludgey quilting on a miniature scale and devouring books on the subject. I asked my sister to lend me this book (scared as I was by the second hand prices on the 'net). Any self-respecting Civil War-style quilt maker knows that you have to have a prairie doll to display with your quilts.

Now I will turn my crafty hands to just about anything but I've never made a doll. I've made soft toys, I've made dolly-like clothes (for Katie Kitty for example) but never a doll. Truth be told, I was a bit scared! I read Prairie People over and over, I've not been seen without that book for the past week and yesterday, I decided it was time to get down to dolly business. I chose my doll, "Purleyetta" (the book has a huge list of rather interesting names suitable for prairie dollies) and began tracing the pattern pieces onto freezer paper. I love this stuff. It has a paper side onto which you draw and the reverse is shiny and when the heat of an iron is applied is turns temporarily sticky so it is great for making pattern pieces and templates, you simply iron the pieces onto your fabric and cut round them.

So far so good. Purleyetta is looking a bit worryingly butch here?

The instructions directed for the doll to be made from osnaburg (duly ordered from The Cotton Patch) which is a very loose weave sacking-type material. Not the easiest to work with, I stay-stitched all pieces as instructed and double stitched all seams using a very small stitch size. Oh, the patience.

So I have sewn like a thing possessed (nothing new there) and I would say about 15 hours later, Purleyetta has been born. Not a bit of butchness in sight, out she goes to enjoy the glorious sunshine.

The sunshine is lovely but not handy for photos, it has to be said. I was most trepidatious about creating the doll's face. My sister has always said "But it's the faces. Getting those right. That's the hard bit". I was thinking going Amish might be preferable. But I set to with some permanent fine liner pens, some acrylic paint and a few brushes and it wasn't actually that bad. A bit of trapunto created the nose (oh my, was that fiddly and the osnaburg actually frayed a bit but never mind).

The attention to detail in the instructions was good. The head and body are one piece, then there are two separate legs which you stitch into the body and two arms to hand stitch to the torso. I loved creating the chubby fingers!

Of course, the body was only the beginning because then Purleyetta had to be dressed, lots more pattern pieces to trace onto tissue paper before sewing them up, including full under garments made from vintage sheeting trimmed with vintage lace.

Working on a small scale is fiddly but satisfying.

The book suggests that Purleyetta is a simple soul, without frills, and a true quilter, happy with her quilts. There are instructions in the book for creating Purleyetta's memory quilt so that's just what I did.

I don't have a lot of plaid fabrics in my stash but I had stockpiled some of the Munchkin and Mr HenHouse's old shirts and in they went! They were lovely to hand quilt being made of super-fine cotton.

And the sashing? None other than a reduced-price lady's top from Sainsbury's supermarket (it was even £3 when it went through the till!) It was a shocker to sew with, made with that rather flimsy cotton supermarkets like to produce cheap clothing with, and being gingham, always tricky to try to keep the lines straight but never more so than here.

The little quilt is backed with a decidedly pretty floral print in a calico style. I enjoyed the simple hand quilting which didn't actually take that long. I didn't hand baste this quilt but used a basting spray (505) to fuse the quilt layers which worked brilliantly. Using the thinnest batting you can find is the best tip for enjoyable hand quilting (Dream Cotton in request weight is good).

So there you have it. I'm pleased with the outcome but I will have to psyche myself up to make another doll. That will take oooh, at least a few days! But that's ok as I've got another quilt on the go. You probably suspected that.

So Sludgey

2011-09-24T17:37:00.010+01:00

It's Autumn, my dear readers, there can be no denying it, can there? The sunshine we've enjoyed this week has certainly softened the blow that my favourite season has passed already, quick as that inevitable flash.

There are some compensations though, aren't there? Still beauty all around, if you but look hard enough. In the garden, we are awash with apples with their delightful rosy hue and sweet, crisp flesh.

There is still the odd rose (my favourite, David Austin's Jubilee Celebration), and interesting brambles, teasels and seed heads.

Maybe it's the nature around me which has turned my usual sewing practice on its head? You may recall that sludge and I are sort of old friends, albeit a tad begrudgingly ( if you fancy, read here, here and here) but this year, I am embracing sludge like no other.

My bedside reading is consisting entirely of books like these...

I have become quite obsessed with the "prairie style". This is music to my dear sister's ears who has long been in bed with sludge and is an avid dolly quilt maker. The books above are all by the talented Kathleen Tracy who also has a lovely blog. She mainly creates doll quilts and her books go into some of the interesting history of the American Civil War and prairie life. There's nothing I like more than a book which combines sewing and history; heaven.

Like Squirrel Nutkin, I've started to surround myself with Autumnal, prairie-style goodies (he being a hoarder but not necessarily into prairie style?)

And so I have had fun this week working outside my normal comfort zone, going small and sludgey. Working on such a small scale, means I have been prepared to change my usual way of quilt making. I have been hand basting the quilts in advance of quilting, rather than pinning them as usual.

Then I have even been hand quilting them! Maybe you can just pick out the pretty leafy border design on this quilt?

I cobbled the design of this first quilt together myself. "Bow tie" is a very traditional design, often seen executed in 1930' style fabrics, but here in sludge with an added border. The whole quilt measures 13" by 15 3/4". You know, looking at it, I'm not sure if it isn't a bit mean to condemn it as sludge. In fact, it has a right old mix of fabrics: a bit of charity shop dress, some Liberty, some modern prints, along with all those repro Civil War designs.

I then turned to one of Kathleen's books "The Civil War Sewing Circle" to run up this scrap squares quilt. It's a little bigger at 17.5" x 22.5". I did find the hand quilting on this a bit boring in the end, just going back and forth in a criss-cross fashion, but cannot deny that I like the effect very much. Somehow it just seems right with these quilts.

Goodies then. What did my beady little eye spot in Bridport which just had to come home and be part of my very own sludgy sewing circle?

Oooh yes, that fabulous little Singer sewing machine had to be mine! Talking of sewing accessories, Kathleen Tracy came up trumps again with her pattern in "Remembering Adelia" for a traditional housewife needle case. These were used by ladies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to hold their sewing supplies. They were also carried by soldiers during the American Civil War, often made for them as a sentimental token by a loved family member back home.

I think these are a fantastic practical idea, no sooner had I made one than I made another for my sister. The chance to ummm and ahhh over five different fabrics for one project is an opportunity I certainly relished!

So that is how my new Autumnal header came into being.

And I must confess, I already have yet more sludgey quilts and things to show you soon. The Hen is on a veritable sludgey roll...

Mad as a Hatter

2011-09-19T10:11:00.009+01:00

The weekend found the HenHouse posse in Bridport once more, not that we need an excuse, but we wanted to be a part of the hat festival taking place. This was a new festival last year, which we missed, but not so this year. There was hatty stuff going on everywhere. The Art Centre had a bustling hat market...

Sellers had come from near and far.

The talented young lady selling these fascinators had travelled fourteen hours by coach from Fife.

As well as hats for sale, there were folks sporting headwear all over the place. These ladies looked fine in their red and purple ensembles.

This poodle got into the spirit.

These two don't scrub up too badly (even if the lady does look like she's about to take off thanks to the seasonal gusts!)

And the Munchkin, where is he, you may be wondering?

He was off in the social club, taking part in a hat making workshop. Lots of fun he had, too (despite this unusually sombre expression!)

In the museum, there was a display of 1940's hats. Sadly, the photo is not great, taken through the glass.

Hmm, there were definitely a few hats I would not have minded adding to my collection.

Along the street, things were getting jolly and crowds gathered outside the fabulous old cinema to hear the ukeleles.

In the church hall, there were more stunning hats for sale. Both new and vintage (these belonging to EleganceMaison)...

And most importantly, my lovely bloggy friend, Kate, whom I managed to meet for the first time. Kate was selling her beautiful hat pins and accessories, some of which I'm now lucky enough to own.

Mr HenHouse was to be found perusing the wonderful treasures in Bridport's antiquarian book shop. Golly, I love this place, it's beautiful and tranquil and we never come away empty handed.

I, meanwhile, (in a strange "upwards" photo taken by the Munchkin), seemed to be mooning over yet more hats and handbags of the decidedly vintage variety in the brilliant "Vintage at Cornucopia" shop.

I am now feeling slightly miffed that I did not buy this gorgeous vintage hexagon throw. Maybe next time?

After all that culture and retail therapy, it was time to escape to the countryside and breathe in that fresh Somerset air. Ahhhhhh.

The Munchkin spotted this porky friend in the orchards at the cider farm.

This is a really beautiful spot and comes into its own at this time of year when it's nearly time to harvest the apples to make that delicious cider. Yes, we shall return then to see it in all its glory.

Arts and Crafts

2011-09-16T15:55:00.007+01:00

I do love a spot of Arts and Crafts. This time I don't actually mean the sort you do with your hands, but rather the design period, that which spanned mainly from the mid-Victorian era to Edwardian times.

My first home was a modest 1930's terraced house. It came complete with original stained glass windows and doors, wooden floor boards and original tiled cast iron fireplaces which rather sold me on it. Although not belonging therefore, to the Arts and Crafts period in terms of its architecture, it did lend itself well to being decorated in the style and that's just what I did. I wish I had some photos to show you but unfortunately, I don't.

At the time, I was potty about all things Arts and Crafts. I worked and saved my pennies which were then spent on William Morris print curtains in Liberty and Pomona wall hangings along with gorgeous copper fireplace fenders and so on for which I bid hard on good old eBay.

I have many many books on the subject and during the school holidays, it was a source of amusement yet delight to me that the Munchkin came over all engrossed with architecture. He'd while away the hours making line drawings of buildings and when I suggested he might like to browse my extensive book collection he was well and truly hooked. So when my parents came to stay for a while and we discussed where to go, I was delighted when my Dad suggested we re-visit Standen, a house I'd visited and fallen in love with at the height of my obsession probably ten years ago.

As you can see, it's really rather stunning, nestled in the rolling Sussex countryside pretty much in the middle of nowhere, a glorious spot, built for a well-to-do solicitor and his family. It is astoundingly well preserved as it has always remained in the family (it's now owned by the Nation Trust).

Inside, I was thrilled to discover that they now allowed you to take photos, albeit without a flash so apologies that they are a little dark, so I am able to share the glorious interior with you. Much of the furniture and textiles were commissioned especially for the house by famous artisans of the Arts and Crafts era such as William de Morgan, W.A.S. Benson and William Morris.

What struck me is that it was a house well placed to make the most of a television-free era. There was evidence of many books to read, musical instruments to play and tapestry and sewing going on. I can't think of anything more heavenly!

All the original features are intact and all the wonderful light fittings by Benson.

The orangery takes my breath away.

So does the kitchen! Farrow and Ball eat your heart out!

Upstairs is spectacularly beautiful. What I think I love so much about this design style is that although it embraces the natural and flowery, it does so in a relatively restrained way with clean lines, with an emphasis on good quality workmanship and good, honest materials. It is not fussy like the Victorian style.

Amazing William Morris wallpapers and fabrics abound.

Oh for a dressing room like this one.

The views from the windows are captivating.

The simple gardens are beautifully tended.

The surrounding cottages on the estate are picture-postcard perfect.

The view from the gardens unsurpassable.

Simply an extremely special place. Do visit if you have the chance.

Flower Power

2011-09-14T09:53:00.005+01:00

I have a weakness for anything flowery. You noticed? I particularly love these ditsy little millinery flowers. Picking up vintage ones which have beautiful faded colours and soft velvety textures proves trickier by the day so there were happy times when I happened upon these on Sunday.

We took ourselves off to a vintage fair in Hammersmith on the recommendation of some fabulous vintage fashion dealers we met at Vintage at Southbank. Despite the horrendous trip to get there as our railway line was closed, it was a great fair full of quality real vintage finds, I highly recommend it if you are in the area (next one is Sunday 9 October).

Funnily enough, over the last few weeks, I had an enjoyable time selecting gorgeous vintage fabrics from the '40s and '50s, making them up into little lavender sacks and tying them up with pretty ribbons and little linen labels. I'm in my element doing faffy stuff like this!

The finishing touch to each stack was a little posy of dinky flowers so it was great to re-stock.

Oooh scrumptious fabrics, how I love thee!

Talking of flowers and vintage, a few weeks ago I also happened across some rather fine embroidered linen.

Sometimes you find vintage cloths on which the embroidery work is not so fine but these are really admirable.

A bit of vintage woolly blanket later, some Liberty Tana lawn and a delightful vintage fabric and the embroidered linen has become useful once more. What better way to ward off the Autumn chill than vintage eidys and hottie covers?

The back is pretty too, of course.

Ted approves of the hottie covers but will reluctantly allow them to go to pastures new so long as he gets to keep the eidy! They are currently available in my Etsy shop.

Bag Lady

2011-09-12T14:37:00.009+01:00

When you read the title to this post, you would have been forgiven, reader, if you thought you were going to read things of a grannyish nature (though granny-stuff rates fairly high on my radar, anyhow), because I suppose bag lady has some rather negative connotations nowadays. But fear ye not for in fact, it's exactly the opposite you'll be finding here at the HenHouse today, for it is positivly oozing glamour. Ooh la la!

If you've been following my blog for a few years now (thank you kindly), you may recall that before my obsession with quilting began, my former obsession was bag-making. As one of my sisters once remarked, I am a person predisposed to obsession. I call it passion, myself. I made and sold an awful lot of bags, mainly through Etsy, that was really where my journey into sewing and eventually peddling my little wares began. A lady only needs so many bags (albeit that's a pretty high number). I used to make bags from patterns, Amy Butler has some smashing ones, but eventually, I started making the designs myself, having learned the desired skills from the patterns.

I don't know why but over the last few weeks, I was seized by the desire to get back into the baggy stuff. I think I needed a rest from all those hefty quilts (though it would be a lie to say I haven't got a quilt or errm, two, on the back burner). I also wanted to try something new, I think it's very good to challenge oneself and learn new skills every now and then. So off to Lisa's fine bag making emporium I went and came away quite a lot poorer, then huddled waiting for the postie to arrive with my package of much-anticipated bag frames and things. Oooh exciting!

So I rather fancied these interesting handle-frame-bag thingies. I think they look cute and vintage-y, I'd never used one before, so why not indeed? I had it in my head that the vintage look of the handles and the shape of the bag was reminiscent of the 1930s and the next lightbulb moment was to patchwork the bag front in a radiating sunrise fashion, an image they used over and over again in the '30s on everything from the glass in front doors to the quilted patterns on eiderdowns. It was of course, nothing other than an excuse to use more than one fabric from my precious vintage stash (six, in fact).

I went for two rather different colour schemes and found some lovely vintage brooches to match. I have always done this with my little clutch bags, (it is, after all, one way to justify my rather large collection of sparkly paste brooches).

But let's not stop there (you get free postage on the site when you spend over £40 so that made good business sense, no?) I have for ages fancied having a go with these kiss-lock purse frames (doesn't kiss-lock sound rather marvellous?) They remind me of the purses of my youth but nowadays are much more fancy and just the thing with a little black dress, don't you know. I used up a precious fat quarter of this lovely rosy 1950's fabric which still has a slight sheen to it. Man handling the glue-y fabric purse into the glue-y metal frame is not for the faint hearted but the result is certainly satisfying.

Another lovely brooch went on this one.

Talking of brooches, I always add a fabby vintage brooch to my ball gown clutch bags. I first made one of these bags several years ago as a custom order and they proved really popular. The puffy style reminds me of those full-skirted ball gowns of the 1950's. It seemed a natural marriage then, to fashion some with some rather divine 1950's fabrics.

I just love finishing the bag then agonising over the perfect brooch. It has to be one I'm willing to let go but it's often a close call, and one of necessity. You can still find these vintage brooches relatively easily, the trick is finding them in good condition with all the stones intact and at a reasonable price.

Because I'm a wild lady at heart, I lined the grey/black rosy print clutch with a shocking pink lining and added a tiny pink ribbon bow to the diamante brooch. Yes, that is as wild as it gets round here.

It has been really enjoyable to use these dark-toned fabrics which are perfect for the bags but are hard to incorporate into my other patchwork squares and quilts which tend to the sugary, pastel spectrum.

Last but not least, there's only so long I can go without getting out the pretty flowery fabric and I found this lovely piece whilst in the throes of my latest bag-making frenzy, so home it came to be immediately fashioned into an English-garden style clutch. This one has a pretty blue and pearly brooch.

Great '50s fabric, don't you think?

So there you are. I must confess I still have a few other bag frames to have a go with but maybe for now, I've got the bag-making bug out of my system!

If you have a LBD in need of the perfect finishing touch or if you're already getting organised with your C*******s gift shopping (eek), you can find all these bags in my Etsy shop.

Beautiful Music

2011-09-05T10:14:00.006+01:00

Our beloved Bridport was certainly putting on a show last weekend. It turned out it was "International Band Weekend" and South Street was partly closed off to allow about five or six bands to march through the streets whilst trumpeting out some rather splendid tunes.

Quite how they manage to parade through the streets and play at the same time is rather a special talent, I think. The West Country folks turned out in force, all ages from the very young to the rather elderly. So nice to see traditions like this still drawing the crowds. I really don't know why but brass bands always make me feel a bit teary eyed.

Talking of music, the boys found something on the street market which piqued their interest.

We have been humming and hahhing over these gramophones for some time. As people pretty much into the vintage lifestyle, it was difficult not to be seduced by them, playing out their Forties tunes as we wandered along the market. Beat that for atmosphere!

Oh no! Yet more records for DJ HenHouse, this time 78s, of course, none of your LPs or singles with a gramophone.

Sadly, the Munchkin started to feel a little under the weather, (I think it was the shock to the system of going back to school last week after eight very lazy weeks at home,) but he found comfort with my charity shop-bought bear. Well, I couldn't just leave him there, could I, all sad eyes and growly tummy (that's the Bear, not the Munchkin)?

Me? Well I was more than happy with my W.I. market flowers, there I was in the queue at 8.50am, because that's when you have to be there if you want to get the cut flowers when they open the gate at 9am. And by the time we repaired back to the cottage mid-afternoon, the sun had come out to play.

I separated the flowers out, in truth the Sedum and September didn't overly thrill me, but oh! the pyrethrum! At least that's what I think they are, featured briefly on my beloved Carlton Ware china back in the '30s. It never ceases to amaze me, the colours that nature produces. A last burst of late Summer colour before we give way to all that orangey-brown stuff I've got to love to learn again (sigh).

And did my eagle eyed readers a spot anything over my arm whilst I paused there to pose with my flowers? Do you remember a while back when I started this little project? Well, that special patchwork has transformed into a handy shopping bag. It's been on a few trips; the Festival of Quilts, Bridport street market, of course and joyously, receives kind and glowing compliments on its way. (Please excuse that it's looking a bit of a funny shape as its stuffed with all my morning's thrifty goodies!)

The sun was being very naughty with my lazy photographic session but you can see I think, that I treated myself to using all my favourite vintage prints for this bag, along with some very pretty bits of vintage embroidery.

I lined the bag with a sturdy barkcloth-esque vintage rosebud stripe I'd been hoarding far too long.

The handles I had bought a while back from a quilting shop (Creative Quilting) and been saving for this bag making session. I'm really rather loving them, shame they are so pricey. Good for a special bag but I'd struggle to be able to make bags with them to sell as it would be hard to justify the cost of the raw materials, let alone my time. I'm finding that a problem more and more these days. Inflation, eh?

And the gramophone? Well, we rather fell for a stunning HMV number, made between 1941-'46 which is of course, our favourite historical period. It's in smashing condition and sounded the best of the lot, the cream of the crop, apparently. Let's hope we'll find a last sunny day to take her along on a picnic (for that's what these portable gramophones were intended), but we couldn't wait to crank out a little tune in the cottage garden in the late afternoon Saturday sunshine.

So while Mr HenHouse DJ-ed, vintage style, I was content to sit on the old railway bench with my afternoon tea and cake and peruse my new (old) books, also found in Bridport. I've been after these for a while, with their stunning cover illustrations by Brian Cook.

Ah, that's the life. Just how weekends should be...

Broochy Love

2011-09-02T16:33:00.013+01:00

Today, we're touching on a subject close to my heart, literally, as I do love a good brooch, dear reader. The sparkly paste ones aside (of which I have many, more of those next week), I am rather pottily partial to the felt variety.

At Twinwood last weekend, I was very taken with this little ensemble in the CC41 exhibition.

I was first drawn by the dress, I also admired the shoes but then...I spotted the brooch. A lovely little hand-crafted number, made of felt, make do and mend style. (This reminds me, have any of you been catching the super series about Pathe newsreels on BBC4, showing loads of fantastic vintage footage, including some of the make do and mend variety?)

Then in one of the other huts, I spied this display with more lovely brooches. These felt ones look modern I think, looking at the colours of the felt, but made very much in the vintage 1940's style. I went a bit giddy at the sight of the photocopy of the booklet which shows how to make felty jewellery. I've been looking for one of these for the longest time, still no success alas. Never mind, I do like a mission!

This all made me think, perhaps you'd like a shifty at my little corsage collection?

Those ones are all vintage and very treasured possessions indeed. The one below is not really a corsage is it, but I thought I'd slip it in anyway. It's not in great condition but I'd been after one for a while, the fact that it's had a past life I rather like, anyhow. I bumped into Clare at Shepton Flea once who had bought one of these brooches and a note with it suggested it was worn by land girls. When I bought my brooch from a well-known '40s dealer, I asked her about it and she said she'd heard they were made by prisoners of way. Anyone else got a clue?

You might remember me making this little brooch using the pattern for the woolly flowers from Jane Brocket's book. I rather like this one, I generally wear it on this knitted top (purchased from the fantastic dealers, The '40s Room. It is new but made from an original pattern). I had a few compliments about my brooch when I wore it on this top last weekend. How very nice!

I am also rather partial to these little brooches and have a few in various colours bearing different embroidered words and decorations. I've made these myself and also made some to commission bearing the customer's own choice of word. (A few remain in my Etsy shop here.)

It's not a vintage design but I hope it captures the spirit in a fresh and modern way. It's currently living on this fab original knitted cape from the '40s (bought at Vintage at Southbank).

What really got me onto this post today was that I decided to indulge in a little corsage making. I purchased this sad little corsage at the '40s event in Pickering a few years ago. I like it a lot but as you can see, it was not that well stitched together and has fallen apart.

I helped it on its way a little (!) so I could see how it was made up.

And I thought I'd have a little go myself! Et voila...

I have certain outfits I like to wear my corsages with. The divine pinky purpley one (bought from Donna during our weekend at Cowslip), goes fetchingly with one of my favourite 1940's frocks (bought from The '40s Room at Pickering a few years back).

The red one I've just made, I think may look quite nice with this vintage dress (bought last weekend at Twinwood).

This little felty number is an original '40s piece, also bought at Twinwood last weekend. My beady little eyes homed in on it and though it was a little pricey, I knew I would regret it if I didn't buy it. It will look swell, I think, on my most prized 1940's dress (bought at Vintage at Southbank). It really is a fabulous dress, beautiful heavy linen fabric in super condition, stunning Autumnal colours and such a classic '40s design with it's ruched bodice, gathered shoulders and flattering midriff panel. I cannot wait to wear it!

That my friends, is it for another week. Hope you enjoyed that virtual stroll through my felty flowers. Do you know, I think I'll pack my felt and my needle and indulge in a little more make do and mending this weekend. Hope it's a good one for you...

Terrific Twinwood

2011-08-31T17:45:00.008+01:00

So how was the Bank Holiday readers (or just the regular weekend for non-Brits?) Pretty dire on the weather front but hey, we're used to that! We decided to treat ourselves and go off on a little family jolly, not too far, a couple of hours away, North of London to a small village called Clapham, near Bedford, home of Twinwood Farm.

Twinwood Farm is famous for a few things. During the Second World War, it was home to an RAF base, more of a training station for night fighters of the larger RAF Cranfield nearby. Sadly, it has also achieved notoriety for being the place from where the plane which was to take Glenn Miller to his death departed on its flight to France. It now houses the Glenn Miller Museum, yes him, the man responsible for the frankly marvellous hits such as "In the Mood", "String of Pearls", "Little Brown Jug" and so on. He was appointed Band Director of the US Air Force during the Second World War and was stationed only a couple of miles away from Twinwood Farm, he ran his radio station and recorded much of his music in Bedford and performed a concert for the troops at Twinwood Station in 1944.

Nowadays, it is also known for the three-day festival it puts on each August Bank Holiday, a tantalising mix of live music, shopping, eating and observing, vintage-style, of course. Formerly called The Glenn Miller Festival, it now tends to be known as just "Twinwood". Well, (for the very first time,) Twinwood here we come!

We stayed for the first two days of the festival and I'm so glad we did! We only booked our tickets the Monday before the festival but by the time we bumped along the farm track on Saturday morning, all tickets were sold out. It is reasonably priced at £27-ish, (price depends when you book and for which day), considering what is on offer and the live entertainment. I took absolutely oodles of photos so I've collated them into a few mosaics to show you (don't forget you can click on the mosaic to enlarge the photos).

Twinwood is over a relatively large site but it is very well organised. You were shown where to park, there was a bus to take you to the entrance of the arena, plans and plenty of sign posts to show you what was going on where and at what time and phew, plenty of loos (well, these things are important) and not forgetting camping. For those bonkers enough to do so!

(Plan of the site borrowed from here.) The weekend's events are dotted round this site, with two main outdoor music arenas, oodles of stalls and a few foodie outlets (my one gripe, there weren't enough and they were largely junk food), museums housed in old military buildings and some clubs which opened only for night time events (also in old huts). Marvellous! You can't beat that for setting the tone and creating a great atmosphere!

Mosaics then. This is a general one, giving you a little taster of all we remember of our weekend at Twinwood.

That bit of blue sky (yes, it did appear between the torrential downpours, must take wellies next year), is showing you a Mustang jet which flew over.

Shopping then, yes, there was plenty of shopping, from stalls selling fine vintage clobber, military uniforms, new retro-clothing and shoes (some nice, some dubious and some wildly over-priced), vintage housey bits 'n' pieces, to utter junk pretending to be vintage, it was a pretty good shopping experience (but not as good as the Southbank's vintage marketplace in my humble opinion). A few bits were bought but overall, with a burgeoning vintage wardrobe, we're getting choosy (and could do with getting thinner!)

Poor Munchkin, you're thinking, being dragged round all those stalls by his awful parents! For starters, he rather likes a vintage mooch and came away with yet another Fair Isle for his collection, but he got his just rewards and there was no dragging him away from the stunning cars on display.

As if there wasn't enough shopping, music to listen or dance to (or cider/ale to drink, tough work), there were some excellent informative displays to enjoy. There is an Aviation Museum on site which had a recreation of a 1940's sitting room and kitchen and there was a whole raft of smaller rooms kitted out variously with true period items as a haberdashers, bakery, grocery, Land Girl's potting room, medical room and so on. There were some wonderful items to see and read about.

The special exhibition for the festival was on the subject of CC41, the government's rationing scheme for clothing (and furniture) which began in 1941. Finding the CC41 mark on an item is the Holy Grail for vintage collectors. Being rationed, the items are relatively rare but were well made so have survived. A group of ladies were re-enacting make do and mend, crocheting snoods and berets which were for sale. Hats off to them for a really fantastic display, we were drooling at seeing so many CC41 goodies in such excellent condition.

Once the grey matter could absorb no further information, it was time to head for the arena or the hangar to listen to some really fantastic live singers and bands and watch the folks jive. The music started in the morning and went on until roughly midnight. There was something for everyone, it really was top notch entertainment. There were several wooden outdoor dance floors and despite the rain, people jitterbugged away! Two clubs also opened up in small huts in the evening which had great cosy atmospheres (sadly too late for us to stay).

Ah, Twinwood, despite the cold and the rain (and the junk food), what a delight. Rock 'n' roll on next year!

Groovy Baby!

2011-08-26T15:17:00.006+01:00

Oh dear! With this gloomy, rainy weather, we're hardly ending August and entering the Bank Holiday on a high note, are we? Good job then, that after the disappointment of yesterday's "the postie came and you were out" card, that ding dong went the door bell this morning and there was Mr Postie with a very large box for me. Oh happy days! You see, I had a good idea of what might be coming in the big red van, courtesy of the lovely folks over at Accuquilt.

Have you seen this new innovation before? It seems to have made quite an impact on the quilting community. I saw the Go cutter at the Festival of Quilts recently, in fact it had been on my mind since I saw them last year. I chatted with the very nice American lady on the stand who suggested I got in touch with the Accuquilt folks and they kindly offered me a "Go!baby" cutter to trial and share with you here on the ole' HenHouse blog.

The idea is simple: the Go!baby is a die-cutting machine so instead of cutting all the necessary pieces for your quilt top either by hand with scissors and templates, or with a rotary cutter and mat, you let the Go!baby do the work. It is both a time saving device and a highly accurate way of cutting your pieces, as we know, the greater your level of accuracy, the better the quilt and I have found, the more pleasurable it is to make. There's nothing more annoying than trying to cobble together pieces which don't fit exactly and ending up with a less than perfect result.

There is a very wide choice of dies (that's the black coloured item in the photo above), these are the cutters, you combine the die with a mat (which can be used for any die and is the transparent board above) and away you go. I chose three dies to try out and was most keen to go at it with the tumbler die. The tumbler is a very traditional quilt design but would be very laborious to cut out using a template and scissors by hand. I don't do laborious!

First, you need to cut your fabric to fit the shape you are cutting out, so it will fit on the die and there will be minimal wastage. For this die, I found it ideal to cut the fabric 9" wide by 11" long, that way, the fabric can be folded in two before being fed through the Go!baby cutter. Have I told you the best thing about the cutter? It seems it's very popular with the more junior members of the household! Reader, I have an apprentice!

My apprentice (aka The Munchkin) found that it was easy to layer up two lots of fabric, so in fact, we were cutting through 4 layers of fabric at once. The results were nigh on perfect, the need sometimes to snip the odd stray fabric thread depending on the fabric being cut and the number of layers, but by the end, we pretty much felt like Go!baby pros! As you can see from my able assistant, you place your fabric on the die, position the cutting mat on top and by the turn of a handle (I suspect the Apprentice likes this bit most), the whole lot goes swiftly through the cutter and comes out the other side. The first go took a little bit of force, I guess because it was a new machine but from then on, it was very easy to whizz through with little effort.

Imagine the Apprentice's delight when out come perfect tumblers! All this and the promise (ok, bribe) of a bit of pocket money too!

We found there was very little waste, such that there is, is in a pile to be sent to my sister who loves working on miniature quilts and is always a willing recipient of my odds and ends, the smaller the better! (We cut 12 tumblers in this instance and had the wastage you can see in the photo below).

I would say in about two hours, we had a very large pile of tumbler pieces, in fact we had cut 154, all in beautiful 1930's style fabrics. They are mainly Japanese by Lecien and Atsuko Matsuyama, with a bit of "Red Rose Farm" thrown in for good measure.

The Accuquilt folks made it easy for us by even including a pattern for a tumbler baby quilt on the packaging which accompanied the die. So, we've cut out our pieces and I'm raring to go!

I think the cutter comes into its own for shapes like this. I'm happy enough cutting basic squares and strips by hand (though I wouldn't rule out using the Go!baby), but for more complicated shapes which need to be drawn round then cut out with scissors, this system is undoubtedly a God-send. It's also brilliant for those who find using a rotary cutter and mat too hard on their hands and wrists as this system requires less effort or pressure on those body parts.

There's loads to mooch at on the Accuquilt website, you can even download a die wishlist which seems a very dangerous (but desirable) option to me! I can see my Christmas list starting early! You can also download 22 fabby quilt patterns to use for free just by giving your email address. Have a gander here for the free downloadable patterns and lots of inspiration.

Just before you start hating me and thinking I am the spawniest girly in the world for having this fabulous goody for free, hang fire and watch this space because you'll get your turn, my dear readers. What was it my mum told me so frequently when I was a nipper, "all good things come to those who wait". I believe it now, I certainly didn't then!

Now, I have 154 tumblers to sew together and you can be sure I'll be showing you the result very soon. Have a faberoony weekend!

Buses

2011-08-23T08:42:00.004+01:00

That's how it is round here, one minute there aren't many blog posts or indeed many "ta-dahs" then along they all come at once! In truth, I wrote this blog post yesterday and I am hoping it has published today (yikes) because I'm actually going to be on a train up North when this posts (it will, it will, I have faith!)

First though, there has been a crime in the Den on a grand scale.

The perpetrator is one "do I look like I care?" Mr Vorey-Puss who has found himself oh such a cosy bed in my freshly washed and ironed collection of vintage embroidered tea cosies. Aaarrgghh!

Looks like Rabbity has found himself a bed, too.

Get off, Rabbity! (Isn't Rabbity just the cutest thing? I love his funny little face and floppy ears.) Out I go with my latest quilt to take the obligatory "washing line snap". And what do you know, there's Vorey. He has a nose for a cosy bed, does that cat. (What cat doesn't?)

This is a little smaller than many of my quilts, more suited to a throw for a sofa or chair though it is big enough to top a single bed. I think it would look just the ticket on a plain sofa.

You may have recognised if you are a bit of a fabric afficionado, that the fabrics I've used for the quilt top are by Tilda, the Norwegian company which produces books featuring very cute sewing projects and then has a line of sewing and crafting goodies to match. The top is pieced from 5" squares largely with an appley green and raspberry red colour scheme (bought for me by my sister, isn't she nice). The fabrics span several of their ranges including the most recent, featuring that fabby pink/green on white stylised flower print that looks a little like an Orla Kiely design.

I added in some green and pink tiny polka dots and also some green and claret coloured batiks. It is one of those quilts which looks much better made-up than it did on the design board (what design board?) I am really pleased with it, probably because my favourite colour combo is pink and green.

Most excitingly, because this quilt is 40" wide, I could splurge and use a gorgeous backing fabric which is indeed a delightful rosy design by Tanya Whelan I've long been cosseting in my stash. It really makes this quilt with its simply pieced top. I wish more designers would produce wider backing fabrics so that I could use this sort of fabric on the back of my quilts more often. You see, to back a quilt of the larger size I usually make using these 44" wide designer fabrics, would take at least 3.5 metres of fabric, (needing two widths joined across the quilt), and now prices here in the UK are scaling £12 per metre, I find that hard to justify.

Just what has happened to the price of cotton? I went to my local sewing shop on Saturday and fabrics for which I was paying £3.50 per metre eighteen months ago have rocketed to £5.50. I bought the plain white cotton I needed and nothing else. Thank goodness for my stash (phew, finally a reason to justify its existence!)

I've used another Tanya Whelan fabric, this time white with classic red stripes, to provide a fetching binding. There is a little vintage embroidered name patch.

This "Raspberry and Apple" Quilt (the name makes me think of crumble!*) is awaiting a new home in my blogshop. Perfect for cosying up on those Autumn nights heading our way. It is dark here now by about 8.30pm. Oh, how I hate dark nights. Thank goodness for roaring fires, hot chocolate and cosy quilts!

Well, it should be a while before another quilty ta-dah comes along. Thank you for indulging two days' posts with quilty ta-dahs and sales patter. Even if you're not in a position to purchase, I hope you've enjoyed the snaps and maybe even taken away some ideas to make quilts of your own. In fact, I know this is true because some of you have been kind enough to write and tell me so. Thank you, lovely people.

*A traditional British pud which has a cooked fruit bottom layer, traditionally apple or rhubarb, topped with a "crumble" mixture made by rubbing together butter and flour and mixing in sugar, then baked in the oven and chomped with lashings of thick yellow custard! Oh, I need one...

More Hanky Panky!

2011-08-22T13:25:00.007+01:00

Last week, my mum and dad came to stay which was rather lovely, especially as my mum came armed with pretty, vintage-y goodies which she'd been stockpiling for me. One was this fabulous bakelite beehive. Most of you probably know that this is a knitting needle gauge. I've wanted one of these for ages, not because I can knit(!), just because I love them, so I was very chuffed. There's no-one like your mum, is there? I've seen them in gorgeous pink and green colours too, so now she has a further mission.

Now, did any eagle-eyed readers spot what was behind the little beehive vignette? Do you remember this rather fetching number, the quilt I started at the cottage using the vintage-style handkerchief panels combined with lots of log cabin piecing?

It has actually been finished a while but I'm just finding the opportunity to show it to you. Ta-dahhh!!!

The hanky panels are utterly divine, I think.

I could spend some time debating my favourite but I doubt I'd get it down to just one!

With the co-ordinating range of cute ditsy-flowered fabrics, I made log cabin squares and as the panels are set on point, I even ended up log-cabin-ing the side and corner setting triangles. No more log cabins for me for a while!

I backed the quilt with scrumptiously cosy pink cotton flannelette and quilted the panels a quarter of an inch either side of the seam lines using a pretty pink variegated thread. I confess that I parked the quilt for a good week while I pondered the binding (and started something else!) The main quilt has such a lot going on I didn't want to add another busy floral, my usual polka dot looked just wrong and I didn't want a solid because I wanted the binding to look pretty against the solid pink backing. In the end, I went for this pale blue gingham which I cut on the bias so that the lines form an attractive criss-cross pattern. A bit more work than cutting on the straight of grain as one would normally but I like it very much. A pretty vintage embroidered label was the finishing touch.

Ah, pretty quilt, quite quite special but wave it a fond farewell I shall. It won't be adding to the toppling piles of quilts I have reserved greedily for myself but is currently in my blogshop waiting a new home. I will get lots of pleasure seeing this beauty go off to pastures new to be cosied up and become part of a new family's memories.

I can't help thinking a certain ginger furry friend would get quite excited at the sight of it so I had better spirit it away somewhere safe. Don't go feeling sorry for Charlie-Boy though, this week he has added a patchwork Cath K mini-cushion as a pillow to his bedding!

It's a hard life! The Hanky Panky Quilt can be found here.