Collecting And Recycling Vintage Fabrics

There are other items in my clearing out I will not part with and that's my large pile of vintage fabrics. I  love old bright retro fabrics or just fabrics that are evocative of an era. I have saved bits I buy cheaply at jumble sales for projects I will get round to in the future. I have my old toy chest that my toys were stored in when I was a child. It has been in the loft for years after my children have grown up, but a while ago we got it out to keep it in our bedroom for extra storage. I am going to make a large cushion for the top covered in some 1960s fabric in keeping with the era of the chest.

I had been searching to find just the right piece of fabric and have found the perfect piece on ebay.  When I was very little, about three or four, I used to share a bedroom with my sister. We had curtains that I loved, of animals and insects dressed up in clothes. I would study every one of them as I looked out of my little bed by the window. I couldn't believe it when I found it, apparently it was made by Sanderson and called Hippity Hoppity. All these years later and it is still firmly implanted in my memory. I'm looking forward so much to making it. 

Sanderson Hippity Hoppity Fabric

The Ladybird

Another retro fabric item which seems to have disappeared but was such a good idea were calendar tea towels. We would buy my Mum one every Christmas and it would hang on the kitchen wall until next Christmas when it would be taken down and replaced then used as a tea towel. What perfect recycling. Why on earth did they disappear!

At a car boot sale a few years ago I found this one, the year I was born. Perfect, as coincidentally the days of the week fell exactly the same in 2016, the year I bought it, as in 1960. I kept it up all year and thought I would put it away for the next time the calendar repeated itself. I checked online to see when that will be and as it was a leap year it is not going to happen again until 2044 then after that 2072. Oh well I suppose it gives me something to aim for!

Tom and I watched the film "The Dig" on Netflix last night. It was quite good but rather sad and left me feeling down in the dumps when I was going to bed. Back to Minder tonight I think! I'm off to do my Dad's shopping today so it will be quite nice to be out and about. I hope everyone has a lovely day whether you are able to get out or not. xx

Basic Meals And The First Stirrings Of Spring

 Tom and I have been watching the old TV series  Minder on Britbox. We decided to watch it as a compromise. I wanted to watch Lark Rise To Candleford which I used to enjoy and Tom wanted to watch Minder. We agreed to watch an episode alternately to keep us both happy. I used to like Minder years ago but felt it would seem really dated now. Well it is, but I am surprised how much I have been enjoying it. The first series was filmed in 1979 and it could be the olden days! All around London, the places we know, with barely a car on the road. The accents have completely changed too, it happens so gradually you aren't aware of it while it's happening. We loved watching it when we were first going out together and it led us to a have really nostalgic conversation about things from those days we miss. One of the main things Tom decided was really simple little meals. Over the years meals have changed so much too.

When we were first married Tom's favourites were rissoles or bubble and squeak. I learned to make them in Home Economics lessons at school and they were so cheap and easy to make. We promised ourselves we would have these each week again starting yesterday with bubble and squeak for our lunch. I'd saved some mash and vegetables from the previous evening and it was an absolute treat. I used to eat meat back in the 1980s but haven't done for a long time so I'll have to adapt the rissole recipe when I make them but the bubble and squeak was a real trip down memory lane.

Bubble And Squeak For Lunch

In the afternoon I re-potted some poppy seedlings I have grown from seeds that I collected from my Dad's garden last autumn. I have grown lots of seeds I collected in the greenhouse but I was worried these were starting to look a bit sickly. So I brought them inside and put them in larger pots. Perennial poppies are quite expensive to buy so I'm hoping as many survive as possible. I thought  of ordering a UV light to give them a boost. When I told my eldest daughter she said "You'll get the police raiding your house, they'll think you're growing cannabis! " I don't know, a police suspicious mind! 

Perennial Poppy Seedlings

I also got my tax return submitted yesterday (why do I always leave it until the last minute!) so that's that out of the way for another year. Onward into a new month, one closer to everything finally getting back to some normality. Apparently the 1st February is the Gaelic feast of Imbloc. This day is mid way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and traditionally marks the first stirrings of spring and the worst being behind us. It is a time for purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the year's new life. If ever we needed the first stirrings of spring and the feeling the worst is behind us. it was this year!  I hope everyone has a lovely day however you are spending it. xx

A Room Full Of Books And Paintings

 Well what a terrible day it was weather-wise yesterday. It rained and rained all day and it felt as if it hardly got light at all. Tom has started nine days holiday from work. Of course there is nothing really to do but go for walks, however at least he is getting a break and not having to go out early on cold dark mornings. If the weather gets a bit better we will really enjoy some longer walks. With the weather being so bad though  I just carried on sorting out cupboards and set about fixing a few of the pictures I have bought from jumble sales or car boot sales. 

There is a certain type of room I love. Occasionally they crop up now and again when they go to peoples homes for interviews on the television at the moment. Professor so and so an expert on epidemiology is announced and all I can say is "Oh look at his lovely room!" It's one thing I'm going to really miss when all this is over and guests are back in the studio, looking at rooms. I know exactly the type of room I love. one that is covered in books and pictures. If I had my way we would hardly have any spare wall space just books and pictures. I have little areas in our house that are coming along quite nicely in my view. 

I love original old art work. There is something about the thought and effort that someone has put into it that makes me admire it constantly. I picture the artist carefully painting with the canvas or board on an easel and it feels as if I have a direct link back to the past. Every little brush stroke is someone's hard work. There is a saying that when you buy an original artwork you are not just buying a painting, you are buying a piece of the artists heart and soul and I can really feel that. My favourites change over the years but at the moment this is my favourite. It's an oil painting signed by an artist called E M  Tapping and I bought it at our local charity saleroom for £2. There is just something about the little ballerina that I love. I also love the light outside the window. It always makes me wonder what is out there. It's one thing I doubt I will ever get tired of buying and no matter how many clear outs I have I'll always have room for another painting. 

It's a much brighter day today thankfully. It's cold but the sun is shining. I hope the sun is shining on you and you have a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Fixing And Repairing Vintage Toys

I managed to pin and tack one pair of curtains for the caravan yesterday but the day just whizzed by and I  ran out of time. On the bright side my decluttering is going brilliantly. I wish I had tried this 15 minute rule years ago! As I know I am up against the clock I dash around like the Duracell Bunny. If I'm not going to use it or it doesn't have sentimental value it goes in the box. My only concern is if lockdown goes on too long I  may weaken and start taking things out of the boxes. Much as I love car boot sales and jumble sales I wonder if a year off from them has actually helped in me reducing. I have bought so many really useful things but frankly, as my eldest son loves to tell me when he comes round, a lot of tat too! I've bought piles of broken vintage toys as I love fixing things but often don't get round to it, watercolours and oil paintings in broken frames to reframe, piles of retro fabrics to make things with (I'll get round to eventually), the list goes on. There's a part of me that thinks when all this is over, and I am living in a clutter free house, should I really go back to all that temptation of clutter. I'm definitely going to use this time to fix up the things I have been meaning to for months, or is it years! Scarlett is so thrilled with the painted and repaired dolls house it has given me enthusiasm to keep fixing. I have the most wonderful toy farm I bought a few years ago when Scarlett was only a baby. I put it away as I knew she was too young for it, but time has sped by and I know she would love to play with it now. This is just a tiny part of all the farm buildings I bought.

    When I was seven years old I had a toy farm my Dad made me. I remember it very clearly as I loved it so much. It had a base with farm buildings and I collected lots of farm animals with my pocket money. Most of these farm animals were made by the company Britains and it says a lot for the quality of them as not only did they survive me playing with them but my four children as well. Sadly the base of the farm was thrown out years ago but we still have a lot of the farm animals. Just waiting for a farm! This is my next project.

  I hope everyone is managing to find things to keep themselves occupied during lockdown. It was much easier the first time in the lovely weather we had. I find there is always something to do but youngest daughter is so fed up she has taken to tweeting about our neighbours "They're burning another bonfire". Oh dear. God help us if they ever find her twitter account! I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Raising The Flags On Our Vintage Caravan

 I absolutely love our vintage caravan. Tom and I always joke we will never part with it until the day we die! It's the most wonderful little space. On summer nights we sit under the sun canopy with a bottle of wine and admire the view and on cooler nights we sit inside listening to our little 1970s record player. Last summer when we were away in it, with no television, all the problems of life at the moment seemed to disappear. We would cook our meals on the little cooker and walk the dogs through fields. On one break away I popped into a Tesco Express not far from the site to get some bread rolls. It was before masks were compulsory but just the sign on the door asking me to socially distance brought me up with a start. I had almost forgotten while we had been away. I can't wait to be back to those days away again. Even though life was far from normal at the time, in our little caravan life seemed it. 

Our 1970s Caravan

No matter what happens this year this is what we are aiming for again. Not holidays abroad, this is our happy place.

One of the other items for the caravan I will be sorting out are the flags! We are lucky enough to still have the original flag badge and holder on the front. At the back of one of the cupboards we also found the three little flag poles. It was a happy find as is very expensive to find originals. Old flags are also expensive but I have bought this vintage Caravan Club one. To save money, now I have a template to work from, I may make the other two out of retro fabric. It's just deciding which fabric from my stash I will use!

Caravan Club Retro Flag

We all need something to look forward to in these difficult times. It's a nice bright morning and the header tape I ordered has arrived so I can get going on the remaining curtains for the caravan while I am deciding about the flags  It helps me plan and look to the future when times will be a bit more normal. It's only little things but I think it certainly helps. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Adding To My Worries

 One of the things that has added to my worries during this corona virus pandemic is the rise of dog thefts. Apparently the sales of dogs in the last year have tripled and two out of five of these purchases have been puppies. As demand has completely outstripped supply, prices have soared too and the most popular breeds can sell for £3000 and sometimes up to £5000. This has all led to a really worrying rise in the theft of dogs. It has left me too nervous to walk the dogs on my own in many places. Only 1 in 100 of these poor dogs are ever recovered. It must be terrible to lose a loved pet in this way but I can imagine in a small way as it has reminded me of something my Mum used to tell us. 

When she was young Mum had a Yorkshire Terrier called Molly. She could barely remember a time in her childhood without her. Living in a very quiet area and in days with much less traffic in the 1930s, Molly would sit in the front garden and occasionally wander on to the green opposite their house but never stray further.. She knew the times of the buses arriving across the road and would always get up onto the chair five minutes before it arrived to look out and see if any of her family were getting off the bus. My Mum had so many funny little stories about Molly she clearly really had loved her. Sadly though there was not a happy ending. When Mum was in her late teens and Molly was fifteen she disappeared. She had been sitting out in the sun in the front garden as usual and when they went to look for her she wasn't there. They searched and searched around the area but she was no where to be seen. She said for weeks she and my Grandad cycled all around the lanes near their house calling and searching in hedges and ditches. Sadly Molly was never found and they never knew what had happened although they thought as she had never wandered off before it was more than likely she had been stolen. 

All her life Mum would tell stories about Molly and make us laugh. How she tried to bury the family tortoise or how she would sulk and face the wall if they went to Southport for the day but even 70 years later there was a sadness in her voice if she spoke of how she disappeared. The people who steal dogs could not imagine how many years people will feel sad about their loss.

After Mum died at 92 we found this card in her belongings she had kept all her life. Molly must have been such a special little dog.

The weather doesn't appear as bad as I had feared today so maybe Scarlett and I will be able to get out for a walk. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Keeping It Simple

It's a funny old world now when you are out and about.  I went to do my Dad's shopping yesterday and travelled on the train as always as I don't drive. The train journey feels so different now. It's not just wearing a mask, the train is virtually empty. On the return journey at rush hour time I used to struggle to find a seat, now they're are less than half a dozen people in the carriage. I find it hard to imagine the trains crowded again. In many ways the world is just as beautiful, it just feels so much harder to see it.

A Wintry Scene On Epsom Downs

I'm looking after Scarlett tomorrow and as the weather forecast is terrible so it's going to be an inside day. The dolls house kitchen furniture has arrived  which will keep her amused for a long time. I try and do things here she doesn't do anywhere else. With this in mind I got out this wonderful book from my childhood. It's a young Puffin book called Something To Do which was printed in 1968. My sister and I loved it.

Young Puffin Book Something To Do

It's broken down into months of the year and has a poem, a flower of the month and a bird of the month. Each month has little activities to do to fit in with the type of weather it will be. Just simple little activities from a time before children had ipads, computers or even TVs. I remember making so many of them and even in this modern age I'm sure Scarlett will enjoy it. 

About The Month Of May

Making A Paper Fortune Teller

Today is going to be a work day today. The weather forecast is for rain so a good day to settle down and catch up. It's hard not to to feel really down watching the news but I hope everyone has a lovely day, the best we can in these times. xx