Tuesday 13 May 2014

Of Vintage Fabrics and Things


Last week my very good friend Jane from the flowerhouse blog and I visited the Decorative Living Fair at Eridge Park, near Tunbridge Wells, in Kent.

This is becoming a bit of an annual event with us as we both like similar things and I'm afraid I'm starting to lead poor Jane astray into expensive and bad habits - she is starting to build a little vintage fabric stash too!


But it was so very hard to resist these very lovely Antique European grain sacks, and as I have just sold two of these grain sack cushions in my Etsy Shop, well I just had to get some more fabric to make up another batch didn't I ? Better priced than online and you can see what you are getting ............... and Jane just couldn't resist some either, so weak-willed we are!


and how could I resist this lovely vintage faded red floral cotton............such a good price too....


oh, oh and just LOOK at this gorgeous deep pink floral vintage French pillowcase........see the monogram?

...............and the blue floral vintage French sheeting..............they are all crying out to be made into the most loveliest of cushions!


And then, whilst buying my copy of Selina Lake's wonderful new book Outdoor Living from the lovely lady herself ( and she signed it!), I noticed this very pretty Tanya Whelan yellow polka dot and roses fabric on her stall............Selina was selling off lots of vintage china, fabrics and other props used on photo shoots, and even though its not vintage I just coudn't resist it!




Selina Lake's new book Outdoor Living.......it is crammed pack full of lovely photos and ideas, so much inspiration and loveliness! ( I will do a proper review soon!). I had been waiting a while to buy my copy so I could have it signed, and I knew Selina would be at the DL Fair as she is currently doing a book tour to promote it.


I was also lucky to be given a free goodie bag as being one of the early birds to buy the book - I think the horrible wet and windy weather kept a lot of people away first thing, I certainly hadn't expected to be early enough to be given one.......lots of great things inside, including both Prima and Prima Makes magazines.....some flower seeds, a kit for making large honeycomb decorations (will show you in another post!), some yummy lavender chocolate......so many good things!

Thankyou Selina!



So having squeezed even more fabrics into my stash, I thought I'd better list some more cushions in my Etsy shop to try and make some room in my sewing room.

These few have gone on sale today



vintage blue roses on white, vintage fabric from the US


with a white linen reverse with vintage turquoise buttons



three different vintage florals on this hotchpotch patchwork cushion



and this one with pale blue linen and turquoise Suffolk Puffs with a lovely greens and blues vintage floral from Switzerland



And a little sneak preview of one still on the sewing table yet to finish.............





Thankyou all for your comments on my last two flowery and gardeny posts......you were very patient to wade through all those photos!

Welcome too, to my new followers!

Hope you all have a good week!


16 comments:

  1. Haha, I already had lots of bad habits and I seem to remember I did my fair share of egging on!! It was a lovely day, even though it was chucking it down and I'm pleased with my bits too. Those blue flowery cushions are to die for, especially the blue roses from the US and I'm glad to see the gingham making an appearance, looking fab already. See you tomorrow for furniture foraging adventure.
    Jane xx

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  2. What a wonderful way to spend a day & you bought some lovely fabrics & fantastic free goody bag too! I'm off to google the book you bought.

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  3. lovely fabrics you have found hope you had a lovely day

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  4. Oh lucky you, beautiful fabric you found.

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  5. Such beautiful fabrics! You bought some lovely pieces. I like the heart that you are embroidering, very pretty. xx

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  6. Looks like a great day out. A friend and I were discussing strategies for more productive buying at craft shows. We seem to get carried away! Have fun with your new buys. x

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  7. Sounds like a lovely day, and you've bought beautiful fabric! I hope I can find the book here in the Netherlands, it looks attractive! xx Margriet

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  8. Oh I'm so jealous! I would love to go to the DL Fair...and what wonderful purchases! I must say, I am loving seeing all the cushions you are making, here and on Facebook - you are so talented! The details like the gingham puffs and the needlework are just so lovely...Chrissie x

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  9. What wonderful fabrics you found Gill, they are superb .. .. .. and your cushions are so beautiful, your embroidery heart so gorgeous - quite apart from the delightful flowery fabrics, I would love to get my hands on some of that grain sacking! You are inspirational and have really cheered me with your lovely post, thank you so much! xo Joy

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  10. Isn't it fun to poke around and hunt for treasures

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  11. What a lovely day you had, Gill! I love all your fabrics, the book and your sweet cushions! Your embroidered heart looks so pretty!
    Helen xox

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  12. Oh, I love your fabric purchases, Gill! My favorites are the monogrammed French pillowcase and the polka dot and roses fabric. Lovely!! The cushions you made turned out really pretty, as well. :)

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

    Hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  13. Your fabrics are amazing. You are making me so homesick for sewing. Since we started this move I haven't had time to sew, and now I have to wait for my new space to be finished and ready to move into. I hope that I won't forget how, LOL.
    Your posts are always so beautiful, I love visiting your blog.
    Connie :)

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  14. Gorgeous fabrics Gill and I can just imagine the two of you going round that show ... like kids let loose in a sweet-shop! Good job it's just once a year, though I suspect that you probably get an interim 'fix' at other places in the meantime?? xCathy

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  15. What a lovely day out that sounds! Your new fabrics are beautiful as are the cushions you have made.
    Marianne x

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  16. Muy bonitos almohadones, los diseños de las telas son preciosos.

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Thanks for visiting and for taking the time to leave a comment - I love to read them!
Gill x