Stitching again......

 A few pics of my latest makes!

Little pouches filled with lavender, some of which I collected from Mum's garden earlier in the summer....

Hang them in your wardrobe to scent your clothes or by your bed to aid your sleep.

A little peek into one of my cupboards where I keep a few of my favourite vintage finds....

and on the shelves of an old toy dresser a couple of things I bought at The Country Living Fair back in March; a porcelain cup and saucer imprinted with lace made by Amanda Mercer, and the cutest felt lamb made by Mary Kilvert, who had a stand opposite from me at the Fair and I just couldn't resist taking this little fellow home!

 The delightful card with the bunny writing a letter is an illustration by Claire Fletcher, oh how I love her paintings!

Squeal! I have had these two old bears (Billy and Monty) for about two years now, and the folding bed for longer than that, but I have only just got round to making some bedding for the little dears!

A mattress made from some wadding and a bit of old blanket, some more old blanket for a coverlet and the centrepiece of a 19th Century English quilt for the top, plus a little pillow made from hand-dyed linen.

Billy and Monty will be coming with me to be sold at The Cotswold Vintage Fair next Saturday!

I also have this other little doll's bed for sale, which has an original hand-stitched quilt, circa 1890.

After five days of almost continuous rain the sun decided to come out this afternoon!!!!!, so I took a walk up to the top of Tregonning Hill.......

The path was so overgrown it was almost impassable in places.

Gorse and heather, bracken and bramble......

Dark peaty puddles, the mud sucking at my wellies.

 Looking to the north west, with St. Ives in the distance......

From the top you can see the whole sweep of Penzance Bay with St. Michael's Mount and Mousehole, and to the south the satellite dishes of Goonhilly Earth Station on The Lizard. 

Also on the top, an old quarry with the following sign: 

This is what the Preaching Pit looks like today

 As well as being steeped in Cornish mining heritage the area is also the site of the first discovery of china clay:

It is so calm and peaceful on Tregonning hill now; the only person I saw on my two hour walk was a guy on a mountain bike!

Hope the sun is shining for you too, wherever you are x

I'd like to tell you about a Fair that I will be doing for the first time later this month - I am very excited about it, not only because I know there will be the most absolutely gorgeous things for sale there, but also because it's up in the Cotswolds which has to be my second favourite part of the country (after Cornwall of course!) 

The venue is Toddington Village Hall, on Stow Road, Toddington (near Winchcombe) Gloucestershire, GL54 5DU

The time: 10am - 4pm

The Date: 25th August, which is the Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend.

For more info go to: 

www.thecotswoldsvintagefair.blogspot.com

Now I've got to get busy making stuff for it!

xxx

Big changes afoot!

Don't forget - this Sunday, 5th August, the HOMESPUN SUMMER FAIR in Portscatho!

Doors open at 10am, entry is free. Ends at 3pm

Tea and homemade cakes sold in aid of The Cornwall Wildlife Trust, all made by the stallholders.

20 different traders and makers in one venue selling an array of vintage and handmade delights, not to be missed!

Sorry for my absence......I guess I have been taking a bit of a holiday from blogging......
As you may recall from my post last winter I have been wanting (needing) to make changes in my life, and it was all set in motion with the selling of my cottage in February. Now I am happily settled into my new quiet village life and loving the countryside around me. The next move was buying a camper van, which I have been dreaming about for the last three years. A couple of weeks ago I picked it up from the garage, a commercial five-year old VW Transporter T5 van which has been converted into a camper to my own specifications, and I can tell you it's everything I dreamed it would be! My first trip was up to Dorset to camp for a few days with my brother and his family. Fortunately the day we left the awful weather ended and there followed a solid week of sunshine; what bliss after that unspeakably dreadful start to the summer!

I have also handed over the running of The Sea Garden to Gertie, helped by Patsy and a new lady, Wendy, so that I can enjoy a summer break for the first time in 13 years! And the big news is that Gertie has decided that she would like to officially rent the shop from me starting in September. This is what I hoped might happen, as I have known for a few years now that I no longer wished to carry on running the shop myself, but I knew that Gertie was the only person I wanted to take over the mantle as it were. The Sea Garden will continue to sell all the things it has become known and loved for, and the commitment that Gertie, Patsy, Jane, Angelica, Wendy and I have to making and sourcing all the vintage and handmade goods will not change. My work will still be available for sale in the shop. Speaking of which, here are some pics of my latest makes, which will be on sale in the shop soon.......!

A trio of vintage charm and bead lariat necklaces on knotted leather,

and a couple of little charm necklaces on chains.

The lovely old Dickins and Jones box came from the Antiques Arcade on the seafront in Lyme Regis, where I also found these beautifully crafted wooden fishing net needles. I thought they might be rather nice as a base for winding vintage lace or ribbon around. Always looking for alternative ways of presenting goods for sale!

Thank you dear friends for your continued support as followers, even when I don't blog very regularly!

x x x