~Come for a walk~

I've had a nice few hours with Laura today. Lunch at Pizza Express at Xscape here followed by a bit of retail therapy.  Enjoyable simple things don't cost any money though, so here is our walk with Small Dog this afternoon punctuated by things that please me.
The warm Spring hazy nearly-sunshiney afternoon.  I like that.
Care to come along?
I like where I live - it's a large village in the southernmost tip of North Yorkshire, with lots of history. And a busy little high street.  I like that too.
Sherburn in Elmet is one of only 3 villages in the area whose name reflects that they were historically part of the kingdom of Elmet. I do love a regular dose of history.
Here we go then...
Down to the park...there's Laura with Small Dog...

Church tower in the distance...
Past the Scout Hut and up to Church Hill...

Into the churchyard of All Saints Church...

I love this old path!
All Saints is a church with 12th Century origins and apparently the field on the next photo is thought to be the site of the palace of kings of Elmet, which was given by King Athelstan to the Archbishops of York in the10th century.
At the back of the church there is this fantastic view on a clear day right out to Lotherton and Towton...

Then we drop down behind the Church...

All the fields are freshly ploughed and drilled waiting to be sown...
Another favourite thing of mine; the sight of a ploughed field...love it!
And looking back up to the Church before circling back round to the village centre...



Thankyou for coming along.  Don't you feel better when you've been out in the fresh air?
Have a good weekend x

~My Sewing Room~

I'm always intrigued to have a peek at other's sewing rooms. Do you want to have a look at mine?  I only ask as I've had a tidy up!  I've done a bit of painting this weekend - painting the walls and ceiling white and I also bought 2 sample pots of Farrow and Ball Estate Emulsion in Calamine and Nancy's Blushes...

These sample pots are £3.95, and are a good way to experiment and paint furniture on a budget. Nancy's Blushes must be a new colour as it wasn't on my 2012 colour chart (which I look at for recreation!) I know lots of you love Annie Sloan paint, but I still like F&B and always get good results. Here are the pinks...

I painted the legs of my sewing table in Calamine and my Ikea storage drawers in Nancy's Blushes,
both had 2 coats then a coat of Colron Finishing wax...

So here is my sewing room now...this is the finished storage chest with my button tins and jars.  The vintage medicine tins have my darning needles in.

Tidy ribbon in a basket...velvet ribbon is my favourite trimming.

To the side of my trusty Janome sewing machine is my Cath Kidston pincushion toadstool which Laura bought me years ago.  The round pin tin was my Nana B's and the rose needle book was my Nana F's.

The crochet bunting was made by a friend. The pine shelves and table are Ikea from years ago - the table legs in Calamine look lovely now.  The piano stool is next for the pink treatment...

The spotty bags under the table are filled with fabric scraps I can't bear to throw away!

A pile of folded  fabric...

And some more fabric I've bought to make some new clothes.  I also found this Merchant & Mills pattern for a Madison Dress - totally forgot I had it; so that will be on my 'to do' list.  

This cute 'I love sewing' rack by Sass and Belle was a present from a friend and holds vintage Sylko wooden reels...and a random evening bag  :)

And from a different angle...

How long will I keep it tidy?

~Baby Shower & Cardigan~

Today I went to a Baby Shower; my first one - I didn't know what to expect but it was lovely.  It was a vintage afternoon tea, with some added 'guess the baby' photo games and opening of gifts. and was hosted by some friends for their sister/daughter whose baby is due on 21st April.   I thought it was very much an American tradition we had adopted, but reading about it on the tinterweb, it appears that worldwide we have always had these kind of events in every culture, though they may evolve and change over time.  In the late 19th Century apparently Victorians held afternoon tea parties for expectant mothers - I didn't know that!
I made the Puerperium cardigan (newborn - 6 weeks) which is a free Ravelry pattern I read about last year on Country Rose blog here

I made the short sleeved version (as I ran out of time!) but you can do a long straight or tapered sleeve.  It's knitted top down in one piece with sleeves knitted last 'in the round' which I did on my preferred 2 bendy pins. I have to be honest and say I didn't enjoy it at first -  faffing about with stitch markers, but actually it'll be lots easier next time as you can see where to increase and don't really need the markers past a certain point.
It only took less than 3 25gram balls of Yorkshire-spun Erika Knight British Blue Wool in 'Milk' (appropriate eh?)
I bought mine from Wool & Buttons see here  £3.95 for 25g.  After washing and blocking you can see the lustre of the wool, it's really soft like mohair.

I've already started another version in pink and I'm much quicker this time round!

~Charity shop finds~

I'm just having a sort out and photographing some things to put on eBay - which makes me think I must get with it and upgrade to a decent phone to take my photos with, as my digital camera is on it's unreliable last legs. I though I'd share a couple of bits I've found lately from charity shops.  I've not been looking in very many in recent weeks as I am trying to simplify my life.  Therefore it follows I must sell some things - the 'one in one out' principle at least!
This lovely pink glass vase was £1.50 from a charity shop in Hornsea

I'm loving the pink china and glass thing at the minute.  I do have some Grindley Petalware cups and saucers already, and I spotted this gorgeous art deco shape Wedgewood Blush Rose jug for £3.50 again in Hornsea

...and finally, this pair of glass candlesticks for £2.75 in Selby British Heart Foundation in Selby

I needed a new pair as I broke one of my others trying to clean candle wax off it.
Have a lovely weekend x

~Judy's Vintage Digest~

If you get a chance, please have a look at Issue 2 of the fab online read 'Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair Vintage Digest' here, or click on the link in my sidebar. So happy to have my little blog on Page 33, as the chosen blog for York on the Vintage Bloggers Map...

I was contacted back in January by the very talented group of final year students from the University of Huddersfield working with Judy's to produce the vintage digest for their final year project.  As I'm sure you know, Judy's Affordable Vintage Fairs are held up and down the UK see Judy's website for upcoming events.  
I'm impressed with the content - it's far more informative and well-written than many other vintage magazines I've read.  I love the layout, graphics and I'm smitten by the paper-scrunching sound when you turn the online pages...
I love the article on vintage afternoon teas and also about Glass Onions vintage wholesalers in Barnsley.
The next Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair Leeds date is 22nd March at The Corn Exchange 10.30 - 6pm and the next York date is 23rd March at The Hospitium, Museum Gardens 10.30 - 4.30 (see you there York vintage lovers).