~I ♥ Vintage Knitting Needles~

Anyone else obsessively fond of colourful vintage knitting needles?
I have a lot of old knitting needles...mostly AERO metal ones from the 70s and 80s from my Nana and other family members.  I have also tried to get 'with it' and use bamboo needles - I like the look of them but I'm not a fan of actually using them.
How can you not like the gorgeous 1950s colours of these beauties...

 

I've seen loads at vintage fairs and on etsy for between £2 - £5 a pair, but mine are all charity shop finds - the kind of local treasure trove charity shops run by Nana's are the best, you know what I mean I'm sure  :)
10p to 50p a pair that's all...
I found some more today in my local shop for 10p a pair, which are currently soaking in fairy liquid.

I also found this vintage sizing tool at a vintage fair in York for 50p

There are modern variations of this for sale in most craft shops for a couple of pounds.
Have a lovely weekend x
It's raining here but the garden needs it!

~Car Boot finds~

After a very busy week, which ended with a job interview that was a bit scary  :)   - just a quick post to share 2 finds from last week's car boot sale in the village...
Firstly this lovely double duvet set, Cath Kidston-ish for £2 and it's like new. Very pleased with it for a spare set.

And this lovely kitsch Babycham (?1950s) deer for 50p. She's just looking around

for somewhere to live...

 

... can you see the cross look on her face because the drinks table
                                 is full of Gin, not Babycham?

 

~1960s Drawers- finished!~

Here are the finished drawers I blogged about last week.
This first photo is the best representation of the actual colour and finish.  I have distressed the edges and the finish is silky smooth. It's worth taking your time to rub down between coats to get a good result.  I love the chalky finish and different colour hues.

 

I had a trauma picking the handles - bringing loads home to try from Blossom & Walker in York...

 

 

...before going back and settling on the turquoise flower embossed ones (£3.99 each)

 

Here's how I did it;

Rubbed down the drawers to provide a key.

Wiped the surface with a damp cloth.

Painted the legs with 3 coats matt white spray paint.

Coat 1: 'Deep Sung Cream' matt emulsion

Coat 2: Paint mix - I mixed Craig & Rose 1812 'Saxe Blue'  with Wilkinson 'Spearmint' matt emulsion testerpot and added the Molly's Paintbrush chalk additive as per directions.

Coat 3 and 4: as above - rub down with fine glasspaper between coats.

Then when fully dry, distress with glasspaper both fine and coarse to show the base coat.

Coat 6: wax with Colron finishing wax and buff well.

 

Then I lined the drawers by wallpapering them with this neutral polka dot wallpaper...

 

They are currently residing in my bedroom and look quite nice with the CK wallpaper; but in my head they are destined for a hallway in a seaside Victorian terrace with stripped floorboards and white walls!
This is the whole thing - do you like the shape? They were originally a dressing table as the back has markings where the mirror was attached.

 

Thanks for popping by and see you soon x

~Baby Gifts~

This Saturday is the baby shower for my new niece who is due in July, so we will zip across the Pennines to Manchester for some tea, cake and fun.
Here are some things I have been making.
First, another Puerperium Cardigan from Ravelry - this time it's the long-sleeved version in a dark pink yarn (Wendy Sorrento) with chunky wooden buttons. Pictured here with Mrs Bunny, a one-off for my new niece, inspired by soft toys and cuties I've admired on other blogs. 

And finally, my biggest reveal...
Who would have ever thought I would complete a crochet project? No more crochet-fear here -well not much :)
Thanks to the 2 crochet lessons at Me and Mrs Fisher in York, here is my cushion for the baby's room...

 The wool is a bamboo cotton type in 3 lovely shades of pink and the big granny square is just stitched onto a cushion I've made from Laura Ashley cream woven fabric.

Hope you like them!
Made with love x

~More painting of furniture~

I visited Hornsea again last weekend for a wander in the sea air on my ownio and did my run of the charity shops.  In a second hand shop I picked up (literally) a solid 1960s chest of drawers - loved the size and shape of them and the fact they were on legs. I got them for £18, with a framed floral picture thrown in for free. I hate haggling - but it did work!
The handles and the vintage wallpaper lining the drawers are currently for sale on ebay (link in my sidebar). Waste not want not and all that!

 

The handles after a good polish

 

Vintage wallpaper

Next stop was the vintage style interiors  'A Lovely Little Shop' on Market Place which sells fabric, Sass and Belle goodies, painted furniture and vintage bric-a-brac. After chatting about paint and furniture renovation, the lovely lady there put me on to this product...

...a chalk based additive by Molly's Paintbrush for paint which means you can use up all your flat emulsion bits and bobs and make your own chalk paint. I think they sell it on ebay too. It comes with full instructions of quantities to use - I'm using it to mix up small amounts which I store in plastic takeaway boxes with lids.
I've used the powder with leftover emulsion to mix up this shade of blue/green for the drawers...

I will hopefully finish it this week and share the end result and what it's been like to use.