Saturday 31 March 2012

Tearoom at Mum's Virtual Spring Fair

The china cabinet has been raided .....


The tables are set ....


The tea is made and brewing nicely .....


Because .....

It's the day of


I've been allotted the tea room - hope there are enough vintage cups and saucers to go round!


Looking forward to displaying all the scrumptious cakes on my cake stands.


Can't wait to have a look round all the other stalls and events - come on over to Mum's place and see what's going on - there's sure to be something for everyone!

Love, Liz
Had a great day ... absolutely shattered ... and now ...


the washing up!

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Girl On a Suitcase

You don't often see civic sculpture as cute as this!


She's the "Girl On A Suitcase" by Scots sculptor Angela Hunter.  I think that she is so sweet!


The little bronze girl belongs to Gourock, a town just down the road from Greenock.


In its heyday, Gourock was a popular holiday town in its own right, but was also where the trains from Glasgow dropped off holidaymakers who then got ferries to Dunoon, Helensburgh and many other popular holiday destinations on the Clyde coast.  In those days, going abroad was not an option for ordinary working people.


So she sits on her suitcase, her bucket and spade by her side, gazing out across the Clyde, dreaming of sunny days, beaches and ice creams, as she waits for the ferry that will take her and her family on their annual holiday.


The sculpture was chosen by public vote - brilliant choice, in my opinion.

Love, Liz

Sunday 25 March 2012

Shunshine Yellow

At last - I found some vintage sheets!



Not only did I find them, but they are unused.   Two Dorma double flat sheets and pillowcases in this lovely sunny yellow pattern.


And, with them, all in the same bundle, another double St Michael flat sheet in trendy yellows and browns - this one is also unused!  The patterns are very similar, so I suppose the charity shop ladies thought they were part of a set.


Result!


I suppose I could make a douvet cover from two of the flat sheets and still have one left to cut up and use for bits and pieces ... hmmm!


groovy baby!
Happy sunny Sunday to you all.

Love, Liz

Joining up over at Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.

Friday 23 March 2012

Pale and Interesting

Here's my latest crochet cushion which you may have noticed in my new blog header.


I was inspired by the colours in this Otterburn baby blanket which my Mum gave to me when my first son was born in the 80s.  It is still in fantastic condition and I'm glad I didn't give it away as it hold lots of lovely memories.


I think this is my favourite granny square cushion (so far).


Rushing to finish another which is a gift for a special person - much brighter colours.  Will show you when its finished.


Welcome to my new followers - and all those lovely people who comment on my posts - I love reading what you have to say.


Have a great weekend.

Love, Liz

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Worn and Loved

Isn't this beautiful.  It’s a vintage green and gold, Imperial Crown China tea set.  I thought it was gorgeous the minute I set eyes on it!

What really drew me to it was the fact that the gilding around the saucers is worn - this set has been well used and loved.


I wondered about who might have owned it. 
Are you sitting comfortably?  Then I'll begin my wee story …

Jean and Jimmy married right after the end of the war.  The tea set was a present from Jean's Aunt Maggie who had married well and thought herself a bit above the rest of the family.  Jean loved the tea set and kept it for "Sunday best".  Each Sunday evening, Jimmy would make Jean a wee cuppa as they sat listening to the wireless, she knitting while he completed his crossword.  Before bed, Jimmy would carefully rinse out the china cups and replace them in the cupboard.  Occasionally they talked about the little matinee jackets Jean knit for her nephews and nieces and hoped that one day they, too, would be blessed with a family. 

Fifteen years later, their first and only child, a son they named David, was born.  Their quiet Sunday night ritual was replaced with the usual rush surrounding David's bedtime and getting organised for the week ahead.  The wedding china was replaced with something a bit more robust.

David was a clever boy, and all too soon, he left for university down south.  On their first Sunday night without him, Jimmy quietly made Jean a wee cup of tea in her favourite china to try to comfort her - she missed the bustle of family life so much.  Slowly they settled into their new routine - Jimmy still did his Sunday crossword and Jean sat knitting - they joked that one day, perhaps they would have grandchildren.  And they did - David married Christine, a girl he met at university and once they had graduated, they emigrated abroad.  They had four children, three boys and a girl - Jimmy and Jean doted on them and visited as often as they could afford to.  David rarely returned to Scotland.

But every Sunday night, year after year, they had their cup of tea from the wedding china and they reminisced about the old days and their hopes for their grandchildren.  They died as they had lived, quietly and without fuss, within a month of each other.  David returned for the funerals and took back with him some family photos and a few bits and pieces that he thought might be valuable.  He sent the "old fashioned tat" to the charity shop.

One day, a woman named Liz was rummaging around the charity shop when she spotted a gorgeous vintage tea set and it cost only a few pounds.  Her heart melted a bit when she saw that it was worn - each cup and saucer had been used and loved.  This little tea set had not just been placed in a china cabinet to be looked at - it had been lovingly cared for.  She bought it.

On Sunday night, Liz made herself a cup of tea and used a cup and saucer from the set.  As she sat with her crochet, sipping her tea, she wondered about the people who had cherished it before her.


Do you ever wonder?

Love, Liz

Sunday 18 March 2012

Floribunda

Lovely little vintage Paragon plate - I've called it "Floribunda" - for obvious reasons!




Isn't it absolutely gorgeous - so full of flowers and colour.


Another charity shop find.




Just right for mother's day.

Love, Liz

Popping over to Flea Market Finds to see what other lovelies have been discovered!

Saturday 17 March 2012

Twinsets and Ponytails

Had a look through my pattern stash to see just how many vintage Greenock knitting patterns I had - most of them belonged to my Mum. 


She was a great knitter - she took her knitting everywhere she went, even on holiday she would sit on the beach and knit!  This well worn pattern was one of her favourites.


Twinsets  - remember them?  I remember having this twinset in blue ... and gray for school ... and green to wear with my kilt!


I also had the hat on the right - what you can't see is that there was a gap at the back and that was for your ponytail   to go through!  I had one of these in blue ... and gray ..... you get the picture!




Checked out what the record/45/single was - "Am I Blue" by Billy Fury which was released in 1963.  Lovely detail in cardi - another twinset.  I had this in ... !


Have a great weekend.

Love, Liz

Thursday 15 March 2012

Don't Get Mad - Get Crafting!

This is a little project which I've been meaning to do for ages - make a pin board.


Yesterday I got really annoyed at something (too boring to relate) and came home in a terrible mood - do you ever get angry and edgy and stomp about the house?  Needed something to dissipate these feelings so got cracking on the pin board project.  Been waiting for months - took me half an hour!


Can't even remember where I bought this cork board - could have been the pound shop.


Covered it with wadding then had an idea and sprayed it with my favourite fragrance - that way it will smell lovely when I push pins in it.  Put some fabric on the centre of the back - I like the back to look nice too!


The most difficult part was choosing which fabric to cover it with - tea towels from Wilkinsons or tartan - no too bold!




Settled on a soft light blue and cream fabric and used some light pink ribbon.


Tra la - finished, and best of all - bad mood gone!  So the moral of the story is, next time you are really annoyed at something - get crafting!

Love, Liz

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Roses on Wednesday

I found this lovely little tea set when I was out and about rummaging in charity shops at the weekend.  This little set cheers me up just by looking at it.  Roses - on a Wednesday - perfect!


Its by Royal Grafton and has a yellow and a white rose design.  Its very pretty.


I thought it went beautifully with the Paragon Sunset plate which I found last month.


Hope you like it too and that your week is going well.

Love, Liz

Many thanks for all your helpful comments yesterday.