A Little Bit Of Elbow Grease

Over the last few days I have been busy, busy, busy getting stock ready for the shop. I am much better at buying than I am at selling my stock - no surprise there! But my house is totally overflowing now, and while Mr. Thing and Little Thing 1 are away (more about that later), I have been working through some of my backlog. But it can't just be work, work, work, can it? So I have picked a favourite project to keep my creative juices flowing.

Yes, I love a chair project. I think it's because I get to do a little bit of everything - and I haven't done anything with fabric for ages. So, how did it start out? Well, this chair came from auction as part of a lot which I was after for the Lloyd Loom Chair (ah yes, that's another project yet to be finished...). This is what it looked like when it came home.

Not the nicest thing is it? But, I could see from the shape that it did have potential. So, first step was to take the seat out and sand down the woodwork. Then I applied some white primer.

... and it's already looking better. Another coat of primer, and then it's time to crack open the tin of Farrow and Ball. I love applying that first coat of F&B - it's so exciting to see how it transforms the furniture. This time I was using eggshell in Bone, which is a fabulous soft grey - it seems to take on the colour of whatever is around it, so you can use it in almost any colour scheme, and it has that sort of "already used" feel.

So after another coat of the F&B it was ready for the most time consuming part of the whole process - choosing the fabric to recover the seat. This takes me for ever - I had to go through

1) my stash cupboard,

2) my huge box of "washed but not ironed yet" fabrics and linens that I've bought for the shop, and

3) a couple of boxes of "not even looked at properly" linens.

I just needed to find that perfect fabric which suited the style of the chair. I came up with a few possibles, but settled on these vintage curtains.

... a romantic toile de jouy - which was hugely disappointing! Why, you ask? Because I really, really wanted to use either some vintage embroidered linens or some of my funky 70s fabric in some sort of patchwork. But they just didn't suit the chair - especially now I'd painted it in the soft grey colour. So, I reluctantly took the curtains apart and pressed the fabric. Then I used the old cover as a template to cut out the toile, trying to centre up a "scene", and cut some new wadding. My excitement over my new creation was growing now, and it all started to come together rather quickly after that, and I forgot to take any photos of this phase - sorry. But basically my stapler was put to good use!

The secret to getting a good finish, is to take care over the tension of the fabric, leave the corners to last, and take care to create nice neat even folds. It all went really smoothly, I was soooooo happy. All that was needed next was to cut out and sew on some backing to make the seat lovely and neat.

and there is was - all lovely and neat and clean and gorgeously shabby chateau.

But is isn't finished yet - it needs to be distressed. This will have to wait for another day, cos the paint needs more time to get nice and hard before I get to work on it! I have to admit that I find the distressing bit quite hard, cos I like to do a nice paint job, so it hurts to shabby it up! But I know it will look much better once it's done, so I'll steel myself to get down to it tomorrow so that I can get it in the shop before the weekend.

Whilst I was looking through my boxes of linens for this project I came across some of the most lovely hankies, which I just have to share.

This one is my favourite! But these ones are cute too.

And then I found this amaaaaaaazing bright, bright shocking pink HuuuuuuuuuuuGE crochet doiley, isn't it amazing?

So, back to the absence of Mr Thing and Little Thing 1 - they are doing a charity bike ride - from Winchester all the way to Gibraltar - that is a LONG way! And it's for a charity that is very important to me - Cancer Research UK - you can read about it here. Apologies for the quality of the photos, but my usual camera has been taken on the bike trip, so I'm having to use Little Thing 2's camera, which I'm struggling with a bit!

Learning to Let Go

I think I have a problem with letting go of some of the treasures I find for Gorgeous Things. I find it sooooo hard to put some of  those special things into the shop! Why? I don't know. When I find these items, I tell  myself that I'm buying them for the shop, but then I squirrel them away. This is not a good way to run a business!

I have had a serious talk with myself - I must do better! Gorgeous Things Vintage Jewellery has had serious words with me too. I have to think about my lovely customers, and remind myself that it isn't fair to keep these special things for so long. My customers need to see them and buy them  to make their homes Gorgeous. And I need to get my dining room back - which has turned into a stock room. So, dear readers, the time has come to part with the Special Things. And here is one I adore....

This has lots of groovy fabrics from the 60s and possibly early 70s, and is all hand sewn - can you imagine what a labour of love this was? And it is huge - this is my bed and it's a king size. I love these patchworks which are made from leftover fabrics - and this has been made from old shirts, dresses, sheets etc.- I think they tell a story, of another time. I love how the Mary Quant style flowers sit on the dark background - it's a real Flower Power item.

So I feel better now, I've started on the Special Things.

So while we are putting ourselves in the 60s - we might need a coffee from a groovy coffee set? This set is by Midwinter. This pattern is called Coutry Garden. When you look closely, the colours are amazing - I am thinking of using the colours of this set as inspiration for my next crochet project.

Here's a better look at the colours, and I love that lid! The two linen placemats are from the same period - they are a little washed out, so I'm still undecided whether to put them in the shop.

And here's some more floral funkiness! This is a Dorma bedcover in a cotton mix - I think it must be for a single bed, where it would reach the floor. I don't think it has ever been used - the fabric still has that "straight out of the packet" feel.

But it is sooooo bright and cheerful and FUN! I think sometimes we take our interior design so seriously, don't we - I think the time has come for us to have some fun again!

A Visit to the Brocante

Well, the Biarritz holiday has been done and dusted.... and what a lot of fun was had! There was some indulgence .. with a little bit of this.

And lots of people watching whilst having one of these...

And there was lots of sun and fun on the beach with my hosts. Here are Little Thing 1 and 2...

And here is me on the beach - (as I see it anyway!) pretty glamorous eh?

But I thought that you might be more interested in one of my little outings - to the Brocante?

I make no apologies for the following totally indulgent photos of fabulous, vintage gorgeousness!

Oh my, those vintage linens are exquisite (unfortunately, also exquisitely priced!!)

The whole street was filled with tatty vans, which were unloading the most amazing treasures.

Nice bit of enamel ware coming up...

The dark table and tall cabinet at the back are made of metal - they have been stripped and polished, and were totally amazing. I loved them - unfortunately the luggage allowance on Ryanair would not have stretched to one of those though! But great ideas for Gorgeous Things methinks!

Mmmm, some girly stuff on this stall!

And some lovely lighting - as you know, I love a pretty chandelier...

It seems a bit disrespectful to just dump such gorgeous lighting on the dirty gravel, don't you think? I really, really wanted to "rescue" some of these!!

There was lots of stuff on view at this street Brocante, and, having never been to one before, it was really interesting to see what was on offer. The lighting and the linens were stunning, but I thought the furniture, china and glassware weren't a patch on the the amazing variety you can get at an English antiques centre (mention no names, but hey, it's true!) And, I guess, partly because of the Euro, the prices were really high.

So, back home now, and I feel refreshed and eager to get on with all my ideas for my Gorgeous Things. Starting with the opening of the Gorgeous Things Online Shop (see the link in my sidebar), where I will be offering various interesting bits and bobs over the coming weeks.

Oh yes, more gorgeous things!

I know my house is already full of stock, but I just can't help buying more gorgeous things. I haven't been to the shop for a few days, so I'll just have to hope that the shelves are bare, so that I can fill them up with all the lovely new stock!

But who could have resisted this 50s tablecloth? And I had to have this stripy number - reminds me of my granny stripe blanket - but it would look fab on an outside table in the sunshine, wouldn't it?

These ones are a bit more traditional, but have lovely embroidery...

Pretty flowers and colours - shall we have a closer look?

And a nice piece of monogrammed bed linen - a huge linen pillowcase which is fastened with lovely old buttons.

The embroidery on this one is really fabulous - and it has never been used - never even washed.

But the simplicity of this cross stitched rose design is very cute, so I used this to set up a quick backdrop for some of the pretty pieces of china I'm taking up to the shop tomorrow.

It's just the right colours, don't you think?

Ooooh the pretty things!!! The painting on this little lidded pot is exquisite - that little blue winged bird!

So there are a few of the bits and bobs which I have remembered to photograph!

There are lots more to come, and if I can just get my stock cleared down a bit, then I'll be able to get that sewing machine out and get creative again - I can't wait to get started on making some gorgeous things with my vintage stash, as I have so many ideas. Just for starters, I did manage to sneakily get the sewing machine out in the kitchen whilst Mr Thing was away (I do worry about my mess spreading!). I made this cushion from an old 1980s tapestry - I love the retro design and colours.

I can't wait to get started on some more, so I'll have to get the backlog of furniture painting finished - which I'll blog about very sooon!

Toodle pip!

What lovely needlework!

I have a huge stash of hand worked linens. I've been buying for the shop, of course, but I just seem to find it so hard to part with them! So today I decided that maybe I need to break this job down into smaller, more manageable goals. Like getting just two out of the stash and ready for the shop. Which I have managed, but then I thought I'd just photograph them before I let them go - so I can share them with you!

How about this beauty? I love the strong use of colour and the scalloped edging is divine. Can you imagine how long it must have taken to embroider? Let's have a closer look at some of the needlework.

oooh those pretty scalloped edges.

But for those of you who like a bit of crochet, my second piece is a real beauty...

Little Thing 1 and I are currently crocheting the granny stripe blanket by Lucy at Attic 24, so we are in awe at the amount of work in this table cloth. It is all done in lovely white cotton, and looks and feels really fresh. Personally, I would never use it on the table (too many messy eaters in this house), but it would make an amazing throw on the bed or even sofa if you have one of those "different shades of white" style interiors. I would love to achieve a calm, white interior, but this doesn't seem to work with my need to collect stock for the shop! So it's more like Steptoe's yard meets school art room. Shall we have a closer look at the crochet work?

 I wonder how many stitches are in this cloth? Sooooo pretty!

And here is the progress so far on my first ever crochet project - - somewhat rustic compared to the tablecloth above! But I'm quite pleased with it, and my crocheting speed is definitely improving. I can't believe how quickly I'm getting through the wool. I'm using Patons Fairytale 4 ply which comes in some lovely colours - but I am finding it challenging to choose the colour combinations, as this sort of bright colour is not my usual thing - but I am loving the challenge!

I'm hoping this baby gets a lot bigger over the Wimbledon fortnight - know what I mean???!!!

Toodle pip!