Vintage Sheets

I've been lucky enough to acquire a fair few sheets and other cuts of vintage fabric over the past few weeks. I haven't had much time to visit charity shops, but on the last three occasions I've made it to one local one I've left with 1970's bed sheets and pillow cases. My gran gave me a checked blue skirt I remember her wearing in the 1980's and 90's, along with a 1960's pillowcase still in its original packaging. The packaging had unfortunately perished and had to be thrown away, but the pillowcase is quite literally good as new. 

The middle above was part of a lucky win in a giveaway by Oooh Betty. 

The above embroidered tablecloth was bagged for a cheeky pound at a car boot sale a while back. I've been very fortunate in that the charity shop which has been producing this fabulous fabric fruit is not one of those which has cottoned on (pardon the pun) to the vintage craze and decided to sell sheets at obscene prices. I generally never pay more than £2.50 for a sheet. That said, I've been on a winning streak, I can go months at a time without finding any vintage fabric at all, and it's at these times that I take to the likes of Etsy in search of cottony retro treasures to add to my growing vintage fabric stash. 

Here are some of the shops I like to browse and sigh over:

Vintage Sheet Addict ~ The queen of vintage sheets herself, Ada Bea! She sells the most beautiful FQ bundles, and her shop has become really popular since it opened last year. Her blog is also the perfect place to get a vintage sheet ogling fix, not to mention all the wonderful things she makes with them. 

Pattern Like ~ Such an array of lovely vintage floral fabric as you never did see, all the way from Denmark. I browse this shop on a bad day and all the colours lift my spirits. 

Ducky House ~ Based in Winnipeg, this shop has some unusual vintage fabric designs, which very much remind me of all things granny chic. 

Reloved Preloved ~ Splendiferous items made from vintage sheets! I'm enjoying these aprons:

If you have any vintage fabric shop or blog recommendations please share them in the comments below, so I can continue to drool. You know, I think my appreciation of these lovely retro pastel colours is heightened by my desperation for Spring to arrive. It's good to know that when the winter blues strike I can simply stick my head, ostrich-like, in my fabric stash box!

Next week I'll be taking a little break from blogging to catch up on some work (boo), make buttons for my shop (yey!) and go on some mini adventures in search of all things creative, vintage and inspiring with Beatrix (woof), so I have lined up some fab guest bloggers for you. I'm pretty excited so please show them some love!

In the meantime, have a high thread count Friday,

A Spot of Pyrex Thrifting

I may have mentioned in the past that I'm having a bit of a love affair with Pyrex - or versions of it -  and to be honest, I can't see it ending any time soon. I ambled along to Chesterfield flea market yesterday and it was packed, both with people and vintage and antiques. It was a lovely surprise to meet Debs of Two Bones and a Bagel and I added another Enid Blyton to my collection from her lovely stall!

Pyrex being the unbelievably useful stuff that it is my eye is tuned in to spotting it. I noticed these latest finds on the basis of the colours, and only then did a little squee of joy when I saw that they are good old low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass! 

Roses again! This one is Arcopal and the others are Pyrex. 

At £3 for all three with a free chinwag and a dog biscuit for Bea thrown in we both left very pleased!

Have a wonderful Friday,

Patchwork 1970s Style

I have the last of the acquisitions from my visit to Wales to show you! My nan gave me most of her haberdashery supplies, and tucked in among it all was this booklet full of patchwork patterns from the 1970s. I think it was originally part of a kit because I received some plastic hexagonal templates as well. This was really handy as patchwork is most definitely back in! 

Erm... cosy!

Does this guy remind anyone of Humpty from Playschool? Am I showing my age now...

This is just an advert in the booklet but it made me smile for obvious reasons. Can I have a patchwork quilt with Benjamin Bunny on it please?

I may go in for more muted colour schemes (though I hear mustard yellow and orange are back in this year, folks) but I'm pretty enthusiastic about making a patchwork cushion now!

Have a perfectly tessellated Monday,

Dotty About Vintage

While I was visiting Whitby on Sunday I popped along to visit its new vintage shop, Dotty About Vintage, and had a lovely chat with proud owner, Trudie.

I'd heard about the new shop on the block via Old Fashioned Susie, so couldn't wait for the chance to have a good look round. 

...And I wasn't disappointed! Trudie has used a really cosy space to show off a huge amount of gorgeous vintage items, all arranged by colour.

Trudie opened Dotty About Vintage five months ago, having moved to North Yorkshire with no idea about what she wanted to do! Spotting that there was an empty shop unit in Whitby, she grabbed the bull by the horns...

I had a really good chat with Trudie and it's easy to see how well her shop - and herself - have been received in the area. She spoke about loving the looks on customers' faces when they wander in and start reminiscing, and how her vintage-loving clientele get a real kick out of discovering something new each time they visit.

I really loved how the shop was well thought out, but not remotely pretentious, as vintage can often be. I found all of Trudie's prices to be reasonable, got a warm welcome and felt instantly at home, as though I'd popped round to a friend's house for coffee.

Trudie is currently working on a website, but you can poodle along to her Facebook page and say hi. (I'm sure she'd appreciate a 'like' too!)

 Dotty About Vintage is just a few minutes down the road from where I usually stay when in Whitby, which could be very convenient ... or very bad for my purse!

I did make a small purchase while there on Sunday, but I'll sort a roundup of my latest vintage finds and show them to you soon.

All pictures after the third belong to Trudie of Dotty About Vintage. Please do not use them without permission.

How to Make Letter Paper With Fabric

Here's an idea I've been playing around with a lot now that it's getting harder and harder to source pretty writing paper for a reasonable price in the shops. Email seems to have done away with it! I still write a lot of letters to friends; I think it's an art we need to keep alive, and I don't know a soul who doesn't enjoy receiving lovely post, especially post that's been thoughtfully put together and personalised just for them.

So being unable to get hold of writing paper one day, and not having a whopping £15 to spend on the sets I liked online, I decided to make my own. The beauty of this is that you can make your paper in exactly the style to fit your recipient's personality, and you can just make one sheet at a time, or lots! You can also use this method to make small sheets of wrapping paper.

First, choose your fabric... any fabric you like!

Don't worry about your fabric being ironed, or cut perfectly into a square, or completely flat - you want your finished paper to have personality. I actually wanted my friend to know I'd made the paper just for her, so I made sure there were imperfections! Seams, hems, creases and frays all look great.

Then all you need is a scanner attached to your computer. Pop your fabric in. Again, you want it straight enough so that you don't end up with white spaces on the page around your design, but perfectly lined up patterns isn't what we're aiming for here.

While your scanned fabric photo is on the computer screen, make any changes you want to. I often fade my design slightly so that my writing shows up against the background better. You can also add a letterhead design or a 'PTO' or other quirky something, like below:

And that's it! You can come up with sorts of patterns and designs. I've made quite a few now and have had lots of fun coming up with different combinations.

You can make a really special love letter...

Or make a set in complimentary colours, package them up, and give them as a gift to a writery friend...

You could even make paper to send to your sidekick to let them know you're close to solving a crime!

Well perhaps not...

Have lots of fun making your paper! What do you think?

Ever yours,