having a blue period

I've always liked using blue when decorating hence the large collection of Asiatic pheasant plates that still cover my kitchen walls after 20 years of other changes.However I'd never noticed a particular preference when buying stock. But when I got home last week and unpacked and assembled my purchases a theme seemed to develop.

I'd found some lovely enamel jugs in all shades of blue..particularly French colours I think. Also this very pretty turquoise and brown floral fabric. Its in great condition so should make fab cushions.

I love this soft grey blue painted stool, it is for sale but I think it will be useful on the stall giving a bit of useful height.

Even the Aladdin Pink is a great shade of blue

Also a gorgeous large piece of soft washed ticking which is that shade of denim blue which I particularly like. When I finish posting I'm off to cover one of the old ironing boards I bought with a piece of this ticking..pic to follow

Also love this traditional French check, I've usually bought it in red but this blue is great for the cushion and the sleeveboard

Love the soft deep blue of this little cart

I also bought a pile of grainsacks..they are so heavy! I love the blue ones piled together with the different stripes showing.

I've just returned from a few stimulating days at the Edinburgh Fringe where one morning we escaped the crowds and wandered round the Elizabeth Blackadder exhibition. I loved her still lifes most of all and the random groups of objects linked by colour or pattern. I'm going to try grouping items although no hope of being able to transfer the image to canvas.

Also do have to acknowledge that these items are bought to sell so hopefully will have to rearrange the displays after the Cotswolds fair at the weekend. Hope to see some of you there and do come and say hello..I'll be the one with the blue stall.

charming wooden toys

Maybe it was the birth of my grandson last year that suddenly sparked an interest in vintage toys.

Certainly it was not long afterwards that I bought a lovely red truck, unfortunately no photo exists, that become briefly the centrepiece of my Christmas display at a fair before being snapped up. After that it seemed I found lots of interesting examples of lovingly crafted wooden toys.

This wooden horse was bought at one of the Country Chic fairs I stand at and was given to Niall as one of his christening gifts.

Last week whilst staying in London to look after him I enjoyed watching him stride along behind his horse still as good as new despite quite rough treatment!

I also bought a lovely pull along horse which is more of an ornament and looks great on one of his nursery shelves. Hopefully its not indoctrination but it would be lovely if he developed a liking for vintage things.

This little French  truck was bought to sell but has been in residence in my living room for a while now. I love the strong blue combined with brown and it looks great against the acid yellow of the painting.

Similar colours in this little cart picked up yesterday, another french toy and this one I must sell! See shophellishdesigns for more.

My eye was drawn to a small grey animal at the V&H Textile fair in June, how had my Greyie been stolen from my bedside drawer. I went upstairs on my return to find her squashed under a pile of books as usual and realised that the little cat on the stall had had ears whereas those on greyie were pulled off years ago.
The tiny drawers were a Market Harborough purchase from Helen, I love the way their proportions echo those of my chest of drawers and the drawers are deep enough to fill with all manner of clutter.

Come and see the little cart at the Cotswolds fair

faded glory..new life for an old quilt

A couple of years ago I bought a rather tatty cotton quilt
It combined a rose print cotton with lovely soft blue cotton and a pink which in the past had been a strong red but was now the perfect warm rose. Every cushion I made from this quilt sold immediately so I was very excited to find another almost identical at a fair last month.

Rest assured it was too shabby to use as a quilt, don't want to receive hate mail for crimes against fabric history! I started making cushions featuring the rose print and the blue cotton. I sold 2 of these to Avant Garde (see stockists) where Avril intended to sit them on a dresser along side some blue china; they complimented each other perfectly.

In addition to the pink and blue fabrics the quilt also featured a green and red floral. When separated from the blue this gave the cushions a very different identity..much warmer and cosier. I decided to combine these red prints with a mangle cloth with a red stripe. You can find some like this at The Place (see stockists) a lovely shop in Lichfield..Paula sells fabrics as well as other craft supplies and gifts.

I love the way these cushions look great against white bedlinen, adding just enough colour to a calm bedroom or piled on a sofa like my lovely old chaise longue. I'm nearly at the end of this quilt but I'll be taking the cushions along to the Cotswolds fair at the end of the month.

Whilst sorting through fabrics this morning I came across the very last strip of one of the most beautiful fabrics I've used; a grey and pink French floral quilted cotton backed with Vichy check.

 It had been part of a bed hanging but was already cut when I bought it so no guilt pangs needed. I made it into a small cushion and sewed the buttons on with a thread which picked up the pink of the flowers and birds..delicious. Looks perfect with the Vichy pink lampshade, how to part with them