Saturday 31 December 2016

Happy New Year with a warm welcome to 2017








Happy New Year to you all, my
lovely readers ....









I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and that you did not eat too many mince pies ( oh well it is Christmas!)

Tonight is the eve of a New Year and we will be welcoming in 2017 can you believe it.... We are celebrating with friends and we are a jolly bunch so it will be fun.  It will be time to open my jar and look at all the lovely things that happened this year.

I put a little note in a vintage Kilner jar when a great thing happens or a lovely day out then at the end of the year I tip them all out and read them.  It is a great thing to do and then of course it is ready for 2017 to do the same thing.  Sometimes we say that we will be glad when this year is over! I have said it before myself but I must tell you when you write on a little bit of paper a good thing and pop it in the jar they add up and you realise the year has not been all bad ....

I pop in ticket stubbs from the cinema on a date night with my husband and the date or something like a catch up with a friend out for coffee and cake.  Anything that has been good and fun.  I use one of my decorated Kilner jars with the pin cushion on top and pin things to the top as well ... I started doing this memory jar a few years ago now and love doing it, surprising what you forget that you have done or achieved over the year ..

Well all that is left to say to you now is Thank You all for supporting me throughout the year.  It has been lovely to know you are enjoying my blog and I would like to thank you all for supporting me through this difficult time with my Mum it is appreciated and you all make me smile.  I love to read your comments on here and hope that you continue to enjoy coming along here to read my ramblings...  To all of my lovely readers and to those who regularly read and leave comments I wish you all a Happy 2017 with good health and lots of creativity and vintage stitchery time.

HAPPY 2017 ALL ... AND HAPPY STITCHING! XXX




Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint stowp!
And surely I'll be mine!
And we'll tak a cup o'kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine;
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit,
Sin' auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid haeroar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.
For auld, &c.

And there's a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie's a hand O' thine!
And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For Auld Lang Syne. 













Saturday 24 December 2016

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!













“I will honour Christmas in my heart,and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”     








Christmas Eve in every home has its traditions and ours is no exception, we are of course busy with some preparations for tomorrows big event but basically we have done.  Tonight in our home we are going to enjoy a quiet meal with friends and the open fires are burning away. The fizz is on ice and the table presents are wrapped and ready for this evening.  We also have crackers on all the three days ... Its a tradition that my late Dad started and he really loved the table presents!  We set a price and had to stick to it.

The tree is twinkling and presents are wrapped and nestled under the tree.  I have to confess to getting
down on my knees and have a childish glance at them all wrapped beautifully and awaiting tomorrow.  I look forward every year to my little book bundle that my husband puts together and can not wait to curl on the sofa and have a read in my time off.

I never forget that Christmas can be a lonely time for some and others dread it for one reason or another so my message is that I hope you all have a peaceful and happy time with Friends and Family and for those of you who are not with your loved ones this year for whatever reason I really hope you
can do as I have done in years gone by and remembered times when you were together and smile.  The first few years after my precious Dad died it was very difficult for me but I took great comfort in remembering his traditions at Christmas and felt truly blessed that I had those great memories to look back on.

Have a lovely time off and I hope that Santa has been kind to all of my Vintage Stitchery lovers and as always if you have some time Happy Stitching! XX

Friday 16 December 2016

Christmas is coming! .... From our home to yours.















The Geese are getting fat,
please put a penny in the old mans hat
if you haven't got a penny a ha'penny with do
if you have'nt got a ha'penny 
God Bless You ...





Where exactly has this year gone? I can not believe it. I am looking forward to 2017 with some changes just around the corner.  I really hope that we find our forever home and that someone out
there is thinking about a move themselves and putting their property on the market, then we come along and snap it up, because it is just the right place for us.

There is lots to do  here including some things for my Mum so this will be my last blog until January. I will of course be saying Happy Christmas to you all on Christmas Eve so please come and see and on New Years Eve I will be putting a message on here too.

How is all of your preparations going?  Are any of you making some Christmas presents this year? I would love to hear about anything you are making....

I have started the wrapping and as you can see under the tree here at our home and the HQ of Homespun for the Love of Vintage it is getting in the spirit of Christmas well and truly.  Next week I
will be doing more wrapping, making of mince pies needs to be done and a little tradition of ours ** I always make a huge cottage pie with cheese on top for the freezer and we love that between Christmas and New Year as something warming but not as rich mid week ...

I have a basket of stitchery floating around here still so that when I have a moment I can pick up a needle.  There is always one on the go and I am trying to finish my antique quilt squares with hand embroidery I am putting on them ..... I wanted them done really but it has been so hectic with my Mum and Christmas too.  I am actually looking forward to a rest this year and looking forward to getting some stitching done after all the festivities are over and before I return to my blogging on the 9th Jan 2017!!!

Hopefully I will have a few bits to show you and of course I will show you my gorgeous red school stitchery sample picture that my husband bought for me ... I can not wait to open that.  He found me the other day with a picture hanging nail and hook and Harry Hammer .... He looked at me with some horror ( as he does all picture hanging) and asked as calmly as he could muster ... ' What are you
doing babes' ... so I said, well, deciding where that picture you have bought for me for Christmas is going so that when I open it I can run and hang it up straight away!! ... I was talked down as he pointed out I should really walk around with the picture and decide by him holding it up for me to look at! ... clever clogs!!

I have basically sorted my sewing room as much as it can be sorted ... I have lots of fabrics and quilt pieces in my collection .. I know its a shocker!!  The really useful boxes are stacked high but you can see carpet .. I can see in the boxes and so I can then see in almost a glance which box I need to get into, normally the one on the bottom!

I am looking forward to the break this year and so all that is left to say to you all is I hope you have some fun with your own Christmas preparations and that you have written your wish list for Santa, I have to write a book wish list as it is tradition here that I get a book bundle from my husband and other members of the family get to see my wish list for ideas too.

I will be back here on Christmas Eve so I hope you find time sometime in the day to come along here with a warm drink and have a read with me.  Have a great week run up and for those of you who will not be able to come back on the 24th Dec I hope you have a cosy Christmas and thank you all for your support over the year and all the lovely comments that you leave.

Take Care and if you have some time Happy Stitching! XX





Love Mr and Mrs Homespun xx



















Thursday 15 December 2016

My final commission piece is finished ... Now for Christmas!












I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
just like the ones I used to know
where tree top glisten and children
listen, to hear sleigh bells in the snow!









Yesterday I delivered a journal to a lady who bought it for her great Niece and I was over joyed with the reaction as she had some tears... It is always so lovely to know you have created something that they had in their head and you have managed it.  It is a secret obviously so I am going to ask that comments on here are ok as the Mum of the little 4 month old is not a member of my blog but if you are reading this from the link on Face Book, not to mention the words Daisy;s Memory Journal as we do want it to be a surprise under the tree next week.  I was not going to put it out there for that reason but I know you are all interested in what I stitch and this was a pleasure to make. I am friends with the lady on FB you see. That is it for me for 2016 no more work that needs to be completed before Christmas so now I can concentrate on just getting ready for the big day and in moments of non madness pick up my own basket of stitching and sit by the open fire and sew! bliss.

I have decided to today to hand stitch some place cards so I am going to do a little stitching later,  So a little Santa hat on one and then write a name and another a wreath and another is going to be a candy cane ... I need to do more than this so I will have to have a little think as to what can be fairly
simple but effective ...

One of my loves is laying the Christmas table with vintage table cloth, well in this case is is a vintage linen sheet but joy of joy it has two red stripes around the outside like a border so it is perfect for this years table.  I have got candles and twinkling lights and all sort going on.  Personally I simply love crackers! ... I know it should be a child thing but well what can I say!

I have made a few non pull crackers as decoration and so I am going to have fun decorating the table in the dinning room ( there is no stitchery on it from today! my husband will be so surprised!)
Also as the first part of this blog says I would love some snow ( see child!!) I would love to wake up so at least a sprinkling.

Every year I say I would like to do more personal stitching and so my New Years resolution has been made in my head already for 2017, there as some things I really would like to stitch and one of them is a Christmas picture that I can put up yearly and for January as it can be a bleak month after all the decorations are down.  I always fill the house with flowers after they come down.  That said I have some resident fairy lights all the year.  Firstly on the mantle over the fire in the lounge and also coming down the stairs as well.  The stairs at Christmas just get greenery and painted ice skates added this time of year but always the stairs are lit up every day!

So I am going to leave you with a peek at the secret memory book ... shhhh! an I  best get on today
with so much to do and a little later some hand stitchery ... Have a great day and as always Happy Stitching! XX






Monday 12 December 2016

Show & Tell from Sarah Moore Christmas Fair.










Christmas Treasures!






Thank you all for your emails and well wishes for my Birthday they were so lovely to read over the weekend.   Well can you believe how quickly this month is going.  With Christmas preparations in full swing in this house with lots of wrapping to do as well and some pre get ahead baking for the freezer it is going to be a very busy week indeed.  How are you all going along with your preparations? I would love to hear if you would like to share.  Any last minute making going on.
I need to marzipan and ice the two Christmas cakes that I made and make up some bedrooms as well.

My husband was very unwell over the weekend so it was a very quiet Birthday and we did not get out but stayed in by the fire.  In addition I did not get to Wisborough Green either for the last of the year vintage fairs run by Love Lane Vintage .... My Mum is progressing down the slope that is Dementia and it has been a hard few days here.  Did you know even with LPA you can not just find a care home for a loved one, they have to ask them and interview them now.  My Mum just says No but she came so close to hurting herself the other day and we are still no further forward in her care.  Carers twice daily only and it seems ludicrous to me.

Well enough about my few days I wanted to share with you the few things that I bought so ...
what did I purchase at the Sarah Moore and friends Christmas Fair.  Actually not lots at all so this is not a huge show and tell.

I bought a gorgeous basket from Liz and Jack of The Washerwoman fame (pictured on the left) so that I can give it as a part of a gift with lots of different bits wrapped up and put inside it.   I also bought some really beautiful vintage Christmas baubles from them as well along with some vintage cotton spools.  I do not know why but at the moment I am drawn very much to greens and beige colour cottons along with reds and these were some (apart from one) that I did not have ... they are great for embroidery (fine and detailed) with flower leaves and trees.

Then Lizzie gave me a little gift of a beautiful button sample card.  It is not complete for if it was I would not cut off the gorgeous buttons, that said because some are missing I am going to cut off the buttons that are left and using them in my designs for next year I think.







I bought these ribbons as well and they were from Nicholas and Steele.  I have a pair of vintage skates and I wanted to lace them up with some of this beautiful ribbon and the rest will be used around some Christmas parcels ... They look so Scandi in their design don't they.  One skate will have one ribbon and another ribbon will be used on another.

In addition I bought another basket that needs some tender loving care but when my husband has finished with it and cleaned it, it will once more be back to its former glory with that great vintage and pre loved look.  It needs a good clean for a start but the handle is strong and has a green detail going across it which is why I thought it would be fabulous when it has had a little clean and slight repair job done on it, and a couple more vintage baubles ... pictured below, which I carried around in this basket whilst I was there!

My last purchase of the day was some old keys and they will be made into some more Santa keys.  I We Believe in this house very much!
made some this year.  One for our Grandson and he loves it so that Santa can get in even if there is no
chimney ever and when some of his friends saw it they wanted one too,,,, I will make some more next year as well for others.  It was so funny because Suzi of Hearts 'N' Kisses had made a few as well, a bit different to mine, she had painted her keys white where as I left them looking big and old but we chatted about how we all have the same sorts of ideas on occasions .... The arty stitchery crowd are all made from the same mould! So you see as they were a hit I thought I would buy some more keys to do the same with next year and of course I wanted one too as
I forgot to take the name of this lovely man who was selling them at Sarah Moore's and was also selling some gorgeous antique tools as well .....

There was a fire pit in the courtyard and chairs and cushions around it for a cosy sit down and the very talented Hector and Fox were there catering.  In the open air on put together open fire there was
a fabulous stew on offer which came with a hunk of bread and butter or a soup which came with the same.  Teas and Coffee were there as I said before and great cakes ... It was such a lovely atmosphere.

On the sewing front I am afraid not a lot has been achieved due to my Mum and Christmas but I do have a last commission to complete for a friend for her great niece and I am going to be finishing this tomorrow, my sister will take over my mum and I am unplugging phones to be able to concentrate fully on it.

I have a basket of stitching for myself that I would like to complete and that is there when I get a few minutes.  My husband has 2 full weeks off over the festive season so he finished this Friday as do I and he goes back to work on the 3rd of January and I on the 9th of January 2017 ... that sounds such a long way away but indeed its not ...  I am hoping with my time off over the Christmas period I will get some stitching time in by the fire and have some things to show you in January ...

Design book time as well..... I will be starting my new design book for next year and I have already got it ready and waiting and looking forward to filling the pages.  I have my new work diary which has some vintage fair dates for next year in it already and appointments and deadlines for next year.

Well that is it for today and I hope to get some stitching done tomorrow, today well its off to my Mum for a few hours and hope that I can stitch there too.  She has a little dog called Roxi and Roxi loves to curl on my lap so stitching can be a little tricky.  Imagine if you will sat there talking to Mum, well getting her to talk about her childhood to me and stitching with little one on my lap.  Suddenly a tiny black wet nose appears up in between me and my stitching just to see how it is going!  It is hilarious ....

Here she is asleep on a chair but she soon makes her way across to the lap where she is all warm and cuddled!

Have a great day everyone and as always Happy Stitching! XX








Saturday 10 December 2016

Tulip Stitch .... stitch Saturday








Happy Weekend All

Well this is my Birthday weekend and I am out and about doing bits and bobs and catching up with family and friends.

I may well pop into a vintage fair which will be the last of the season, for me at least.

It is very cold outside but I will dress up all warm and cosy...

Today's tutorial is the a great little stitch called Tulip stitch and I thought is was fabulous when I watched it.

So why not make a warm drink and enjoy this little tutorial and take some notes.  It is a little under 10 minutes long and this stitch is a variation on the lazy daisy stitch ...

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend.  I will see you back here bright and early on Monday with my last week of blogging until after the New Year.

Happy Stitching! XX






Friday 9 December 2016

Show & Tell ... from the Cozy Club












You can not beat unique handmade
treasures, take a peek.




Well today is actually my Birthday and I will be going out for a meal tonight with my lovely husband.

My husband will be working from home today but does have to work so I thought I would go up to my Dads grave to say hi this morning as he can not visit me and then come home and light a fire and cosy up and catch up on some stitchery with a hot chocolate and a biscuit!  We are going out and about over the weekend so today I wanted to just sit and stitch .... no housework, no cooking just
enjoy so stitchery time by the fire....

So what did I treat myself to at the Cosy Club Christmas Fair.  Well I did tell you about the beautiful antique wooden shoe moulds that a lady had hand painted on and added a lovely candle.  I felt it was almost Nordic what do you think.  It is red and had a mouse painted on there with the words 'twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse'  I fell in love with this when I saw it and thought it was so different and beautiful .. this will come out year after year as a new Christmas tradition ornament ......





Then from Suzi of Hearts 'N' Kisses I bought two dear little Christmas trees with vintage cotton reel bottoms.  I have put one in each of my glass domes for going on the dinning room table.  I thought these too cute to pass up.  I have made a large Christmas tree and embroidered it with mill spool but these teeny ones had to come home.











Then from the Christmas journal lady I picked up one because my husband had said to get something
if I saw it for a Stocking he is putting together for me and one had reindeer on it and it was a larger one so I picked that up to bring home ....  I can not show you it until after Christmas as it was squirrelled away when I got home by him so that I might forget what I chose for myself.......







Angels Gather Here I had a good look around and bought several things as there was so much to choose from.  Dawn makes all her own thing even down to the wooden signs she had for sale.  This particular sign caught my eye and I thought how wonderful it would look in the kitchen so it came home with me.  As you know I adore cinnamon tea and so therefore it was a done deal .... It is such a jolly and warm sign I think.

Then I spotted a gorgeous cushion made out of vintage linen and
antique quilt cuts, Dawn had also embroidered little hearts on there as well and it was totally irresistible and sits happily in my rocking chair with the other Christmas cushions and the throw in the lounge.

I could not resist putting the painted shoe in this picture as well again ... It is not where it lives, that is on the fireplace surround but I felt another photo of it was in order!


My last purchase on this stall was these wonderful Christmas tree decorations made from vintage quilt pieces with cinnamon stick tree trunks and a mother of pearl star button on the


top of each one.  I simply loved them so much they jumped into my basket to come home. I have them dotted around in the dinning room with one hanging on my antique preserve cupboard just below the bear in the stocking ..... It looks just right there.

I bought six of them as you can see and they are so pretty and totally different to what is on the high street ... that is what I love so much about handmade and going to events like this, you get unique treasures.

My very last purchase of the day except for my piece of cake and hot chocolate was this great little bottle brush Christmas tree which sits on the sledge and vintage boxes under the fairy tree
I have put up in the dinning room.  It has Helinka fairy skaters and mice on it and it looks just right there nestled with Santa Christmas Crackers as well.  We also put our table presents under this particular tree .. its our tradition!

Have any of you seen the Helinka Fairies?  I will just show you one up close in a photo ..

Take a peek at this little fella, what a handsome mouse in his red jacket and I took photos of two of the lady skaters as well.

I love getting these out every year and I look forward to putting up
this little tree with them all together ...

On that note that is it today for this show and tell and I am going to get ready to go see my Dad and I have already got the fire ready to light when I get home along with a stitchery basket as well.  With the Christmas tree all lit up and the candles going I will be very happy today.  I am not opening any gifts until after my husband finishes work so that is something to look forward to later on.

Have a wonderful day all and as always Happy Stitching! XX










Thursday 8 December 2016

The Sarah Moore Christmas Fair ....

















The Holly and the Ivy when they are both
 full grown of all the trees that are in the wood
 the Holly bears the crown.




I love this fair and the fact that it is held at Sarah's actually home at Lands Hill Farm is the icing on the cake. It was decked out everywhere with holly and ivy around doorway arches and wreaths on
doors of the barn.  There was a fire pit with chairs to sit around to be warm and a lovely long wooden table with chairs to sit out on.

The T.V cameras were there because as you know Sarah does a program called Money for Nothing where she goes to tips around the country and save things from land fill.  Takes it home makes it into something wonderful again and sells it on for a profit.  Then she goes back to the
person she got the item from at the tip and gives them the profit ...

As usual the barn was set out as if it were one large shop and Nicholas and Steele were there along with Sarah herself had some things for sale.  There were a few people who had vintage goodies for sale but I am afraid it was so busy I did not get to get all their names.  Also in attendance was the lovely Liz and Jack of The Washerwoman fame.

It was buzzing with people by the time I got there.  Bramble Sarah's black lab was running around greeting people and anyone who had brought a dog with them who may want a game or two. Hector and Fox were there on site providing great coffee and tea as well as a fabulous beef stew and lentil and bacon soup being cooked in the open air.  They had also made an apple strudel and an amazing ginger cake as well... the air was filled with delicious scents and the atmosphere was Christmas.  Friends meeting friends here and the dogs playing it was a great time out.  If you have never been to one of these events then this is surely one for the calender next year and as I say other dogs are very welcome. This is one for you Dawn and its not that far from Chichester!  I have a recommendation too for staying over where dogs are also welcome ...






The large barn was full of Christmas beauty and set out beautifully as always with vintage Christmas
baubles and glass.  Tables full of gorgeous vintage treasures to be taken to a new home and also there was a wreath making class going on in the corner of the barn which made it all smell divine!!

There were vintage Christmas crackers, antique carol music sheets tied with string, decorations and baubles hanging from large twigs secured in a very large galvanised bucket and it sparkled in the winter sun that was coming through the windows and door.




As I said The Washerwoman was there and the stall was so full of beautiful things with baubles and baskets, French embroidery stamps, fabrics and linens along with buttons and all sorts of treasures.  This was somewhere you had to stay and look for a long while.

Liz had lots of table lamps on around her tables and the soft glow with all the reds on display really made it Christmasy ....












Sarah had an open armoir  full of gorgeous cushions and fabrics for sale.  There were fresh Christmas wreaths hung on the open doors and again it smelt so lovely.

I love the smells of Christmas, scented mulled wine candles and fresh pines and dried oranges it just evokes Christmas and cold weather hibernation ...   I light candles this time of year and sit by the fire and stitch, it is such a lovely thing to do it truly does not feel like working....









Sarah has had a shepherd hut made and that was open for people to go in and look, the wood burner stove was alight in there as well and it was really very cosy indeed.  There was a sign for who made it out of reclaimed everything and I believe the prices start from around £12,000 fully fitted with  the stove and cupboards, bed etc.

There were wooden painted candle boxes inside for sale and the atmosphere was so cosy I could have climbed onto the bed and snuggled in with a good book!



Outside the large barn was a guy selling old keys and tools and there was a vintage sign and a little
slipper bath... forever home would have had that if we were in it but I really can not store too much more for a house we do have yet .....


The old tools were very interesting and it is really lovely to see proper tool that have been sharpened and the wood cleaned and polished and taken such good care of.  I imagine the original owners of these tools that would have taken very good care of them being they were tools of their trade and lively hoods way back when and because I have an imagination and always have had as a child I find myself in my own world imagining these people and the clothes they would be wearing .....





There were people wandering around with a hot stew or soup in there hand with a good hunk of gorgeous bread and butter and the fire was blazing away to keep us all cosy.  Bramble was doing his best to look neglected so that she could be taken pity on an given her own stew and bread ... should anyone of dropped anything she was on patrol to clean it up quickly and efficiently with a lick of her lips!

I had some stew and a piece of ginger cake and it was so delicious and just the thing for this sunny but cold day.  Then I went back inside to have a good look through the large barn at all the goodies on offer.










With tables laden with greenery, baubles and handmade's and great vintage glasses and china it all
looked beautiful inside.  I was just looking around the and just had my stew and cake when I met Sue and Mike of Suitably Vintage who were there to see what treasures they could find.  It was lovely to see them and I had seen them a week ago at The Winter Brocante as they were stalling but today was a look around kind of day.











There was a hand painted dresser there with candles alight and baskets of baubles and glasses twinkling in the candle light. Me being a magpie at heart I had to go over and look through all the wonderful things on display.

With glass both coloured and white cut glass it was a joy to look through.  Again my dressers are groaning at home right now so I was a good girl and keep dreaming of my move .....








It was time to leave and we had decided to stop off at the pub up the road and go into the warm for a
cup of coffee and then we had planned to go into Chichester to the Susie Watson shop there which we did do..... We stayed in Chichester and had our supper before returning home to the South Coast.

It was a wonderful day out, I will be doing some show and tells later on down the line.  I hope you have enjoyed your little trip around this lovely vintage fair.

Hope you all have a great day I will leave you with a couple of images from The Washerwoman table that just sum up Christmas beautifully,  Happy Stitching! XX










































Tuesday 6 December 2016

A Cosy Club Special Christmas Event ..












If you were not in the Christmas Spirit before
you could not help be after this magical event.



I managed to attend the Cosy Club Christmas Fair last week and it was well worth the drive the other
side of Ascot.

It was wonderful to actually go and see Chris at her stunning home.  There was a fire pit going in the garden just in front of the wonderful wooden porch with chairs all around with cushions, blankets and throws.  Chris had got a great coffee van in her drive and the lady was selling coffee, tea, hot chocolate and more with wonderful cakes too. This was Coopers Coffee Bar.

On the porch to greet everyone and dressed in red with sleigh bells around her neck was the lady herself to greet everyone who came.  Chris had opened up part of her home with a few guest stalls and her General Store that she herself sells candles, ribbons, fabric packs and different goodies in during the year.  Some of you may have heard of The Cosy Club and Chris actually runs this in her home.  This is where people who want to learn how to make something scummy gather
during the year as Chris takes workshops.  You may have heard of the man in the crooked workshop, this is her husband Neil and he was there and I got a personal tour of his wood working shed.  He gets to make the frames for any samplers that are made on one of the Cosy Club workshops or any other wooden things like Christmas trees.

It was so lovely to be there, it was on my bucket list of vintage fairs to go to and here I was.  Chris said to me that this year it was much smaller and more intimate because she normally empties the bottom half of her home of furniture to get further makers in for this event but this year it just was not possible.  I did not mind one bit there was so much going on and lots of people who I knew and others I was meeting for the first time.

Chris had gathered handmade goods from makers in the space of the General store and just outside, some of the makers were there and others were not and Chris was looking after some of the goods.
The porch ( which is like you would get in America or Canada, which is where Chris is actually from was decorated beautifully.  With chairs and throws, cushions and evergreens.  If you are reading this and live in England you may know of Chris because she and her gorgeous home is often on the front of The Country Living Magazine and was the front page of December issue last year and has been lots of times.

This was such a wonderful event with such a great atmosphere as well.






Suzi of Hearts 'N' Kisses had a little table there and her gorgeous makes were going so fast.  When I
got there is was full and by the time I left which was 2 hours later there was practically nothing left at all and it was going on until 4 in the afternoon!  I had to get in there quickly to get two things I had spied earlier!

As you can see she had Christmas goodies abound but believe me when I say they were going very fast.  What was wonderful is that there were lots of ladies doing their Christmas shopping so they were supporting handmade which is so popular, I am pleased to say and being 10 things at a time.  This for an Aunt and that for their Mum, it was really lovely to watch.




Angels Gather Here was in attendance and I was so pleased as I do follow Dawn on Instagram but we had not met before and it was lovely to put a face to such beautifully handmade items.... I may have bought a few things from this talented lady.  There were cushions made from antique quilts and linens, wooden handmade signs, Christmas decorations and so much more to tempt people as you can see with china and Christmas stockings as well.








Hellish Designs was there with her gorgeous handmade lampshades and people were
especially drawn to the red and white ones being this time of year.  It is rather lovely to change colours in your home by changing around lampshades, quilts, blankets and cushions and you could see that lots of ladies had that very same idea as well....  With the gorgeous decoration and quirky bits that were already in The General Store the back drop for this little fair was so beautiful.  There were candles going and the smell in the air was Winter and Christmas.....







Rosablue was there with her handmade originals.  There was a dear little dolls bed in wood which had painted and a gorgeous vintage quilt and pillow on it.  Any little girl on Christmas morning would have been thrilled.  It was not there that long and I saw it  going out to be put in a car.

There were hand made dolls and rabbits with knitted jumpers and cloths and little fabric packs.




Then there was the lady there and her business is called La Noruse who had covered journals and had pretty ribbons around them.  With Christmas fabrics and wool fabrics as well.  She was doing a roaring trade and I was told by my husband if there was something there I liked to pop into my Christmas Stocking he is putting together then I was to get it... Well one of these beauties did come home with me!









As you went into the General store where Chris was stood the whole time greeting people there was a table with a red and white bear paw quilt on (which was not for sale) and there were some ribbons there for sale and some beautiful antique wood shoe moulds that someone (forgot to ask who actually made them as she was not in attendance) had hand painted and put a candle in.  They were so different, pretty and had a Nordic feel to them..... well I might have
And when I left 2 hours later there was only one left.  They are so
beautiful.






The table had ribbons on as I said and other goodies to purchase.  Have a look at the bear paw quilt as well, which belongs to Chris herself.

There were bottle brush Christmas trees and gorgeous metal heart hangers as well.  That quilt is so beautiful isn't it ... be still my beating heart.  Now had that been for sale I doubt my resolute decision NOT to buy another quilt would have flown away with wings over the houses and out of sight!!

It was time to have a hot chocolate and a piece of cake and sit by the fire pit and take in the atmosphere.  I had a lovely chat with the ladies pictured in the photos above and it was rather toastie and warm.  There is something about being sat out in the frosty garden when you are covered in a pretty quilt by the fire and drinking hot chocolate I can highly recommend it to you all.


I wanted to take some more photos of this beautiful home and I actually got a personal tour of it.  I did not take photos of the inside as this is Chris and Neil's private domain, that said she does herself take photos and pop them on Instagram and you can get a peek inside but I did not want to (although Chris said I could).  If you want to find her on Instagram look for the cozy club......

Can you imagine the inside if these photos are the outside? and believe me it is so cosy and welcoming.  Chris decorates her porch with the seasons so it is always welcoming and beautiful.



It was time for me to say my goodbyes and thanks and head off back to the South Coast.  I am so pleased I made the time to go and I look forward to next years event, this is a firm favourite and on the calender for next December.  My lovely friend Jo from Australia will be over then so I am hoping that she might be here for this event and we can go on the road trip together!

Anyway that is it and I hope you have enjoyed a look around this wonderful intimate Christmas fair and enjoyed seeing Chris and Neil's beautiful home.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and as always Happy Stitching! XX