Monday 12 March 2018

Gorgeous linens and hand dyed threads ....












Memories and tales to be told
within the warp and the weft
vintage French linen! I adore it.





What can I say except there is nothing like antique French linen sheets.  More often than not you get a gorgeous hand stitched monogram to cut out and use in a cushion or stitch to a piece of clothing or indeed add to a piece of hand stitched textile art.  Then you get the linen its self and oh my what a gorgeous fabric to start some slow stitching on.  It is, in my opinion, the best thing to stitch on.  It is beautiful in texture, weave and feel.  There is nothing like it, with all the memories and tales it could tell if it could talk.  Who stitched the monogram and was it in a hope chest for many years.  Past down the family all those kinds of questions pop into my head when I am looking so lovingly at it.

As I sit here typing this I am looking into our garden and you can very much see signs of Spring popping up around the borders, also there is a commotion going on in the garden, it seems Miss Muddy Beak is seeing off another Mrs Blackbird and she is very vocal about it this morning. I have popped out some bacon bits and some cheese and she is not in the mood to share this morning at all.  Her wings are flapping and if a blackbird could look cross she is just that.! Oh dear I should not chuckle but it is really funny.  Oh she has won! Mrs Blackbird 0 - Miss Muddy Beak 1 ..!!!

Well now where was I, yes my gorgeous gorgeous vintage French sheets.  I have been cutting some of  them up for my kits that will be floated out there this week.  They are really tactile and soft as well and the fabric of them will be just the ticket to stitch on to and then to make into something wonderful in your imagining .... 
I have some very long and busy days coming up the designing of it all and the hunting down of the parts to the kits and now the putting it all together.  There will be photo's taken to show you what they look like and how to order. Sounds simply enough doesn't it  ... weak grin!

I have a little pile of slow stitching that is building up as well but I do like to be a busy bee, Our lovely friend is back to us and I am going to enlist his help in some making up of further boxes and some folding of bits.  We can chat as we go, or he can do his embroidery there and I can sit at the table and sort the kits out.
Looking forward to sitting and stitching again by the fire later.

We went to Shepton Mallet to the three day event at the weekend and had a lovely look about and did some truffling.  I had a little list and it was really enjoyable.
We had a coffee with our lovely friends Liz and Jack who were both stalling there.  Liz is of The Washerwoman fame and Jack sells gorgeous linens, both French and Eastern European and is of Le Camionnette Bleue fame ...


It is always lovely to catch up with them even if at times it is when they are working.  I do then of course get to truffle around all their gorgeous stock so it has its advantages...

The weekends seem to just fly by do they not, one moment it is Friday night and I am waiting for my husband to come home and sit and have a drink by the fire and tell me about his day and then we discuss our weekend ahead of us and the next its loud ringing in our ears with the alarm and its dawn and the birds are singing for their breakfast and my husband is doing it all again.  We are both so busy and our weekends are very important to us.


The vintage fair season starts very very soon where there is at least one or two each weekend and we try and go to most of them.  I am lucky that my husband gets me and actually likes coming along and doing some man truffling himself for tools and such.  He also loves the social aspect of them and catching up and staying over with friends.  I am very much looking forward to the Summer months ahead.

Our gardener who is working so hard on our garden has been planting out for me and the end of the season last year pruned back and we can now see the fruits of his labour coming through.

I have a little fig tree and it has never produced much in the way of fruit but with the pruning it had last February this year should be a good crop in theory ... You have to prune them in February because their sap can burn you badly apparently and it is safe to prune in Feb.  It had a really good hair cut and it budded and bloomed last summer.  Fresh shoots ( I was told there would be no fruit at all last Summer and there was not, it was true to his word)  This year is the year and I can see buds and shoots so I am very excited.  I only hope that really cold spell did not do any damage at all.

We will put in some bedding plants around the newly padded out garden and there are some gorgeous shrubs been put in and I see my lupins, foxgloves and daisies are all shooting up as well.

Miss Muddy beak has had her fill and the magpies have been allowed to come down to feed along with Mr Robin Redbreast, it has quieted down out there and peace has been restored.  She has hoped onto the grass and has started second breakfast of mealy worms and ground up peanuts ... I think she is getting ready to nest.

Well that is it for today and I hope you all have a great day I am off to start a very busy day, but first I must go drink my coffee that has just been made for me.  I will be back here tomorrow and as always Happy Stitching! XX




6 comments:

  1. We've been watching a bird tidying the nestbox attached to our shed. It pops in the next thing we see is things being flung out from the old inhabitants...... three years ago it was a wasps nest! I will let you know if the birdy stays

    Julie xxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How lovely Julie, it would be so lovely if he bird did stay and to watch the young eventually learn to fly.

      Sarah xxxxxx

      Delete
  2. Birds tell such a tale the world over and so fun to watch. I too love vintage...I love the French General line of fabric and old linens and reproduced fabrics. We have a some great antique shows here in the US.

    Anxious to see your vintage fare. ❤❤

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lora
      It was an antique market we went to no photos I am afraid but going to one this weekend and there will be lots of photos for you.

      Sarah xx

      Delete
    2. And things are much more vintage in Europe...being older.😏 Enjoy!!

      Delete