Tit for Tat!

Some of you have been bemoaning the fact there has been very little in the way of thrifty bargain hunting recently.  Tell me about it.  Every day I nip into our local charity shops  in the vain hope that I might see something that I'd want to buy.  But not a sausage, dear readers.  Not even a box of tampax (thank you for sharing that Scarlett) or a £99 china sheep ornament (remember, I blogged about that here.)  Instead, I have to contend with pairs of tights (seconds) for a fiver a pop or a used Marks and Spencer's hand and body lotion for £1.59 when a few doors down in Marks and Spencer itself, a new hand and body lotion will set you back 99p.  What is the world of charity shops coming to?

Anyway, never mind all that.  Let's focus on the positive shall we?  Like what I bought at a recent jumble sale.  Whoop! Whoop!

Yay, I've been bringing more tat into the house - a phrase that Mr J and P likes to use rather too frequently.  However, this time, even Mr J and P is getting in on the act.  This first buy was one of his.  It's a lovely cornflower blue jug.  Made by Dudson Bros.  The information on the internet says that the year an item was made appears beneath the backstamp.  This jug has the numbers 45 beneath the backstamp. So, it could mean it was made in 1945?  Dunno.  Doesn't matter, I like it whatever the date.

Sorry, couldn't get this photo the right way round

A Pyrex platter:

More embroidered linen.

I've collected these in order to make this patchwork cushion:

And by jingo, I think I've got enough at last.  Probably more than enough.  I've got no excuses now, I'll have to make the darn thing.

It's a good job, I got this lucious barkcloth craft bag at the jumble.  Perfect to store all manner of embroidered cloths and even the squares for the patchwork picnic blanket that I'm making. 

On a more sobering note.  Went to a boot sale recently.  Waste of time. It's really not the season for boot sales round our way.  Too few stalls and too much rubbish.  Oh, and ermmmm, this:

Focus on the pink box in the middle

Brought a blush to poor Mr J and P's cheeks, I can tell you.

And, no, we didn't buy them.

Although, with Valentine's Day approaching, I am a little fearful, I may be presented with my very own pair.  Yikes!
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Fifties Fabulousness & galloping gourmets (well, just the one gourmet actually)

I am a very lucky blogger indeed.  Before Xmas, the gorgeous Curtise from The Secondhand Years sent me a fabulous parcel of lovely things.

Curtise remembered that I'd commented elsewhere about Graham Kerr aka The Galloping Gourmet (celebrity chef back in the 70s).  

The GG used to do his cooking in front of a live (I think) studio audience and at the end of the show invited a lucky audience member to come up on the stage and eat the yummy meal with him.  When I was little, I used to sit at the dinner table playing with my food and in my mind I was the Galloping Gourmet preparing a magnificent meal.  I'd be cutting up my sausages lengthways and stuffing them with mash and then getting someone from my imaginary audience to tuck in with me.  Aaaaaah, such happy memories.

A "fascinating" fact:  Graham Kerr cooked a lot with butter and cream and it wasn't until his wife had a heart attack that he learnt the error of his fat and cholesterol filled ways and started cooking low fat meals.

Curtise also sent me the Woman's Journal from 1958.

It's fascinating. Every little bit of it. From the short stories and their amazing illustrations:

Oooh er

Awwwwww

to the knitting and dress-making patterns:

and the recipes:

Ummm, yes that is a big pile of bacon and waffles you can see

But the biggest thrill for me has got to be the adverts.  There are literally hundreds of them and every one's a classic.  Here are just a few of them for your delectation:

Nylons

More nylons

That bed looks on the verge of collapse to me

Those biscuits don't look very inviting

Love this Persil advert.  Who'd have thought I'd be drooling over washing machines?

And pedal bins.

Lovely bedspreads:

How amusing:

Curtise also gave me a lovely pinny and hankie.  As she put it, I'll need a pinny while I cook and then "a sit down with a nice magazine and a hankie.  Because you are a lady."  Thank you soooooo much, Curtise. *Mwah!*

One last thing before I toddle off.  I've actually been CUTTING UP SQUARES TO MAKE A PATCHWORK PICNIC BLANKET.  *Squeal*.  Sorry about the attention grabbing capitals and the shrieking, dear readers, but this is exciting news in my world.  Yes, little old moi has been snipping away merrily on a project that I started, ummmmmmmmmm, a mere two years ago.  Watch this space.......

Right, I'm orf.  Pip pip. xx