Tuesday 24 May 2011

One out of Three aint bad. Yup, I'm still going on about it.

I've finally managed to get on the computer to write this post as Mr J and P has been hogging it all week, claiming to be writing some so-called report for work.  How could he!  Does he not realise that my readers are gagging for more jumble sale spoils?

OK, everyone, let's milk these jumble sale finds even more.....

Two Vogue knitting books, a how-to and a patterns book:


I love looking at the photos:





Just lounging around playing a game of cat's cradle with the one you love - how idyllic....

Hidden among the pages of one of the books was a cutting from The Daily Mirror 26 March 1947.  Must have been a slow news day.....


For all you knitters out there, it advocates the Swedish method of casting on saying "Our English  way of casting-on is the worst in the world.  In the long history of knitting it must have wasted millions of yards of wool and years of work."  Fascinating.

Even more fascinating is this:

 

Yay for the cows and her triplets!

I bought quite a few items of clothing - all size 10 and none of them fit me.  That's because I'm NOT a size 10.  What was I thinking of?  Luckily, I have a friend who IS a size 10, so she's going to be a lucky bunny indeed.  However, these 2 items fit me to a tee:

Cheery towelling beach robe thingy:



Little Miss J and P has stated categorically that she does not want to be on the same beach as me if I wear it.  Cheeky children and their opinions eh? 

I love Welsh tweed and this pencil skirt fits me perfectly. 



Now, I do like the look and colours of mohair scarves:


But sadly, not to wear, as they are just too itchy for my liking.  Instead, I prefer to drape them in, what I hope is an appealing way, over the arm of our armchair. 

The two "new" scarves in the middle join the blue and red yesteryear jumble sale finds at either end

Not appealing, though, to Mr J and P, who complained "What are those stupid bits hanging down from our armchair?"  I shall rise above his silly comments.

An aran jumper which looks like it's never been worn:



I love this purse:




Books, lovely books:


All two of them


While my collection of Puffins and Ladybirds are coming on a treat, my collection of teatowels has never really taken off.  I just don't see them in charity shops anymore.  So imagine my joy when I spotted these.  Not the most wonderous of teatowels but I was excited about them anyway:




This one is definitely my favourite

I like a map on a teatowel

If you want to see some truly wonderous tts, (as we teatowel afficionados like to call them) check out Kylie's blog Lucy Violet Vintage.  Kylie has an immense collection and features one every time she posts.  Swooon.

Finally, take a look at what Mr J and P bought for 20p (brace yourselves, dear readers):



It's a banana guard of course!  You know, for transporting your banana safely to work or school without it getting squashed and bruised.  Aaaah, yes, of course it is.


What a marvellous invention, no?

And with that dearest readers, I'll love you and leave you.  We're off to sunny Cornwall for half term, so see you when I get back.

Belatedly linking with:

Monday 16 May 2011

One out of Three aint bad.

Last Saturday, I went to three jumble sales - an unheard of phenomenon around our parts. 

A sneaky preview of my spoils cosying up with my previous buys namely the F&M hamper (£6.99)
and cute basket (60p)

I was up at the crack of dawn as the first one started at 10 am and I had to make my own way there by tube because Mr J and P was using the car to deposit Little Miss J and P at her first social engagement of the day.  Damn children and their active social lives!

I arrived at the venue (an old people's home) half an hour early and they just let me in.  No queue, nothing!  Well, dear readers, there was barely anything on offer.  The clothes table, for instance, consisted of 4 baseball caps and a handful of neatly folded jumpers and that was your lot!  I was in and out in 30 seconds and on the phone to Mr J and P to whisk me away to the next jumble at 11 am.

Good old Mr J and P did a marvellous job getting us to the next venue before 11 even when I directed him to Hazelwood ROAD in Bushey Hill when the jumble was actually at Hazelwood LANE in Palmers Green.  Oops!  Luckily, they weren't too far away from each other.

Dear readers,  I've been jumbling for a fair few years, as you know, and this jumble sale had to be one of the biggest I've ever been too.  Soooo big, in fact, that it never felt unbearably busy even though there were crowds of people.  The school hall was massive and outside, in the playground, was the bric a brac stall, toys and games and furniture and big items.  Yowser!  Jumble Sale Heaven without a doubt.  They even had tables of vintage clothes.  Very savvy of them.  Mind you, by the time I got to those tables there was a preponderence of shrunken jumpers, many with indelible stains!

The third jumble sale, in the afternoon, was just down the road from where the first one had been.  Lordy, it wasn't good.  The pricing policy was odd to say the least.  Some old codger was very miffed when told by one of the volunteers that a dress he wanted to buy for his two year old grand-daughter was £3!  At a jumble sale!  After causing a fuss (with me egging him on) a 3 items for £1 policy was put in place, which was more like it although they insisted that a pair of pyjamas I'd picked out for Little Miss J and P was 2 items, even though you wouldn't want to buy one without the other, would you?

Well, you've been very patient, dear readers, so I'll stop my wittering tout de suite and show you my spoils.
Let the good times roll........

When I was little I always wanted a set of Russian dolls.  Yay, at last, all the way from the USSR:





Only the other week I was drooling rather disgustingly over Lynda at Hooking with LaaLaa's most gorgeous crocheted pot holders here.  Huzzah, I've found my very own:


Here they are on display in the kitchen:


Another close-up:


Oh dear, I think another obsession may be coming on: tins:

A "silver rose" tin
   Perfect for my collection of buttons.  And talking of buttons:


 
A Rowntree Mackintosh tin which says on it "Buttons by kind permission of "The Button Queen", London. Not sure what this is about but I do know that "The Button Queen" is a shop in Marylebone, London which sells nothing but BUTTONS. Blimey, the very thought of it is making me perspire with excitement.

A highly useful (er hem) blow-up plastic cushion:


A cutesy bunny tablecloth:



This has to be one of the star buys:  a fabulous piece of Australiana.  Get a load of this tablecloth:






This towel (in perfect nick) has made me come over all nautical:



Dreamy isn't it?


In our bathroom:


Well ,dear readers, that's all for now.  I'll be stringing out my buys over two posts because there's nothing like ramping up the suspense factor, is there?

Before I go, "three" is most certainly my lucky number because I've won THREE giveaways recently!

Thank you Justine @ Emmabearforever

Thank you Claire @beautifulthingsbyclairehttp://www.beautifulthingsbyclaire.blogspot.com/


Thank you Susan @ teadiary
I'm a lucky duckie aren't I?  Well here's wishing you all good luck for your bargain hunting this week, and if you believe in lucky charms, take note:  "Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit." (quote from RE Shay whoever he may be).


Linking with:





Wednesday 11 May 2011

Meet my friend, the Unicorn

No, I've not stepped into a mystical realm.  I really did meet Mr Unicorn.  At the Ashover May Carnival in Derbyshire.  Here he is:


This has to be THE most hideous picture of yours truly I've seen in a very long time. Never mind, we're all friends here aren't we! 
 
Ooh I do like a good May Day event.  Mr Unicorn and his fellow Morris dancers:




Garland Girls from Chesterfield and their lovely embroidered aprons:



Shame that the bric-a-brac stalls weren't up too much. Mind you, Little Miss J and P struck lucky on the tombola. Look what she came away with:



Well, it has to be better than the tin of sliced carrots which was the last tombola prize I won!  Little Miss was very disgruntled, though, as you can imagine.  The slippers fit neither me nor Mr J and P so they'll be going in a charity shop bag and I'm sure they'll make someone very happy.

We had a fabulous time in Derbyshire.  We went for a walk in Dovedale which is very lovely but was very busy.  Look at the amount of people wanting to go across the stepping stones:


There was even some art we could admire as we strolled along:



Mr and Little Miss J and P sitting on a tree trunk across a river.  This made me very nervous I can tell you.


There was even some climbing to be had.  Not by me, though, I like to be on terra firma, myself (preferably on a pavement, and ideally just about to enter a charity shop - that's my kind of terra firma!).


Little Miss on the top of Robin Hood's Stride



Grafitti from 1885 on Robin Hood's Stride


There wasn't a great deal of bargain finding while we were away (bargain hunting, oh yes, but no finding).  We went to a massive car boot sale near Matlock but I didn't get a sausage.  Very disappointing.  However, the previous week, we were in Cumbria, visiting Grandpappy J and P and I did manage to bag two pairs of 70s curtains at £1.99 a pair from a charity shop.

Feel free to salivate over these:

mmmmmmm

Flowerytastic

My favourite colour combo

Drooooool


Magnifique n'est pas?  Better than a silly old pair of memory foam slippers doncha think?

On a final note, I went to a whole THREE jumble sales last weekend.  Here is just a little teasing picture of my haul (posing with my previous buys namely the basket and Fortnum & Mason hamper). 

 

See you next time, dear readers when I shall reveal all in delicious detail.   TTFN.  xx