Doing the Happy Dance

Yesterday was my lucky day. A reel of beautiful turquoise perle 8 for 1 Euro at Brantôme brocante professionals and at a vide grenier just up the road, the bargain of the year! One of those concertina type sewing boxes on legs which slides out revealing all sorts of goodies. When the lady opened it up to show me what was inside I couldn't believe my eyes. There at the bottom, hardly used, were bobbins, feet and needle plates for my Singer 1425 which I've been trying to find on EBay but to no avail. Madame was asking 20€ for the box and its contents. As a pack of 2 bobbins is 5€ and there were six in there I didn't argue. Also amongst the goodies is one of those pin cushions that you put on your wrist. I've been trying to find one for ages. Most of the stuff can be taken out and packed away for when we do our vide grenier stall next year. The cottons have seen better days so I'm going to throw those out, as well as very rusty pins, needles and machine needles, but I'm so pleased I think it might just have persuaded my muse to return home.

Fabric Shopping

It's vide grenier season again and I've been shopping. This lot cost the princely sum of 5€. The dark blue plaid at the back is mostly scraps, but there is a good lot of them. The two "wodges" at the front are roughly about 2 metres each and each cost the same in Euro. Lovely bargains are washed, waiting to be ironed and then stored for winter projects. (note to self to buy new plastic tub today for the growing plaid collection.)

Cold and Wet

Need comfort food. Time to play with the latest brocante purchase.

Back soon.

Brantôme Brocante

Not a lot of sewing.  Weather is boiling hot - bottom 30's (centigrade).  Lots of swimming going on and, of course, it is brocante/vide grenier season.

This is the latest haul.

A beautiful sewing basket.

I've been after something like this for ages to keep all the paraphenalia in when the sewing moves downstairs. An absolute bargain, especially when the stall owner did a deal and ..........................................

we came home with this gorgeous mirror. It weighs a ton. The frame is oak.



And then I found this for the bathroom. I love it!

I did manage to get 2/3's of a liberated star done yesterday.  I'm getting the hang of them at long last.  Photo's soonest I promise.  It's just that summer is getting in the way.

A+

Thrifty Thursday

Oh bargains - lots of bargains (ok then, a few!).

This week's haul!

The camera is not behaving itself. Goodness only knows why. Pictures are coming out grainy.

We have 4 balls of DMC Perle 8 at 0.50 centimes a ball found at the vide grenier at Léguillac last Sunday.

Then we have a lovely big pile of batik FQ's all the way from Georgetown, TX and apparently more on their way. Lovely lovely Megs.

And now for the bargains of the year.

You will know the Jan Mullen book as Cut Loose Quilts. On the back it says 31€. I got it for 4€ and it's brand new. I'm not keen on the fabrics, but I like the ideas.

The Inspiration Patchwork is not really my scene, but it was only 5€ and, again, is brand new!

Funny - I always walk past the book stands at brocantes as they are usually horrendously expensive. This one wasn't :-)

Been busy busy busy. More when I've got something to show.

Donc, a+

Spring? Really?

I don't think so.

It's blowing a gale out there, rain is lashing against the windows, the satellite dish is pixelating and snow is forecast for Easter Monday.

Look at this. Brrrrrr!

So ladies, I need your help to get me through what is going to be a weekend (and probably next week too) confined to barracks.

I've hit an impasse. Where do I go next?



It's the top and bottom border I've got a problem with.  I thought I'd use the crumbly cabins and they look awful.  I suppose red again, but as this is scrappy and crumbly I wanted something different.  On the other hand, if it is going to be the size of the design wall then I can put red top and bottom and add some crumbly cabins as another border, but then again I'm probably making more work for myself.

Trouble is I've got 5 cabins made up and another 2 in the making, not to mention some crumbly strips that I've put together.

Can one tie and hand quilt on the same quilt?  Tie the middle and hand quilt the borders.

Oh decisions.

DH has got a rendez vous with the heart specialist this afternoon so we're going into Périgueux.  I need to do some serious shop hunting.  My lovely QS has closed down!!!!!!!!!!!!  The one in Thiviers has too and the small, expensive one in Périgueux centre has gone over to cross stitch notions - not one FQ in sight - I suppose they might have perle 8 now though.
What is a girl to do (sob).

I've just had a nice thought - brocante season starts on Easter Monday - wooooooo hooooooo!  I suppose DH and Alex will be sitting in the car while I get soaking wet and cold.

Oh the computer went belly up again, hence my silence.  I *think* we are up and running again.

Happy Easter.  Wrap up warm if you are in Europe.

A+

16è grande Foire à la Brocante à Ribérac

Edit - heading has been altered.  It wasn't the 19th, but the 16th and, yet again, I got my French wrong!  Think I'll give up trying :-). 

This is one day in the calendar that is kept clear.

The first year we were here we bought the huge armoire in the salon and a beautiful Art Deco carving set. Since then there has been not much to write home about. Prices are rocketing and it is more of an amble round the stalls constantly saying "I wish".

Today there were quite a few stalls selling antique fabrics - the beautifully embroidered linen sheets, night clothes, French toile, curtain fabric, upholstery etc. The prices are "don't even think about it" level, but there were some stunning pieces.

Take this for instance. The prices was 250 Euro. The material in the centre is over 200 years old. It has been hand quilted. Not in a fancy design, just to keep it together. There was an English woman and her Mum looking at it. They were quilters cos they were talking about backing and basting (don't you long to join in!!) and when they had finished verbally taking it to pieces I managed to get a look at it. That's when I found out how much the stall holder was asking. It screams out for sympathetic restoration, but not at that price.

There was another stall selling antique quilts - prices weren't as high, but the quilts weren't in such good condition. Still out of my reach though.

How much do antique quilts sell for in the US? Nothing less than about 100 Euro over here. Fabric is usually in one piece and the quilting is exquisite in some cases.

Funnily enough. Whilst I was rummaging about on a stall having a field day going through musty fabrics, there was a woman standing next to me buying a really heavy brocade. Alex and I edged a little closer trying to catch what she was saying as she said she wanted this heavily embroidered, weigh a ton fabric for "patchwork". Wonder what she is going to do with it? Hang that on the wall and it will pull the wall fixings out! Sleep under it and you are liable to suffocate!



And then oh joy of joys. The rummage produced something that really did hit me in the eye. 5 Euro this was. I'm not going to cut it, just baste it, back it and then hand quilt it to produce a wall hanging. Black border don't you think?

Fanfare please - Little Acorns is quilted. Although pleased with it, making this quilt has really dragged me down. Don't know why, but it has made me feel a bit depressed. Now to get it bound, washed and parcelled up and then perhaps the feeling will go when I start piecing Tamzin's quilt.

DS-D and her partner arrive tomorrow lunchtime at Angouleme so won't be around much until the latter part of next week.

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Fabric, Fabric, Fabric

No I haven't been buying. Sticking firmly to the No Fabric regime.


Yesterday was a gorgeous, hot day. Makes a change after the foul weather we've been having since May. Pool was cleaned on Saturday and is now a glittering blue instead of mushy pea green.

We had the option of a vide greniers at Le Rochebeaucourt or a proper brocante at Brantome. DH and I opted for the latter. Didn't really fancy traipsing up and down lines of tat!

I then remembered that Tonya had asked if DH could pretend to have a heart attack so I could take pictures of the fabric from Senegal hanging outside the fossil shop. I talked about it in June. So I grabbed the camera on my way out. Glad I did.

I think this picture is very Covered Porches. I thought of her when I took it.

I love the dummy on the left at the back and the cushions on the sofa.

It amazes me the prices people charge for things. Has anyone seen the huge clock faces made in plastic and battery operated? They are made to look old and sort of station clock ish. There were 2 for sale yesterday. One was 95 Euro and the other wasn't even priced!!

Here is the fabric outside the fossil shop

 

I've got too much to do at the moment so quilting has had to take a back seat. However, I have got a nasty niggly, guilty feeling about Quilts 4 Leukaemia so will have to pull the box out, have a rummage through all those beautiful blocks and design the next quilt.