Westonbirt

Last month we headed off to the Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury, for the first time in ages as we'd been disappointed the last few times we'd been and much preferred the wares on offer at the Vintage Bazaar in Devizes.

Well again, it wasn't as good as it used to be, I got a few bits and we enjoyed going to the other vintage offering in the local church but if we're going to drive all that way it needs to be worth it. Well this time we were prepared as we'd planned to take the kids and squeeze in a visit and picnic at Westonbirt Arboretum on the way back. This was the best part of the day, the weather was stunning, the rhododendrons were blooming and it was actually quite quiet.

Again, with a new camera, I was a little snap-happy! But the colours were stunning, especially against the very blue sky.

I took my iPhone and have been trying to get to grips with Instagram, as I've been dying to get on it. A link to my profile is at the top of the page.

A Christmassy Weekend

I was in denial about Christmas coming up, but after this weekend there is no doubt, everywhere you looked there were signs!

First off on Saturday it was our annual pilgrimage to the Christmas Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury and I'm afraid to say I was disappointed. I spent a total of £3 on vintage baubles and that was all that tempted me. 

It wasn't very Christmassy, there was nothing to my liking and yet again no upstairs, which meant the tea area was again in a poor position and we were unable to sit, so we left. 

Knowing that they made £900 on entrance fee alone, seems a bit poor, you could have had more tea area upstairs and more stalls. The uniqueness and quality of items has been waning recently so I won't be rushing to the next one, I think I preferred the one at the Corn Exchange, Devizes this year.

Happily our long drive was not wasted as there was the rival vintage fair around the corner, which had more vintage items to my liking and then over the road at the church we happened across the Crib Festival.  I had no idea what this was but thanks to my Mum who ventured inside it was marvellous, lots of local people/groups had made their own versions of a nativity scene, they ranged from the artistic to pre-school groups and they were all wonderful, such a lovely idea. There were several knitted versions, and the large version below is a full life-size knitted display which is touring around to raise money for a hospice charity, you have to see it up close it's amazing, so much work and so much yarn!

There were even real donkeys in the church!

A visit to Chipping Sodbury isn't complete without a visit to Hobbs House Bakery, there's a great gift shop on the corner and now it also boasts a Waitrose (which made parking easier !) and it also had a cafe which we'll definitely use next time and the play park was loved by my girls, after being herded around shopping!

Saturday didn't stop there for me as no sooner had I got home then it was time for me to head out for a night out with a meal and music to see Deacon Blue at the New Theatre, Oxford.

It was definitely worth it, there's something about live music that makes you feel alive and energised.

Sunday brought more Christmas spirit, in the morning was our school fair full of chocolates, tombola and a visit to Father Christmas.

After lunch we walked over to Cogges Farm Museum for their Christmas Fair and enjoyed browsing the stalls, seeing the knitted nativity in the kitchen and the girls were itching to get to the play equipment. It was so busy and it was lovely to see so many people there all enjoying the atmosphere.

Walking home there was the most fabulous sunset to close out the weekend.

Christmas Vintage Goodies

Golly I'm afraid it's been ages since the Vintage & Handmade Christmas Fair and I haven't shown you what I bought!

I have finally found a panda!  I've been looking for the right one for a while and  Bert is perfect!  He was from the lovely Cowboys & Custard stall and is now very happy on my shelf.

I hope to use the buttons in some corsages and I finally got some Christmas twine, 5m for £1.50 at Shabby Chick.

 I bought this for my eldest who like me before her is mad about Enid Blyton. This was from 'This 'n That'

 Wish I'd bought more of these from Penny Choo, she does have an online shop though!

 This is my sort of cooking book, good solid British home cooking recipes, I shall try one out soon!

This was from 'Textile Treasure Seeker's' stall.

Postcards of some of my favourite Ladybird books, I shall be framing these in the New Year, again from 'This n' That'.

I also got a fabulous fleecy poncho but I can't find details of who it was from. Its' something a bit different for me but a steal at £6 and the dark teal colour is my favourite, I'll get a photo when I find a denim skirt to go with it.

 

I haven't managed to catch up on people's blogs about the fair, but I thought it was much quieter than usual?  I must say that I didn't buy any fabric this time like I usually do, I can't buy anything now unless I have a project in mind to try and curb my spending!

So it would be interesting to hear if the seller's had a good day. I wondered whether people didn't travel from far because of petrol cost, whether the people who did come spent less or is the Vintage 'boom' dying down?

Either way, me & my Mum had a good time! Especially the tea room and the gingerbread house cake, so much so that my Mum's ordered the tin with recipe!
Will have to post a photo when we try it out, which hopefully will be before Christmas!

It's Beginning to look a lot like....

One day to go!!

If you've never been, it's worth the drive!

Hopefully I'll be childless for the day so I can browse without being interrupted, see you there!

Catch up...

Well apologies for the delay in reporting back on the  Vintage & Handmade Fair, the Easter holidays and (boo hiss) work have got in the way!
Suffice to say that my report consists of 'what a fab day'!  It was a glorious spring day which gave us a lovely drive through the green and scenic Gloucestershire countryside and Chipping Sodbury was heaving, it was lovely to see such a bustling Saturday, the farmers market was on and parking was scarce in the morning.

As usual the fair was packed with people and lovelies!  I swear everytime we go I get brain/eye ache from looking at all the wares!  It's such a visual feast it's like eye candy overload and I have to be really careful to stick to my budget/what I need list!
There were all the old favourite sellers and also some good new ones and there was a lovely mix of items, handmade and vintage obviously!

The tea room was back on form with lovely handmade cakes, I had a gorgeous chocolate brownie and a lovely piece of gypsy tart (must get a recipe for this!).

And what did I buy?!

This lovely cuff from Helen Roskell, it's Liberty tana lawn and it's so soft

A fab bundle of quilt pieces from Hesta Nesta and also this lovely piece of blue floral

and lastly, just what I wanted, a lovely jug for flowers etc. Also on the same stall - the lovely Acorn & Will, were these delightful Kilner jars, the lid actually is hollow so you can put flowers in too!

Another fabulous day out!

Roll on Saturday!

Quick reminder that Saturday brings the spring Vintage & Handmade Fair!

I shall be toodling down to Gloucestershire to see what pretties need to come home with me!

I've also had a lovely surprise this week as I am a competition winner!

The Sewing Directory ran a competition with Original Stitch to help them decide which of Original Stitch's projects to release as a pattern next.  I chose their buggy seat, which is a great idea for changing/re-vamping the seat on your child's dolly buggy, the lovely thing about them is that they make their items out of vintage and recycled fabric.  So I was lucky enough to be the winner and as my prize I get to have a handmade buggy seat and a copy of the pattern when released! This is absolutely fantastic as the one we have at the moment is very old and hanging off & is in blue colours which my youngest doesn't approve of as she's adamantly a pink girly girl at the moment!

   I shall of course post photos when it's received.  I found the competition via Twitter where you can follow both of these fab sites & people: @sewingdirectory & @OriginalStitch.