Bargains and Projects.

Today I am feeling much better AT LAST! Still coughing fit to burst but the voice is back and I have some energy = huzzah.

I had to go into town to pay my credit card bill (gulp) and mail two birthday presents so I wrapped up warm and headed out with a bag of bits I had sorted out for charity too. Well by the time I got to the high street I was melting, it's nowhere near as cold out there as I thought it was going to be! I spent the rest of the trip 'glowing' and wishing I could have lost a layer or two.

Once the bank had been done I came back via the many charity shops in my town. I *know* I have sworn off shopping but you have to have a few cheats here and there don't you? and do charity shops really count as shopping? really?

So I found this lovely skirt. It's wool but black and white dots rather than a tweed pattern. I love the kind of mini fishtail effect at the hemline. It's a little big but if a belt won't sort that I can take it in.

Next are a few sewing box goodies. I love rumaging for this kind of stuff. It's like being little and playing with my mum's button tin.


I also found this red glass bead necklace which needs to be restrung, it's hanging together by a thread literally!
I also found the 'something red' for my bloggy swap which I won't show a picture of in case she is reading this ;-)

So to projects.... I had a good sort through all my fabric and bits last weekend and found I had quite a few pieces of fabric with snowmen on, not exactly a surprise I know, but I have pondered for a while what to do with them as they have accumulated. None of them is really big enough to make anything with as such. Inspiration came from some old mags I was reading whilst I was feeling ill. One was a christmas edition and I spotted some lovely homemade bunting in one of the pictures and had the lightbulb moment. I don't have my sewing machine at the moment so it will have to be sewn by hand which could well take forever and drive me demented but I have another project to add to the pile!



Here it is all ironed and ready to be cut out....
If I had enough fabric I would make myself a dress out of the red satin and Himself said he wanted a Hawaiian shirt out of the green you can just see in the first picture.


Oh and here is the Cath Kidston workbox in what can only be described as a very filled condition oopps.

A Splendid Dinner Jacket.

So having been propmted by Tea and Crumpets fab and fascinating post on her new skirt, I decided to do this one about my almost antique dinner jacket.

Please excuse the dry cleaning label and the camera flash flare in the picture, or shall I go all 'Most Haunted' and say it is an orb and the spirits are with me or my jacket at the very least? lol

So once upon a time, many years ago, my mum used to help at this annual fete for a local care home. As I was an unemployed moody teenager at the time, slouching around the house getting under her feet she frogmarched me along to help out one year. I have to say once I got there I LOVED it. We spent one day sorting through all the donations and arranging them in this huge tent and the next day selling. Now the best bit about it was that this was a care home for 'distressed gentle folk' so you did get some incredible donations! Oh how I wish I could go back there now, now that I know what vintage clothes are...... *SIGH*

But I digress. Obviously those who helped got first pick of the booty and of various jackets, dinner jackets and waistcoats I chose this one. I think it was because it was a slim fit men's jacket so more my size, though I don't actually recall trying it on, AND it had it's matching waistcoat with it.
I'm not even sure why I have kept it all this time as I have actually never worn it. When I think about all the other lovely things I have got rid of over the years it's amazing I didn't junk it along the way too. *SHAMEFACED BLUSHING*
I can only think it is because it came as a 'set' with the waistcoat and I like to keep sets together, because I have worn and worn and worn that waistcoat. My god the stories it could tell you about me if it could speak!


All these years later I can really appreciate them both. The workmanship and detail as you can see is top quality. I seriously have worn the waistcoat tons and yet it still looks as good as new.




Not surprising when you see that it came from a qualityLondon Tailor.


It was a few years ago now when I was having a periodic wardrobe clearout that I rediscovered it. After checking it over I noticed the makers label in the pocket. I was blown away when I realised how old it was. It is in immaculate condition and I wanted to keep it that way so I got some expert advice on how to care for it which I have followed to the letter ever since.

I also decided to do a little research on the company.

Firstly I contacted the current occupiers of 22 Bury Street to see if they knew anything about the history of the shop. It is now a fab little galllery and whilst sadly they couldn't help they were about as excited to know more about the company of Cooper,Gardner as I was. They gave me some great suggestions and tips, like their landlord's address etc but sadly I drew a complete blank. Amazingly enough the holders of the London archives for that area never even got back to me. Typically they were the only ones who didn't, and they look to have any possible information, very frustrating!
I also drew a blank at other sources like the records office, so I took advantage of the fact I work at one of the worlds biggest research libraries and ordered up a tranch of London buisness directories. From these I was able to establish the company existed from 1912 until 1974 and were Civil and Sporting Tailors. They moved premises 6 times but always stayed in the St. James and Mayfair area and even had a shop in Saville Row at one point.
Other than that I know nothing :-(
I have a few other avenues I can go down but I must confess a million and one other things have been taking up my time and research is a very time consuming thing.......
I must get back round to it one day.

It did make me think that it would be great if they did a programme similar to 'Who Do You Think You Are' but about companies/shops. Maybe in a similar way to this, taking an item and looking back at where it came from, who made it, how they ran their company. I actually have not really had an interest in looking up the person whose suit it was I am more fascinated by the maker.

And still she shops!

So I have been off work for a week on complete rest because of a bad foot. Now in theory that should have stopped me shopping, however, of course there is the wonder of the interweb! I found myself spending an obscene amount of browsing time on places like Ebay looking up whatever random item popped into my head. I did keep Himself amused sending him links to various hideous things that I came across in my browsing! But I digress.....here are my purchases.

I my opinion a girl can never have too many elephants or too many bags so what better than an elephant bag I asked myself? Look at this little beauty!

Then I found this one!

*HAPPY SIGH*

To digress for a moment, I have to point out that in my workplace glamorous outfits are not a wise move. It is very dusty, very dirty and there are too many places to snag your precious vintage. So clothes-wise for work I'm a t-shirt, jeans and converse gal.
I just LOVED this shirt when I saw it. I'm not sure if Mr Whippy is an ice cream brand anywhere else than the U.K., but this is a print of their original 1950's logo. It was also in the sale half price = result!

As winter draws on I also got this cute little cardigan.

I did put my imposed rest to good use for some of my sewing projects. I prefer to use vintage thread where possible so I was very happy to find this job lot on Ebay for £23.

By the end of the week I was going a little stir crazy. I decided to take a slow stroll into town and see how the foot held up. Browsed through the charity shops and found a couple of lovely scarves.

With sewing still on my mind I rooted through the boxes of buttons and other stitching odds and ends one particular shop always has. I found this bag of buckles for 50p and this amazing 'bra repair set'!

An Afternoon of Thrift Shopping.

This week I have been on jury duty. I dare not say any more than that cos we aren't allowed to talk about it! lol. Anyway today we reached our verdict and I was released for the rest of the day so on my way home I decided to browse the charity shops in my town.
I managed to find two lovely dresses, I think the blue one may be perfect for a christening I've got coming up soon!


In the same shop I bought this satin shirt for £1.99. I'm not a huge fan of 3/4 length sleeves so I may shorten them before I wear it.



Next I found this sweet little jug for my Mum who is collecting pieces to make up a mismatched tea set. I also got 3 plates for a £1 but I suspect I will end up keeping them!


Finally I found these darning silks for 10p each.

I did buy a vest top in Topshop because I just loved it SO much.

Oh and the necklace obsession thing still goes on as you can see.......

A day at the Chilterns Craft Show.

Every August bank holiday for over 20 years now I have been going to the craft show at Stonor Park with my parents. Weather was a bit of a worry this year but thankfully by Saturday the sun was out. The craft show itself is in the grounds of a stately home which sits snug in a dip surrounded by stunning hills.

We arrived early but as you can see there were already a fair few people ahead of us.
We spent a blissful few hours browsing and shopping and sampling much in the food tent. I have a special money box that I put my change in every friday night and I use that money to buy anything I like the look of at Stonor Park.
This year that included this lovely dichromatic glass ring the 6th one I own now I just love how this glass looks.

I also fell in love with this gorgeous watercolour of St. Ives in Cornwall.

Next I found this cute Elephant tile

Just one of the things I collect is snowmen and I found this cute tree decoration.

Finally I spotted this garden sculpture. I went back to look at it three times before I decided I just had to buy it and today I put it out in the garden, so here it is in situ.
Finally as you may know if you have been following my blogs I currently have a bit of a thing about necklaces going on at the moment so here is a little picture of the latest ones I have bought on Ebay

oh and THE most beautiful pair of shoes that I have been coveting for months now. I was thrilled to find them on Ebay for £10.

Is it just me?

Or do you have accessory obsessions?
I have always loved accessories and shiny things, hence the 'Magpie' in my blog title! So me purchasing bags, jewelery etc is nothing new, but lately I find myself getting fixated on certain items and buying them obsessively for say a month or two and then that's it the whim has passed. This means I don't have set collections as such just loads and loads of 'stuff'!
Earlier this year it was bags. Just when that was seriously getting out of hand I, thankfully for my bank account and Himself's sanity, came through the other side.

Next was headscarves. Mostly I think due to me growing my hair long enough to wear scarves to tie it back, but me being me one or two were not enough. I was scouring shops and the internet buying and buying. The headscarf thing seems to be in abatement rather than over completely at the moment as it seems to have been overtaken by a necklace fetish, preferably glass beads or faux pearl. Again ebay is being scoured and the jewelry case is my first port of call in any charity/thrift shop.
I am being sensible and sticking to a tight budget but where oh where am I going to put them all and when will I ever get the chance to wear them all?

As seen in an earlier blog cute blue plastic beads


another string of blue beads and one of pearls I bought on friday for 50p each.


Three gorgeous glass bead Ebay purchases. I love the glass pasta twirls!
Finally a purchase from an local antiques centre. This was a 1930's necklace that was broken and the lady has restrung it with some extra modern beads by the clasp to replace ones that were lost. I just loved the square beads and I think the restoration has been very sympathetically done.

Shopping with Gabi part two.

So Himself and I decided we needed a bit of seaside R&R and headed down to Margate to visit with his parents. Whenever we travel down we actually don't get to spend much time together, he is off visiting with his friends and I am off visiting with mine!
My sister lives in Ramsgate so she and I had planned a day of thrift/charity shop shopping with well deserved stops for fish and chips and tea and cakes.
As ever it was raining when I got there and the sea breeze was more than a little bracing. Never ones to let a bit of weather gets in the way of a shopping mission we hit the town.
First purchase for me was this lovely top. Not vintage I know but I loved the material.
Quickly followed by this cute little blouse.

Another non vintage shirt was my next purchase but it IS leopard print. I have always had a thing about leopard print so it had to be done!

The smell of the chippy got too much so a well earned break for fish and chips was next, eaten standing huddled in a doorway out of the rain. Delicious. Back to the shops......
Next for me was this headscarf at just 25p how could I not?

Finally THE purchase of the day! A gorgeous black patent handbag with a bakelite clasp. I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted it.

All shopped out we headed to this new little tea shop for tea and cake. Of course I forgot my camera that day so no photos of this heavenly place, it was fabulous. All the china is vintage mismatched and all around the walls there were shelves with yet more gorgeous vintage china, I was coveting the cake stands in the window with all my heart. I promise I will take the camera next time so you too can lust over the plates and cups!

Shopping with Soo and Gabi

So a few weeks ago it was my Mum's 70th birthday. My sister came to visit as a surprise, no small one at that as my sister does not do 'travel' and hasn't been here for 3 years now!
As she was arriving on Saturday morning and she also loves trawling charity/thrift shops as much as I do that became our plan. When we get together these days thrift shopping tends to be what we do. Luckily both the towns in which we live are blessed with many charity shops so we have the perfect opportunity to indulge ourselves .

On this occassion my dear friend Soo also came along. Whilst she doesn't share the same passion for shopping, she does adore finding a bargain. So the three of us set out for the shops......
Shown below are my spoils from the shopping trip.

Two faux pearl necklaces. I'm going through a bit of a pearl thing at the moment so I was very happy to find these two long strings for a very bargain price.

In the same shop I got this string of turquoise beads. Whilst I was buying these my sister decided upon 2 huge reproduction china staffordshire dogs!?!

I then found this gorgeous scarf. It has one small pull in it but it's not very noticable.

I found this lovely coffee coloured chiffon blouse which I just had to buy.
In the next shop I found these red jeans for £3.49. They are my size but too short for me but I figured for the bargain price I'd risk buying them with the plan I could shorten them even more and take them in so they become capri pants.

Finally in the last charity shop I found this top for £1.00
After that we went to a few clothes shops because there were sales on and Soo wanted to find a pair of shorts for her holiday, My final purchase was this gorgeous, gorgeous pair of shoes.
Next we collapsed in a cafe for well earned tea and cake. Happy day.