New Years resolution is to blog more, I must, or I'll pop! The last month or so, since my last post, I've been wedding planning, holidaying, toddler club hosting and festivating (a word?) our home.

The wedding plans are going well, so far all the big things are booked; registrars, reception venue, transport, catering, the dress! It's hard to tell you all much about it as I want most of it to be a surprise on the day, needless to say though it is a very time consuming process and I've already had nightmares about turning up at the registry office in my jeans!

I'm collecting vintage china for our reception dinner and stumbled across this on the back of a plate. How lovely, and how orderly.

I was wondering whether to wear a veil or not when I remembered my great grandmas veil was in our loft somewhere, I managed to find it buried away under lots of baby stuff. Unfortunately it is so old that my fingers went straight through it. I did manage to get some lovely photos to share with you before it was packed away again.

The bag that it was carefully folded up in

It's a large rectangular shape of fabric

with a stitched daisy design round the edges in thick silk thread

Taking a break from it all we had a week 'down south' in Bournemouth. It was lovely to spend quality time together as a family, we all just wished it didn't have to end.

The bright lights of Westbourne greeted us

Joel learnt a new phrase, 'uhh ohh', from his dad and he uses it every time he does something he shouldn't.

As well as how to get his feet out the top of his pram fleece, what a bendy boy!

While we were away we treated our house to a fresh look by having the hall, stairs and landing decorated.

We've had our eye on this wallpaper for a couple of years now and the long drops against the stairs really show it off. The walls have been pained in a lovely grey colour and the paintwork freshened up with a lick of white. Chuffed!

Happy Holiday

It's been a very long time since my last post about our trip to Dorset. Life seems to have been so hectic since getting back, the time away was lovely and relaxing though, especially for Mr B who is all 'work, work, work'. I'll get you up to speed on what we got up to.

We rode on an open top bus from Westbourne (where we were staying) to Swanage. It was a lovely sunny day and lots of other people had the same idea as us. Mostly retired folk as the schools hadn't broken up yet.

The bus went really fast, it felt like a rollercoaster ride for OAPs!

Joel liked smiling at everyone and at one point some of the ladies sat opposite us took turns bouncing him on their knees.

It was a long journey, including a ferry crossing, Joel nodded off after a while. It was so nice to share the moment with Mr B. We will always remember this moment. His warm bady snuggled between us asleep on an open top bus :)

So much love for this boy xx

When we got to Swanage we went straight on a steam train to Corfe Castle. It was ace!

The decor was all original wood panelling

Joel liked crawling back and forth between us across the table. He is NEVER still.

Another day we went to the New Forrest, it was so beautiful and so special to see it for real 34 years after my first postcard was written there. There were wild ponies running across the roads. We also saw Deer and a huge Ants nest (hard to tell from this pic, but) it was covered with millions of Red Ants!

We spent a couple of days in Bournemouth, it was so nice. A proper old fashioned sea side town, with amazing formal gardens running through the middle of it. There was an old fashioned Balloon ride too, we didn't go on but enjoyed watching it rise up above the buildings. Isn't it pretty!

Joel thoroughly enjoyed himself, we stayed out late most days. Usual routine went out the window with regards to bed time but we figured all the fresh air was so good for him it didn't matter.

All in all it was a brilliant time for us, so nice to get away from house chores and for Mr B to get away from work and spend quality time with our little treasure.

Summer wear

This last week the weather has been so hot, after being really grim. Our summers are getting stranger and stranger making holiday planning very difficult.
You may remember quite a few of my early posts were about my Great Aunt Margaret, in particular all the cool stuff that came to me once she had passed away. I didn't know her very well but looking through her stuff and seeing connections to myself was a nice way to get to know more about her life.
So with this in mind we are going to stay at Margarets old flat for a week, a whole week! Our first ever family holiday.

My last sewing project before we go is this little beauty. Margarets fabulously retro swimsuit! I've filled out, a little, since having Joel so this style looks great on my shape. Though the bust is a bit too big, even with the boning taken out so I'm doing a quick snip and tuck on the boob compartments. It's in great condition, I wonder if it was ever even worn?

There is a pool at the flats so I thought I really must wear this for our morning swims. Just hope the lovely hot weather holds out! I'll send you all a postcard x

The last of Marge.

My dad visited the other weekend to put a new radiator in the nursery, we're gradually replacing them throughout the house with nice contemporary versions of those big old fashioned ones which really belt out the heat.
Anyway he brought with him some final bits of sewing stuff from Margarets flat which were all in this lovely box. How posh.

A very good selection of tapestry wools.

These two beautiful rolls of trim. I think the wider one would look great on a bag or dress. I wonder what Margaret  used them on?

That pretty much completes her sewing biography.Thanks again Margaret for sharing your collection x

Fastenating

The third and final part of my Great Aunt Margaret's sewing biography is this collection of Newey Fasteners. As with the button collection the packaging dates them all. The older packets have very elaborate design work on them.


These ones show the royal appointment first to Queen Mary and then to the Queen Mother. There wasn't much time for sewing, what with all the people that needed waving at, so I doubt either even knew that their clothes featured Newey products but their seamstresses certainly would.


And best of all, after years of borrowing other peoples, I now finally have my very own pair of Pinkie Pinkrite Pinking Shears. That's a lot of Ps! They are the mini model too, lovely. Thank you Margaret x

The best 'load of bobbins' ever

This is the second part to the sewing biography of my late Great Aunt Margaret. Along with all the buttons and non buttons I also got a massive stash of threads, most of which are very old and on lovely wooden bobbins. Hard to fathom why we now only see nasty plastic ones in the shops. There is a really good selection of colours, some of which she has bought more than once. So many to wade through when doing her mending she no doubt couldn't always find the bottom of the tin.


They have really great names too. My favourites are Dark Elephant (suitable for mending elephants?), Chartreuse (a french liquor I once fell foul of), Monaco Blue (I imagine Margaret went there on her travels, sipping cocktails) Light Rose Du Barri and Filbert


There is also a small box with silks in it. with neat little printed cardboard's through the middle. I think these a really really old, maybe they were her mums? There was also a couple of 'Flora MacDonald' packets of needles. One for 'Carpets' and the other 'Everydays'. I love the idea that it was so common place to mend your carpet.


This is what the packets look like inside, with a lovely little envelope design on the inner flap. The text reads 'Ladies who are well pleased with the quality of these needles should ask again for the same packet'. I'm 'well pleased' with all the things I've got from Margaret, though I won't be able to order any more.

Buttons and non buttons

My great Aunt Margaret died at the beginning of the year. She was my dads dads sister. She moved down to Poole with Uncle Ted the year I was born and spent most of her time travelling, entertaining and socialising (or sometimes all three). I don't really know much about my dads side of the family but the snippets I've heared about Margaret are that she was a lot of fun. Margaret and Ted used to socialise a lot and loved to have bridge parties. Ted died some years ago and they didn't have any children so it's been my dads job to sort through her flat. It's a very sixties decorated two bed place in an apartment block with a private swimming pool where the residents used to have pool parties.
So yesterday I got around to sorting through a big box dad had dropped round, knowing I like sewing he gave me all her sewing stuff.
There's quite a bit to blog about so I thought I'd do it in sections so as not to overwhelm. I hope you find these things as interesting as I do. They reflect both Margaret's history and that of sewing at the same time.

There was a box of loose buttons and a small tin by Players Tobacco.


I like it when you find things other than buttons in button boxes, it's like an administrative error in the filing system. If it's small and has no real place to live, or is button shaped it will end up in the button box. Non button items I found in Margaret's button box are a very glam and very tiny retractable tape measure, two thimbles (one of which is from Blackpool Hospital, where I was born. She must have used it to do sewing when she was in there once) and a tiny china arm from an ornament.


Margaret loved to shop, looking the part at any social occasion. She had huge wardrobes full of clothes, shoes, hats and jewellery. Here is a whole stash of spare buttons from the clothes she'd bought over the years. Fancy keeping them all this time.


'Now where's that spare button?'


Some of the buttons even have a little piece of thread with them. The way this care advice label has been worded made me smile. Lovely indeed.


There were quite a lot of buttons on cards too. These range from being 'Empire Made' to British Made' to 'Made in England'


These ones can be boiled, ironed and dry cleaned. What lucky ladies we are.