Ephemera

It's been a while since I've added anything new to the Etsy shop. Time for some thrifting I feel!



I found these amazing little photographs at a car boot sale last week, the people from Unicorn Antiques had a stall and I bought these photos, 3 antique newspapers and a funny old 'bond and disposition in security' paper. I've yet to work out what the last one is, but it's heading for the shop once I do.



I'm swithering on whether to list the newspapers or not, one is from the assissination of JFK, one is the day before the second world war officially broke out and one dates to 1900. I want to keep them really, but the whole point of buying them was for the shop so we'll see which side wins, the pack rat side or the sensible side!



Anyway, you can check out the listing for the photographs over here.

Second Fiddle front page!

Nothing more to be said other than...

SECOND FIDDLE MADE IT TO THE FRONT PAGE OF ETSY!!



I know I should be acting all cool and nonchalant but this is awesome! See that grey vintage wool cardigan on the bottom right there? That's this little guy!

Work in progress Wednesday

It's been a while since my last Work in Progress Wednesday, but I'm pleased with how quickly this jumper is knitting up so I thought I'd share it with y'all.



It's the Kate Davies o w l s design that I blogged about over here and once you get going, it's surprisingly easy (albeit I haven't got to the yoke yet). It's lovely yarn to work with ('Thistle' by Louisa Harding in case anyone is interested), I'm looking forward to knitting myself one, probably in New Lanark wool!

Check out these stonking great waist shaping stitches, I'm hoping they'll look less scary and obvious once it's been blocked...



Thanks to Tami's Amis for hosting the 59th Work in Progress Wednesday!

New purchases. GASP!

Remember way back when, The Great Wardrobe Sort of 2010? I know it wasn't the most exciting of posts, but it definitely helped me gain a hold on what was quickly becoming a ridiculous mess of a wardrobe and helped pull me away from the I-dress-entirely-from-charity-shop-clothes-that-don't-suit-or-fit-me look. Which, as we can all agree, not the sexiest of looks.

From Dune

Well, in a break from my normal crafting, thrifting chat, I'd like to briefly mention some things I've bought new recently. GASP! That's right, NEW. I feel guilty, don't get me wrong, and I have no intentions of dropping my second-hand/handmade/refashioned clothes campaign, but since starting back at uni, the time has come for a slightly more attractive, work-based, less scruffy look to emerge. And I have to say, I'm enjoying it.

From Zara

It's really nice putting on shoes in the morning that fit. Actually fit. Because I bought them in a real shop, not online where I had to take a guess as to the size. I can walk around in them all day without them pinching my toes. This is AWESOME. They're exactly the look I want, they suit me, not some idealistic imagined version of myself that I carry around in my head. I feel fashionable, but still myself. It's amazing.

Also from Dune. There was a girl in this shop carrying a chihuahua. In a shop! Madness.

Of course, being me and therefore an obsessive planner, I'm already thinking in my head the things I want to make or buy to go with these fabulous new purchases. But for once, I'm going to relax and not make plans for the future of my wardrobe. Because really, it's not important. And if I've learned one thing since making that first post about sorting my wardrobe, it's that my style is still constantly evolving and there's no point making plans, I'll only end up deviating from them. I'm enjoying this newfound confidence in myself and my body and my style.

I'm not going to wax lyrical for too long, it's boring for everyone else reading it, but I'm embracing my new-found purchases and not letting myself feel too guilty for their environmental and social impact. Of course, I'm going to have to alter one of the jumpers waiting in my stash this weekend, just to counteract this break from the norm...

Cartoon moles

Once again, let me preface this with an apology for the crap photos, it was another rush-at-the-last-minute, finish-it-and-straightaway-wrap-it affair and since it was 8 o'clock at night when I finished it, it's rubbish flash photos for the blog! I made this little purse using a great tutorial from Sew Happy Geek, it's a great blog with loads of useful resources and tutorials! I used the Simple Cosmetic Bag tutorial and just shrunk it down a little to make a wee purse instead. I wrapped it in some old wallpaper I've had in my stash for a while, I like the look of wallpaper as wrapping paper but sellotape doesn't stick to it very well! I recently swapped for the fabric for this project over on Thriftstore and I got some adorable animal print fabric as well, plus some awesome dinosaurs cotton! Check out this print though, how cute is that!

Globe drinks cabinet

You might remember a few weeks back me alluding to a thrift find that Andrew's Dad found for him at a car boot sale?



Well, here it is, in all its (questionable) glory! A globe-shaped drinks cabinet. Andrew has wanted one for years now, in his quest for a gentleman's reading room (complete with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, brown leather chesterfields and green reading lamps). He already has the green reading lamp and I was hoping that the brown leather chesterfield might be the next but sadly the globe drinks cabinet arrived first.

Source: google.co.uk via Second on Pinterest

Personally, I can't decide whether I like this thing or not. Apparently it costs hundreds of pounds new, which baffles me to be honest, but for £8 from a car boot sale, you can't complain there. It's functional, which I like, but there's something about it that I think looks tacky. The two glass decanters were from Rod and Viv, I really like them and can't wait to put port in them at Christmas!



Still, given the huge amounts of fabric and wool that reside in various nooks and crannies in the flat, I'm happy to cohabit with this drinks cabinet if Andrew wants it. I'm not going to promise that it won't 'accidentally' fall down 3 flights of stairs when we move house next year though...

P.S. Again, apologies for the rubbish photos, I'm using Andrew's camera at the moment because mine has died a little and I can't seem to get to grips with it, all my photos come out either grainy or blurry. Believe it or not, these were the best of about 20 I took and given that I have other things to do today than blog, I decided to throw in the towel and just go with these ones. Ah, to be able to afford a new camera!

Bunting

I made this string of bunting for Jessica's birthday and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Apologies for the awful photos, as usual I was rushing to the last minute to finish them so had to take pictures in a hurry!



She mentioned to me a while back that she wanted green bunting, so I searched my stash for appropriate fabrics. In retrospect, I think I should have put the flags closer together and had more of them, definitely something to bear in mind for next time. There's 4 metres of bunting though, so I guess you could double up. It was a really simple project and has left me wanting to make loads more!

Inspiration part 6

My study chair cushions have been pinched by a certain somebody and since it's a hard Ikea wood affair, I'm needing some comfy cushions to caress my backside, especially since I spend a ridiculous amount of my free time sat there studying.

Source: etsy.com via Second on Pinterest

At the moment I'm sitting on some cotton fabric that's awaiting being made into fat quarters for the Etsy shop, but as soon as I get a spare moment (ha!) I'm going to whip up some lovely cushions, I have the inners all ready and waiting.

Source: etsy.com via Second on Pinterest

These ones I found through Etsy and have given me plenty of inspiration to get my sewing machine out and running again, it's been a month since my last sewing adventure!

Source: etsy.com via Second on Pinterest