Nini Makes

Some jewels of the sea

Inspired by the beautiful assemblages at Resurrection Fern, I decided to create one of my own before packing these little beauties up for a long trip to Canada. Margie will then work her magic on them.

This assortment was chosen for their smoothness and lovely shapes. The one with the hole was added simply because I can never pass up stones with holes and thought Margie might like one too.

The circular one in the centre was included because it's flint and litters the landscape where we live. It's strength and availability has made it an ideal building material here in Kent since Norman times. The stone in the lower left corner is a hard chalk which is what gives the Cliffs of Dover their whiteness. The stony beach where I collected these is just south of Dover.

 

Many beaches along the channel that separates us from France are stony like this and I find myself looking down on most of my walks along them. There's just too much to discover in their shapes. Not surprisingly my children have inherited my habit of pocketing them along the way, unfortunately it's my pockets they usually drop them into. Perhaps a couple of bags to hold their treasure are in order... I'll put them on my list.

One man's junk, my treasure

My latest treasure which will hold lots of my other "found" treasure.

These weren't inexpensive, they were free. They're very well made drawers that held metal letterpress type. These two cabinets are a fantastic size too, 51cm long. More spacious than my watchmaker's cabinet that holds part of my button collection (and was not a bargain.)

I went to the local tip (known as the "dump" in America.) Our tips are also recycling centres. We don't have recycling collection where we live because we're out in the sticks a bit, so I make this journey to the tip every week or so. This week I grudgingly made the trip because we've had relentless rain and drizzle for weeks, but when I arrived I noticed a man emptying the contents of these drawers into the metal recycling. I made a beeline for him, inquired and found he had an old Adana Letterpress and was dumping it and everything that went with it.

 

I told him it was all valuable, even though new technology has taken over, there are loads of artists who use and value these old things. Sell it all on Ebay I said, "I can't be bothered" was his response. A small part of me understands, he was older, most English homes are very tight on storage space, and he said "...my wife will kill me if I bring it back home again." But the waste of it made my heart sink.

I was able to salvage all 5 sets of drawers, but after putting them in my car, I had no room for the press and my children who I was about to pick up from school - I had to choose my children.

I wish I didn't have to make an instant decision, but I'd already kept the man standing in the rain for a long time and he was eager to go. If he'd brought the press home I'd have gladly picked it up from him later. I only hope the tip attendants who were hearing our conversation jumped in the bin and saved the press - I nearly cried to see it go and keep thinking about it like you would a lost puppy.

There are some amazing book artists who are making beautiful, small run books on old letterpresses. Look at the work of Ellen Knudson, and hear about her process in an interview with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood recorded for Craftsanity.

These new finds will give me the incentive I need to organize my stock and stash - again!

Click here for free PDFs and details on entering the blogiversary contest.

Something blue and a dolly too

I had a quick trip to a local, year round boot fair this morning and came home with this treasure. It's a very old porcelain necklace which is broken to bits and I love every last scrap of it. Blue and the gold I adore. I'll probably use the parts that still have the gold backing to turn into new necklaces and the spare flowers to decorate other things. The little camel was under the flowers and I really like him too :)

In reality I'll most likely just put it on a shelf and take a peek in the box every once in a while too afraid to use the pieces for fear I'll mess them up or break them. Eventually I'll get over my fear and make something, then be too afraid to wear it for fear of dropping it or Gracie "borrowing it" (the child's never met a necklace she hasn't broken, thinks they all stretch.)

I'd love to know more about the necklace, like when and where it was made, who wore it - did she love it as much as me? My hunch is yes - and I bet it's first purchaser paid more than the £3 that I paid for it.

This is a little doll Gracie and I made together while the boys were out shopping for Tristan's first electric guitar. Yes I know he's only 9, but he's a real little rocker - some day I'll post a video of him playing (if he'll let me.)

I recently saw the tutorial for this dolly by Emily Martin of The Black Apple on Martha Stewart. It was such an easy pattern for a cloth doll I thought Gracie could make most of it (thank you Emily for sharing your template with the world!) We used my favourite antique linen for the face and arms, an old bit of vintage Marks and Spencer curtain fabric for the body and Amy Butler spots for the legs.

Gracie loved it yet quickly turned her attention to accessorizing this goofy little blue bear I made ages ago. It was destined for the charity shop when my hubby said it looked like a blue ET (I agree,) but Gracie loved it.

She fashioned a tiara, choker, sleeping bag (out of a trouser leg from my re-purposed clothing pile,) a pillow and made her first little skirt. She was so busy and just kept saddling up to the sewing machine to work on her creations - might have to look out for a spare machine at boot fairs!

The new dolly is next in the line up for accessorizing, Emily gives some tips on the tutorial but I'm sure Gracie will have a few ideas of her own :) 

Button monograms & vintage linens

My 50th post! I promised I'd show more monogram projects way back in my 6th post when I put up this tutorial. I'm a little slow on the follow-through, but here's one I made a while back - a gift for Dianne. I used a vintage piece of embroidered linen which lent itself nicely to a large "D" right in the middle of it.

A full-on tutorial isn't necessary - this is more a of a tip on using buttons for design, not just function:

• Cut out the pieces for a cushion cover in any fabric (I like vintage embroidered linen bits for monograms.)
• Lay the front piece of the cushion fabric out flat with the right side facing up. Position your buttons in a letter shape. When you're pleased with the design pick up each button, one-by-one, put a tiny bit of fabric glue or white craft glue behind it and put it back in position gluing it to the fabric. NOTE: Too much glue may clog the holes and make sewing them difficult.
• Let the buttons dry then sew them on. The glue lets you position them nicely for sewing without losing your design. This works well for buttons in shapes too - like hearts.

Mother of pearl shirt buttons like these are easy to come by. I usually find them in the big tins of buttons I pick up at boot fairs.

I doubt anyone could possibly need a cushion making tutorial, so I haven't made one. If anyone does need one, I found this - a great source for cushion making and other home sewing projects.

Oh and another - already? This is Tristan's photo/baby album. I made a very simple "T", same method as above, and covered the album with the fabric I sewed it to. Gracie's still waiting for hers, she's 6.

This is my first autumn with a blog, sure is hard to get the photos done before the sun goes down. I may have to resort to flash soon - ugh!

Sunshine & serendipitous shopper

Today the sun is shining, all is right with the world, it hardly feels like the autumn pictured in my last post. Amazing how a few rays give me so much energy - almost worth all those fine lines it also gives me.

As the sun is finally shining today I walked down the hill to suck it up and get some bits for dinner. Walking past a charity shop I saw this large shopper in the window and as I still haven't got my shopping bags made : ( I had to have this one. It's much larger than it might appear, I fit two carrier bags worth of shopping into it! Much nicer than the old green rucksack I'd brought to stuff purchases in.

I filled it up at the green grocers, grabbed a few things for Thursdays art class and walked back up the hill with a little more spring in my step.

Thank you to the little old lady who discarded it only so that I could come upon it and give it a second life - I will love it : )

I have loads of favourite finds, might be time to do my own discarding or a swap. Never swapped before, would be fun to try one - anyone know of a vintage finds swap?

Encountering vintage heaven

Last Sunday morning I experienced what could only be described as divine intervention or a perfect alignment of stars, moons and planets. I tip-toed out of the house, empty bags and small notes in hand and headed to a local boot fair.

It was a new location for me and it was big. As I parked my pulse raced, I charged in and tried to form a plan - but I couldn't, it was just too big. Instead I just raced down each aisle willy-nilly. I spent ages searching, digging, uncovering. After an intensive search I realized it was huge, but there was absolutely nothing of interest to me.

What a disappointment, valuable "me" time spent with no return. I phoned home to see what the family were up to. Everyone was happy, I suggested I'd come home and that I should have gone to one of my favourite, but rare boot fairs that was happening near our old home - a bit of a journey away. My hubby said "go to it, everything's fine, see you later."

I went, pulse racing again but slightly slower as it was later in the day and the best stuff must be gone. Down my first aisle I saw a stall of table after table of antique linens, curious hand sewn items from France and piles of old buttons, tapestries and scraps - the kind of scraps I love to horde.

Heaven, yet something didn't quite sit right. Everything was pristine, the linens weren't stained, no dingy whites or nasty hidden holes. Must be expensive I thought, even though the well coiffed lady behind the tables with a very, very posh accent was exclaiming "bargains, heaps of bargains." I seemed to be the only one looking. I asked a price for an antique linen sheet, £30 or £40 would have been a treat, when she said £3 I nearly dropped to my knees. Clean, antique, crisp, white, sturdy, pure linen - £3.

I grabbed what I thought was the best of the best, some large tins of buttons and a few other interesting bits. I paid, then left - I'd been tipped off by a friend I bumped into about some brilliant buttons on the other side. Ended up the brilliant buttons were too pricey but the chatty woman on this stall was laughing with her friend about a woman on the other side claiming her linens were inexpensive, "...yea right" she said, "with her posh accent, they're not going to be cheap!" They laughed and I ran - straight back to the linen stall now realizing why she hadn't been busy, she was too posh.

Her stall was now getting more crowded as she shouted "...inexpensive, antique linens, most just one pound." In a frenzy I gathered more and more - a kind of delirium set in, but finally the reality of sorting and storing my treasure dawned on me, so I had a chat with the "terribly, terribly" nice woman, got her card and went home - very satisfied with "me time" fabulously well spent.

When I get around to sorting my haul I'll start making. My list of Really Want to Makes is getting very long, but I'd love to make linen dollies for my cousin's new real dollies, Megan and Mackezie. School starts this week, maybe I'll get to start working on my list.

Moral of the story: Don't pass up the posh.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

How to make a 5 year old girl very, very happy: Buy a nasty old gilt framed mirror from a boot fair for 50 pence, spray it a hideous Barbie pink, hang it up and watch her smile.

In fact, little Gracie smiled at herself in this mirror for a very, very long time. I must give in to her pink obsession once in a while or she'll sweet-talk her daddy into painting her whole room Barbie pink when I'm not around.

Must figure out how to photograph a mirror without myself and my messy house reflected in it.

New stash

I love everything about old fabrics and sewing notions. I can't help but pick up every bit of sewing paraphernalia I can when at boot fairs and jumble sales, they're my favourite finds. This is the piece of old bark cloth I recently found. I might try making a shoulder bag, but I'll probably make another messenger bag - for some reason I always haul around a lot of junk: shells and stones, lego, pink hair bands, half-eaten lollies, etc., so I need a big bag.

I love the faded quality of these old spools. I use them with vintage fabrics.

Most of my button collection is housed in this old watchmakers cabinet - not a boot fair find but worth the investment from an antique shop - it holds most of my buttons. Although real addicts always have several secret stashes.

These tins hold more booty - love their cheery colours.

Haven't yet decided what I'll do with these Bakelite buttons, they're huge, about 5cm across - but I had to have them.

I've also picked up a pile of old children's clothes with fantastic patterns, not as lovely as the Oilily stash Lyn has, but very cheery nonetheless.

Guess I'd better start using these bits. I thought I'd make some little Zakka style patchwork bibs. I've got loads of overdue baby gifts to get to so that next handbag might have to wait.