Tag Archives: Bunting

07/03/2014 · 2:47 pm

Here I go again

I’m trying to get into a rhythm of blogging but it’s hopeless. It’s like doing homework and I put it off and put it off and then when I try again WordPress has changed and I get stuck and email Lindsay at http://www.reddesk.co.uk who helps me but then I leave it again for a few weeks and then something changes again and arggggggg.

I want to blog. I have ideas constantly and I write blogs in my head all the time, while I’m walking the dog, having a shower, cooking etc. It’s just the mechanics I’m not good at. Ideally I’d like to have someone to do it for me, so they could follow me round while I’m doing doing the washing and cleaning, shopping, working and driving and I could dictate stuff and they could blog it with the photos I take. Oh I’d love that !
They could also maybe take the rubbish out for me, go to Tescos, unload the dishwasher, cook me lovely healthy dinners every night and mend my cutlery drawer which is stuck. I’d be very good to them and pay them well because I’d have won ten million pounds on the lottery, which is the only way I could possibly afford such a luxurious extravagance.
I’ve just eaten 3 caramel Lindor chocolates and an Easter rabbit’s bottom so I’m in a chocolate induced hayes dreaming of what will never be.
I pledge that I will make myself to blog once a week ish from now on and hopefully it’ll eventually come naturally…..

These are one of my sets of Dutch drawers. I don’t know real real name for them but years ago I’d go to Amsterdam regularly and I collected them. There weren’t many around even 20 years ago and now they’re quite rare.
I think it’s from around the fifties and most houses had one in their kitchen for their flour, sugar, herbs and spices. In the Uk we had plastic ones I remember.

I keep lots of my sewing things in this one including my name labels.

This one is for sugar. I know sugar is the devil but I love it and always have. I especially love sugar lumps but if I had a box in the house I’d eat them all in a couple of days.
My friend bought me these lovely brown sugar stirrers the other day.

My youngest turned 18 last week so technically they’re all adults and my work here is done ! 🙂 whew.

I’m making a new little picture with vintage fabric to go in my etsy shop.

Till next time xxx

13 Comments

Filed under Bunting, Miscellaneous

Tagged as Bunting, ceramic spice drawers, lemon cake, name tags, sugar, vintage flowers

14/06/2013 · 1:25 pm

Flowers, hearts and a pigeon in June 2013

Vintage fabric mini garland in my shop. I love making these so much as every piece is different and beautiful. There is old embroidery of hyacinths and patchwork in this one and I’ve cut out some flowers too.

Patchwork vintage fabric cushion covers with old Disney characters, embroidery and florals.

One of my cut flower collages which I make using vintage floral fabric.

Vintage fabric patchwork throw. Lovely over a settee or bed.

Flowers from my garden a couple of weeks ago. Tulips, wall flowers, bluebells and forget me nots in a tiny little glass.

One of my vintage fabric lavender hearts. This floral fabric was made in the thirties.

A small selection from my little on line shop.

Little patchwork pin cushion. The blue fabric is from 1940’s America and is so precious. I treasure every tiny piece 🙂

The bluebells in my garden were extra blue and lasted a long time this year due to the cool damp May/June.

Flowers from the garden. Lilac, bluebells, wall flowers. I LOVE this picture………

Lilac, borage, ceanothus, forget me nots, fairy washing up liquid, my lovely pigeon card and cut out vintage fabric flowers.

More lovely blue and purple flowers. xxx

10 Comments

Filed under Miscellaneous, My Old Victorian Garden, Vintage Fabric

Tagged as 1930s fabric, Bunting, cushions, Disney, Donald Duck, embroidery, floral, Flowers, garden, Gorgeous Things, Handmade, hoops, Lots of Love, Muswell Hill, Nicky Grace, Nicky Grace Vintage Fabric & Goregous Things, patchwork, Pigeon, pin cushion, Pluto, Vintage Fabric, Wall flowers

07/04/2013 · 7:48 pm

OMG I’m in the book !! “Pretty Pastel Style” by Selina Lake

I received my copy of Selina’s brand new book a couple of weeks ago and was completely overwhelmed to find so many pics of my house in it. I’ve taken photos of the pages and I’m not going to write anything with them because that would make me feel silly, like when an estate agent shows you round a house saying “this is the kitchen, this is the lounge” and you just want to ask him to please go away so you can look round in peace. The photographer is Catherine Gratwicke and the words are by Joanna Simmons.

The lovely embroidered hoop is by Vicky Trainor

Selina’s bike

Thank you SO much Selina Lake, Catherine Gratwicke, Joanna Simmons and publishers http://www.rylandpeters.com

8 Comments

Filed under My home featured in Selina Lake's new book !!!, Vintage Fabric

Tagged as 1930s fabric, Autumn fabric decorations, bambi, Bunting, Catherine Gratwicke, ceramics, children's fabric workshops., cushions, embroidery, floral, garden, Gifts, hand knitted, handmade bunting, Joanna Simmons, London, Lots of Love, Muswell Hill, Muswell Hill Pop Up Shop, nasturtiums, Open House, patchwork, pin cushion, Pretty Pastel Style, Rylandpeters book publishers, Selina Lake, summer house, sweat peas, teddy, UK, Vintage, vintage bunting, vintage finger plate, Vintage Gifts, vintage patchwork quilt

30/03/2013 · 9:02 pm

Anemones and an article in Prima Magazine.

I’ve always loved flowers but I remember being a small child and thinking that anemones

were fuddy duddy, musty, dusty old lady flowers. I’ve sort of grown into them now. Oh dear.

They are amazing actually aren’t they.

There’s an article about me in Prima magazine, the April edition which came out about 3 weeks ago. Mags are always weeks ahead of themselves it seems.

It’s quite odd seeing what you’ve said written in print. A bit surreal. It was an article with three women, me being one of them, who had shops in their houses.

Gosh it’s tidy. I wish it was always like that. I’m a very untidy person.

Here’s a stork on the pond in the park where I take the dog. I think it’s a stork. I know that to people who live in the countryside it’s no big deal but for me it really is something special. It was absolutely freezing on that day last week and it just stood there completely still. I see it quite often.

Lets have cake…….lemon drizzle anyone ?

10 Comments

Filed under Magazine Features, My Old Victorian Garden, Vintage Pop Up Sales

Tagged as 1930s fabric, a stork, anemones, birthday cake, Bunting, Gifts, Gorgeous Things, lemon drizzle cake, Muswell Hill, Muswell Hill Pop Up Shop, Nicky Grace Vintage Fabric & Goregous Things, Open House, pink flowers, Prima Magazine, purple flowers, Vintage Fabric

08/01/2013 · 9:08 pm

Birthday, Bambi, bunting and bobbles.

A few things that I’ve just added to my shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/NickyGrace

A few nice pics

Honeysuckle

I’m missing my flowers in the garden as it gets colder so I thought I’d post a few on here. Just the orange ones as they’re my very fave.

three strands of mini vintage bunting

I’ve been making bunting for my Open House Sale in 10 days. I mainly make it in 2 meter strands which is £12. Not bad eh.

Nasturtiums

The joy of orange nasturtiums from seed

and bright pink sweet peas from seed

Autumn mini bunting

The blue and white florals were made by hand in France in the thirties. The pinky purple rose fabric was also made by hand in the thirties but in America. It’s all so precious.

The blue and white polka dot is from a damaged fifties dress.

4 Comments

Filed under Bunting, Miscellaneous, Vintage Fabric

Tagged as Bunting, floral fabric, honeysuckle, mini bunting, nasturtiums, Nicky Grace, Nicky Grace Vintage Fabric & Goregous Things, sweet peas, Vintage, Vintage Fabric

14/10/2012 · 1:18 pm

Flat screen tv versus the fireplace

When we moved into our derelict Victorian wreck 12 years ago, I had the fireplace knocked through in the front room. I left it as rough brick, painted it green, put our old grate in it and filled it with fairy lights. It was beautiful and I loved it. Roll on a few years and our very old telly in the corner lost the will to live and as I sadly put it in the front garden for the council to take away, my children started working on me to buy a big flat screen tv. I love telly as much as the next person but I hate big flat screen tvs. I think they’re dominating, aesthetically unpleasing and a bit sinister. Anyway, it was 3 against me and I reluctantly gave in and bought the horrid thing. That was about 5 years ago and I’ve barely been in the front room since, literally.

Then I was chatting to a lovely marketing lady Chloe Goddard about decorating fireplaces at Christmas and how I was making my mini vintage bunting in Autumn/Winter colours and how they’d look lovely edging the top of fireplaces and she suggested I do a mock up and take a few photos.

That was just the push I needed so while my kids were all out I moved the hideous creature (flat screen tv) from the focal point of my living room and reclaimed my beautiful fireplace. The creature is now on a shelf in the alcove behind a curtain and is no longer the undeserved centerpiece of room and as a result the room feels welcoming, serene and cosy again.

Mini vintage bunting around the fireplace

Ceramic floral jugs, candles, mini vintage bunting and plants in the fireplace.

If you don’t want a fire but still want the focal point of your room to look lovely then just paint it with emulsion and put a few nice things in it.

Invite with more info about my Pop Up Sale 27th & 28th October

Fabric workshops for children at my Open House Sale on Sat 27th & Sun 28th October 2012

My living room will be transformed into a lovely fabric workshop with a long table and chairs. About eight children will be able to sit round at a time. I and a friend or two will be on hand all the time to help them make pictures, mini bunting, or a lavender bag.

Below are a few photos of pictures that I made years ago. Since then I’ve made lots of other things but I’ve always wanted to go back to making pictures as I love it so much.

beautiful serene flowers under a blue sky on a sunny day

I will pre cut some of the shapes from all sorts of fabric, some of it vintage. I’ve been collecting fabric for a very long time so have lots to choose from. Children will have a piece of card and I’ll help them choose what they want to do and they can do the gluing if they like or I can do it if they prefer.

If they like, instead of making a picture they can make 2 meters of bunting. I’ll help them to choose the fabric they like and I or a friend will sew it on the sewing machine. I’ll have two friends there who are both professional machinists.

Children can come anytime between 11am and 5 pm can stay for up to an hour. biscuits will be provided and hopefully they’ll have great fun. They can bring friends or siblings and if they come on their own we shall do our best to ensure that they feel welcome and at home. We are all mothers and being with children comes very naturally.

Lovely orange duck

Another option available will be custom made sleeping bags. Your child should bring his or her doll or teddy (or ducky, monkey ….) and we will help choose the fabrics of choice to make a lovely little sleeping bag for it.

Your child could make a lovely dolphin picture to take home

blue grey smiley dolphin

little pigs and mini bunting

I’ll be making mini fabric bunting with children too which they can take home with them.

I’ll have lots of fabric to choose from including bits of vintage.

Little crabby.

Parents can stay in the room if they like or wander around and see the array of amazing and unique things on offer including handmade ceramics, vintage fabric lavender bags, floral jugs, cushions, cards, bunting and more. There will be home made cake and you can wander round the garden if you like.

Cost per child will be £6 each.

I have public liability insurance and am CRB checked.