Giant Jumble Sale and tiny Tinny Tim

One of the best things about blogging is when you step away from the computer and meet bloggers in person. You know what? All the ones I've met have been every bit as much fun in real life as they are online. Yesterday I got to meet Cate from Vintage Gal as we both went to the Vintage Bazaar Giant Jumble Sale in Frome. She's really nice, and Mr Robot and I had a good natter with Cate and her mum about fixing up old houses, spud-brained cats and so on. Also, I have to say this photo doesn't do her dress justice; it is absolutely gorgeous and I was dead envious! (Cate's post about her purchases.)


I don't get over to Frome very often as the train service to and from the town is abysmal, but I've seen a bit more of the place since switching to the Frome-based burlesque class. I'd been tossing up whether to go to one of the events in Frome for a while, and as I'd missed the Vintage Weekend owing to ilness, decided to go to this Bazaar. It was held at the Cheese and Grain (which a former workmate of mine who lives in Frome calls the Cheesy Groin, and I'm afraid the name has stuck with me).

I expected more clothes. There weren't masses of those at this one, but there if you can make clothes or enjoy crafts, it was heaven as there was masses of fabric and notions. I'm a bit of a sucker for the Victorian/Edwardian whitework embroidery; there was plenty of that but I resisted. I also managed not to buy any fabric - despite not owning a sewing machine, I've acquired a fair few fat quarters for crafting and really couldn't justify getting more fabric that would just be hoarded. Ditto buttons. I can use buttons on my knitting, but I have a box of unused vintage ones already. I'm kind of kicking myself now as the prices were really good, but it's better to leave behind things you don't need because there's sure to be someone looking out for exactly that item.

However, books are my big weakness, and when I spotted a Saint book on a stall, I crumbled. I ended up getting five books: two Saints, one wartime thriller I'd never heard of (Eleven Were Brave by Francis Beeding), a green-backed Penguin of Margery Allingham's Sweet Danger in really good condition, and a 1950s book by David Attenborough. DAVID ATTENBOROUGH! And he was only 32 when it was printed. It's all about the BBC/London Zoo expedition to Guiana. They were 50p each.

Other than that, I've been having a quiet weekend. I finally got round to planting some Thai Basil seeds. I like to use it in Thai and Vietnamese recipes, but it's not easy to find or cheap when I can get it, so if it grows successfully in pots I'll be really pleased. The 1940s Fair Isle cardigan is progressing - I've actually got to working the sleeve heads now, so once those have been finished I'll just have to do the button bands and sew it all together. ('Just'...) I'm really looking forward to getting it off the needles, it's taken so long. I'd thought I'd get it finished in time to join in a knitalong, but nooooo. I might make myself a 40s-style turban hat after that, just to make something quick.

Oh, and I bought a robot. Robots are excellent. This is Tinny Tim. I have a Plan in mind for him, but you'll have to wait for a future post to see how those pan out. I hope your weekend has been fun too, with or without robots.

Comments

  1. Sounds like you had a great day! I'm terrible for buying buttons, I have so many tins and jars full of buttons and I still buy more! I just love looking through them all with their pretty designs. Thank you for your comment on my post, you're right about deck being easy to create with details and accessories. X

    Www.pearlsandpurlsvintage.blogspot.com

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    1. My husband was with me so I'd have got the tragic face if I'd bought more buttons! He's like an extra conscience...

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  2. It really was fab to meet you. The Vintage Bazaar in Frome always tends to be a lot of sewing type stalls and a sprinkling of clothing ones. The Devizes one seems to be better for clothing though, especially the last one I went to. I purposely stayed away from the books owing to the fact that I have about 50 books I've recently bought and haven't yet read but yours looked really good. I do hope we get a review or two once you've read them!

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    1. I have been reading a lot of trashy urban fantasy and modern crime novels lately, hence the lack of book reviews. But reviews will come!

      I need to get over to one of the vintage fairs in Bristol, they're good for clothes.

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  3. Meeting up with fellow bloggers is always a pleasure, and I'm happy to hear you had a good day out. You did well to resist more purchases, but the books you found look great. And that's a lovely photo of you and Cate. xxx

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    1. Ta! Let's face it, if you can have a conversation about cats, things are bound to go well...

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  4. How great to meet up with another blogger. Don't worry-Thai basil grows like mad as long as it is in the sun and watered regularly. I just beheaded mine with hopes it will take on a better shape (it likes to vine).

    I wish I had your ability to resist fabric and buttons. I've taken over Danny's cupboard with boxes of sewing items for, "Someday."

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    1. Oh, good to know about the Thai basil. I love the stuff.

      Yarn is my downfall. I pretend I can't see the massive mountain of wool...

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  5. It's always fun to go on a trip! I'm with you on the book front, impossible to
    resist ; ) I bought some fabby button the other day, think I'll use them on a jacket.
    I visited a favourite antiques place last week, been a few years since I was able to go. Oh, dear, it has changed. The prices, while not as high as lots of places, have gone up a bit, and there's much less stuff. No more tottering piles of odds and sods crockery, the Victorian clothing has gone, a few bits of undies only, and the wonderful linen they used to have is not as good, still there but more the lower end kind. It has been tidied up, which is never a good sign in the junk/antique field. But I did get some cheap 1930s or thereabouts kitchen chairs.
    BUT...in the local junk yard...it looks like Steptoes yard!...what did I get my little mitts on, a Sowerby Pandora jar in pink, for £2. I nearly ripped it out her hand! A few tiny nibbles round an edge but not really noticeable. Have been after one for years but ebay tended to be very expensive. Although the price of some of that glass appears to suddenly have come down. Rubs hands and plans to buy some more next month...

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    1. Ooh, I had never heard of the Sowerby Pandora jars. And now I've looked Sowerby up, I see the vase we inherited from Pete's mum is a Sowerby! I hope you're able to achieve a lovely collection of jars.

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  6. That's a lovely photo of both of you!
    Yes, I agree. I've met three bloggers this weekend for the first time and they've all been fab. xxx

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    1. I think I'd have spent a lot more money if I'd gone to Bristol. One day...

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  7. It did make me laugh, the 'Cheesy Groin' comment!!

    That's so nice that you got to meet Cate, and her dress really does look smashing so no wonder you were envious.

    I think I wouldn't have been able to resist the David Attenborough book either x

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    1. Yup, I'll never be a lady...

      The book is fascinating; it's all about a trip to Guiana to collect specimens for London Zoo. I guess zoos were a bit less focussed on responsible preservation back then.

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  8. Buttons I love buttons I can't resist and Tinny Tim is fab no wonder you couldn't resist him. x

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    1. He's an entertaining little chap. The shop I got him from has lots of different sorts of wind-up tin robots, and he was the cutest but couldn't walk. I bought him anyhow, then it turned out his feet were catching on each other and now he can shuffle along.

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  9. Looking forward to seeing how your Fair Isle cardie looks when its ready. Sewing up all those loose ends are a pain aren't they? I'm knitting myself a cardie too at the moment from one of those old Rowan books and I can't wait to finish it.

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    1. I hate the ends soooo much. I converted the pattern to be knitted in one piece to the armholes, just to avoid having so many.

      I look forward to seeing your cardie.

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  10. How nice to meet another blogger, you both look fab. I'm so unused to buying anything that I can easily bypass things I like the look of, my mind has been set in can't afford mode for so long!

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    1. Heh, I had my jacket closed 'cos I'm a bit too fat for that dress at the mo and there's a bit of button strain going on! Cate definitely came top of the fashion pops that day, she was the best-dressed person in the room, I reckon.

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  11. Still laughing at cheesy groin! Sounds like a fun trip. I am such a sucker for buttons, I wouldn't have made it out without any. Good score on the book front.

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