local loveliness...

Hello, how are you this week?  I'm slowing down, getting ready for Christmas and looking forward to time off from all the usual routines...the school run seems to get harder every morning!  It's been so cold here, though we've been lucky with bright sunny frosty mornings...but I'd still rather be tucked up under a duvet watching movies with my boys than hustling them out of the door...

I had a busy weekend, starting with the Christmas Fair at Max's school; I'd been staying up late to make stock for a few days beforehand, but as usual the buzz of the fair kicked in and I enjoyed setting up my stall...

 

 

I had great fun painting and decorating this little display house and styling it with little vintage goodies; though I'm not sure about my lovely assistant's novel method of 'helping'...

Luckily lots of M's friends were there so he frolicked off to wreak mayhem while I enjoyed some quiet moments before the crowds flooded in....well, not crowds exactly - but it was busy enough.  I sold enough to make it worthwhile being there, and got some commissions for the New Year, so all in all a fun and successful day! 

Later on M's school took part in the local annual Lantern Parade, which was a brilliant community event involving children from at least 3 different schools and many individuals from all over the area.  It was a cold evening, but the kids had an amazing time as the traffic stopped and we took over the streets as dusk descended...

M's class have been learning about ancient Egypt this term, so they designed a Zombie Mummy lantern...

it looked pretty spooky as the sky got darker!

the parade finished in a park, where as well as all the handmade lanterns we were treated to a glowing hot air balloon...amazing.

After all that we went to a friends house where the kids ran riot while the adults warmed up with cocktails...a busy but very lovely day! 

Sorry it's taken me till now to share it with you...as you probably know I am guest blogging over here this week...if you haven't popped over to see what I'm up to there, please do!

Hope your Christmas preparations are going smoothly, it can be a stressful time of year.  I'm feeling pretty calm so far, but there's still a lot to do!

Rachel x

I've been busy making....

fabric covered buttons...

 

and pocket mirrors...

and lavender bags!

It's so fun using bits of my yummy fabric stash; I'm also working on some mini bunting and a few cushion covers which is keeping me very busy! 

I've got stalls booked at a couple of craft fairs, the first is this Saturday at our local secondary school.  I'll also be selling vintage fabric squares for patchwork, fat quarters and metre lengths of ribbon from my lovely local craft shop, so there'll be lots of gorgeous crafty bits for those that like to make things, and handmade gifts for those that don't.

I'm off to get the sewing machine out, only 2 more nights to go and still a lot to do!

Thanks to all of you for reading and commenting, and welcome to my new followers - it really does make my day to know that people enjoy popping in here, blogland is such a lovely place and it's nice to have a corner of it that I can call my own!

Hope you're having a good week,

Rachel x

I did some sewing, yay!!

Hello lovelies, how are you today?  

I have had a bit of a rollercoaster week, my Dad has been ill and urgently needed major surgery, which was really nerve wracking.  He is recovering and his health should be improved after a period of recuperation, so in the long run it's a good thing...scary though.  And then just when I was having trouble sleeping cause I was worrying about him, the rain started dripping through the ceiling...

But!  This Saturday we are collecting our new baby, Floyd the Miniature Schnauzer.  The excitement level in our house is reaching fever pitch - only 2 sleeps to go - it's like an early Christmas present for our whole family. 

In the meantime, before I bombard you all with pictures of Floyd, I thought I'd show you something I managed to make...yes, I made time for some sewing, and it felt good!   I've been playing with these bits of fabric for a while...

 

I love these fabrics so much, and some of them I've only got a little bit of - there are barkcloths, and collectible fabrics from Heals, and Scandinavian fabrics.  I wanted to try something a tad more ambitious than my usual squares or strips, so I went for a rectangular log cabin type of arrangement...and as with most things I make, I planned it carefully, but I still got to the end and saw things I might do differently if I could make it again.  But that is ok, that is how we learn...and now instead of having to open my cupboard to look at all these gorgeous patterns and colours, I get to enjoy them every day, which makes me really happy.   

Before I go I'd just like to welcome my new followers, and anyone who has popped in to read or comment...it still amazes me that people spend time here, reading my ramblings...thank you, you're all totally gorgeous. I just have to give a special welcome to my newest follower, Donna Flower(!) who if you love vintage fabric (and if you don't, what are you doing here?!) you will surely know of - she sells the most fabulous vintage fabrics and haberdashery, both online and on her stall at various vintage fairs.  I actually bought the top bit of the cushion cover above from her, and now she's following my blog! Sorry, I'll stop now...just had to get a bit excited about that!

I hope you're all having a good week, and haven't been ill, or flooded, and have maybe managed a moment or two of creative fun...

Rachel xx

this week I have mainly...

been sewing flowers for a friend's wedding bouquet...

 

and for her to wear in her hair...

 

 and for her daughters to wear in their hair.

The wedding was yesterday, we went to the reception last night.  It was a lovely romantic occasion in the best sense of the word, the couple have been together for 20 years and have 3 gorgeous kids, and are still totally smitten with each other.  A great start to our weekend.  I hope you are managing to enjoy your Saturday despite the rain.

Have a lovely weekend.

Rachel x

one of the reasons...

that I've been so lazy about blogging this week...

 

I woke up in sewing mode the other day, and didn't want to stop till I was finished...I still need to sew a backing on it, I'm thinking fleece for speed and ease, so that I can get on with the next one!  I've got a friend who's due to give birth any day now, so I want to get a lovely vintage fabric cot blanket made this weekend.

I am really pleased with it, it is not perfect but I have learnt loads in the process of making it. The fabrics are all vintage, and are pretty special - Heals, Marimekko, Graziela, Conran, Dekoplus, Tampella, Boras,scandinavian, barkcloth... the result of 2 years of slightly obsessive collecting (oh dear, I'm such a fabric geek!)!  I'll show you how it looks when it's finished, and hopefully the next one will be in progress soon.
 
If any of these fabrics jump out at you and make you wish you had a cushion cover or patchwork item for your home, let me know -  I would love to make something lovely for you out of some of my vintage fabric, email me at rainbowvintagehome@googlemail.com.  

Hope you've survived the half term reasonably unscathed, the weather here has been pretty vile but somehow we have come through smiling (so far - still 2 days to go!).

Hope you have a great weekend, love and thanks for taking the time to pop in, 

Rachel x

a job well done...

Well here we are, the weekend again, and the Easter school break has started - 2 weeks of no school run, and hopefully lots of time to play out in the sunshine (though not much evidence of that yet today!).  It has been a busy week, and here is one of the reasons why....

I have made a lampshade for a friends' 40th birthday present, from some rather lovely 60s Heals fabric (called Conifer, designed by Gay Dulley).  It's not a massive job to make a lampshade, but it is a fiddly one, and if you mess it up it looks rubbish and isn't easy to fix.  I've been feeling tired and not really in a crafting mood, so I had to keep doing a bit and then putting it down to finish later...well I got there in the end and I think it looks pretty damn good.  She likes it anyway, and that's the main thing (she had chosen the fabric in advance, I wouldn't have risked it not being to her taste!). 

I do love the feeling I get when I've finished making something and it looks lovely; hopefully I'll get a chance to get back into my sewing over the next couple of weeks.  I have an urge to do a bit of patchwork, maybe another cushion cover, or maybe I should start something a bit bigger like a quilt...it might be nice to have an ongoing project to dip into when the mood takes me!  After all, I have got a fair bit of fabric to choose from.....

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Rachel x

my first commercial successes!

Here are pictures of some of the things I made to sell at my son's school Christmas Craft Fair. I decided to do the fair at the last minute and had very little time to make stock, luckily I shared the stall with my friend Cath (aka Handmade Mum) and my Mum who'd made some lovely jewellery, so I only had to fill a 3rd of the table! 

I definitely need to work on how to photograph my makes, though a big thanks to my lovely partner for taking these photos at the last minute before we packed the car to go to the fair.  I also made a load of lovely lavender bags out of vintage fabric scraps, and to my delight and amazement I sold the lampshade, the pair of bird & owl cushions and all the lavender bags. 

The lightning flash cushion I took into a pop-up shop which appeared locally for a month before Christmas, and they agreed to take it on sale or return, and asked me to make a lampshade out of some amazing 70s french fabric I showed them - both of those sold on Christmas eve, which was a great extra present!  So all in all a very successful dipping of my toe into the world of selling my creations, and a definite kick up the arse to get me started on this blog and my soon to come Etsy shop. 


I have a massive collection of very special 60s and 70s fabric, so there will be lots more of this sort of thing to come, I hope you like it! 


Rachel x