if we can't have sunshine...

...then we need colour!  Oh my goodness another week has passed...and what a cold and miserable one it has been!  I know we are all obsessed with the non-appearance of spring, it is really getting silly now...

Here is a lovely colourful thing that has cheered me up this week...

... gorgeous wallpapers from Ada's fantastic Etsy shop!

Last Sunday I held another Vintage Fabric Market at Paper Village, my local craft shop.  Unlike last time when it was just little old me and a table full of fabric, this time I was joined by another local Mum who has an enormous collection of beautiful vintage buttons!  As you can imagine it was a lot of fun...

a small selection of Naomi's gorgeous buttons...

and a few more!

 
Preparing for the day was fun too, as I really needed to buy a bit of new stock!  Here are a few of the lovely new (to me) fabrics I took with me...

a stunning geometric design by Peter Hall, who designed some of my favourite Heals fabrics...

a vibrant vintage Jonelle floral pattern...

a huge scale print on lovely thick cotton...excuse the rubbish photo, it was a very grey day!

and a lovely floral barkcloth which proved very popular.

I really enjoy selling in person, it's fun to meet people who love fabric as much as I do, and to see the big smiles on their faces as they walk away with an armful of gorgeousness.  I'm sorry to all of you who have been waiting patiently for ages for me to set up my Etsy shop; my youngest is starting pre-school after Easter so hopefully I will be able to make the time then...if the sun comes out so I can take some decent product shots!  In the meantime, I am selling a few bits through my facebook page, and you are more than welcome to message me for details if you see anything you like here or there.

I must thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post, sorry I haven't been replying...I have managed to pop over to a few of your blogs this week, if I haven't left a comment on yours I hope you know it's nothing personal.  I'm hoping to get back into a good routine of blog reading soon...I miss you guys when I don't get a chance to catch up with what you're up to!

Hope the stupid arctic weather isn't ruining your weekend, I'm supposed to be doing something exciting tomorrow but I'm not sure if the snow is going to scupper my plans...I'll let you know what happens either way...in the meantime, stay warm!

Rachel xx

swapsies...

Hello and Happy Monday!! The sun has been shining here but both my boys are ill - again! - so we are sofa bound today.  Still, it's good to see the sunlight and glimpse green shoots in the garden.  How are you? I hope you had a nice weekend.  

Everything here has been very busy recently; the kitchen is still a work in progress so home is even more messy and chaotic than usual.  I have been such a haphazard blogger this year; I have decided my blogging mojo is a small furry animal who likes to sleep a lot in winter.  I think it hides under the sofa with the dust and odd socks and only comes out when the sun shines. 

Something I should have shared a while ago is the lovely swap I took part in, organised by Lisa of the gorgeous blog BoboBun.  My swap partner was Joanne of ReVamped Vintage, she's not been blogging long and her blog is lovely.  The swap's theme was 4 Happy Things (to celebrate 4 years of BoboBun) and Lisa suggested sending gifts with the themes of Childhood, Handmade, Vintage, and Favourite Colours.  

Here are the treasures that Joanne sent me...
 

this lovely mug was filled...

...with retro sweeties!

An inspired choice to evoke a 70s childhood!

surely the loveliest hot water bottle cover ever made!

had to show you a close-up of the flowers, they are just so lovely.

AND a very gorgeous handmade pin cushion!

a lovely vintage vase with a very interesting shape...

and a stunning selection  of vintage wallpaper squares in beautiful colours!

Understandably I feel very lucky to have been paired up with Joanne, I hope that she liked what I sent her too...pop on over to her blog post about the swap to see what she got! 

Here's hoping that my mojo has come out of hibernation now...I do love blogging and I get so much from reading your comments and checking in with all your lovely blogs.  Thanks for reading and commenting even when I go a bit quiet, it means so much to me.  I have lots of other things to show you and tell you about so I'll be back soon!

Rachel xx

fabric, fabric everywhere....

...no, I'm not complaining, it makes me so happy!! Saturday brought me 2 lovely parcels, both presents from lovely bloggers....

a stack of vintage sheet fat quarters and vintage wallpaper pieces from the totally delightful Ada, aka Vintage Sheet Addict...

and, totally unexpected and stunningly generous, a piece of fabulous Dekoplus from my friend Jenny of The Custards...

big thanks to both of those lovely ladies, I am one lucky blogger!!

And inspired by all this gorgeousness (and by the need to make some space in my stash cupboard for these new arrivals) I rummaged in my piles of fabric today and pulled out some summer brights to play with...

Yum!!  Looking forward to getting my sewing machine out soon.  If you feel the need for a patchwork cushion cover, send me a message on this blog or e-mail me at rainbowvintagehome@gmail.com - I love putting fabrics together in unique ways to create one-off pieces for people, maybe you'd like one for your home or as a gift for someone?

Hope you're having a nice day. 

Rachel x

these are just a few of my favourite things...#1

Happy sunny day!

It is freezing cold here but bright and clear and spring is in the air.  Today I am saying goodbye to grey winter with a look at a few of my favourite black and white treasures from the wonderful world of the interweb, yes I am often all about rainbows but I do love the crispness of black and white.  Though as you'll see from 3 of these beauties, it works particularly well with a little bit of colour thrown in too! 

First up, a rather lovely cushion from Scandinavian brand Bantie at the ever fabulous Heal's, which not only ticks my black and white box but has birds all over it too! (Slightly bird obsessed of late, more of them another day!)

Yes I know I've got a house full of fabric and I can make my own cushion covers, but that doesn't mean I can't love other people's too!

Next, with a lovely splash of red to brighten our day, these gorgeous Miss Badger stackable coffee cups by James Ward from his Etsy shop:

He's got lots of different animals on his mugs, but Miss Badger reminds me of the Frances books by Russell Hoban, which my Mum used to read to me...I think maybe Miss Badger is Frances grown up?!

Here's a pattern I've been lusting after for a while, and it's not a crush that's fading, so one day I might have to give in....

It's from Marimekko at Heal's, a truly iconic brand at a shop to match - some of my favourite fabrics from my collection were from Heals in the 60s, though I've got very little by Marimekko....a lack that I must remedy one day.  This design comes in cushion covers, tea towels and oven gloves, so if you're a matchy-matchy kind of person, you can co-ordinate to your heart's content - as long as you've got a bit of cash to spare!

And lastly, with a fantastic splash of daffodil yellow to celebrate the sunshine and anticipate the coming of spring, this stunning wallpaper from MissPrint, which was brought to my attention  by the Queen of design blogging, Bowie Style at print & pattern:

What can I say? I love it.  Yellow used to be the one colour I didn't really get on with, but over the last few years it has crept up in my estimation to become a favourite - it doesn't suit my colouring so I can only get away with accessories, but I think it'll be turning up a lot more around my home. 

So there we are - a few moments in my day spent in design heaven.  Now I'm off to get on with a few mundane but necessary domestic tasks, I hope to be back tomorrow with more eye candy.

Rachel x