Built to Last

Good foundations are a vital first step....

Structural support to provide stability...

With additional supports and trusses, just to be on the safe side.

Cavity wall insulation for comfort, along with fully functioning amenities...

Decorative brickwork patterns for a pleasing design...

Quality materials in generous quantity for a long lifespan.

Additional extensions of good proportions and well integrated.

High spec finish...

And not forgetting those finishing touches for a well presented exterior.

Built to last, to be enjoyed by future generations.

Compact and bijou; suitable for a petite lady with no more than a 22" waist!

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I have been studying this beautiful dress that I found on a recent buying trip and am astounded by the workmanship, both inside it and out. It was probably designed as a theatre costume, possibly back in the 1930's or 40's. The fitted bodice is made from the softest silk velvet of a rich mauve and has been hand beaded with tiny silver glass beads, front and back. The boned structure inside would have been made-to-measure for a very tiny lady indeed. But I think she must have been quite a strong lady, as the dress is really quite heavy and would have taken some effort to wear.

The beautiful circular skirt is made from fine chiffon/crepe in a paler purple shade. It is fully lined in a soft peach taffeta, with the extra flounces and drapes also lined in peach, which creates the stunningly fluid silhouette. I would love to have known of its past; where it may have been worn and by whom...its a little damaged and soiled, but the careful craftsmanship of its maker at least means it has survived the decades relatively intact.

I hope you enjoyed taking a look,

Niki x

Remembrance Sunday

Lest we forget.

Niki x

Feeling Festive?

No, me neither, if I'm being honest!
But I have my in-laws coming to stay very soon, and so I need to have a lot of my Christmas shopping done by then, so that they can take the presents back with them when they leave for the other side of the country...
Also, next weekend is the V&H fair, where hopefully there will be lots of shoppers looking for special presents for loved-ones, so I tried to get into the spirit today by hitting Bath high street...would you like to come too?...

'Vinegar Hill' had got into the vibe early.

And what about 'Paperchase's new paintwork?...very vintage-green, don't you think? I love it.

'Vintage Living' is a smart shop in Broad Street...but not really vintagey enough for my liking.

(There is very little authentic vintage.)

'Rossiters' across the road is always a safe bet for elegant and sophisticated gift ideas.

They have a lovely Christmas department too. Sorry about the reflections in the glass on most of my photos...still, it could be worse than to have Baths beautiful historic architecture reflected, couldn't it?

You know who! ;-))

A touch of understated glamour at 'Phase Eight'.

And a shop where it's Christmas all year round, is 'December 25'.

'Jack Wills' always make an excellent effort with their displays.

And to help put you in a happy frame of mind, you are never far away from street performers in Bath. This cheery group were singing and dancing beautifully and created quite a crowd of onlookers.

Bath has a new shopping centre in construction at the bottom end of the city; the first phase was actually opened just two days ago.

I think they have done a pretty good job in creating new buildings in keeping with the surrounding historical ambiance of Bath. There are two more phases to 'Southgate' to be completed over the next couple of years.

I really wanted to share with you a photo of this shop's window displays, (below) but just couldn't get a decent shot...you know how it is when you're in a high street surrounded by shoppers and they look at you as if to say 'why are you taking a photo of a shop window?' Anyway, it is a shop called 'Allsaints' - every one of their windows were full, top to bottom, with rows and rows of vintage sewing machines - it was fabulous, and must have taken someone months to collect them all...now you know why I wanted to share it with you ;-))

...this was the best I could do...Its really striking 'in the flesh'.

And in between all the photo taking, I did manage some shopping, but can't really show you what I bought, as you never know who might be peeping... ;-))

Even though Bath now has its snazzy new shopping centre, I'd still rather nip down the road to my friend's junk shop and buy an old chair like this one. This was my bargain of the week, which I recovered in a vintage Sanderson floral fabric last night. You won't find anything like that on the high street!

Have a lovely weekend, and good luck if you are going shopping!

Niki x

Please to Remember...

Have a Happy Guy Fawkes Night!

Be Safe,

Niki x

Artful Blogging

I've sewn for as long as I can remember...many years ago, when I was a child, it was my way of discovering and fulfilling my creative side...and, of course, as a way of keeping my teddies and Sindy dolls well dressed! ;-)) Jumble sale finds were cut up and fashioned into miniature outfits for them, or dress-up clothes for myself.
When I became a Mum for the first time, finances were very tight and my sewing ability became a way to keep my babies in pretty clothes. It was always surprising to me what could be run-up out of an old floral cotton pillowcase and a simple dress pattern during the few hours whilst baby napped - (Yes, my little girls really did wear pillowcase dresses! - with matching frilly knickers!)
Today, sewing is still a passion of mine, but its generally a way to keep the house looking good rather than myself. Curtains, cushions and useful accessories can be found throughout the house, all made from recycled vintage fabrics. I am a jeans and sweater kind of a girl and don't usually give clothes much of a thought, so when I read about Natasha's 'Revamp it' Challenge on her blog earlier in the year, I thought it would be fun to give it a go - It was indeed going to be a challenge for me, as it had been a long time since I had given an item of clothing a second thought. (My revamped piece can be seen here)

(Before)

(After)

The fact that the nylon nightdress that I worked on has now ended up in 'Artful Blogging' magazine (Nov/Dec/Jan 2010 edition) is unbelievable to me...I created my make-over purely for fun, with the aim of achieving something that one of my girls could wear to a themed party or for a school play.

Now that it is considered 'artful', I can only smile...

I would like to thank Natasha again for organising the challenge and for submitting the details to 'Somerset Studio'. And to congratulate her, not only for this, but another article that she has in the same magazine! (That's her lovely prom gown painting on the front cover too!)

Thanks, to Stampington & Company as well, for sending me a complimentary copy of the mag. It is a beautifully put together magazine, the like of which we would struggle to find in the UK. There are pages and pages of articles, photographs and inspiration, rather than pages and pages of advertisements! A refreshing change...and all printed on quality paper, making it more like a book than a magazine. An added bonus is that you can flick through and spot people that you 'know' in the world of Blogging, as well as discovering new talent.

I shall be curling up on the sofa tonight with my copy...I may even consider looking through my wardrobe and giving that a bit more thought than it would normally receive! But don't worry, I'm not about to start sewing roses, buttons and tulle to all my sweater necklines!

Enjoy your evening too,

Niki x

Half Term...

Its been a busy week here at The Stone House, but not the 'exciting-busy' when it comes to writing a blog post...but here's a taster anyway ;-)) ,as I don't like to stay away too long...

I'd been buying the ingredients for our Christmas cake over the last few weeks and storing them in my large 'baking basket' in the pantry until I had all that was needed...

Youngest daughter was on hand to give me some help with the mixing...

And three hours later the cake was cooked. A weekly spoonful of brandy drizzled over the top will help it mature and darken before the festive hols. (My family recipe can be found here)

The half term break has also involved some rainbow watching...

Masses of laundry...

But some of the nicer, vintagey kind too. I love pressing old linen and lace.

And then there was all the pricing up to do.

I've also laundered several eiderdowns...

which are now airing around the house in the autumn sunshine, along with a few quilts and blankets.

Some vintage clothes were given a freshen-up too.

I've been doing some more painting...more about that another time...

Along with some high-street shopping with my daughter (yes, I do some of that occasionally!) - with the best buy found on the way back to the car. I called into the charity shop and found these fabulously kitsch potted silk roses...kitsch enough to be cool, I hope?! ;-))

And talking of roses, I thought I'd just mention the mirror that I made a few weeks ago. The putty method seems to have held the china flowers in place. If they start dropping off over time however, I shall let you know!

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There's also been a bit of this going on around here...

My daughter's scary clown pumpkin!

If you like to celebrate All Hallow's Eve, then I hope you have lots of fun!

Enjoy your weekend,

Niki x

Spur-of-the-Moment

At the beginning of this month we thought we'd check to make sure that our central heating was in full working order before the colder weather arrived...sadly the radiators refused to heat up, so an engineer was called...he came, but couldn't fix it. We were told that the system needed flushing-out and we'd need to book an all day appointment, but that a plumber couldn't come out for at least a fortnight.

That appointment finally came round and our central heating system was flushed through...but even after that, we were still without heat when it didn't solve the problem, so another engineer was booked to call on the Friday just gone...
The man that came on that occasion actually made things worse; not only did he not fix our central heating, but her broke the hot water system too! He said we'd have to be without both all weekend, as someone else with the spare parts wouldn't be able to attend until Monday.

That was the last straw! We'd got used to wearing an extra layer and lighting the fire in the living room every evening, but to not be able to have a hot bath all weekend...
So on the spur-of-the-moment hubby and I decided to book a B&B and go off for the weekend. Luckily our youngest had already arranged to stay with her friend over the weekend, so we were free to choose where we'd like to go...not a difficult choice...it had to be Devon, didn't it? A few quick clicks on the www and we were booked in for the Saturday night at Ashburton.

Bright and early on Saturday morning we headed off on our not-so-long-anticipated holiday!
We arrived in the town mid-morning and after a quick cuppa in our favourite cafe it was time to visit the lovely Ros at 'The Snug' - My absolutely favourite shop, run by this gem of a lady.

Sat in the window at the back of The Snug is this gorgeous and glamorous gal (not for sale, or I would have been first in line...;-))

A beautifully put together red and cream corner...

and a lovely assortment of vintage treasures next to it...some of which came home with me!

After saying our farewells to Ros, we took a leisurely wander along the rest of the high street.

Ashburton really is a relaxing little town, where all the shop keepers are very friendly...we even managed to get some insider information about the local car boot sales that would be running on the Sunday from the lady in 'The Shambles' - a fab antiques shop near to Sara's Lavender Box.

The weather made us feel very welcome too...hours of warm sunshine and blue skies.

Later in the afternoon we checked-in to the B&B, then went for a short walk along one of the public footpaths before our evening meal.

(That night, having a centrally heated bedroom took a bit of getting used to, but the hot bath was most welcome!)
**

Sunday dawned and we checked out of the B&B and headed to the car boot sale at Newton Abbot racecourse. There was a mixture of stalls, some very expensive, but I did come away with a few treasures.

After that we then went to Totnes and a walk along the ramparts to The Guildhall.

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Then back to the high street for a light lunch.

It was then off to another car boot sale, near Paignton, which opened at 1pm (very civilised!) I bought a very pretty pair of Victorian hand painted pictures on glass, which I shall show towards the end of this post. It never ceases to amaze me what turns up at car booties!

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And was that the end of our little foray? No, we packed in more!! (Sue is always saying how one night away equates to one week in her book, as she has so little time-off from work, and I can see what she means...its surprising what can be done with a few hours away from it all.)

Our next stop was Stoke Gabriel, a pretty village where we have holidayed before, and a hot cup of tea sat looking out over the estuary...

Whilst we were there, a RNLI lifeboat was called to rescue the ferry boat, thankfully not the ferryman, which they towed out to safety.

And then all was quiet once more...

Finally, our journey home had to begin, but we did so by calling in at Budleigh Salterton for a quick walk along its pebbly beach before the sun went down...

Bliss.

**

Back home and the gas engineer came back again today (this time bringing the boss as well!) and we now have heating AND hot water!! Joy! We have to invest in some new radiators, which will be fitted next month, but at least for now we are warm.

Whilst they were in my workroom working on the boiler, I sorted through my purchases from the weekend. This is the pair of Victorian paintings on glass that I mentioned. I'm very pleased with those...

A pretty pair of paisley eiderdowns came from Ros.

As did this beautifully hand embroidered linen tablecloth.

This adorable plaster figure was from The Shambles.

And some of my other treasures included some striped cotton sheets and pillowcases...

A framed wedding photograph from a century ago (wouldn't you just love to be able to see what colours these ladies were wearing? - I'm sure they would have all been so pretty in their lace embellished outfits and millinery creations)

And an old book from a similar time to the wedding photograph was another of my favourite finds and the perfect souvenir of a special weekend away with my lovely hubby.

Hope you had a fab weekend too!

Now I need to catch-up on some work after having so many days with central heating engineers working in my space this month...I have two more rag dolls I really need to finish off before the V&H fair on the 14th. Working on them without me having chilly fingers will be most welcome!

Niki x