Back to Sewing

For the last few months my sewing machine has been collecting dust. That's not to say my head wasn't completely immersed in sewing. I was actually more involved with sewing more than ever while working on London Stitch and Knit. I have never been to so many great fabric and haberdashery shops in such a short amount of time or written about so many all at once. My head has definitely been deep in fabric, thread, needles, patterns... I've just not been on the actual sewing machine again until last week. I really have not had any extra time. I completed photos in more than 45 shops and wrote features on all the shops, including chapter introductions and a resources section for my book in 3 months, mostly working on it after our girls went to bed and on the weekends (when I wasn't visiting the shops taking photos). If Ellie had been in school full-time that would have been a bit easier, but I had her two full days a week and she can't watch Peppa Pig all day after all. But now the book is just about finished and I've had time to do some actual sewing. One project that's been on my list for about a year is the Sew Over It Betty dress. I have some vintage curtain fabric that used to be in Lois's room that reminded me of fabric I saw on Mad Men, so I thought it would make a good Betty. It was really easy to make. I didn't get the zip to the top well the first time, though, so I re-did it. Other than that, the fit was good and I didn't need to do too many adjustments. Here's to getting back to sewing!

Let There Be DIY Light

Every day our colorful family room is looking more finished! I'm happy to have found some great vintage school chairs on ebay with the perfect teal colored paint. We all love them. School chairs are a safe bet, I think. Lamp shopping, on the other hand, is tricky for me because there's often one element of a lamp that doesn't interest me, and actually the lamps I tend to be most drawn to are really expensive. So I've taken to doing some lamp DIY. I've been having fun customizing lampshades for a few rooms and now have the bug to customize some actual lamps as well after completing one. Inspired by my friend Paula who turns interesting and unusual industrial things into lamps, like pulleys, pipes and all manner of other odd bits, I decided to give it a go myself.

The Old Haberdashery

During our food styling workshop in East Sussex, we had planned a pub lunch at The Bell in Ticehurst, which was a really nice lunch though service was quite slow for our large group. But before lunch we had a few minutes to take a peek into one of my favorite shops, The Old Haberdashery, which is on the same street as The Bell. I actually hadn't been before that day but knew I'd love the shop from seeing The Old Haberdashery stall at the Decorative Living fair last year and from a wonderful article earlier this year in Country Living. I'd like to move in there! It's filled with everything I love.

A Peek at Kempton Park

Kempton Park, or Sunbury Antiques as it's also known, is one of my favorite antique markets. It's not especially close to our neighborhood, though, so I don't get there often (it takes me about 1.5 hrs to get there by bus and train). It's twice a month, on Tuesdays from 6:30AM to about 1PM. Monday night before a market day I tell myself I will try to go (if I don't already have other plans) but unless I've arranged a sitter for the little one, time usually gets away from me in the morning and then I often feel it's too late to go. And the idea of going with a one year old is a bit daunting. She's at the squirmy age and she has no interest in looking at old junk, other than trying to put any bits and bobs in her mouth. And I'm not about to bring the buggy there with me due to lots of stairs at the train station and crowded isles at the market. But last week I got up early enough and so did little miss, so I strapped her on and we headed out and had a great time.

Decorative Living Fair

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of going to the Decorative Living Fair at Chelsea Old Town Hall, hosted by Caroline Zoob. It was like going to a wonderful antique mall with the best selection of vendors. Normally held in Kent, this year's event was in London, so I made arrangements to go, (which means I hired a babysitter so I could go solo!) and had a few happy hours browsing beautiful vintage housewares and some really great handmade items as well. I met so many nice people and bought a few trinkets. Here are some snapshots from the fair. I liked so many stalls, but it was quite busy when I was there, and it was hard to squeeze into many of them to get photos. But here are a few! Photos above, in clockwise from top left, are from Blue Linen Cupboard, Old Rectory Sales, Lois Kirsten, Gazehound Vintage, Old Rectory Sales again, and Sam Lindsay.

Weekend Market

One thing I really like about our neighborhood is our little Saturday market. It's on Northcross Road in East Dulwich, a few blocks from us. Although it's small, with only a handful of vendors, it has a good variety of food, crafts, and vintage treasures. When we first found this neighborhood, the market was a big selling point for us. Here are some market pictures from when we first moved here.

The Montage

Good coffee, compelling art, and vintage treasures all in one place? Yes, please do give me directions! When we were glamping, one of our hut neighbors turned out to be an actual neighbor. Small world, huh? Well, sort of anyway. She and her family live in the neighborhood next to ours called Forest Hill. She mentioned a new cafe called The Montage that happens to have a kids' play area in the back. I'm up for any cafe that has a play area for tots, which is, I've found, the key to having a somewhat peaceful cafe experience with children in tow. She also told me it's also part art galley and part vintage shop. So naturally I decided to check it out.

Our Last Weekend

We had our last weekend here in London. Initially we thought we might go away for the weekend to some place like Marseilles, but we decided to stay in town. We went to Greenwich, which has a beautiful park that includes the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum. We also went to Islington, a great neighborhood and home of the Camden Passage market, and walked along Regent's Canal. And we headed back to Shoreditch to buy some last minute things and to walk around Brick Lane. We had a great weekend. Here's are some random bits.

We ate a lot of yummy food. One of my favorites was coffee and croissants from Patisserie Deux Amis, pictured above. A really cute, cozy French cafe. I think Andrew's favorite would be St. John Bread and Wine. We didn't bring the camera to St. John, but it's a nose to tail sort of place that has great food (they have things other than nose to tail type stuff). I'm not sure why I have such reservations about eating those "other parts" since I eat meat, but I do. Eating pig's cheek just sounds a little weird and gross to me, which makes no sense when eating a pork chop sounds perfectly normal, but I tried a tiny bite of it, and it was really good. It tasted sort of like fatty bacon with less bacony flavor. My favorite thing there was dessert--armagnac and prune ice cream with madelines, yum. The servers were so nice to Lois. They even have high chairs for the tiny tots.

In Greenwich we went to Greenwich Park. The parks in London are outstanding. I can't believe how many parks there are or how beautiful they all are. Of all the parks we went to Regent's Park was the most impressive I think, but Greenwich Park was beautiful too. And the parks here have so many nice playgrounds for kids. Greenwich Park even has a children's paddle boat pond.

In the park we got to see fall showing all its beautiful color. And did I mention the weather? It was outstanding! The last few days have been some of the most amazing days ever.

In Islington we walked along Regent's Canal, which was a fun surprise for us. We decided to just wander around, off the main roads, and saw a path leading to what looked like a park. We followed it down and saw this! It pays sometimes to leave the map in your pocket and just see where the road takes you.


The canal was filled with these long, skinny boats. It looked like many people lived in them.

We saw a number of gardens on the boats. Garden anywhere? Sure!

See that one itty bitty tomato there on the right? Last of the season, I imagine.

And we ran into a fun little craft market. Cupcakes get your attention every time don't they? The cupcakes are from Sweetie Pies Boutique Bakery and those crafty wares from Isabel Vince, who's pictured on the Left. I love her key and patchwork cushions.

A weekend around London wouldn't be complete without some fun junk hunting!

We saw so many great junk, antique, and vintage shops over the weekend. Ah, London is a old stuff heaven!





And more junk and vintage heaven on Brick Lane.



And we were lucky enough to see another red balloon! I could hardly believe it. A very nice last weekend, don't you think?

See you again in a few days when we're back in San Francisco!

M. Goldstein

I've been having a great time with mom the last few days. She loves it here and doesn't want to leave, but her little visit is almost over. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! Ah, well, we've had a great time and today may have been the most fun day yet. We went to the Columbia Road flower market and oohed and aahed over all the beautiful flowers and plants and then weaved our way in and out of the great shops along Columbia Road. Our favorites were Jessie and Buddug's shop, and though technically not on Columbia Road but right nearby, M. Goldstein.

We saw M. Goldstein a few weeks ago when we went to the flower market, but as often is the case, we needed to get Lois home for a nap, so we didn't stop in. Today, though, I stopped into the shop with mom. It was perfect timing for a shop like M. Goldstein because we were giddy and goofy by the time we got there. Too much coffee, too many cupcakes, and the fact that I was sporting a headband with a big crow on it made us flat out silly. (Mom bought the headband for me at Jessie and Buddug's shop--more to come on that great shop later next week.)

We both loved M. Goldstein, not just because it's filled with our favorites--antique, vintage and second-hand things--but because as soon as you walk in the door you know owners Nathaniel and Pippa must have a great sense of humor. Anyone who has a collection of random heads in a fireplace, stacked vintage cereal boxes for display, and a vintage clothing section that could easily transform into a DJ booth right along side little antique millinery samples, lovely oil paintings, and vintage jewelry has to be fun and interesting. We had to make our visit short because we were running late to meet Andrew and Lois, but I can't wait to go back to M. Goldstein. Here's a peek.
















M. Goldstein
67 Hackney Road
London E2 8ET
Tel: +44 [0] 7905 325215

The New Vintage

Move over mid-century, now there's something older. I just read this fun article in the NY Times. If this is a trend, it's one that really appeals to me. I can't get into taxidermy myself (too many eyes looking at me), but I love the apothecary collections, ancestral portraits, and the general abundance of collections like the vintage luggage and sporting equipment that these new antiquarians have on display. You can read the article and see more pictures here.

Image from the NY Times.

Chineurs

I love this sign! Bad antiques. Is there such a thing? Maybe in the Michael Jackson sense. We saw this building in South Carolina on the way to Charleston. The building was boarded up, but I would have liked to see what was inside when it was open. I have a few more things to show you from our beach vacation, including some really pretty pictures from Magnolia Plantation, but today a blogger meet-up adventure is on my mind. In between washing loads of laundry, and sorting the dreaded mountain of mail on the kitchen table, I've been catching up on some of my favorite blogs. I've missed so much! It makes me daydream of a blogger meet-up where we go to favorite flea markets and thrift stores. The big Alameda flea market is this weekend, and I wish we could all go to it together. In Paris: Made by Hand, the author, Pia Bijkerk, writes that "in French, the act of finding vintage objects has its own verb: chiner. And chineurs are the talented individuals who chinet." Would you like to chinet with me? What would you get at the flea market?