Luscious Lavender Lovely~ness

There is a lovely shop in The Old Needlemakers called 'The Patchwork Dog'. It sells patch work material, buttons, ribbons and plenty more lovely things.

Today is their birthday.... I popped in, had a chat, then left with this gorgeous lavender cup cake.

Ohhh dear Lord it was good...scrummy....delicious....lip smackingly tasty.... And so wonderfully pretty.

It didn't last long.... Thank you & Happy Birthday 'The Patchwork dog'!!!

Made in England

Did you know it was St George's Day on the 23rd?? I thought my window needed to show that fact. So all the Union Jacks have come out, and the fabulous vintage flag cushions moved to prime position!

Red, white and Blue is such a great colour combination... cheerful and very patriotic!

Even my big bosomed lady gets a 'God Bless The Queen' 1940's ribbon sash!

I didn't have a sign for my door, so I scanned some funky letters and of course the Scotties had to make an appearance!

A lovely hanging pot to hold my cards for people to take when I'm not there.

This is Vintage Magpie's latest creation... fingers crossed the Bride loves it.

Vintage Magpie is proud that she hand-makes with love in good old England!

Lovely Lewes

Lewes is the new home for Vintage Magpie. The Nest is coming along well, just sorting all the boring bits now.

As I don't have any photos of 'The Nest' yet, I thought I would share a few of Lewes.

This is the side entrance to The Needlemakers. It has the most fantastic cafe... I fear it might be my downfall! Just the smell of coffee and cake all day is not going to do my willpower any good!

Lewes sit on the River Ouse, along side The famous Harvey's Brewery. The smell of hops are a regular thing, it is an acquired taste...I personally love the it.

Lewes is home to one of the oldest Castles in England, Anne of Cleaves House and Russell and Bromley was founded there!

The 5th of November is crazy in Lewes. The Marian persecutions of 1555-7 resulted in seventeen Protestant martyrs being burned to death in the town and in 1605 the plot by a number of Catholics to blow up the Protestant King was foiled. And so bonfire night in Lewes is in memory to these events. Great processions of people march through the streets of the town wearing incredible costumes, carrying flaming torches and letting off fireworks. As a finale, effigies of the Pope and Guy Fawkes are blown up. It is scary...But people travel from places as far away as America to see it! They take it very seriously and is a must see, once in a life time thing to do!

So I think we will fit in nicely. It is an artistic, strongly independent town. Which even has its own money...how cool is that!

Nesting in The Needlemakers

My sweet little window

Well the dilemma has been sorted...my heart won!

I have decided, after what seems like forever, to rent myself and Vintage Magpie a workshop.

It is in the beautiful town of Lewes, in an Old Needle making factory. It is now a craft centre with lots of different shops.

Now as with most things in my life, it comes with a story... When I was a young girl my lovely Mum had a shop here also! I spent many a happy time playing there and spending my pocket money in the tiny shops. So I think it is quite fitting that I have found my Magpie's Nest there.

My choice of name was based around her shop, Magpie's. So now 20 years on, Vintage Magpie has come to create new wonderful memories.

So if you fancy popping in for a chat, or to look at some of my work, please feel free.

I will be posting more about 'The Nest' when I have made it look gorgeous!

It will be open in early April... cant wait to see you all there. x