Flea marketing

I've mentioned it before, but how great is the Sunday Market at the St. Lawrence? I go there fairly often but sometimes I really just don't find anything I need to bring home. Last week I went and kept finding things. The first item was the tin tartan picnic basket pictured above.

I saw one just like it in the window of Liv (by Au Lit Linens, on Eglinton) and was thinking "note to self - come back when the store's open and try to buy it". I see lots of these on ebay too. The faux bois ones are nice, and another fave motif is the faux basket weave ones. Price for this one: $30.
The second item was this pretty green planter. I have a thing for vintage planters, I put all kinds of things in them. Such as buttons and trim or office supplies. Price for this one: $10.

My favourite area in the market is the shop in the corner called Antiques at the St. Lawrence. I found a charming vintage Peek Frean tin there. Why don't cookies come in these anymore?? I use these tins for sewing supplies and it really does keep things organized. That's right, I'm pretending it's practical. Cost for the tin: $8.

Then last but not least, I've been keeping an eye out for one of the above for months. It's dark green, made of cast iron I suppose, very heavy, and it has a nice decorative detail to it. I'm wondering now if you know what it is? I'll tell you later but you can guess if you like! Price for the fabulous mystery green item: $20.

I try to set up some kind of budget before going to Sunday Market, such as "if you find something really great you can buy it but don't spend more than $50". This time I was in a splurgy mood. But I was still trying to make sure it wasn't a question of being tempted by things I don't really need that would just lead to clutter and regret..

Whether or not I needed the items pictured, I leave up to you to judge (in your head.. I don't really want you to tell me if you think I'm nuts). But suffice it to say they certainly made me very happy. That was a good day.

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The reluctant anglophile

I don't know why, but when I'm thrifting so many things that I'm drawn to turn out to be from England. I see a pretty cup and turn it over and lo and behold there it is. Made in England. No exception was this picnic set that had me immediately smitten. I was in the middle of weeks of clearing things out of the house, determined not to bring home anything that wasn't really necessary. Or at least really useful (and preferably pretty as well).
While I do love a picnic, I already have a picnic basket. That pie carrier I posted here. Except now I know it's a pie carrier and not a picnic basket so I could delude myself into thinking I still needed a picnic basket. Right?
So when I got it home and gave it a wash, I took an interest and looked up the name (Coracle) and found out a few things. Firstly, that Coracle made custom picnic baskets for posh shops such as Harrods of London, and that the cute apple green cups and plates were made of a material called Bandalasta and are quite collectable. The plates say "Made in England" but the cups also say Bandalasta in script font, which helps to date the set. Not that it matters but it's nice to know I have good taste in vintage picnic baskets. And all for $3.99!It came with the pair of nice green lidded tins but I suspect they're not original to the set. But they're nice and clean and the green colour is perfect.Once I had it cleaned up I decided it needed a few additions. I made four napkins from fat quarters of Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric - each fat quarter trimmed into a square. And also a green polka dot tablecloth from fabric I found at the Textile Museum sale. The napkins are nicely hemmed but I decided to just pink the ends of the tablecloth and leave the selvedge as finishing for the sides. Then, in the interests of being really obsessive I gathered up all my green Tupperware for exclusive use in the picnic basket. And now it's done!

Except someday I really should repair the leather clasp.. but a love of vintage always requires that little tolerance for the imperfect...

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Picnicking

We had a busy weekend, hosting my family on Saturday for dinner, and hosting Bradley's family for Sunday dinner. And both evenings I was up until 1am working on artwork for the last of a series of five children's books I've been working on the past few weeks. It's not as bad as all that though because I've always been a night owl. I perk up around 6pm and get very energetic around 10pm and have to force myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Which I rarely do.

But I still managed to sneak out for a little thrift shopping Sunday afternoon although I felt oddly guilty. Lots of shops were closed and it was like "why aren't you at home have quality time with your mom? I hope you're not here picking up last minute flowers because you forgot it was mother's day" But it was worth it because I really liked what I found. This picnic basket (for $4.99) actually has a little table that fits inside it. Also good for separating things in the basket so less things get squished. I assume. The table cloth is a previously thrifted item but seems to belong with the basket.
When we go picnicking I like to take a pillow, and I've decided the charming pillowcase (below) will be perfect for that since it has a kind of woodland feel. I bought this from the friendly & talented Marnie at the Trunk sale (I also loved her "play capes" for children). The sale was lots of fun and as usual a source of lots of buying and swapping as well as selling.

note the bird ribbon. how can I resist anything with bird ribbon?

I also bought this cutlery roll from Marnie, which will also go in the basket.
My favourite part is the matching napkins.
And while I'm showing off the things I got at the trunk sale, I'm loving this spring scarf created by Dory who posts here. The colours came out a bit dark in the photo, the dark patches are actually navy blue corduroy.
It's warm but not too warm if you know what I mean. Also I like to see the fabrics that other people put together, it's like getting a little batch of someone else's stash.

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