On the road again!

Ok, so we're on the way to another vintage fair! This time the mother in law and father in law have come along for the ride and we're meeting my sister in law and niece there - a real family outing. And if that wasn't good enough the fair is in Swansea city centre. Unfortunately I don't think that the rather large fabric store in town will be open on a Sunday and the bus has to be parked up between 10.00am and 4.00pm so I won't be able to go to the nearby lqs or Hobbycraft but Primark had better watch out!

I had the house to myself for a few hours yesterday. DH took the kids to a birthday party and the plan was that I'd get on with some sewing whilst the 'design floor' was clear. (Marged's crawling now so nothing's safe) but ended up folding laundry (it was piled up so high I couldn't get to the sewing machine) and then I decided that the easiest way to find a fabric I wanted from my stash was to have a bit of a sort out. 

I started with good intentions - look, Cadi's quilt is on the design floor!

I actually have a bigger stash than I thought but still nowhere near as big as some people's (that's how I justify new purchases and I'm sticking to it!)

Cocoon, Chashmere - Rubywine by Valori Wells

I found it! I've not had it long but it's exactly what I needed for Cadi's quilt. I also found a yellow polka dot for her name so after the girls had gone to bed (and Dad had gone to work bussing drunk people around until 5.00am!!!!!) I finally got some sewing done! Cadi's quilt top is finished! I even got it basted and started quilting!

I have to stop taking pictures in the middle of the night!

Anywho, Sunday stash! This week-pre loved clothes.

The blue shirt is another of my mum's finds. It's 100% cotton and feels very similar to quilting cotton. I love the print so at 50p I wish there had been more than one!

These are all ladies clothes made of quite thin cotton; totally unsuitable for quilting but I only paid £2 for all four and I really like the prints so I'm sure I'll find some use for them. (I'm guessing something for the girls but we'll see)

Lastly there's this skirt. It's quite heavy cotton a little like ticking.  I've already decided that I'm going to try and make a pair of shorts for Anwen out of it. All I have to do now is find the time to do it!

I did say that I was going to wait until I'd finished posting about my up cycling before sharing this little beauty but I just can't wait! I'm lucky that I work in a small town that has quite a large lqs (compared to the others in the area) and a few doors down from it there's a quilt museum. I'd always meant to go in but between the kids and everything never quite managed it. Anyway a few weeks ago I had to pop into work to finalise the arrangements for my return and as Marged was with my mum and Anwen was in school I thought now would be a good time to pop in. I'm so glad that I did! I was expecting to just find a few antique Welsh quilts on the wall. How wrong was I! They had quilts from all over the world for sale (although most of them weren't to my taste) as well as quilt kits, books and the like.

But what really got my attention were some fabric bins on the floor. I soon got in there and had a good rummage. To tell the truth I was a little disappointed as most of the bundles were of synthetic fabrics or miss shapes of upholstery cloth - not my cup of tea at all.

But wait what's that? 

A flash of green caught my eye. 

Mmmm that's a nice colour. 

Oh and look at the print! 

It feels like a nice cotton.  

How much is it. ....where is that label? 

Ah there it is. 

What?  

How much? 

£45?

You have to be joking! 

Oh, but look,

  

it's Liberty. 

But still. ... £45? 

But there's 4 yards. 

But £45?

But it's gorgeous. 

But it's £45! 

I put it down. 

I picked it up again.

So what do I do? I definitely couldn't buy it then as I only had £5 in my wallet (due to a trip to the aforementioned lqs(I was goodish - batting, thread and a few £1 scraps stash builders)) and I don't carry cards any more. But I wanted it really bad..... So I asked them if they would keep it for me. I wouldn't be back in town until my first day back in work - Monday the 3rd. "No Problem" they said. I was quite glad that I didn't have the money on me; I have some purchases in my stash that I regret buying and they're only FQs! So I took a photo with my mobile and walked out. (I did have a quick stroke first though). So I had just over a week to mull it over. I ummed and I ahhed. I did some maths (4yards for £45 works out at around £13/m - a lot less than the £22/m Liberty usually goes for)

O God! Who am I trying to kid! I'm buying the fabric. So lunchtime on the 3rd I toddle over to the shop and.....they're closed.

Closed.

and I can't go back for at least a week.

They'll put it back in the bins. With that horrible synthetic fabric. Poor Liberty. What if someone else buys it? But it's my Liberty :( I went through a whole week of this. I couldn't go back until last Tuesday. I did a quick check of the bins. It wasn't there. Was this a good thing (it hadn't been put back in the bins) or a bad thing (it had been put back in the bins and someone had bought it). The lady behind the counter took an extraordinarily long time looking for it but in the end there it was - still with my name on it!!!!!!!

So here it is, all four yards of it

I'm thinking quilt back. and I can't use Liberty for the back without using Liberty for the front can I? So I plan on buying scraps of Liberty when and where I can. Hopefully in about a year I'll have enough to make a start. In the meantime this little lovely has gone to live in my stash but it does come out from time to time just for a quick gaze and stroke.

Linking up to Sunday Stash this week with Allison at Dreaming in Patchwork.