Monday 23 January 2012

Magpie Monday - cushioning the blow

There's a car boot sale that runs every Sunday approximately 10 minutes walk from my house.  I'd never yet managed to haul my sorry ass out of bed before 10am at the weekend - given the choice of a lie-in in a warm bed and walking around stalls in the freezing cold, my bed will win every time.

However, this weekend I was up in time, so I pootled off down the road, enjoying some time to myself.  The old man's farewell of "don't come home with tonnes of crap" and Ruby's plea of "bring me a present back" ringing in my ears.

It's an 'indoor' car boot sale, housed in a giant and dimly lit warehouse.  I'm informed at the door that this is the last week, so at least I know I won't have to get up next weekend.  There's a brazier outside, billowing out acrid smoke, so it feels more like I'm crossing a picket line than looking for bargains.

Inside there's lots of stalls over overpriced, rusty old 'antique' tools and several people selling off their entire collections of porcelain shoes.  Inexplicably there's also a stall which seems to be selling nothing but pack of pot noodles.

Amongst the filthy tat, I manage to find a stall selling lots of sewing ephemera, and pick up a couple of wooden cotton reels to add to my collection and a card with miniature mother of pearl buttons which will be prefect for some craft or other.


She also sells me a vintage pair of pinking shears for £3.  My current pinking shears are totally blunt and after asking around it appears they can't be re-sharpened and a decent new pair will cost me £40 minimum.



On the next stall I spot this beautiful old handmade cushion for £2.  The tassels are a bit ratty and I expect will soon be having an appointment with my scissors, but apart from that I love it.  Even the old man agrees I did well.




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16 comments:

  1. WOW bargain on the scissors and love the bobbins ... bet you are glad you went this week and not next!
    Maria x

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  2. I got some pinking shears last year, they look brand new , still in box etc, they are gold(coloured), they work on paper but sort of lock at the end and don't open, ho hum, anyway was just thinking, to sharpen them couldn't you cut sandpaper ? it's supposed to sharpen normal scissors isn't it,
    A x

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  3. Well done on the pinking shears - great bargain!

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  4. Hope the pinking sheers are nice and sharp! If so, then they are a real bargain.

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  5. I was looking at some pinking shears the other day and they were £20 needless to say I'll keep looking!

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  6. It feels good to be back Magpie-ing once again. Love anything to do with haberdashery so I'm very envious of your finds! x

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  7. Great haberdashery finds. I still have my pinking shears bought over 30 years ago- they are probably no use ( I haven't used them for donkey'syears) but they've been lugged from one house to another with the rest of my sewing gubbins. The cushion is really lovely too - great colours.

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  8. Glad you made it to the sale because you found some nice treasures.❤

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  9. Hi, added mine just now, but am new to blogging (tho have used livejournal for nearly 10 year) & couldn't get the button to work on my wordpress blog.

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    1. I'm Digfortea, my comment has come up with my usual nick, not my new blog name.

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  10. Ha loved the old man's parting line. Well you didn't come back with crap at all. I need a pair of\ pinking shears but am psyching myself up for the £40 outlay, so I love your vintage pair! Nice cushion too!!

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  11. hehe im like you never get up early the weekends hence why i never go to car bootys :0
    great finds and a tip for sharpening pinking shears is chop away at tinfoil with them ;)
    Sorry havn't had chance to post owt up today but got a little find from last week that i will post up next monday x

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  12. wow, the pinking shears were a really good find, I just bought some recently and they were much more expensive than that. I agree with the tin foil tip, some of the crafty scissors and punches I have recommend tin foil snipping as a good way to sharpen :)

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  13. Ooh those pinking shears are fab! And the bobbins and buttons are nice too.

    The cushion is really gorgeous - a timeless pattern and lovely colours.

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  14. Lovely finds! I miss the car boot near my house in winter. It's on Wetherby racecourse and gets too muddy in winter, so it shuts. It's only open on March 4th.

    That's the day after my birthday, so my OH says it will be my birthday treat ;o)

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  15. I am far too fond of my bed for car boots, but well done you. I would have snapped up those pinking shears - not only am I after a pair, but we used to have a yellow canary (called Tweetie (v. imaginative) when I was a child. Sadly she kept laying eggs and looking after them v. attentively until they - didn't hatch - and then got very depressed (it's true!) so we found a canary breeder that took her so she could be happy. Ok, long story, but that's why I would have nabbed those pinking shears!

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