‘This season’s look’ – Jackets

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For part 2 of our fashion hotspot, we bring to you 4 particularly pleasing jackets, fresh from edinburgh’s fine charity shop selection. Exhibit 1 came from a very random 2 week pop-up-shop in aid of the Conservative Party. I was delighted to purchase this green velvet beauty from Jigsaw for a mere £2! The next (rather uninformatively pictured) blue jersey jacket comes (originally) from Topshop – very current.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The collarless jacket works well with a simple scarf to adorn. I’m looking forward to trying out this dusky pink linen jacket come the summer. And finishing on a similarly summery note, this striped lightweight coat works well with anything.

A word about the photography. We have been really inspired by 2 particular blogs to experiment a bit with backgrounds, lighting and themes. I’d say we have a way to go before achieving anything as wonderful as Skiorta (see Gallery) or Bleubird Vintage, but thanks ladies for your top tips and beautiful pics.

Christmas Woolen theme.. A salvage sisters challenge!

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Just a quick drop in from me.. the sister who seems to lose all faculties and ability to pertain to life’s usual rhythm at christmas. Yes cooking a meal becomes a 100m sprint to the till with all the other people cooking the exact same meal at the exact same time, and my proud moment of starting the presents early betrays me into a last minute dash for the ones I had left till later.. aaah. New year, my favourite festive time.. And a Happy one to all/any readers!!

So on the wool and fashion shoot theme here is a controversial little number Salvage sis stashed into my christmas box along with all the hand made delights she has been enlightening you of.

wool skirt, or is it a snood?!

anything with a denim jacket looks cool?!

yay or nay?

I also got her a thrifty skirt find, and much to the families hoots I had left the charity label proudly on to show what a good ‘find’ it was! So here I am trying to work it. It’s close to the line.. but have I made it to the cool retro side of the line, or am I hanging on the Gran side? I wore it all day and man it really keeps your bum warm, so Granny’s you know what you’re talking about!

Oh and on the wrapping front.. look at this little number from my bro in law James, an elitest in the wrapped department!

beaut eh? and proof of a white christmas!

Coming up, can’t wait to tell you about a Charity Clothes swap and fashion auction I helped to organise in December.. for a sneak peek check the album on facebook here..

Christmas Crafts 2

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Patchworking is a favourite of mine when it comes to sewing. The main reason is that its really quite easy, whilst also being very prolific (once you have all the materials.) I have been steadily building my patchworking resources over this year, almost entirely from charity shops. Old skirts and shirts, curtains, sheets, remnants – its amazing how a bunch of very discordant patterns come together once carefully arranged and coordinated. Whilst i’m all about mixing it up, i have generally found that too many different textures and types of material generally don’t work, due to the variety of tensions they create in a row of sewn squares, so i now stick mostly to cotton.

I made these single quilts as gifts for Lucia and Isla, my two cheeky little nieces. Both are backed using salvaged thermal curtain lining, making them fairly heavyweight and cosy. I have previously experimented with patterned or decorative borders, but having done so i resolutely conclude that a plain edging brings out the best of the main patchwork area.

Giving everyone a patchwork quilt wasn’t really a feasible option this Christmas, nor any other Christmas for that matter, so i made these smaller cushion projects for my sister-in-law x2 (can’t seem to work out the plural). With less expanse to work with, selecting the fabrics takes a bit more thought. I used some Sanderson prints and a bit of good old Cath Kidston to make sure they were pretty enough! And finally, to step the whole thing up a notch, i got these woven labels made up to personalise my work.

‘This season’s look’ – Wools

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Thanks to Gem’s latest fashion newsflash, i have been keeping my eyes peeled for cable knits and camel colours. Following on from her last modeling experiment, she takes to the catwalk once again to showcase my thrifty finds. The first is a purple cable knit, handmade, from the local Hospice of Hope charity shop, £5. Next, an oatmeal short sleeve woolen, £3, Thrift Shop 1 (factoid: oldest charity shop in Edinburgh!)

This blue Boden cardi came from Gem’s latest fashion venture, Urban Angels Fashion Event in Bangor in December. Bring your quality cast offs and receive an upmarket exchange – everyone’s a winner!

Finally, woolens aren’t just for grown-ups. Kiddie fashion guru Lucia Steen sports a White Company winter knit, with jersey Osh Kosh skirt, both thrifted by auntie Lucy.

For more highlights on knitwear, the urban fashion show, and our next thrifted fashion category (coats & jackets), check us out later on this week….

Christmas Crafts 1

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This year was quite prolific for homemade Christmas presents, and as promised, i am going to do a little series on the projects and how they came together. Having always been someone who can’t understand those who start doing christmas shopping in the summer, i rather surprised myself by starting some of these projects in October. Our holiday in Skye in November also featured quite significant sewing productivity.

These little make-up bags were my first projects whilst there, which were made for salvage sis Gemma and my sister-in-law Marianne. The red cord was a charity shop remnant, and the lining a very thrifty find indeed – 3 metres of Liberty fabric for a few pounds, same source. The bunting is composed of various scraps and off-cuts.

Christmas Present-ation

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I was inspired to write a post about christmas presents having received this beautifully wrapped gift from my friend Julie.

I love receiving a well wrapped gift, especially with consideration given to detail and use of simple materials. Forget fancy ribbons and expensive print, the best materials can be found all year round (as above; baker’s twine and plain brown paper), which are then adorned with festive details (red bead, handmade leaf and painted card). However, there are a host of inventive papers to use as your starting point. For me, any brown paper based wrapping is an essential. This year i was most impressed by this print from Paperchase, with lots of fun illustrations and unusual (ie non-christmas) colours. However there are other paper sources to consider – one year salvage sis gemma wrapped everything in Financial Times paper (tinged a delicate pink), with thick black ribbon. Can’t remember what the present was, its the wrapping that stood out!!

Here are just a few fine examples…

Don’t stop with just presentation of presents. We were given this Panettone which was served at our christmas bonanza, and with a few extra trimmings, it looks tremendously decadent.

Oh Brother

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I have been pondering a new sewing machine for a few months now, since my £100 friend purchased about 8 years ago started to show signs of tiring. The thing about sewing machines is that you can a decent model quite cheaply, but the servicing will often cost 3/4 of the initial value, and if, like me, you put it through its paces, you will probably need to service it every year. So, after extensive on-line research, i took a trip to David Drummond, possibly the best sewing shop in the world, ever. This guy excels in 2 things – machine knowledge, and customer service. I had a fair idea of my requirements, which happened to match exactly this little gem:

(If you are bored already by this post, things are about to get a lot worse…)

It features 40 stitches including overlocking and 5 1 step button holes, top loading bobbin, automatic needle threader, and, my favourite part, a funky feature which stops the needle either always up or down once you stop sewing. Granted, if your not a sewer, this will seem like a fairly meek offering, but to me, its magic! It also comes with lots of fancy accoutrements, many of which i am yet to identify:

Best of all, it has an ace freehand embroidery function, something i have featured on most of my christmas presents this year (see posts in the New Year.) Buying the machine from a specialist shop got me thinking about the lost value of face-to-face trading. I got an amazing deal involving lots of freebies, including a free servicing of my old machine so i can sell it and make up some of the cost. I honestly came away wondering what the sales guy could have possibly got out of the deal, such were the numerous perks showered upon me. I went home and convinced myself that i couldn’t have found a better deal online, plus the added bonus of doing business with the most tanned, gold-clad man i have come across all winter.

My plans for a manic sewing day today have been laid to rest by an unfortunate slip down the stairs this morning, leaving me less than dexterous. Not to worry though – i have all of the Christmas holidays to put this baby to the test!

Eco-decor

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I took the opportunity to forage for some Christmas decorating resources today, now that the snow has finally relieved branches and foliage of their heavy load. Thanks to abundant supplies on Blackford Hill, i was able to gather enough for a few projects.

My main aim was to create a wreath for the front door. Starting with a wire coat hanger manouvered into a circle, attach some evergreen as a base using gardeners wire, then build up holly and berries in an ever-widening circle. I dried some orange slices for 2 weeks in the boiler cupboard, and fashioned a basic bow from red ribbon. A welcoming sight for any passer-by or visitor!

Things got a bit more freestyle when it came to the mantlepiece. Lots of greenery piled up, flanked with candles and a few twinkling LED lights, and a felt garland hung below.

With the leftovers, i created a centre-piece using the same haphazard method.

Using fresh foliage creates such a vibrant, authentic display, and costs zero other than your time and energy.     As it happens, i wasn’t the only one feeling festive this weekend. Malcolm and his capable little helper created these delicious home-made mince pies, complete with brandy butter. Now all we need are some festive visitors to come and enjoy the proceeds!

Made for each other

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If you ask me, display/storage options for technological gadgetry in the living room are often hard to make pretty. i have been keeping an eye on gumtree for something to house our E-normous tv and accompaniments – to no avail. So when kath and i fashioned this arrangement today, i was really quite pleased.

The white table was found on the street by colin, abandoned by its owners and to make matters worse, 2 legs were twice the length of the others. After some very interesting measuring techniques, he made the legs equal (almost), and it sat quietly outside awaiting its destiny. It has been painted white but chipped over time which i think adds to the look. The footstool underneath had been residing in the guest room, posing unsuccessfully as a sort of ottoman, so i was delighted to discover it fitted neatly underneath the table, and not only that, the bottom rungs were perfectly sized for the amplifier. This is a micro-example of something i often find happening in my home-perfecting moments: things you already have can often be rediscovered and reincarnated into a happy new life. As long as you can avoid going to ikea in the meantime…..

Retro Vanity

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Remember my little project I adopted from East Belfast Mission, in the July post ‘A Belfast favourite for useful finds’.

Well i finally got to it.. here are some of the avenues of inspiration I got from the beautiful world of my favourite blogs..

'Grellow' dresser

mmm.. ‘grellow’.. warming, yet understated. See the whole post at Design dump.

Chest by Kfd Designs

A great ‘before and after‘ inspiration at the amazing ‘Design Sponge’ with this chest by Kfd designs which is also a great blog full of refurbing treats.

Love this vintage vanity shot I saw in this post at Bliss.

So I decided I was after quite a retro look, and the whole ‘Grellow’ thing had me feeling groovy..

And here he is finished..

I don’t love the colour, I wish I went for a grey or dusky blue for a more dramatic before and after! What do you think of the knobs? Should I choose one set keep it more uniform?

Go on and leave a comment with your thoughts.. I’m not precious, you know I love the banter, it’s only a coat of paint, and it’s my first real Salvage ‘makeover’ so be honest!  I must tell you about one of my blog heros Barb, from ‘Knack’ and her fabulous series ‘Before and After Basics‘ over on Design sponge if you’re looking for tips on this kind of thing. It’s worth reading the whole series!

One of the things I’ve always found offputting about painted furniture, is that it can look somewhat bland, or ‘flat’. Barbs super tips on staining and waxing the furniture after painting really bring your piece back to life, restoring it’s lustre and personality. And man do Barb’s pieces have personality! Thanks Barb..I think this one’s an Alfie!

I have updated this piece with some jewellery display.. I once realised that I always want more things in shops, just because they are so visual and displayed well, so I have tried to put my stuff out like a shop ever since!

it's all about the display!

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