This Old Thing – Vintage Patterns

this-old-thingIf you’ve been watching Channel 4 recently then chances are that you caught a bit of Dawn O’Porter’s new show ‘This Old Thing’. In it Dawn tries to convince vintaphobes (my new word, do you like it?) to swap their brand new mass produced clothing for the unique wonders of vintage. She’s mostly successful and is certainly introducing a whole new group to second-hand (excuse me vintage) clothing.dawnoporter_2954682b

As for myself I’ve always had a bit of a love hate relationship with ‘vintage’. I love historical fashions (I’d be dressed in a bonnet everyday if I could!) and I love being unique so vintage definitely appeals. However I don’t always love vintage stores, I’ve visited several which were cramped, badly lit, musty smelling and generally uninviting. However all of that would be nothing if I bagged a real vintage treasure, unfortunately many are now overpriced and underwhelming and their idea of good quality clearly differs from my own.

On the flip side when vintage is done well, enticing stores with bright colours and enthusiastic staff, it can be incredibly exciting. Only the other day I was bouncing about my house with glee having found a 1970s Clothkits dress in perfect condition and it cost me the princely sum of £8!

However I have an unwavering passion for vintage patterns! With them I can create wonders from the past with my own two hands, I could even use vintage fabric if I wish. The end result is just as unique, and even better, I can tailor things to my own choice and size. I could even make them again!

patternRecent acquisitions include a wonderful collection of knitting patterns. I can actually remember many of these sitting about the houses of my relatives. The best creation by far though is a wonderful Teddy pattern that my Granny knitted for my brother when he was a baby.snidneys2

The Teddy was named Sidney and was dearly loved. Unfortunately my brother (being a baby and all) had the audacity to throw up on him and thanks to a trip in the washing machine he stretched and never looked the same. Despite this Sidney became something of a phenomenon in my little village and before we knew it Sidneys (all named after the original) were popping up everywhere, knitted loosely to resemble our stretched one. Of course what none of those knitting Mommas knew was that Sidney was named by my Father after Sid Snot who was one of Kenny Everett’s many characters!snidneys2-crop

I picked up my needles recently and knitted my bro a brand new bear. However what I hadn’t expected was the size difference between the new bear and the original, it goes to show what a washing machine can do to hand knitting. If it hadn’t been for this gorgeous vintage pattern Sidney would have spent the rest of his days alone but now he has a significantly smaller brother to keep him company.

So I guess Dawn is right, there’s still life in This Old Thing. 🙂

 

Win a Godminster 400g Vintage Organic Cheddar Round!

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

A few weeks ago I attended the Country Living Christmas Fair in London and among my favourite stalls was Godminster who sold the most delicious organic cheeses. They would make the perfect addition to your festive table and now you can be in with a chance to win your very own 400g Vintage Organic Cheddar round!

Godminster is well known for its delicious range of organic cheeses including a vintage organic waxed cheddar, oak-smoked vintage organic cheddar and a range of bries made with milk from the Godminster Farm. Godminster also makes refreshing infused vodkas, including horseradish, blackcurrant and elderflower. Chunky beetroot and apple chutney and two new varieties of crackers, rosemary water biscuits and an oat rich digestive complement the range.

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

400g Vintage Organic Cheddar

The Prize

Godminster have offered readers of the Angel Eden Blog the chance to win one of their fabulous 400g Vintage Organic Cheddar Rounds.

A round delicious, creamy vintage organic cheddar in Godminster’s distinctive burgundy wax, packaged in an attractive gift box.

Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar

Godminster Vintage Organic Cheddar

How to Store The Cheddar

‘Our cheddar is organic, containing no preservatives, so we recommend refrigeration at all times at 5°C.  Remove from the fridge an hour before serving to allow the cheese to warm to room temperature and bring out the flavour.

No need to remove the wax. In fact, we find our cheese keeps its creamy consistency best, if you keep it in the wax. The cheese can be scooped or sliced. Either score around the top and use it as a lid, scooping the cheese out, or cut through the wax like you would a cake. If there’s any left replace the lid, wrap the whole cheese in cling film and refrigerate.’

How To Enter

Entering couldn’t be simpler, just pop over to the Angel Eden Blog Facebook page and hit ‘like’ then either click the widget below or the ‘Cheese Competition’ tab on the Facebook page to register your entry.

For extra entries either:

  • Leave a comment on this post (comments will be checked so make sure to leave one)
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • Tweet about the competition

The competition will end at midnight on 7th December 2013 (UK residents only please).

Make sure you leave me a way to contact you should you win :)  Good Luck!

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Rescuing Rawdon the Teddy Bear

A little while ago I bought a rather unloved Teddy Bear. His mohair was matted and bald in places, his eyes were loose and he had a rather saggy appearance. He even came to me wrapped in a bin bag! As a child I collected bears (or at least as much as my pocket money would allow) and as an adult I still love them. Old bears in particular hold a significant charm for me, my parents still have my Grandpa’s bear that was in his house when it was bombed during World War II. Plus they continue to stand the test of time in terms of their enduring popularity.

It’s been a long time though since I last bought a bear, but when I came across ‘Rawdon’ (I might have been re-reading Vanity Fair at the point of naming) I had to buy him despite his less than favourable appearance. I’m not sure the photos show just how woeful he looked when he first arrived home.

I’ve sewn bears in the past, but it’s another thing entirely to undo and remake one. After some consideration I decided to undo the back seam on Rawdon’s body. It’s the last opening to be closed when making a bear, so working backwards it seemed like a good place to start. To my surprise he was not only filled with traditional wood wool stuffing, but upholstery padding as well! I assume this is an old repair by a previous owner. Unfortunately this combination only served to make Rawdon both hard and lumpy and floppy at the same time. I extracted all the stuffing, replaced any decent wood wool and then used modern stuffing to fill in the gaps. I also found an old and broken growler inside the stomach.

Next I opened Rawdon’s head (sounds awfully mean really) and the same combination of strange stuffing products fell out. I reattached his glass eyes and restuffed him carefully. I repeated the same process on each of his limbs.

I then cleaned up his mohair as much as I could. The photos don’t really show it, but he’s changed quite a bit in colour. Finally I tentatively removed his red paw coverings and was delighted to find his original pads still intact underneath.

With a brand new bow and some new friends, I think Rawdon now looks rather dapper sat upon the chest of drawers. He’s also grown two inches in height!