Autumn Days

Autumn has well and truly arrived and we have had some lovely golden days recently. I love the mellowness of Autumn, the misty mornings and the rich shades. One of my favourite poems is Ode to Autumn by Keats, you can read it here if you are not familiar with it.
Here are a few recent photos taken in the garden. Our raspberry canes have been prolific this year and I have enjoyed fresh raspberries for breakfast every morning for weeks now.
Amazingly, this young russet is no more than two years old and barely five foot high, yet it has been weighed down with the most succulent tasting apples!

I spotted this beautiful butterfly on a rotting apple and was quite taken with its rich, seasonal colours.

This little fellow is not one of my favourite Autumn visitors! These spiders always appear at this time of year and I often find myself walking into their webs when making my way down the garden first thing in the morning! Not a pleasant experience for someone who isn't too keen on spiders!

I am surprised how quickly the leaves are falling this year, there is a row of poplar trees near our garden and the leaves are falling so fast that have almost covered the grass - think we'll have to get the rake out this weekend!

We have had a very busy time here at Vintage Home; thank you to everyone for your custom and kind words. We've been updating the online shop on a regular basis so there is always something fresh to see every few days. A few of our recent finds are shown here, there's this charming print, what a bonnie baby!

This stunning handstitched Welsh quilt will keep out those Autumn chills!

The intricate patterns can be seen in all their glory on the pink reverse.

Here's some frivolous fun for you - a gorgeous vintage hat covered with purple pansies!

This super old French coffee pot has pretty roses decorating it!

That's just a taster of the recent additions, there will be many more to see over the coming days, including Victorian religious prints, another exceptional handstitched quilt and a variety of extra-special homewares and pretty china. Enjoy the rest of your week!

The Latest Additions to the Vintage Home On-Line Shop!

What a wet and miserable start we've had to September - I had heard rumours of an Indian Summer, so let's hope this is just a glitch! There's nothing like being all warm and cosy indoors when the rain is lashing against the windows - and that's exactly where we've been this week, as we prepared for our latest website update! Yesterday saw the latest additions to the shop and once again, we've managed to find a wealth of gorgeous treasures for you! The beautiful Klein rose above is one of eight different floral Victorian chromo picture mounts - they are a really special find! As well as the pink roses, there are daisies...

...anemones...

...and lily of the valley - you will find another four of these beauties in the shop; violets, wallflowers, forget-me-nots and cyclamen - each one bearing Catherine's signature!

We've also added this beautiful French carnations tin...


...and this superb rare and very old Venetian-style tin - such a beauty!
There's a wonderful array of prints and original paintings - here is a rare find, an original watercolour by Helen Seddon, the colours are so pretty...

...and this lovely oil painting is a reminder of sunnier days!

This sweet Edwardian pen box is a particular favourite, what a delightful thing to see every day as you sit at your desk!

Thank you to everyone for your recent custom - your kind words and love of vintage spurs us on to find ever more beautiful and rare vintage treasures for you all. In fact, here is a taster of a special find, soon to be added to the website.
This is a large, Edwardian chromo print entitled 'Bunch of Roses' and comes from the very talented hand of Walter Ernest Webster. Look out for this, and many, many more goodies in the next few weeks!
Have a great weekend wherever you are; whatever you're doing - and whatever the weather!

A Vast Array of Vintage Treasures!

Where does the time go? I can't believe we have a Bank Holiday weekend coming up! I can imagine those of you with children are already thinking of the new school term that will soon be upon us.

August hasn't been the scorcher it usually is, but at least everything in the garden is still looking fresh and green and we haven't had to endure too many sleepless nights due to the heat! We've had such a busy time here at Vintage Home; in particular we have been producing several more commissions with a Union Jack theme!

Mike's 'Man-Made' label is doing well and he has even found time to make a few extra cushions for the website; aren't they super?!

We have updated the website today with lots of super vintage treasures - there are far too many to mention but here is a little taster for you...

This piece of old fabric is quite stunning...

Does this young girl remind you of anyone..?

...and of course it simply wouldn't be Vintage Home if we didn't have a good smattering of roses! Here is a gorgeous big pitcher...

...a beautiful oil painting which is 102 years old...

...and one of several religious prints.

As well as finding lots of vintage treasures, we've also been adding some extra vintage charm to some of them, including a comfy seat pad for this stool...

...and a pretty new covering for this chair seat.

We're hoping to spend the Bank Holiday weekend in the garden if the weather permits, as well as visiting family and friends. Hope you all have a wonderful week and weekend!

Nature and Nurture

This Summer has proved to be wonderful for fruit growing and our apple trees are laden with fruit.

Our strawberries have all-but taken over the garden, and it looks as if our Autumn raspberry canes will be supplying us with an early bumper crop.


There has been a delightful wonder of nature in our garden - I recently showed you photos of the many flowers in our garden and mused that I will probably plant a pale pink hollyhock next year. Well, one has appeared in amongst the darker pink flowers - isn't it pretty?

I shall have to wish for a few more things..!


Although we've had some rather 'up and down' weather when the sun comes out and the clouds disappear it is perfect, with beautiful blue skies and balmy breezes. This year's hanging baskets are a subtle blue and yellow theme, complementing the wisteria foliage.

As well as sporting bags with the Union Jack we're also flying the flag over the porch! The glare of the sun has given it quite a glow, so it's really standing out in this photo!!

Some weeks ago, every time I walked down the garden, I heard a high pitched screeching very close by. We have a resident buzzard nearby and I wondered if it was the sound of its young. The noise persisted and after a few days we discovered the source of it. A baby hedgehog had fallen into an old post hole in my neighbour's garden! The little urchin was gently lifted out, given a plate of cat food and then we put him in a quiet place at the bottom of the garden. Yesterday, I stepped out of the studio and very nearly trod on that very same hedgehog!

He was foraging for food and very frantic in his search! We fetched some cat food and water and he tucked in greedily.

He was so friendly and kept running towards us (he kept trying to nip Mike's toes - wonder what he thought they were!) He was hard to catch on camera - as soon as we pointed it at him, he came running towards it! We popped him on the scales (removing the vintage stock first I should add!) and weighed and measured him. He was just 150mm long and weighed only 160 grams. Knowing he shouldn't have been out in the day, we contacted a local wildlife animal shelter called Oak and Furrow. They have taken him to their shelter where he will enjoy a stay for a few months, whilst they feed him up. When he is at a suitable weight he will be coming back to Pottery Cottage where he can hibernate for the winter. He may even bring a few friends with him - let's hope so, they'd be made very welcome!

The sun and rain have taken care of the prolific flora in the garden this summer, which is just as well because we have been very busy with the website and haven't had too much time to tend it! We updated the website earlier this week - here is a selection of the new stock. Some of these items have now sold but there's still plenty of pretty items to choose from!
A pretty meadow flowers eiderdown...

... and one of two rose-smothered French quilts!

A bizzie lizzie chintz plate...

...a charming French fabric covered box...

...and this huge, handmade runner - just gorgeous!

This weekend will be filled with a visit to an annual car boot sale in the grounds of a local National Trust house, a spot of pick-your-own for some lovely fresh fruit, and some pottering in the garden - weather permitting of course! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Flying the Flag!

We're pretty patriotic here at Vintage Home and are proud to fly the Union Jack! (Apparently, I am informed that it is only called the Union Jack when flown at sea, when flown on land, it should be referred to as the Union Flag!) But I digress! I think it's a wonderful design and you will have seen some interesting versions of it this season, both on the fashion scene and in the world of home furnishing! We have been playing around with some bag and cushion designs and thought we'd share them with you. Here is a super-size shopper, it's proved very useful for trips to flea markets and antique fairs! It has some lovely detail in it and is made from several vintage fabrics - and not just English textiles...!


This gorgeous old 1940s fabric with pretty blue poppies and yellow foxgloves against a stunning red background is French!

It has been lined with the same pretty English barkcloth we used for the windows in the clock house, and there are a couple of handy pockets for those essential bits and pieces.

I added this pretty pansy brooch as a finishing touch and I'm keeping a look out for some more colourful old brooches - this is such a bright and cheerful bag so I think it will become a firm favourite!

This is our cushion version of the Union Jack.


This is made from some really lovely old fabrics and crochet trim. It was a new addition to the website but has now been sold, although we may be adding a new design soon!

Before I go, I must thank Sairer, who very kindly named me as one of the 'Five Blogs that make her Day!'

My apologies for the delay in responding Sairer, I am really chuffed to have received the award! I would also like to thank every one for the amazing response to our recent website updates; we are busy preparing our latest goodies for the shop so I think I had better get back to work - have a wonderful week!