.........Fun Times at The Clothes Show 2012!

Last Friday I took the day off work and went off the The Clothes Show at the Birmingham NEC to help Clare from Second Hand Rose on her stall. It was nice to have a chance to be a trader again for a day without the stress of it being my own business. It was the first day of the show so it was quite quiet but gave me a chance to have a good mooch about. 

Here's Clare showing off her vintage wares.

I'm not really into keeping track of celeb news but I was excited about seeing some minor celebs. Unfortunately my only celeb spotting involved catching a glimpse of Amy Childs surrounded by bodyguards as she swept past. I did get a chance to see the live show though which was so amazing! As I was on my own I got a fab seat right at the front but was unsure where to look when the first scene involved a few strutting men just in their pants! I would say that the tickets are a bit pricey at £27 each but after seeing the live show it made the price seem more reasonable. I always have trouble with events where you pay quite a high price to go inside and then have to spend more money on the goods on sale.  

Presenters Grace Woodward and Henry Holland

Times Red - ex X Factor contestants opened the show.

Obviously I couldn't go to The Clothes Show without doing some shopping. First stop was obviously Clare's stall so I picked out this amazing printed shirt from Windsmoor. I love the detailing on the pocket and the print on the fabric is really unusual. Perfectly fits in with the colours I normally wear. 

To go with the shirt I chose this lovely slim fit handknitted brown cardigan which is very 1940s in style and will compliment lots of items I already own. The little pockets are super cute and I think it's made from real wool so will keep me nice and toasty in the winter months to come. 

There were a plethora of stalls selling new items and the most common ones were stalls selling printed t-shirts and vest tops. On one particular stall I spotted this vest top with a picture of a french bulldog on it with a red nose and I had to have it! I really want a french bulldog but one canine terror in the house is enough for now so I've made do with this top. At only £4 I couldn't resist.

The most popular stalls were the make-up stalls such as Models Own, Rimmel and Barry M and there were some great offers available. I picked up a Barry M goodie bag for £10 which was great fun as it was pot luck as to what you get in the kit. I got some great things I would never buy but am looking forward to using such as turquoise mascara and pale blue eyeliner pencil. 

All in all I had a great day, if somewhat exhausting, day. Will I go back next year? Maybe, but only if they don't put the ticket prices up any more.

........Christmas Box Swap Shopping!

It's December 1st!! Which means only one thing....it's officially time to get all Christmassy! I love Christmas. Actually I think I love the build up almost more than Christmas Day itself. Thankfully the weather has finally dried up to give us that wonderful crisp (if not a little bit freezing) festive atmosphere. 

This year I managed to sign up in time for The Christmas Box Swap organised by The Curiosity Project. I was matched up with a lady in Derbyshire who loves charity shopping and crafts so I've had great fun this week scouring the chazzas for some appropriate gifts for her box. We are given a budget of up to £20 each. If you get the chance there are quite a few blogs that organise swaps or if you feel brave and have enough followers why not start your own! It's great fun and a good challenge to be able to choose items for someone you know very little about.

Watch this space for pics of the box I get from my swap partner. So excited!

........Kicks!

Now I'm the grand old age of 32 (gasp!) I have realised a few things, one of which is that I love to bake (even though my current figure dictates that's not the best idea!) and another is  that my feet are now showing their age too and only function properly in comfortable shoes.

Living in Worcester and only living down the road from work I do spend a lot of the time walking therefore live most of my life in flat shoes. When it starts to get even slightly chilly I switch to my faithful, ever growing, collection of flat, or at least wedge heeled, boots. This year I fancied a change and decided to relive my youth and invest in some Converse trainers. 

My next decision was whether to go for high tops or low oxfords. I looked for some online inspiration and remembered that my favourite Dr Who of all time, David Tennant, wore Converse high tops with his trademark blue suit. It was such a tough choice! 

I decided, after trying on almost a million different pairs in Office, that I would probably wear them most with leggings or skinny jeans and so went for the more flattering oxfords in a dark maroon colour..... 

......and here they are!

I scarily realised that I last owned a pair of converse trainers when I was 16 so it worked out well to celebrate being twice that age by investing in another pair. They are super comfy and I look forward to wearing them in a bit as you probably already know I'm not one for wearing things that look new. Ha ha!

.............Autumn Knitwear!

The winter is fast approaching and, as my blog title shows, I'm a sucker for knitwear, anything handknitted especially. 

Here are a few examples from my ever growing knitwear collection. I find it very difficult to see anything handknitted in a charity shop without buying it, even sometimes if it doesn't fit! 

This little beauty I've had for a few years and it's made of two tone Herdwick wool straight from the beautiful Lake District. Herdwick sheep are renowned for having a rough but hard wearing fleece so this isn't the softest cardi I own but it's super warm and I love the little handmade horn buttons. It's a shame because shepherds in Cumbria get pennies for Herdwick fleeces and most people who knit with it only make it into blankets. This makes this cardi quite a unique item.

This green and cream knitted poncho is a recent purchase from a local Red Cross charity shop. Again it's not made from the softest wool but it's super cosy and the colours go with almost everything in my wardrobe. 

I found this unusual jumper in a local RSPCA charity shop for just £1.99. When I picked it up I thought it was way too small for me but it's quite stretchy and I was very surprised when it actually fit quite nicely. Again, I couldn't resist it because of the autumnal colours and of course it's handknitted (or possibly hand crocheted).

Last but not least is my favourite knitted item of all time. I've had this cardigan for a few years now and it's definitely one of my wardrobe staples. It's made from Alpaca wool in these amazing blue, red green and mustard coloured aztec designs. Being Alpaca it's super soft and very warm and cosy. I love the colours used as it's easy to wear with so many things. The buttons are really cute green handmade ones with black aztec designs painted on them. A nice handmade touch to this lovely cardi.

That's the pick of my best and favourite items and I'm sure this won't be the last post about my fave knitwear as my collection keeps on growing. 

Ta ta for now!

I just had to add this photo as I'm very into all things coral at the moment so cheered myself up with these beautiful coral roses. Bought for the bargain price of £2 from Lidl. I couldn't resist so thought I'd share them with you.  

.......Foot Tapping Folk!

I generally have quite an eclectic taste in music so when people ask me what kind of music I like it's quite hard to give an answer. I am definitely a bit of a hippy at heart so I have a big soft spot for folk music. One of my favourite artists across all genres of music is Mr Seth Lakeman. For those of you who haven't heard of him he is originally from Devon and is a musical genius when it comes to playing the violin, the tenor guitar and the banjo. I think he's technically classed as a Multi-Instrumentalist. Seth is a songwriter and singer and is part of a very musical family with his brothers Sean and Sam also being folk stars in their own right. In the past they performed as a trio as The Lakeman Brothers.

I first saw Seth perform when he headlined at a local festival early last year where we had a vintage stall. It was such an amazing performance I had to buy a CD and from then it's grown into me being a huge fan! I have all his CDs and saw him live earlier on this year at The Assembly Rooms in Leamington Spa.

When tickets went on sale for this tour I had to snap up some for me and my friend Lewis at Birmingham Town Hall as it was the closest venue to Worcester. We got a nice early train so we could have some nice dinner at Cafe Rouge and the obligatory glass of wine. Luckily we got to the venue on time as they started very promptly and I would've hated to miss any.  

Seth was performing with his brother Sean on guitar, an amazing percussionist on drums and an incredible bass player. With special guest Lisbee Stainton who dueted with him on some of the ballads. 

Lovely venue - Birmingham Town Hall

Sean Lakeman - bringing back retro Kickers!

We had an amazing night in our front row seats and the atmosphere was electric! As usual Seth gave a flawless performance and we were blown away once again by his solo performance of "Kitty Jay".  The encore was a great end to the night as he got us to all stand up so we could have a dance to "Race To Be King". I did have to giggle a few times as the lady next to me was quite a die hard fan and kept giving me funny looks if I made so much as a peep. Brought out the naughty schoolgirl in me and made me want to be as raucous as possible. Ha ha! 

I'm so excited for his next tour and hopefully it won't be a seated venue so we can have a bit of a jig!

........Reminiscing!

Last weekend we took a trip down memory lane and ventured back oop North to Huddersfield where we used to live before we moved down to Worcester five years ago. We lived there for most of our 20s so it holds many memories for us. 

We were staying with friends and I was delighted when they suggested that we visit the outdoor market on Saturday morning. This market means a lot to me as this was where it all started....my complete obsession and love for old tat! 

When we were students we used to play Bargain Hunt at the market on a Saturday morning, trying to find the best bargains and seeing how much they made on eBay. I don't think any of us made any money though! Going to the market became a weekly ritual and going back made me realise how much I missed it. I was glad to see there was still the usual selection of stalls selling fruit and veg, second hand toys and of course the obligatory electronics stall selling huge piles of remote controls and out of date hi-fis. Not much changes up there!

This was my favourite stall as I am now an avid brooch collector. I was blinded for a while by all the pretty things but did manage to see past the dazzle and picked up a lovely unusual pewter bug brooch for just £5.

We popped into Revolution for a nice early lunch and partly to have a bit of a warm up. I had to take a pic of this amazing chandelier made from antlers. Great inspiration for our new lounge but think we may need something a tad smaller!