Labour Day - Fete du Muguet

We are off the France for the weekend to stay with friends and celebrate the 1st May

The origins of Labour day strangely enough, started in the USA. On 1 May 1886 American Labor Unions organized a strike in favor of limiting working hours to an eight-hour day. In 1889 it was decided to make May 1st a special day for demonstrations. In 1941 the Vichy government, declared May 1st the feast of labor and national concord. It was to be a day on which workers could stay home and must still be paid.

Americans, just to be awkward, now celebrate Labour Day in September; and the British, who like all their holidays to be Mondays, keep May day on the first Monday in May.

May 1 is also La Fête du Muguet, and the tradition is to give the ones you love a little bouquet of lily-of-the-valley, for good luck and to celebrate the arrival of spring. Originally the idea was to take the kids into the forest and let them pick your own muguet together. Of course, in the city you will more likely buy it from the florist's, or better yet, from one of the countless stands that sprout up overnight on every street corner and every road in France, most of them doing this as a fundraiser for one cause or another. We will go to the forest and pick our own.

In many towns and villages the whole place is turned into a giant flea market - a bit like a UK car boot but with more wine! and for several years we have run a stall with our friends.

I hope I can find some nice French bargains :-)

Hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend.

MM xx

bootsale bargins

What a lovely sunny morning to spend a hour or two wandering around a boot sale and pick up some bargains along the way

This random collection of stuff was £1 and has lots of zips (It is years since i put a zip in anything and this may make me face my fear!) also has some nice vintage fabric flowers some sewing cotton and a mini flower press, complete with flowers!

The red glass was £2 and I already have some the same, so I now have enough to use them when we have people for dinner. The 2 cut glass pits cast 20p and I will put them in the sewing room with buttons or beads in.

This collection filled a large tin and includes lots of vintage buttons, ric rac, bias binding, ribbon, pins, needles and poppers. The little old man charged me £2 for the lot and included the Royal Doulton swan with flowers tucked on the left of the picture. I think he was just delighted that someone was going to use some of his late wife's sewing bits, he was very sweet and we chatted for ages.

I was very excited about the next bargain as I have wanted some wooden shelves to paint cream and put in the bathroom to house my ever growing collection of glass candlesticks. I have bookmarked lots of them on ebay but they always sell for more than I want to pay. - these cost me the grand sum of £1 - I was a very happy lady I can tell you!

I always keep one eye open for any Cath Kidston stuff but have never been lucky until now :-) (I am 90% sure this is CK fabric but you may know better)

These curtains have been hand made and are fully lined, but have never been used - we are planning an extension so I may end up with a room to put them in or if not I will cut them up and use the fabric for something else

What a successful morning, and now I am off to sort out my seedlings - hope you have some of this lovely sunshine were you are.

MM xx

I won a giveaway

A few weeks ago I was really lucky and won a giveaway ot Primrose Corner the fabric is lovely. This was the first giveaway I had entered so I was delighted to win! - please take a look on the lovley blog and shop - I have since ordered some more fabric and they really do offer a lovely service and some fantastic goodies.

I have been thinking about what to use it for for some time, and stroking it often (am I the only person who does this hoping it will speak to me and tell me what it wants to become?).

As I was starting my new job I thought that a new handbag was needed, and I altered a pattern I had used before so that I could fit it on one of the fat quarters.

I am really pleased with the result and much happier with the closure on this modified bag.


I used one of the smaller bits of fabric for a internal pocket, the spotty fabric was from my stash, and was a barn sale bargin for only a few pennies. It is interlined with curtain wadding that I was given and is adorned with some of my Grandmothers buttons, so the total cost of the bag was less than £1


I took it with me on my first day in the office along with some lovely gifts from the Shabby Chic ladies and it all made me smile to myself lots!

Best wishes

MM xx

paying it forward

Continuing the giving from Mel at Shabby Chick, and Dolly Dollop .....I'm paying it forward :)





The first three people to leave a comment will receive a hand made gift from me! ( please make sure I have a way of contacting you)

The only thing you have to do is participate and carry on the gift giving to three more people...as soon as you have left a comment do a "pay it forward post" on your blog and continue the giving.

I think this is a lovely idea and hope you do to.

MM xx

Happy Easter

Hope you are all enjoying the Easter break.

I wanted to share my lovely swap goodies for Jayne at Cupcake Fantasy we both took part in the swap organised by Faerie Nuff and I was completely spoilt. Jayne knitted two lovely cream egg holders, one is a chick and the other a egg in a egg cup, they are so clever and it makes me wish I could do clever things with wool.


I also got stickers, buttons and nests full of eggs, but my favourite two things are this fab little hand sewn chick on a stick and the wonderful eggy card


Look at the detail in this - no 2 eggs are the same.


Here it all is added to my Easter display in the hall. - Thank you Jayne

I am starting a new job on Tuesday so i will have less time for sewing and crafting, but more money to buy lovely hand made things!

MM xx

weekly roundup

I have done absolutly nothing today, felt unwell but nothing specific.

I did however want to share some lovely old cards with you. I have recently been given my mums old scrapbook, some of the christmas images got scanned and used for cards at Christmas. so here are a few of the easter ones

I managed to get my Easter swaps in the post yesterday, so now i can start thinking about my own decorations.

Off to the monthly barn sale tomorrow and the car boot season kicks off tomorrow as well.

MM xx