Car boot Sale Explained

I have been asked by blog readers outside the UK what is a car boot sale?  So here is my explanation.  I arrive 7.00am Sunday mornings and most sellers are setting up or, on a sunny day like today, still arriving.  This location is a livestock market and 'park and ride scheme' car park out of town so it is big.

Each stall holder pays for the stall, it ranges from £7 for a car up to £15 for a trader.  The money is split between the council and local charities.  The charities go into a draw and when it is their week they provide volunteers who organise the parking and collect the money.  

If you arrive early you can find the best bargains.  Straightaway I see this, 

 I already have a version of this but with a bigger cabinet and more drawers, otherwise I would be tempted.  To be honest I was tempted with this one but I do not have the space!

Most of the stalls look like this.  People sell their kid's stuff, clothes, household bits and pieces etc.

There are traders too.  This is a German bakery and I get bread here most weeks.  They have a great selection and regularly sell out.

There are a lot of plant sellers, some are individuals with green fingers and enough surplus of plants, fruit or veg to sell, some are traders who are there every week.  I buy my plants here rather than the DIY superstore places.  The sellers have lots of expertise and are willing to share it, and the prices are cheap. 

This was a whole trailer of rhubarb!  The seller comes every year and sells produce he has grown, runner beans, chard, apples.  It is the first time I have seen him in a while.

This is where I get many of my fabric finds, the rag stall.  It is a mixture of household linens- duvets, curtains etc on the floor and clothes on board tables either side.  There is a big pile of house clearance boxes to rummage in too.  At 7.50 am, a crowd of regulars (including me) stand around this pile and around the clothes tables until the stall holder rings the bell at 8.00 am and then it is a crazy frenzy of mad fabric obsessed women. He started early this week, I got there just in time!  This is the remains after we all dived in and pulled out the good stuff!  

I talked to the lady who had this stuffed cat sitting on her car.  She said her husband always put it out for good luck.  She told me the story of a women whom she met a couple  of months ago who wanted to get pregnant and asked to touch the cat for good luck.  A few weeks later she came back pregnant!

There were a lot of sewing machines today, I must have seen ten as I walked round.

The seller on this stall is a lovely lady and I always stop and chat with her.  She has an incredible supply of vintage buttons and sewing notions.  I bought some buttons from her today- you'll see those later.

There are other random stalls, this one sold bikes, car repair manuals and lawn mowers.

There are pretty vintage style stalls too.  These are nice to look at but often expensive.

After a slow start, I did have bumper finds.  A massive stack of vintage cotton sheets- some unused and all in excellent condition.  They were from the rag stall.

I love these pretty tea plates, there were a little stack for 50p, they match nicely with the linens as well, should I want to eat cake in bed.

This was a cute little tin with its cocktail motif.

The buttons came from the stall you saw earlier and the cotton tape I found for 20p at another stall.

The lady showed me these buttons a couple of weeks ago and I had to buy them today- they reminded me of ducks!  The effect is lost once the stitch is in to hold them on but I probably won't use them, I like them like this and they are very tactile too.

So now I hope you are better informed!  This is a big boot sale and buyers and sellers drive from all around to come.  I am lucky, I live 10 minutes drive from it.  We thought about moving house a while back and this was seriously one of my considerations for staying!   As I come so often it is nice to get to know regular stall holders.  It is a friendly, quirky place- lots of families, dogs, even a ferret on a lead has been seen on some weeks.  And I always find something, a great place for a bargain!

Finds

These are all recent carboot finds- I have had a good run of finds recently.  I know carboot sales might be a bit of a mystery outside of the UK- I'll try and remember to take my camera this Sunday and take some pics for you and explain how it works.

A vintage advertising tea towel for Babycham, iconic little Babycham deer-v. cute

As that is a bit of a collectable, I put that in my etsy shop- gotta fund the fabric purchases somehow!

These are two linens so lovely...

 

a little handworked sampler of stitches, such beautiful colours and work,

and a tea tray cloth with lovely machined motifs.

 

This one has a Christmas feel- with the exception of the strawberries, placemat size.

Lots of other magpies missed this one, someone was standing on it when I noticed the fantastic border.

It currently has the very important job of protecting my clear vintage box of fabrics from sunlight.

I loved this little tin- anything that nests inside anything else is appealing and these cutters are a great fit in the tin.

This Minitimer is Italian made and designed by Richard Sapper who turns out to be a very cool designer indeed (Alessi)!  It works beautifully.

And to finish, a G plan lamp table, £3 which is about $5 or 4 Euros.  IT is a bit tatty at the sides, but what a bargain.  It is undergoing restoration- that is a grand way of saying it has wood glue and a pile of books to get the edges of the veneer to stick down on the sides.  I have already waxed and polished the drawer front and it is glowing.

Half way through the working week, always a nice place to be

Sunday

Up early for the carboot sale as usual.  Made a sweet dough for Cinnamon buns before I left the house, recipe courtesy of Megan.  We did a swap recently and she sent me this recipe, amongst other very lovely things.  I'll share more when my parcel to her arrives, but for the moment, just the baking.

I have never made so much dough and so many buns.  Cinnamon and brown sugar...  

and cinnamon, raisin and brown sugar.  I took these to share with Kathy and James, friends round the corner, we had coffee and buns, wow it was a great recipe.  Kathy is from USA and these reminded her of home.

Our dogs played, Lula organised playmobil and we chatted and ate and drank.  They had great finds at the carboot this morning, we squeezed three adults a G plan coffee table, G plan cupboard, a 2 shelf bookcase, a box of plates, bowls and cups, and  there was still room for my finds as well in the car.

Great aprons, I will keep one and the rest will go on sale in my Etsy shop, eventually.  I need to have them just a little while.  I loved the print on this tea towel,

and this apron.

and now even my scraps, threads and tissues have a pretty bin.

And these, although the pieces are small, were the best find.

Tomorrow work, worries, rushing around, but there is still some Sunday left x Enjoy.

Stamps

I am becoming a big fan of stamps.  I don't really do papercraft, I am too impatient and careless, but stamping on fabric is so satisfying and after the difficulties I had with standard pigment ink which I could not set heat set, I  was relieved to discover Versacraft, stamp ink pads designed for fabric and easily set with an iron.  It is a dream to use.

This alphabet is the one I use most, Hero Arts Clear Design Bird Branch Alphabet.  I like the font and the plastic clings securely onto the mount.   I have 2 sets, I managed to lose letters in my early stamping days- I have learnt to be more careful.  On Etsy, there are many hand carved stamps available.  I was lucky enough to stumble across Tommie's shop.

That's her work above, the heart sewing machine, the love letter and, custom for me, my blog name, button and spool, beautifully carved and mounted on to wood blocks.  You can see how beautifully they stamp.

The little building and modern sewing machine stamps are carboot sale finds from my friend and carboot companion Kathy.  She has generously given me the machine one.  It's metal so pleasingly resilient and finely detailed.

And this is what I do with them!  My Doll Quilt Swap label- recipient's name obscured,

A cotton tape label for a new bag (will show more soon)

Stamped straight onto the back of a new cushion, and a button tag (more of that another time too)

on the other side of the button is the spool, my favourite.

There's more on my Doll Quilt creation- it's almost finished...

Memory Game

I do love vintage memory games cards and I found another set at the carboot last Sunday- Waddingtons, dating from late 1960s.  They are illustrated by Alain Gree.

 I thought these looked familiar and then I had seen them on ingthings.  Ingrid always has a clever, simple and creative blog header.  It features a 'little family'- check it out now before it changes, she likes to refresh it frequently.  I remember at least one image on hers that I don't have and yet there are over 120 in the box.

The patterns look textured, not just blocks of colour.  And you can see the fabric weave on the black/white dotties

A weird selection of still life images

Joyful illustrations

My favourite, it is giving my ideas...

Happy weekend x