My Bargain Sense Was Tingling...

Soooo...

i wondered into town with Arthur (i say wondered but really i battled my way through near Arctic conditions...that's right followers, Cheltenham has finally got the snow!), at the time he thought he was going in to work but they called him on the way in and said he didn't have to come in because of the snow (later on i had to tell work that there was no way i would be able to walk in to town from our house...its literally a skating rink!.) Anyway, i digress, we thought we might as well have a wonder around the shops which were open. We enjoyed a delicious bacon sandwich and coffee,and i also picked up the most recent sew hip (FINALLY Smiths got it in). However i was satisfied...i had an itch still, i knew there were bargains to be had...so we wondered around a few charity shops, and by the end of it had definitely found the source of my tingling bargain sense.

In one shop i found 2 hand knitted bunny shaped egg cosies, a new Richard Scarry book, and a lovely little mouse ornament for the grand total of £2.50.

In the next one i found 8 square metres of some lovely heavy grey and black tweed fabric for £10, (an absolute bargain as i was looking at some similar stuff in a fabric shop and it was just under £10 pounds for 1 metre!) This fabric is going to come in sooo handy for the shop! I also found a brown leather belt for £1. (apologies for the paint pots and untidy bedroom picture, we are in the midst of decorating and this was the only room which had any where near enough light)

But the best was definitely saved for the last shop we went in. The weather was terrible by this time, i couldn't see a thing because i had to take my glasses off (they were getting covered in snow!) But we battled through and as a reward for our Arctic Explorer skills i found the most wonderful hand embroidered throw/wall hanging. It was priced at £5 and i didn't hesitate to take it to the till it was beautiful, love at first sight! But it got better, when i went up to the till the lady told me that all linen was half price! This beauty cost me £2.50!! Just look at it...

I am in awe of the time and skill this must have taken. It's lined with a linen type fabric, but this is only sewn on the sides...leaving the top and bottom ends open which is why i think it may be a wall hanging...I'm probably going to use it as a throw on our bed tho'.i think this is my favorite part...thousands and thousands of little stitches all hand sewn on. i consider myself quite a patient sewer (who spends 2 hours sewing on sequins onto a cardi) but when i think of how long just little piece took the person who made this....Those pretty pink flowers...yep...french knots!i wonder how many?I'm in love with this stitch, I've no idea what you call it but it looks soo intricate, i love the colours too.Lovey blues and satin stitch, this is one of the many flowers.

O.K. I'm going to stop bragging about my finds now...i may be snowed in but that doesn't mean i can't potter about the house.

Ohh, before i go...i made five more of the little monsters for the Indoor Picnic on Sunday...

There are a few more snaps and info of the event over on the shops blog.

Stay Warm and Safe! (and sorry for a rather long post!)

xx