Lace Lovelies & Tantalising Treasures.

Please forgive me for singling out two special customers to my shop...ALL of the visitors to Nostalgia at No.1, at the fairs I attend and those on-line are special, of course - But I just wanted to show my gratitude to Maria who once again had travelled from Italy last week to shop and sight-see in the UK...and she was baring gifts too! (AND the week before I was lucky to be able to welcome her sister Susy and brother-in-law to my shop!)

Maria and Sergio popped-by last Saturday in search of pretty china and other nostalgic lovelies. After shopping, Maria produced this parcel for me. I received such a fantastic handmade gift from Maria last time, it was a huge surprise to receive yet another from this kind-hearted lady. (It makes me smile that Maria always wants to photograph the two of us together on each of her visits...I feel like I have aged hugely over the last few years and now she has the photographic evidence to prove it! ;-))

Anyway, I'm drifting!...Maria enjoys the painstaking craft of cartonnage. She makes beautiful sewing boxes and accessories from card, covering each piece in pretty fabric. If you take a look at the end of this post, you'll see the wonderful sewing box that she made for me last year.

This time, inside the Fiorucci tin was a lovely collection of cards for keeping lace tidy. I'm going to enjoy winding my best laces onto these.

There were lots of Italian lace pieces inside the tin too! So much to enjoy...Thank you Maria...I feel very lucky to have received your generous gift with the time and love that you lavished upon it. x

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On the Sunday I visited my local flea market. I haven't had the time to photograph all of the days purchases, but will show a couple of items that I bought for myself, rather than the shop. The beautiful silk sachet case includes some cartonnage work!

The silk is very tatty and shredded in places (just the way I like it! ;-)), but still has plenty of charm...

The tiny stitches and hand-worked details make it a pleasure to use.

The base and lid flaps are covered card, with a gathered length of silk and lining making up the ruched sides. Rose bud trim adds another delicate addition.

I have another of these amongst my collections of antique textiles treasures.

Its inside a cabinet and holds several swansdown powder puffs inside.

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The beautiful velvet flower and dyed ostrich feather that I also bought, have been placed on the little windowsill in our porch.

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Thank you to all who have entered my giveaway so far...there is still plenty of time to join in for a chance to win a years subscription to Pretty Nostalgic magazine - All you have to do is leave a quick comment on my previous post.

Thanks for stopping-by,

Niki x

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Update: Just managed to add some more photos of the other items I bought for the shop, before I published this post...

Barbola mirror.

Two tiny pictures.

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Brooches.

A c1950's double eiderdown cover.

China hat pin stand.

C1930's box.

Postcards. (Some are already sold.)

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Bisque baby doll.

Two large C. Klein framed prints.

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Buttons.

Hope Friday 13th has been kind to you today,

Have a lovely weekend,

Niki x