Sitting Pretty

I braved the snowy weather yesterday - I called for my friend in my little car, and drove off to the antique's fair about 25 minutes from home. Not surprisingly, the amount of stallholders were down on the usual by about a half, but we weren't charged an entrance fee, so that was a bonus.   

Pickings were a little thin on the ground, but I did come away with a few treasures...

More antique bottles for my crafting. I am reliably informed by the seller, that these were dug up from an old WWII Canadian soldier's camp in some woods in the south of England. Its always worth chatting to the stall holders, as you never know what you might learn! :)  

A beautiful mother-of-pearl polished shell
And two shell necklaces.

Gorgeous ostrich feather boa, probably from the 20's. 

Two diamanté brooches.

The butterflies are actually fabric napkin rings, but I thought they'd make pretty wings for my handmade fairy dolls. 

I did make one more purchase, which I shall add in a minute. First I wanted to show the sad state our soft furnishings. I'm all for pieces showing their age; a bit of shabbiness is actively encouraged around here, but our sofas, for one, are wearing out...

Not to mention the patchwork curtains...

Or our poor old hand-hooked stair carpet.

Why is it that several things always wear out around the same time and all need replacing?! The two sofas have had a few incarnations over the years, (one here) but I've always gone for a similar feel. So when I found this lovely c1920's patchwork throw yesterday, I thought it was going to be ideal to fit in with our living room's style. 

I love the pretty red/pinks and black and silvery greys, but the other colours just don't seem to work well in the room. 

I had thought it would make an ideal cover for the sofa seat pads, but trying it in the room, I'm not so sure...

It will get used somewhere, but for now I need to think again. 

I'm considering perhaps a plain grey velvet, but I just don't like the modern dyes...
Ticking is another option, but I want to it last well this time...

I'm going to scour the web for more ideas...

For the last couple of days I've had the awful hacking cough that's going around and I have felt a bit worn out...I've found sitting at my PC and pinning images onto my Pinterest boards requires little energy and is great fun (I admit I am totally addicted!) - So that's where you'll find me for now, pinning and looking for inspiration.

Enjoy the rest of your day,

Niki x