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vintage ...... a conversation piece

vintage stool with old varnish and wobbly legs

On Saturday I popped to Maidstone Fremlin Walk to do some shopping with Jack, have a coffee and generally a no work kind of day. We walked along the old part of Maidstone High Street and wandered into a couple of charity shops and I came across this little stool that dates to about the 1950's. It immediately reminded me of my nana Mary and the stools she had in her flat in London that I would sit on to watch her bake. My Jewish grandmother would always be baking and making chicken soup; that is where my love of food comes from! I just had to have this little vintage stool, and the price, wait for it ..... £5. Yes just £5 and it all went to the British Heart Foundation, so a little good dead and made me feel happy to be swept back to my childhood and happy happy times.




Walking back along the busy high street people gave Jack and me some odd glances to be walking around with a little old stool. I even sat it on whilst he paid for the parking! We struck up a lovely conversation with some ladies in the Oxfam Shop in Rose Yard, a pretty little side street. The Oxfam shop is beautifully colour coordinated and I plan to pop back for a better rummage next time I'm in Maidstone.

Here are some pictures taken on Saturday afternoon of the work in progress on this little vintage conversation piece (as I now like to call it) She will be my new sewing stool once she's had another coat of bees wax and her new Cath Kidston seat pad. I'm off to Canterbury on Friday to choose some new fabric, something ditsy and pretty. I've decided to keep the old seat cover and re-cover it carefully to keep the original should I want to revert back. Ian found my old staple gun with staples in the garage in an old Adams kids shopping bag, well done Ian for finding it, hasn't that shop closed down now? I will post some more pictures next week when she is finished.


mustard coloured cushion pad

the underside with the detailed removable cushion

a light sanding, looking lovely

our odd solution to glue the legs!

I've also been picking courgettes (or marrows if I forget!) summer squash and runner beans. My tomato crop is a disaster, some have fallen over and broken the stems in the storms we had. We are going to hate the runners by the end of the year!

summer squash

home grown runner beans

the longest ones are 33cm !

and last but not least a new granny blanket


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Comments

Jo said…
Looking forward to seeing the stool once it's finished. I made a late sowing of both French and runner beans and they're absolutely covered in flowers so I should just get a harvest from them before the end of this so called summer. I'm still picking beans from the first sowing so I should have plenty stored in the freezer for use in to winter. It's been my best year ever for courgettes, I'm giving them away by the bagful. Lovely blanket, I think my next ones going to be a granny stripe.
18 August 2014 at 04:56
mamasmercantile said…
What a bargain, helping a charity and gaining a vintage stool. Looking forward to seeing the end result. Some great produce from the garden.
18 August 2014 at 06:11
mrsnesbitt said…
My Auntie Dot had stools like that too - and an original kitchen cabinet - if only we'd known eh? Some charity shops have vintage sections and charge more - not cricket if you ask me...your purchase is fab!
18 August 2014 at 06:34
Wainwright and Wright.Co said…
We used to have stools like that in my parent's kitchen - I look forward to seeing the transformation, Your runner beans look good!
Caz xx
22 August 2014 at 13:00
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