Lockdown...

Hey There!

Is this the most beautiful Armoire you have seen? I spotted it at the always inspiring Lonny mag, which is a good thing I am inspired because tomorrow I plan on spending the whole day on lock down in there, music on, head down sewing.

The basket of vintage linens is calling again and now that all of my orders are caught up on I can sew without a worry, which is when I usually create the best sellers! =0)
And, I can also make up some more Christmas stockings with my stash of red fabrics.

By the way, I have switched rooms (again) and am making my office in our other living room as it is not being used...well, that and the fact that the room is huge, there are white floorboards in there, fireplace, and most of my sewing things as well. I know, when will I settle on a room?! Maybe if we get a caravan or convert our outdoor room that might happen - and that's a whole other post ;0)

I do plan on having copious amounts of coffee and a sit in my adorable white slip covered wing back chair in between all this too

...'cause now my favourite chair is right next to my sewing machine.

Does it get any better?

BTW- stop by and say Hi to Ginger, who has just started a brand new blog. Ginger has been so kind to write a lovely post about my home and even interviewed me. This blog is going to be all about white...my fave!

have a great weekend all =0)

Ness xx

100 Year Old Linen And Vintage Hearts

Hi all,

Remember that piece of vintage Irish monogrammed linen I was trying to do something with but was too scared to ruin?

Well I did make something with it...a filled heart pillow.

Here it is above with some others I have made up for My Store.

I have teamed it with some beautiful Belgian linen which is 100 years old!

It is stunning and there is not a blemish on it. Figured they would be happy together. The back of it is natural and blue ticking. That part is not vintage, but I love it just the same =0)

The other filled hearts for The Store have also been made with this gorgeous linen. Some with other vintage fabrics, and some with newer pieces.

This is a part of one of the bigger pillows which measure 35cm x 35cm (14" x 14"). So not tiny.
There are 3 sizes in all. The largest which I mentioned above.

The medium size which is 24cm x 24cm (10" x 10"),

and the smaller size which is 19cm x 19cm (7 1/2" x 7 1/2").

They all have a piece of the 100 year old Belgian linen in them and some have vintage ticking, vintage floral and I have also used fabric from French General and some modern quilting florals which have that older style pattern to them, like the floral to the left of this photo.

If you would like to see more, CLICK HERE.

I would love to know what you think =0)

Ness xx

Guest Blogger - Maria From Dreamy Whites

hi all. The very sweet Maria from Dreamy Whites has been kind enough to do a guest post for me while I have been very unwell (which is why I have been missing). I know you will enjoy this beautiful post.....

Hello Marley & Lockyer Readers!

My name is Maria, from the Dreamy Whites blog.

I first would like to thank Ness for inviting me to guest post on her beautiful blog.

It is a real honor to be here.

She is one busy girl, and I was happy to fill in for her.

I know Ness loves linens just as much as I do. So I thought I would do a post on how I arrange linens in my bedroom.

I have an obsession with linens. Especially anything that has a monogram on it or might have the word french attached to it.

I recently purchased some beautiful linens from

Ness's store Marley & Lockyer.

I love them and I think they mix nicely with my vintage linens.

I thought I would first share a few photos of the french inspired pillow slips I bought from the talented Ness.

I love this vintage french wine label that Ness added to this slip.

I also love the little M & L tag she attaches to her designs.

I ordered this La ballon pillow as well.

These pillows are made from a crisp white cotton.

I love how bright of a white the cotton is.

Ness also made the 1902 pillow.

She dyes them herself to resemble vintage feed sacks.

The color comes out beautiful.

I think Ness does an excellent job dyeing her pillows. If you notice in this bottom photo, that is a picture of a grain sack from the 1880s

Ness's pillow slip matches the antique grain sack perfectly!

Can a girl ever have too many pillows?

I don't think so!

Speaking of grain sacks...

I don't think you could ever have enough of these either.

They are one of my favorite things to accessorize my home with.

I discovered grain sacks about 7 years ago.

I have been hooked ever since.

You can use them for everything.

The list could go on forever......

For now I will share with you how I use them in our bedroom.

This photo and the above photo were shot looking into a mirror in my bedroom.

Not only can grain sacks be used to make beautiful pillows,

but they can be used as a runner for the edge of the bed.

The bed below is done up with mostly vintage linens.

My sisters made all of my pillows.

I am so lucky to have sisters who will sew for me!

My husband thought the Anthropologie duvet was a little frilly.

So to soften it,

I added a vintage monogram sheet.

Then I put a grain sack on the end of the bed.

Then to add a little bit of dimension I added a cotton throw, that has a modest ruffle.

Then to top it off a french basket full of lavender pillows, to the foot of the bed.

I have a real collection of lavender pillows, my sister made all of them.

I have had those lavender pillows for over 4 years and they still are just as fragrant as the

day we made them.

My bedskirt I have on this bed is also from Anthropolgie. This bedding is a bit modern,

however I love the mix of modern and vintage linens.

Thank you Ness for asking me to guest post on your beautiful blog.

You are such a talented girl, and it was a real honor to be here.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites

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Thanks again Maria. You know how much I love your house and I could just curl up in that bed with all of your vintage pillows. It would have been the perfect spot for me to recover! Thanks for showing us your room. You are a sweetie.

I will be back on board tomorrow for posting as usual...Ness xx

Inspiring Weekend For Us All!!

3 Fine Grains

This week has been a blur really and the weekend should be the same. Mic is off to the annual Toy Run while I am home looking after a still poorly Mason (3yrs) and trying to sew like mad for the markets next Sunday.

This image above, which I spied recently over at Willow Decor, has become my inspiration for creative-ness this weekend....the tree is amazing and all out of jute webbing for ribbon garland, offcuts of grain sacks for decorations (like my own) and vintage ornaments - love!

3 Fine Grains
More inspiration for me!! I have a mountain of my stockings to sew, thanks to my trusty friends, Krista and Jolee for helping me cut them all out...now all I have to do is sew!

I am going to try and make up our own stockings while I am at it (time permitting as always) with some beautiful old Irish Linen pillowcases that are beyond repair. They have the most gorgeous embroidery on them and the linen is the softest I have felt...ever.

Country Living
Other than that I am just going to try and take in the season and enjoy my festive sewing with a little Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Mariah all crooning about Christmas in the background.

Whatever you have planned, I hope you enjoy it!

Ness xx

Its not Christmas without linen!

Linen at Christmas time looks so beautiful and I dreamt up so many decorative uses for it last year that I plan to do this year. Linen stockings for one to go with the wrapping for this year.

Linen napkins with fresh greenery to jazz up the table and keep it fresh looking for our warm Christmas day.

I would love to have some linen grain sack cushions to fill up our chaise which will be getting moved outside this year...lets hope it doesn't rain!

...and I plan to make a big version of my hand towels this year to use as a table runner. I am just realising now that I am going to be extremely busy this year - whats new!

Ness xx

image 1 -via Villa Anna, 2-bhg, 3-Raphael designs, 4- me

White and Wonderful

coastal living

This room is just wonderful...light, bright, little bit seaside, little bit shabby and a little bit French, grain sacks, beaded board walls and shades of white. Love it!

Ness xx