Second-hand hunting!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE second hand items. All of the stories they can tell about the places they've been, the owners that kept them, and ultimately being given away or put up for sale. I adore the thrill of riffling through a box of junk to find some treasure.

Unfortunately, I've recently found that charity shops seem to be over-sorting their donations, I'm not sure why they aren't putting out the more junky bric-a-brac that I'm drawn to, or perhaps a dress that needs a minor repair, but I really think that the new place for second-hand hunting is the humble car boot sale.

Here you get all sorts of things being offered up for sale by all manner of people. It's so interesting just to people watch. I think the idea of collections is something that I've always found quite interesting. I think we all know someone who just adores a certain animal/ character/ TV show etc and gets inundated with gifts of this theme for years to come (my Nana Amber collects elephants). Quite often at car boots you will see someone selling their whole collection (or perhaps just a portion of it to make room for more!), and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Maybe it's a sad thing, that someone has suddenly got turned off the thing that has driven them to collect for so long. Or perhaps it's just a bit odd to try and sell your entire collection. Imagine if I purchased an entire collection of brass turtles (there was one there this weekend), I would feel a bit like I was cheating. Surely the point of a collection is to gather things up over time, each piece would tell it's own story and add something different to the other items. If you buy a job lot of someone's existing collection is that not a bit like buying a novel with all the pages missing? It's just a thought, I know most people won't sell their entire hoard to one like-minded person, they will more likely sell single bits over a period of time. What do you think about collections?

Anyway, I wanted to share some recent purchases with you. Some of them are for props for my business, some are for the new house, and some have yet to find a purpose besides me just loving them.

What are your thoughts on second hand? Can you still find the gems in your local charity shops?

Best wishes


Lianne x

4 little butter knives from a local charity shop. 20p each.

A close-up of one of the knives. Made in Sheffield like all great butter knives!

I adore the patterns and colours on this plate.

And these patterns. 20p each

Set of 4 very fine coloured glasses. £2.99

A collection of telephones? One of them is covered in fabric, I loved them all but purchased none.

A beautiful pin-art (is that the right word?) creation of a butterfly. For the new house £3. Car boot

Bold brass bangles. 75p each. Car boot

This wonderful wooden duck has a function...

He's a fully operational telephone! £4. Car boot

Wooden children's block. I love the bold colours and patterns. £5. Car boot

4 x cones of wool & mohair. This inspired me to get out my old knitting machine. There's a future post about that! £3 Car boot

Glass & cork canisters. Props from a charity shop. 40p each

A proper British BBQ!

I know we have had a glorious couple of weeks weather wise, but summer wouldn't be summer without a rainy, thundery and lightningy BBQ! And let's be honest, all that lovely sunshine was starting to get a bit samey, no?

Anyway, enter Friday and my lovely friends George, Roanna & Natalie decided to host a BBQ. It started off well enough, we even got the first batch of sausages off without a drop of rain, but pretty soon the heavens opened and a storm started. It didn't dampen our spirits though, and the neighbour even kindly lent us a parasol to keep most off the rain off our flames. I just wanted to share some snaps with you taken by various gathering-goers for a bit of a giggle really.

Have you ever had to endure crazy weather to ensure it doesn't ruin your good times?

Best wishes


Lianne x

Hello there!

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog post. I'm hoping this one will be the trickiest to do, and the rest will just come naturally. So I guess this is a bit of an introduction into who I am and what I intend this blog to be about. I'm Lianne, 25, I live in Sheffield in a flat with my boyfriend, James, and my cat, Bernard. I have ran my own business for the past 3 and a half years, but love to unwind with dressmaking, drawing, knitting, buying old things, visiting nice places, riding my bicycle and playing dress-up.

 James and I are in the process of buying our first home together, and life is generally travelling at a pace that can feel a little bit quick sometimes. I'm hoping that this little blog project will help me slow down, appreciate the things around me, share the skills I already have, and take time to develop the skills I don't yet possess.

So what can you expect from Lily White Legs? I will be sharing my current dressmaking projects, and will happily take requests of certain skills you want to learn. I still regard myself as an amateur dressmaker but am getting better with each project I complete. I'll post about the trips and daily happenings I encounter in and around Sheffield. There may be some outfit posts, but that will depend on how brave I am feeling. But there will be lots of photos of Bernard. Mostly, this blog will be kept like a journal, I will be sharing things good and bad, with honesty, integrity & passion to hopefully inspire my readers. From my perspective, I would really love to improve my writing skills (something I have always struggled with), photography, and DIY skills.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this project grows in the future, and would love to welcome you along for the journey!

Best wishes


Lianne x