Resistence is Futile

It's nearly impossible for me to resist opening an old trunk.  When I open one.... and find a stash of vintage fabric scraps, well,  my resistance just goes right out the window.  I can walk by a beautiful old quilt in an antique shop, admire it, then walk on by, but... there's just something about scraps and half finished quilts that makes my heart just get to pumping.  Anyone else know what I'm talking about? 

I jump right into textile detective mode and begin trying to identify how old the fabrics are by observing color, pattern and cloth content.  This particular suitcase full was great for my inquiring mind.  The quilter had done something I have never seen done before.  She stitched her finished squares to newspaper backings and even left them in place while joining.  Was this commonly done?  What is the purpose of the paper?

While I don't know what the newspaper was for, it does give me a general date for the fabrics... 1951.   I now also know something else... I could have had my car painted for just $49.50 down in Memphis, TN. back in February of 51. I'm gonna have a wonderful time when I untie this bundle of partially finished piecings.  I can't  wait.  I think I'll just wash them,  hang them up in the sunshine, hoard a few and then share a few with you folks.



The Mending Basket

The other day, I was trying to explain to my daughter what a mending basket was.  You see, she lives in a world where clothing has become much less expensive and more readily available.  She hardly has to iron, never mind mending and darning. That wasn't the world my grandmother lived in. She had a mending basket right next to her easy chair.

When a bed sheet began to fray she tore it into rag squares for cleaning and dusting. If she outgrew a dress, she carefully removed the lace collar and detached each button so it could be used as a replacement or in the construction of a new garment. I can still hear her saying "waste not, want not".

When she was a girl, every resource was valuable and every resource was used to the fullest extent possible. A few yards of fabric might spend their life in 4 different forms, beginning as a dress, then becoming a quilt top, then a pot holder and finally a cleaning rag. 

With each transition, the fabrics take on a new kind of acquired beauty as they soften and fade.  I think that's why artists are so attracted to them as art elements.  These old vintage fabrics have a quality only time can produce.  Visit Mamamotherlode this week to see the vintage fabrics and sewing supplies we have for sale and consider giving them just one more beautiful life as part of your art work.