Thursday, June 18, 2009

vintage linens

last week at passiflora, at the end of my painful conversation with my former associate, i noticed a book had caught my eye. partly it was the green cover, which was almost exactly the same shade i was painting my bedroom. but partly it was the topic - recycling old clothing and other fabrics into other things, even new clothes - that intrigued me. i had no idea why, only that perhaps even as the flames of one thing were rising all around me, the idea of resurrection in any form appealed to me. so i bought it, leafed through, and noticed immediately a few projects that look fun to try.

when we removed my cedar closet last sunday, i also retrieved several boxes from our storage unit where we have what's left of my great-grandparents' furniture. (i say my great-grandparents, because even though i inherited the stuff from my grandmother, as most of my Gentle Readers know, and the stuff is THAT old.)

at any rate, the boxes yielded up christmas decorations, martini glasses, a gravy boat and a lot of vintage linen...napkins, table cloths and what my mother calls bureau scarves. a lot of the tablecloths are embroidered - my grandmother and aunts used to do a lot of needlework. so did i for that matter - my mother still displays a piece i did for my brother, and hauls out a pair of candlewicked guest towels i gave her every christmas.

no wonder i had to buy the book.

and furthermore, the war will end. blessed be.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

neat! i hope you have some creative fun with all of that. :-)

Divaeva said...

sounds like a cool box to come accross...I "heart" vintage martini glasses!

Jennifer said...

Wow, that's quite a find! I love finding things like that.

The book sounds really cool. I hope you have fun with the projects. :)

Amy said...

Oh I love what you found. Have a great day.

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

I love vintage linens and am delighted you got the book. Please post some pictures when you go, thanks.

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Oh, what fun! I'm a re-fashioning/re-purposing freak ... and I do love aspects of "vintage," though I chuckle to see the Corningware of my 1st apartment classified as such.

ANYway, I have some wonderful embroidered pieces from my mom and auntie, quilt tops from mystery women, lace made by my Nono and even old cotton bed linens of a quality you simply can't buy these days - at ANY price! I will sleep in these until they are tatters ... and then ... they will become prayer flags.

Have fun ... creating new life from ... flame and waste!

rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Oh ... and vintage martini glasses??? I'll be over with the gin, vermouth and olives!

Kim said...

Sounds like fun.