The first one was an award winning Ebay score. A woman who had inherited her mother's and aunt's house was selling off it's contents. Both of them were textiles teachers and they obviously both had a bit of a fabric problem going on. I think I was one of her first customers and got a Volvo estate boot (trunk for you, Americans) full of fabric for 2€.
When I went to collect it
.......Wasting time looking at material on Ebay wasn't quite so wasted. Look at the loot in this boot. 2€! I challenge you to get a better deal! There are some wild, some pretty and some pretty grim (70's nylon) pieces in there. And there are some that are already calling out to be turned into clothes. Clothes for me, clothes for the Things, clothes for Karneval, clothes for little girls (don't have any of those at home)..... I shall have lots of fun! I do have one question though, what do you do with three meters of purple (or red or yellow or brown) nylon? Any takers?
After I had got it home......
I told you about my award winning ebay steal.
Now I am washing and airing it. Good that the weather is so hot (and
now windy too). I now have a nice pile of material, such a nice pile
that I have no idea where I am going to store it. Yesterday I ironed a
lot and whilst doing that I thought about the women who's stash this had
been. Did she have things in mind when she bought each piece or did she
just buy them? Some have obviously been reduced or pieces with faults.
What were they like as a people? Did they sew for themselves, for her family,
for friends?
There
are two ways of looking at this collection of material (I don't know if
there was more): it is what is left over after a lifetime of crafting,
all the really nice pieces have been sewn, or there are plans and dreams
in still in there. I think the truth, as ever, is somewhere in between.
Some of the pieces literally shout out about what they want to become. A
pretty pink summer skirt, a child's winter fleece, a Barbie dress (??
that must be the material talking as I haven't come up with such things
before!!), a pair of grey autumn trousers. I am sure you will end up
seeing some of these things here.
Some of the pieces pay hommage to a certain period of time. There are pieces of spun nylon in purple, red, bright yellow and bright blue. There are some horrible beige nylon with light blue flowers raised on the surface. A bit like flocked wallpaper. In this heat it doesn't just look horrible, it makes my skin crawl. What would you do with them? The only idea I had was to ring a clothing museum and ask if they could use them.
From this haul, I have made a mathematics dress (see top photo, blue and black material on the left hand side), the tent part of a play tent for Thing Two and a Christmas tree skirt from some of the lime green on the left. All the nylon and fabric that made my skin crawl as well as a good lot of patterns that I felt I would never even like, nevermind love, I gave away. Proud of myself on that one!
As to the second "incident", I'll tell you about that another time....
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