New Arrivals

I have unpacked and sorted another nice bundle of fabrics from the USA. I have been focussing on pre-1960's fabrics lately and also on novelties and quirkier ones. I hope you like them.

1950's cotton sateen

early 1950's Pensylvania Dutch Folky cotton

Early 1950's Pensylvania Dutch Folksy Cotton

Early 1950's Novelty Cotton

1930's Cotton

Early 1950's cotton canvas

Super Rare 1950's Embossed and Metallic Printed cotton weave

1950's scribbly print cotton sateen

Early 50's cotton sateen novelty

50's kids novelty print cotton

Early 50's cotton chintz

1930's/40's cotton

1950's Modernist Waverly Glosheen Cotton Kitchen Print

1930's Feedsack

Dated1951 Everglaze Chintz

1950's Polished Cotton Novelty of Periots

1950's Novelty

Late 50's cotton Novelty

Really unusual opened full feedsack. Late 40's?

Late 40's early 50's novelty cotton

Unusual border opened full feedsack Late 40's

1950's cotton canvas/duck cloth

1950's cotton sateen

1940's cotton ditsy on that nice organic black.

Late 50's early 60's cotton Sateen

1960's Birds in Red. I also have this in Green.

1940's Feedsack cotton yardage.

50's style cotton skirt border panel. 2.5mt length.

Textile Designs

Here are some textiles I designed with A Skulk of Foxes. The cross stitch one the chairs are covered in, the geometric red ones and the folky ditsy one. They are available for sale from lots of stores around the place or on a skulk of foxes web site.

Off to the Show

Well, i'm off to the Royal Melbourne Show for Monday and Tuesday with the Yarraville Market.
We will be in the Makers Alley. Here is a link to a Map from the Show web site.
I'm looking forward getting a show bag, eating the contents then going on some sort of crazy ride that will make me feel like I will throw up! Now thats what the show is all about.

I hope there is still the Bertie Beetle one. Am I showing my age?

English Invasion

I have a new load of vintage Liberty and Laura Ashley fabrics. From the early 1970's to early 1980's.

Liberty Tana Lawns, Wintellas - cotton/wool and some furnishing weight cottons. Also a few prints by some other English houses.

Also, as seen in all the interiors magazines the Union Jack is making a come back. Have we all gone a bit Blighty?  I have vintage Union Jacks by the metre, each metre will give you 12 flags or will sell by the panel, 3 flags per panel. This flag fabric was printed in the 1980's and was used to make fabric flags. Each flag is 30cm by 47cm. It's a good medium weight cotton perfect for cushions or bags. Or use it as yardage for a full effect.

New Arrivals

Here are the first of the new arrivals from my most recent time away. To see more please visit Flickr.
More buttons and curious items as well....
Time to get in quick at the next few markets coming up.
First off is the Yarraville market on the Saturday the 13th then Thread Den on Sunday the 21st of August.

A Well Earned Rest

I'm taking a break for 2 months over winter.
So my last 2 markets are The North Melbourne Market this Sunday and then the Hand Knitters Guild on the Following Saturday the 28th. So if you need goodies these will be your last 2 opportunities to stock up until August.
So, there will be no markets until August 21st At the North Melbourne Market.

Laundry Lady

Well my hands are red and sore, but I am mastering the art of laundering antique and vintage quilts. The special recipe from one of my ladies in the USA is being used. There is a trick to it as the fabrics are old, some not colourfast and the old battings were usually unbleached cottons. You often have rust spots, age spots and just general old stains from use.  Lots of hurdles to be worked out before they can be done. But they come up a treat...and so are my muscles! A fully sodden quilt weighs a ton!
With so many arriving I have to stay on top of them all. I know that in some cases you shouldn't launder, but as I sell these I try to give them a gentle freshen up. Some, I know you just can't and the best you can do it line air them.
So now the slipped seams will be re-stitched, popped patches and shattered squares will be carefully replaced and a few other little repairs will be done. I do not like to change the character of the quilts, I like the ageing and the irregularities of them so I tend to only do what they need.
I let the new owner decide what they would like to do.
And its a great chance to get up close and have a good look at all the amazing patterns in them. I can look at them for hours and still find prints I didn't see before.

1920's turkey red Squares. To be made up.

1920 to early 1950s Strip Patch quilt with loads of Novelty Prints, Silks, Rayons and Cottons.

1930's Feed Sack String Patch Quilt

Close Up of a 1950's Block 16 Patch.

1950's Block 16 Patch. Novelties and Rare Mid Century Prints.

Some more Quilts

I am loving these quilts, they are so lovely, unique, pretty, useful, delightful and just plain wonderful.
Nice and warm and thick and some over 100 years old. Its a tribute to the ladies who made them and to good old fashioned quality. Fabrics are just not the same these days.
I am unpacking more over the next few days, I still get surprised when I open them up and roll out.

1800's Bow Tie Quilt 

1930's Crazy Quilt from Feedsacks

1920's to 1940s Fabrics Multipatch Quilt

1940's Tulip Crosses Quilt

New Arrivals for Winter

Well the weather has turned for the cold now, time to rug up and start sewing by the fire!
Here are some recently unpacked goodies to kick off the markets for May.
There is the Yarraville Market on Saturday the 16th, Thread Den North Melbourne Market on Sunday the 22nd and the Hand Knitters Guild on Sunday the 28th.
For more new arrivals photos, please head over to my Flickr page.