The Mother Load

If a genie were to pop out of a bottle and grant me a wish, I swear it would be to find a cache of vintage fabric. I have day dreams about hitting the ultimate estate sale with an untouched sewing room of treasures. Or there's the fantasy about travelling back in time circa 1950 and shopping at a fabric store where the yardage is cheap and the textiles are nifty.





Well, when Jaime and I were at our craft show recently, a genie of sorts did appear. Her name is Marie and she told us of this wonderful place (her attic) that contained tons of treasures (5 garbage bags full) and how she'd been searching the world over for two amazing crafters to take it off her hands (okay, I made that up).

To the untrained eye, this table full of fabrics, sewing patterns and wonderful whatnots may look like a flea market spread. But for someone that treasures all things vintage and kitsch, this is The Mother Load. The best part of all was when Marie told us the history behind some of the fabric: the batiks her in-laws brought back from Singapore; the bright flowered fabric she used for her now grown son's changing table; the sewing pattern her mother used to make a Halloween costume. It really was like a trip back in time. Here are some of my faves:





































































On a different note, it's getting cold. This kind of thing seems to happen every fall. And I've got all of these jackets with three quarter length sleeves, which I love, except for the cold thing. So I decided to make some fingerless gloves. Is it too obvious what they are made from? I'll give you a hint: gloves may cause athlete's hand. Mitch says they looks too "hobo-ish", whatever that means. Not all of us can be so lucky to have a feline hand warmer!