Just Being Childish!

Maybe it has something to do with me becoming a new grandma,

but my last four vintage fabric finds have been juvenile prints!

I think this first one is the oldest - the look, the feel, the faded fold.

For some reason, I want to say 1930s.  Could it be?

 Cupid bear is holding a 30's-green bow and arrow.

The girl's eyes seem Betty Boopish to me.

Look at the stockings and shoes.

36" width - four yards - cotton

Next is the kitty, sheep, goats, bunnies, ducks...

...but mostly kitties print.  I'd say early 70s on this one.

36" wide - 5 1/2 yards - cotton

 

This one is the mystical Marco Polo fabric!

How do I know it's the great Italian explorer of China - Marco Polo?

 Not because the drawings look like Marco sporting his favorite Tartar outfit...

 

It's all because of the wonderful information found on the selvage!
And you know how I love selvage information!

There are about nine yards of this 36" Little Golden Book Fabric.

Love the robin's egg blue.  

Maybe my Mandarin-speaking,

China-dwelling son would like this fabric for my new grand-daughter's nursery...

 

And if you're as curious as me, you would google the selvage-mentioned 

Marco Polo Little Golden Book and find out it was published in 1954.

So this fabric is from 1954 and the book is for sale on the internet.

And finally, we have this sweet yarn ball playing kitty,

hat-wearing, butterfly eating, ducky marching print. 

Seems kind of 40s-50s to me.  Maybe I'm wrong.

I have only a couple yards of this 36" width cotton.

 Lots of room for imagination in these sweet prints.

Vintage Rayons

It's been a wild week for anyone involved in education in Wisconsin.  As a school board president who is married to a public school teacher, let me tell you, I am right in the thick of things.  I have more worries than a goat on a four lane highway.  And it's really not funny at all.  And it's leaving me little time for the joy of creativity and vintage fabric.  So, rather than let you sit and look at my outdated Valentine's message, please enjoy these vintage rayons from... the 40s?  They are so swingy and carefree and fun...  unlike me right now.

bright chartreuse shamrocks

 

 ruched peach rayon

nice calligraphy lines

flower blowing cherubs

Equal Time For Angels

A few weeks ago, I did a post on Christmas elves,

so now it's time to feature their more feminine counterparts...

the angels.

There are two kinds of vintage angel ornaments out there. 

Some are painted and glittered spun cotton like these two

candle and Christmas tree bearing soul sisters...

 and others are like these three made from foil paper cones.

Peak under their skirts and they tell their stories.

Research says many were made in Japan during the 1930s-1950s.

While others, like these maraca shaking twins...

are from West Germany - made as early as the 1920s. 

Now all are members of one big happy family

who spend one month a year hanging around my house.

Ho Ho Ho - Christmas Elves

Oh yes, it's that time of year again.  Christmas is sneaking in all around us.  The commercials on TV start off with a subtle bell and then maybe somebody's wearing a red hat and before you know it, there's Santa riding the Norelco shaver down the hill!  Sorry to everyone too young to remember that.

An article in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living caught my eye on pp. 114, "Small Wonders." It's an article about vintage Christmas elves - those papery, weightless, chenille, cotton figures that look like they were homemade half a century ago.  Well, now that Martha has spotlighted them, I'll bet I won't still be able to snap one up at the local antique mall for $2 or $3 a pop.  I've always liked these goofy little guys and every year, I decorate a white feather tree with them.

This is the tree from last year when I left half my decorations in the box.  We were just minimalists last year.  I mean, should anyone have 32 plastic tubs of Christmas decorations?  No, I think not.  Sorry, I digress.  So, I'll share a few of my favorite fellows - of those who made it out of the box last year, anyway.

 I love the guys made out of pine cones playing musical instruments.

  

 Do you think that pipe cleaner ascot keeps Frosty warm?

 

 Christmas tree toting elf.

This elf dude is kind of flat - I'll call him Flat Stanley.

Last elf for today is this wizard-like fellow with his red glittery robe and pointed hat.  Reminds me of the vintage cone angels (future post).  But he's definitely a he... or else she needs to wax that chin.

Shelf of the Week - Pink

Shelves of fabric, sort of sorted by color, make up my sewing room.  

Black, red/purple, pink, yellow, cream, white, green, brown, and gray all have designated shelves.  What a mess.  I haven't refolded my fabric in years and years, yet I've pulled pieces out and jammed yardage back in over and over.   Lately, I've been trying to organize my sewing room.  You may remember the great closet makeover of last fall.  Well, I'm still working at the rest of the room.  My kids are all coming home (in three weeks- tick, tick, tick) from BYU to spend the summer here - even my oldest son, Lars and his wife, Spring.  (Yes, Spring's coming this spring!)  Lars and Spring need a place to crash for a few months until they leave for a year-long trip to China in August.   So, they are taking the sewing room and I am moving creative operations into my bedroom over the summer.   Anyway, my supplies need to be in order to make room for them.

To keep me on the straight and narrow and provide accountability, I'm going to tackle a shelf per week and blog the highlights along the way... starting with pink.  

Now I don't have a "before" picture because I folded the shelf before I decided to blog about it.  So all you get is the "after" and the highlights of the pink shelf.  There will always be highlights.  Actually, I must have a terrible memory because I keep finding fabrics I had forgotten all about.  Blame it on school board.

Here are some pink barkcloth highlights.  For those of you who are not familiar with barkcloth, it was a heavy weight, textured cloth in fashion from the 30s-50s mostly used for draperies.  My personal favorite here is the lower left barkcloth with the turquoise geraniums and salmon colored cafe curtains.  Based on everything I have learned and read, the middle pale, textured one (I suspect) is the oldest piece - from the 30s.

Next are the pink tablecloths - mostly from the 50s.

These are yardages - all in widths of less than 40" indicating they were produced before the 1950s.  I've got at least 5 yards of the one on the lower right with the roses on dusty pinky peach.  It's soft and supple.  What piece of clothing would you make with it?

And we can't forget the bright and fun colors of mid century fabrics!  Lower left is a mod apron.  Upper left is fabric pre-printed for cafe curtains - yards and yards and yards with cut lines, directions and all.  Lower right is a polished cotton also only about 40" wide.  Gotta love the pinks!

Good Design is Always Classic

After Keaton's band concert last night I ended up in my sewing room pulling fabric off of shelves and dreaming up pillow ideas.  It was fun, but I stayed up too late and at one point one of my shelf brackets pulled out of the wall from the weight of the fabric and I was stranded there not wanting to wake anyone up by a falling board so I was holding the board up with one hand and pulling fabric off of it with the other.  (By the way, Larry if you're reading my blog - add that to your fixit list.)

Anyway, I lost track of time as I began to uncover fabrics that I didn't even remember having.  What was really interesting was realizing how my tastes have changed with the trends.  How does that happen?  I still love my old favorites, but the fabrics that are drawing my eye the most these days were my least favorites 20 years ago when I had my business - Vintage Generations.  It's like a new car that looks so cool at first, but slowly as we are introduced to new shapes, lines and colors, what was once the latest thing eventually looks out dated.  Maybe "out dated" isn't the best word to use when describing vintage fabric because they're all "out dated" so to speak.  Oh well, what am I trying to say?  Eventually, everything old is new again.  And good design is always classic.  And tastes change.

Twenty years ago I couldn't get enough big, romantic floral barkcloth and cottons like these from my collection:

 

  

 

I also have hoards of fruit fabrics like this:

I still love those fabrics.  The florals represent my love of the shabby chic roses of the 40s and the fruit shows my love of all things bright, charming and 50s.  But these days my eye is drawn to the following vintage fabrics from my collection:

 

I used to really dislike this one - not enough flowers.

Ditto.  (no flowers)  Love it now.

 

This one has flowers, but wasn't cabbage rose-ish enough.  

Now I like the bright sort of paisley swirls.

This barkcloth - so atomic - gold highlights and all.

I really love this one now - so mod.

I used to strongly dislike this fabric - but now I actually like the simplicity of the calligraphic line.  Each of those medallions is about 12" long.  (I know it's hard to tell size by a photo.)

Or how about this one?  Love it now.  20 years ago?  Not so much.

I have a small stash of VERY 60s flower power fabric.  This is one that I have at least five yards of.  To show you the size of those flowers, check out my computer mouse in the upper left.  Very graphic.

So, what do you think of my fabric?  Where do your tastes fall these days?