You know how when someone you know says something like "Hey, you should check out my vintage fabric collection—I've got kind of a lot of it," you smile and think, Hey, yeah, that's cool, I have a few boxes too. But politely and excitedly say, "Yes, sure, I'd love to check it out. And yes, sure, we can barter the thing you want of mine for a few vintage scraps."
Well, Stacy weren't kidding. I was literally speechless when I walked into her vintage fabric room. Truly awesome!!!
The sheer volume of awesomeness was overwhelming at first, but then I enthusiastically dove in ... only to find that there was even more fabric than I first believed; layer upon layer of incredibleness. I had just been reading about inspiring workspaces in my new issue of Uppercase magazine, and wow, did this space inspire me! I wanted to go get my sewing machine, bookshelves, comfy chair, and quilting/crafting supplies, and move right into the middle of it all!
So, thank you Stacy for the incredible Friday afternoon adventure. And thank you for the inspiration and the awesome barter.
Here are the amazing fabrics that I got out of it:
And here's why I chose each of these delicious prints ...
1. Three vintage Alaska tablecloths. Each full of errors/typos, cultural insensitivities (by today's standards), and stereotypes, but each a representative example of its time. Given that my husband has been in Alaska since July (mostly floating around in the Arctic Ocean), and given that I recently took my first trip to Alaska, my infatuation with the state is deep. These three gems themselves were worth the price of admission—oh wait, that was free. I am a lucky girl! I have no idea what I might do with these, but I can't wait to find out ...
This one is 34 inches by 37 inches:
This one is 31 inches by 33 inches:
This big boy is 50 inches by 47 inches:
2. I love anything with a vegetable on it, and this is the oddest vegetable-related fabric I've ever seen (it's another tablecloth measuring 52 inches square). The Dutch (?) rabbit with the apron is downright sinister, and the truly bizarre collection of quotations is insane—a sampling:
"Cares melt when you kneel in the garden"
"Don't get carrot away"
"24 carrot gold"
"Do you carrot all?"
and, um:
"From caring comes courage —Lao Tzu"
Wait, what? Clearly this must become a quilt, but for whom?
3. How could I pass up the kind-of-creepy fish?
4. I've been octopus-obsessed since my trip to Alaska (and my run-in with the awesome octopus in Seward), and I've been drawing out octopus-inspired quilting designs in my journals since my return. This fabric make me think of the suckers on an octopus' arms, and I already know just what I'm going to do with this black and white scrap of masterpiece!
5. Well, these are mushrooms. How could I pass up a mushroom fabric? Not possible.
6. Given that my husband is in the Coast Guard, and given that because of that we will probably always live very close to the water, we are surrounded by nautical hints at every turn. This fabric will make an excellent quilt or pillows or even curtains at some point ...
7. And this bizarre pattern and color combination will make an amazing accent to a more sedate quilt or scarf.
So, that's my haul ... I can't wait to do the laundry again and get all of this washed up and dried.
Thank you dear Stacy for the fantastic glimpse into your vintage fabric world—it left me inspired and excited to see what comes out of my sewing machine next ...