Skip to main content

Old Loves

Before I get into what I wrote for today, I've discovered a bunch of my pictures of the recycled linen quilt that I posted on Tumblr are being reposted by other people on Pinterest without my permission. I'm flattered by the interest, but not too crazy about having my pics there. I never joined Pinterest because of the rampant copyright infringement they enable, and I try very hard to stay away from it for the same reason. I'm not judging anyone else who feels differently; this is just one of my online habits. Anyway, I'm not going to do anything about it (for now), but it's another reason to stay off Tumblr.

Onto today's post: I love vintage textiles. There's something about old pieces of beading, silk, and small wearables that grabs my heart and won't let go. I've been sorting through some of the things I've collected over the years, and I admit most of what I own is unlikely to ever again serve a practical purpose.

This is a piece of beadwork that probably dates back to the forties or fifties, judging by the work and age. It's all hand beaded, and held together mostly by very thin cotton thread that was already fraying when it came to me:

This glove is a bit younger, probably from the sixties. The beading on it was also done by hand:

Then there is this roll of fabric given to me years ago in hopes I could find some way to use it:

It's pure silk, very fragile, and six inches wide by six feet long. I'll guess it was the sash for a Victorian-era gown.

So what does one do with beadwork too delicate to apply to anything, a single glove, and a length of silk that is on the brink of shattering? I think just having them to hold and admire and find inspiration from them is enough.

Labels:

Comments

Maria Zannini said…
I picked up a pair of fine white leather gloves at a garage sale for 10 cents. Truly vintage. I hadn't seen gloves like these since the 60s and then only on posh women.

When we were kids, my mom always had us wear white gloves whenever we went to church. I remember mine had tiny beads at the cuff.

re: Pinterest
I can't say I understand Pinterest, but I do know it's common for people to share photos. For this reason anything I post has my copyright. They can share it at will, as long as they know from where it originated.
March 5, 2020 at 5:36 AM
nightsmusic said…
I haven't used my Pinterest account in forever. I got tired of being bombarded by stuff all the time and frankly, I've installed an extension on my browser that eliminates any Pinterest anything from my search results. So much better.

I too used to wear white gloves to church. I have no idea what happened to them. I remember them having little pearls on them though.

I would take those things and make a rosette out of the silk, then put all of them in some kind of frame or shadow box. Nice to be able to look at them as you pass in the hall.
March 5, 2020 at 8:14 AM
the author said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
March 5, 2020 at 8:24 AM
the author said…
I'll have to see if I can put an extension on Chrome to weed out Pinterest results -- thanks for the idea, Theo.

That's also a neat thought on what to do with my old loves. I will give it some thought. :)
March 5, 2020 at 8:25 AM
the author said…
Weird. I deleted a duplicate comment and it took out both. Anyway -- replying to Maria -- I wore those white gloves to church, too -- and a veil.

I think today with everyone sharing so much on social media people don't even think about copyright infringement. I should probably watermark my pics now, but since I've gone private I don't think it'll be a problem anymore.
March 5, 2020 at 8:28 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Downsizing

This was my fabric stash once I sorted everything -- 22 full bins. I spent a day taking out and boxing up what I could part with, with the goal of trying to reduce it by half, so I'd have 11 bins. I was very strict with myself, and removed everything that for one reason or another I was sure I wouldn't be able to use. This is what I ended up with -- 12 bins of fabric that I'm keeping. It's not quite half, but close enough. Half of what I took out went to a local quilter friend, a school and Goodwill. These four tightly-packed bins will be going to the local quilting guild once I make arrangements with them for a drop-off place. I am relieved and a little sad and now determined to control my impulses to thrift more fabric. I don't want to do this again, so until I use up six bins, I can't for any reason bring any new fabric into the house.
Post a Comment
Read more

In Progress

I promised myself I would show you the good, bad and ugly of my cleaning this year. This is what it looks like when you dump thirty years' worth of stashed fabric on the floor -- and oy, what a pain in the butt to pick up again! This is what it looks like after it's been sorted, folded and placed in containers, which took me about a week. Now the hard part is to downsize my stash by at least half, I think (that's my goal, anyway.) I've already e-mailed the president of the local quilting guild, a local friend who is a quilter, and a public school art teacher I know to see if I can donate some of the excess to them. The rest will go to Goodwill. Already I've reduced my vintage textiles from two bins to one, and my scraps from three bins to one. It's probably the hardest clean-out I've done, which is why I saved it until last. I know I have too much fabric, more than I can use in my lifetime -- but at the same time, I love it. So I have to
Post a Comment
Read more

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.
Post a Comment
Read more