I love working with the old fabrics in my collection. They each have a bit of history that I think about as I use them.
The white windowpane comes from a badly damaged dress, found in the basement of the house in Woodstock- I aquired it during the clean out. It was probably from around 1900- the corset age. It has some stains and damage, but I am working around and ignoring them.
The stiff white fabric came from my Mom’s stash. It was a brown sort of color on the top layer of the roll. I put it through the washing machine and it is fine- it is a cotton “organza” (? I think). It is stiff without starch- good for a petticoat. The polkadots came from a bag of fabrics that my neighbor gave me when they did a clean out. Judging from other things in the bag it was probably from the 60’s or early 70’s.
I am working on a dress for the gourd head girl… inspired by memories of a dress I had as a child.
I am 4 in this picture- it’s my birthday and I am holding a gift from my brother Paul- it is a helicopter that he made and I am very pleased with it. What doesn’t show in the picture is the large cloth red rose at the waist of the dress, the dotted swiss fabric- red dots on a white background, and the memory of the textures of the dress.
Here she is, trying on the dress in progress.
I loved that dress! One of the few that was never handed down to me – must have been my size in the wrong season. I am impressed that you remember gifts from 4 years old. More than I can say, that’s for sure. Your site is often a wonderful stroll down memory lane.
Mimi, I am re-reading your blog from the beginning, yes, I do it again. Just let you know how much fun I have reading your blog.