I went a little nuts on Friday and did another fabric purge. I seem to do this about once a year- go through all the fabric I STILL have from my mom (and my own stash too) and decide what I am ready to part with. This time it was lots of wool- plaids, suitings in gray, navy, black and brown. And also some silks, cotton knits, terry cloth, seersucker, etc, etc…  Things that I am very unlikely to use.  I worry that they will get ruined if I just leave them in the attic for another generation- how crazy would that be.
I was looking on Ebay to see if it’s worth trying to sell rather then donate it all to local fashion programs. One of the auctions for wool yardage said that their fabric was all wool because they had done a bleach test on it. I have never heard of a bleach test for wool so I googled it and found a description.  Now, I have a question about this- I can understand that bleach eats away natural fibers, but what if your fabric is a mix of wool and cotton or silk? It would still dissolve, right?  Anyway, I tried it out and confirmed that some things were all natural and some things aren’t… so I know more then I did before.
Remember this post that started such an interesting discussion about buying handmade?  Since it was prompted by my visit to Etsy and my conversation with Vanessa who works on the Storque, I forwarded her a link to the post so she could see the thoughtful comments everyone left. Vanessa wrote an article today that links to the post and quotes me and also some of you in the article. I can’t wait to read the comments the article get- it continues to be a fascinating and important dialogue.
I did a bit of purging as well this weekend. It was mostly clothes that I’ve had forever(sweaters that have enough holes for an octopus). My problem is, ever since I started reading theneedle.org , and seeing all of the creative recycling that is going on over there, I can’t bring myself to put anything in the thrift store donation bag, I want to cut up all the old sweaters and make fantabulous monsters out of them.
Mimi, I posted about some of your work recently, and I would *love love love* if you’d be willing to do a full artist profile for Layers Upon Layers sometime. If you’re interested, please email me :-) Thanks ~ Cyndi L
http://www.layersuponlayers.com/beautiful-fabric-postcards/
thanks for the ‘bleach test’ info. very helpful
I’ve been thinking a lot about the ‘buying handmade’ discussion since your previous post and have read the Storque article and comments. it is a far reaching topic and I haven’t commented yet because I don’t feel like my opinion is fully formed yet, but, I am perceiving an underlying tone in the handmade discussion that runs through a lot of counter culture or alternative culture groups… social groups that I have had lots of experience with (vegetarians/vegans, artist, punk rock, anarchist, hippie, etc). the core intentions of these groups (that I have been part of) are good, but often the original goals and intentions become side-tracked as time passes. I make dolls and toys because I have a creative need to, and I enjoy it. I try to sell them because, well, I would be overwhelmed with them otherwise, and I would like to earn a little bit from my hobby.
I would love to someday make a bit more from what I love to do, but if I don’t, I won’t stop.
Sometimes I perceive a bit of ‘guilting’ in the “buy handmade” slogan and Christmas pledge, a sort of “this is better than that,” “you are a better person if you buy handmade stuff and you are a bad person if you buy from Walmart (or Target, or malls, etc)” I know my son really loves and appreciates handmade toys, but he also loves and appreciates store-bought toys, and BOTH are luxuries. I think most of the handmade craft things ARE luxuries.
I know I buy my luxuries; whether they are handmade, sweatshop made, or second hand, because I have a love and attraction for them.
I think someone on the Etsy discussion board made a good comment on the source of the crafting raw materials… I end up buying a lot of my fabric, stuffing, and tools from JoAnn Fabrics! pretty corporate, that!
anyway, I am still thinking about all this, and I am glad you brought this up! Thanks for your blog Mimi!