1950s Curtain Fabric

 

I saw this fabric in a vintage sale in Tavistock Pannier Market recently. Original 1950s curtain fabric of barkcloth - cotton with a bit of texture.  I really liked it, but then I dithered! I am a bit of a ditherer sometimes. Not sure if 1950s would look right in our cottage. When I got home I really regretted not buying it, as I want to make some new cushions, and my husband is a bit anti-floral, but I thought this would be an interesting compromise. 

Luckily though someone on my printing course knew the name of the stallholder, and with a bit of searching on Instagram I found and contacted her. She brought the fabric back to the market for me next time she was there. Sometimes the web is really useful. The cushions aren't made yet, as I need to get zips and perhaps a different fabric for the back.

My Family Heirloom

I've been saving this post for a rainy day (i.e when I have nothing else to write about). I made this patchwork quilt a lot of years ago, and until recently it has been hidden in a chest. But finally my kids have passed the years when I have to worry about little accidents, so I thought it was time for it to come out of hiding.

I started making it when I was about 13 years old, and it took the good part of the next 8 years. Part of the reason it took so long was I kept running out of material. The original plan was, I think, to have no repeated fabrics, but if you look closely I do have two or three diamonds of some fabrics. I guess you would call most of the fabrics vintage, like me.

The section I like best is the middle. Partly it is because some of the stitching there is not very good. I got better as the years passed. A lot of the fabrics were from my mum's material bits and bobs box. 

It makes me realize how much sewing my mum did. I can remember most of the outfits that the fabrics came from, and it makes me nostalgic. Can you see the teddybear fabric from my sister's and my aprons? The purple flowers were from a little dress I made at school. Little turquoise flowers on white seersucker was a nightdress. I could go on for hours .... 

I have just remembered that my mum used to make us pretend bills, whenever she had finished a make. We would find the finished item of clothing on our bed, wrapped, and either with a bill from Anna's Dress Shop, or Nancy's Knitting Shop. She did this for years. I think she was trying to make a point ...

So there it is, my family heirloom. Every stitch was done by hand, even attaching the backing and edge ribbon. I slightly regretted using such a simple design, and have a hankering to make another quilt one day, perhaps with a more complicated pattern, and a colour theme. But this quilt was a labour of love for my children, and I'm sure I will not make anything handsewn on this scale again.