I went to a local estate sale yesterday and came home with a box full of fun!
I decided to check out the sale because the advert listed a vintage sewing machine cabinet - something that's been on my wish list. I'd like a dedicated cabinet for my electric Singer 201, so I can use it without having to move machines in and out of other cabinets.
The cabinet was a bust - it held a vintage Singer which I didn't want and which had little resale value. The asking price was not at all realistic, so no cabinet came home with me.
However, where a sewing machine has lived, there are usually sewing supplies, so I kept my eyes open. As we were about to leave I spied a big box with vintage sheets on top. I took a quick look under the sheets and saw lots of fabric, so I grabbed the box and paid before someone changed their mind and asked for more money!
I scored four different sets of vintage sheets. These will go in my stash of vintage sheet fabrics.
These items were stored together in a bag. The sweater (too small for me - darn!) is Scottish lambswool and the yardage is wool from a mill in St. Andrews, Scotland. Both are wonderfully soft wools with great drape. The Vogue pattern screams 1980s!
There were also some wool felt scraps. The red herringbone is more of a dress weight fabric, while the plaid is more like upholstery fabric.
I love toile fabric, so this one really tickled my fancy. It's a fairly good-sized chunk of a smooth, decorator-type fabric.
There were lots of scraps from garment construction. On the left, a cotton blend fabric we used to call "kettle cloth"; center - a soft fine wale corduroy and on the right a soft cotton flannel.
Isn't this print fun? It's got some stains, but I think I can soak them out.
A huge variety of red fabrics here: more corduroy, red & white seersucker, some Concord quilting fabrics (cheater cloth!) and on the back left, a fabulous chunk of heavy cotton velvet.
Unpacking all these treasures was a lot of fun. Most of the fabrics are decent-sized pieces, so plenty of useful scraps. I don't have immediate plans for putting any of the fabric to use, but fondling them has certainly jazzed up the creative process!
