ATA: Alternative Textile Acquisition

As we all know, quilters never have enough fabric.  There's nothing better for the spirit and the stash than a trip to the Local Quilt Store or perusing fabrics online.  Those are pretty traditional methods for stash enhancement, but I've got another method that can be just as satisfying - maybe more so!  I'm talking about Alternative Textile Acquisition - the technique of sniffing out bargains and amazing finds at garage and estate sales, thrift shops, flea markets and even antique stores.

I recently went to a local estate sale and walked away with multiple yards of fun cotton fabric.

Plaids and stripes in 100% cotton are always useful.  Several of these shirts were still in the original packaging - never worn!  And, as they're mostly size 3 Extra Large, I walked away with yards of fabric for less than $10!

I always wash my estate sale finds in hot water before adding them to the plaids and stripes shirt stash.

The same estate sale also had a large selection of 100% cotton Hawaiian shirts.  Often this style of shirt is only found in blends (usually rayon), so I was pretty excited to find cotton.  Again, several of them were in unopened packages and all were size 3 Extra Large.

I've been saving ideas for quilts using Hawaiian-themed fabrics, as well as ideas for Hawaiian shirt memory quilts, so these were a great find for my stash.  If you want to see the prints a little closer, click on the picture for a better view.

I also had a lucky run with finding some vintage calendar and tea towels when I visited my mom in Florida last week.

 

The flower power calendar towel in the center was just too much fun to pass up!  I can see the dogs as the center of a medallion quilt with lots of bright curved piecing and maybe some orange peels for the borders.  No specific plans for the others - I just couldn't leave them behind after finding them.  The Holly Hobbie calendar on the top right is from 1976 - the American Bicentennial.  The bottom right towel is a Waverly print.  The chicks and bird houses on the bottom left look like they could've been printed last week.  And the blueberries on the top left are full of saturated color.

I think the joy of the hunt is what makes these so special.  It's not difficult to find vintage textiles via eBay & Etsy these days, but it's a lot more fun to track them down for yourself!

Vintage Fabric Fun

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!