Antique Victorian Cuffs and The Attic

Hello!

I recently bought these two burgundy velvet and lace cuffs on eBay, and I thought that you might enjoy seeing them.

Here are the two. 

The velvet portions are lovely with very slight wearing,

and the lace has aged to a beautiful ecru color.

They don't really fasten closed,

so I am thinking that they were just sewn to the bottom

of the sleeves, and hung loose...

They are embellished with these lovely

sparkly pieces,

which appear to be some kind of metal...

...seen a little bit better here...

...and here...

These would be lovely incorporated into a Valentine's Day project,

don't you think?

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Hubby decided that it was time to clean out the attic.

It's always been kind of dark up there,

so right before the holidays he put in some

fluorescent lighting and shelving units.

I should have know what was coming.

I've already begun pulling out items that I can live without

and pricing them,

since we have a community yard sale coming up in the spring.

Wow.

I would so much rather be cleaning an attic

than making art.

Winter Whites and Winter Days

Hello friends! 

Today we woke up to a 31-degree morning, which is pretty cold for November in NC. My heart goes out to our friends in the mid-west who have it so much worse with their early snowfall. I hope that you are all doing well!

Recently I purchased some lace fabrics and trim on Etsy, and most of them were in winter whites, so I couldn't resist pairing them with some of my vintage winter photos on burlap linen.

Do you remember when you were little and

your mom bundled you up so tightly that

you could barely walk?

But if you did as you were told,

she rewarded you with a ride on your 

sled.

Of course, she was all bundled up too!

When you grew up,

you got to skate with your friend.

You were still bundled up against

the cold.

Well, maybe not as much as 

when you were little!

Wherever you are,

enjoy the season! 

Thanks for coming by.

This week I will join Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday.

You can find Wen's blog here.
Thanks again Wendy.
I really appreciate all of your hard work!

Fabric and Lace Collage: Memory is a Child Walking Along a Seashore

Hello to all.

Recently I told you about an Etsy shop that sells some gorgeous images, and you can see that post here.  I finally used one of the images that I had purchased in a piece of artwork and was hoping that you would like to see some photos of it.

The beautiful image of the children playing on

the beach was my inspiration...

The photo had been tinted with just the smallest 

hint of pale blue,

so I used some blue silk dupioni to frame

part of it... 

...along with some lovely vintage lace and

a shell fossil purchased in Florida...

...some buttons and rick rack

on the old doily at the bottom,

since the rick rack reminded me of waves...

...and of course, a beautiful quote,

accented with a vintage lace applique

to which an old rhinestone button has been added...

This piece hangs from a length of jute

that makes me think of fishnets.

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This piece is now listed in my Etsy shop.

Wishing you a peaceful and creative day!

Fabric Collages: Remembering Childhood and Family Faces

Hello dear friends! I have created two more fabric collage pieces. My creative spurt is running rampant. I wonder how long this trend will last! Ha!

"What we Remember from our Childhood"

You may remember this lovely old photo from my

having used it my art book that was published in 

"Sew Somerset" last winter.

My post about it can be seen here.

I absolutely adore this little girl and her dog,

so I just had to use it again... 

This one was done in all neutrals,

and, of course, old lace and mother of pearl buttons...

...with a beautiful quote that rests on

a thick piece of vintage brown velvet...

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"Family Faces are Magic Mirrors"

You may also remember my post, seen here,

about the beautiful girls in this photo,

so I knew I just had to use it again...

Lately I have been enjoying playing with color,

but, of course, I will always love my neutrals...

The two pieces are both sewn onto linen burlap, 

and are now for sale in my Etsy shop.

Have a wonderful day!

Plaster Cloth Wrap on Fabric: "Just Me and My Friends" fabric and lace collage...

Good morning!

Continuing with my post from yesterday, 

below is the collage that 

I made with the drop cloth fabric to which 

I had applied texture by using Plaster Cloth Wrap. 

(It is impossible to get a decent photo due to the 

low level of light in our house these days, 

so you may need to enlarge this photo.)

I made the little collage separately,

adding the photo, more laces

and embellishments to a piece of a vintage

hankie, which I used as the base.

I then glued the little collage to the textured

substrate fabric,

positioning it to the upper left

so that the best plastered areas would not be

covered up.

Don't you just love the photo of the sweet

little girl with her dolls in the carriage?...

I used my handy-dandy 

Crop-A-Dile to set the eyelets at the top.

This baby easily went through all 

the layers of fabric, plaster and lace...

In the spirit of Valentine's Day,

I couldn't resist using this beautiful

rhinestone heart,

along with some of my lovely

vintage velvet ribbon which I shared 

with you in a recent post...

I also began creating something with the 

burlap pieces, 

but that will have to wait for a future post.

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Have a peaceful and creative day!

Playing with Plaster Cloth Wrap on fabric...

Hello there!

The other day I had some time to play in my studio, so I decided to pull something out that I had worked on a while ago.Way back whenever, I was in an "experimental" mood, so I decided to try my hand at using plaster cloth to see what interesting textures I could come up with. I didn't really have any specific project in mind when I made it, except I knew that I would likely turn it into a fabric collage of some sort.

Below is the product that I used.

Pretty inexpensive to experiment with!

It comes on a roll that is 4 inches by 180 inches (10 by 450 cm).

I worked with about 12 inches at a time.

After dipping the strips, one at a time, into a bowl

of warm water, 

I placed each strip on my fabric piece,

scrunching as I went along, 

and created a first layer.

I then did the same thing again,

this time scrunching in different areas, while

incorporating vintage lace scraps

into the plaster, smoothing it in sections as I went along.

I covered some of the lace in some areas with the plaster...

Here is one larger piece that I did on

some canvas drop cloth material.

Towards the upper left you can see where

I left it a little flat so that later I could add something else.

You can also see where the plaster partially covers the laces...

In this more detailed photo,

you can see the mesh of the plaster cloth showing through

in some areas,

and where I made it smoother in others.

Use your fingers to smooth the plaster cloth 

until it gets as smooth as you want it.

You do not need to even dirty a paintbrush!...

The next few photos show more of the detail.

I left the canvas frayed on the edges 

as I liked the scrappy look...

For the three samples below,

I experimented with small burlap pieces...

For this one I used a larger scrap of lace...

...and on this one I used no lace,

but liked the built up texture 

near the center...

For this one I just used a small piece of lace...

Here are some photos that show more detail...

And this last photo shows you what the reverse side looks like.

Kind of interesting in itself, I think...

So what exactly did I make with these? 

I did make something with the larger piece 

from the drop cloth.

In my next post I will show you what!

Have a great evening!

Finding Old Lace in Vintage Hankies

One of my favorite memories as a child was watching my paternal grandmother crochet and tat lace edges for hankies. I always wondered how she could maneuver such a small hook or shuttle and make something so beautiful out of simple little threads. My aunt later taught me how to crochet, but I learned on granny afghan squares and then progressed to crocheting throws. I never did learn how to tat. I believe it's a dying art, and there are likely very few gals that know how to do it in this day and age. I did recently buy a book about how to get started, along with a shuttle, but somehow I have not found the time to try it.

I remember using many of the hankies that my grandmother edged, and even when carrying Kleenex became "the norm" I still loved my lace-edged hankies and always carried one with me. There is something so beautiful about seeing the delicate work created by someone long ago that will always strike a chord with me. And unlike Kleenex, they leave no lint in your purse.

Since my foray into fabric art began, I have always looked for various kinds of lace that I can incorporate into my work. Vintage colored lace is not easy to find, so I started to look to old hankies as a source. Often they fetch a pretty high price, even when bidding on eBay, especially if you buy a group that are in the same color family. Often they fetch upwards of $3 to $5 dollars a piece. So, imagine my excitement when on Etsy I found "Ninety four lace-edged hankies" for sale. They looked pretty good in the photos that the seller provided, and she stated that they were clean and ironed when she bought them, probably from an estate sale. They were grouped by color, and I imagine that the lady who owned them stored them in her drawer this way, so that they were ready to go whenever she needed them.

What do you think?

This is how they looked when I opened the box...

 The work is exquisite.

Beautiful blues...

Some with embroidery...

Some with a touch of black...

...and some in nice Autumn colors...

Don't you just love these butterflies?...

The one on the left is tatting,

and the one on the right crocheting...

Gorgeous greens...

...with this one tatted in two colors 

being one of my favorites. 

It also has some cut work on it...

Several used multi-colored threads...

I love the crocheting on this one.

It looks like an edging of delicate seashells...

Some with applique as well as lace...

The pinks are just beautiful...

...with this one so unusual...

...not to mention the delicate pink tatting on this one...

More lovely butterflies...

...and delicate lavenders...

...with a punch of red...

I am so happy to have all of this beautiful lace to use in my art. Or not to use in my art. I think I will just look at them for awhile, admire their beauty, and respect the time and efforts of those who walked before us, my grandmother included. 

Do you have collections of beautiful things that you like to look at?