Opening Packages

Above ~ Late 18th century French silk hand~made trim in duck egg and cream with perfect little silk 'buttons' completely hand stitched in the finest thread ~ utterly gorgeous!

I have a lovely friend Jan, an antique textiles dealer who I have known now for about 10 years or so. She used to have the teeniest little shop but now just works from home and I am so lucky that every now and again she puts together a little parcel of goodies for me to look at to see if I want to buy them. Of course, she is soooo good at knowing what I like that there is never anything I want to send back and always buy everything! This weekend I had such a parcel to open ~ the anticipation of opening all the little bags... Inside, were various lengths of old ribbon, lace, buttons and 'bits' ~ some will be perfect trimmings for the pieces I am planning to make just as soon as I get some time, and others will be offered for sale on my website ~ if I can just bring myself to part with them.

Jan and I chatted for ages on the phone today about our interest in old textiles and agreed that we are so lucky to be involved in something that we are passionate about, and while we will never make our fortune doing what we do, we are priveleged to be able to hold and appreciate such amazing little treasures and wondrous rare finds, even if only for a short time before they are passed on to a new owner. I would never have the budget to buy and keep collections of antique textiles just for my own pleasure kept in a drawer to look at every now and then ~ but what I do is the next best thing. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and just occasionally something will catch my eye and I just know for sure that I will keep it forever... Mostly; the desire to be able to find more goodies is what encourages me to make and sell just enough to fund my little business and keep me happy!

An early 20th century needle lace butterfly c.1910

A bunch of Victorian tiny fabric flowers

Art Nouveau hand~worked silk appliques

I can't wait to photograph some more to share with you. I now must absolutely stop buying stock and start sewing again!