Ahhh, gingham. I love it. I can never get enough gingham. It makes a nice background for my personalized items and it seems I'm always running out of it. When I saw this batch at an estate sale this morning, I scooped it up right away. That alone would have made my morning, but I also got these:
Which made me very happy too. Believe it or not, I'm pretty particular about my fabric choices. I tend to go for vintage, preferably 50s-70s, bright, bold, and unique. Wacky and odd is a plus in my book. Brittle or stinky is a deal-breaker. These are just a few things I've noticed about my fabric preferences.I like:
cotton prints (sturdy, not flimsy)
bright colors (ones you can spot a mile away)
wacky animals (preferably psychedelic)
stripes, gingham, calico (paging Laura Ingles)
velvet (totally pettable)
fleece and faux fur (good for monster-making and fun to pet)
felt (for monster mouths)
tulle (for monster tutus)
naugahyde, vinyl (smooth and strong)
smooth nylon/polyester (especially with photorealistic prints)
vintage bedsheets that aren't faded (so smoooth)
patchwork, quilt tops (vintage and in good condition is a dream come true)
Ikea fabric (it's sturdy and bright)
I don't like:
JoAnn's novelty prints (hokey)
thick scratchy polyester (ick.)
linen (boring and wrinkly)
burlap (gives me heebie-jeebies)
There's probably more. I'll revise that list if I think of any.
I also got these (mostly) vintage notions today:
I don't really need 3 purse-size tape measures, all that iron-on fabric or even any more ric-rac for that matter (I have enough to ric-rac the world). However, while I was looking through all this stuff I realized what I'm going to do for my next giveaway. I'm going to give it away! I come across so many odd, cool, practical notions in my thrifty adventures, I really shouldn't hoard it all. So, over the next few months I'm going to keep an eye out for some more cool seamstressy things and put together a package or two. I'm sure someone could put these:
bias tape makers to good use. (Before today, I didn't know there was such a thing.) Same goes for this:
Now, friends, let me tell you about MAGIC STITCHER. . . It's an unusual and ideal gift that I'm going to give away!
6 comments:
I have a thing for gingham too - must be watching Little House on the Prairie when I was youngster!! I have been doing some chicken scratch embroidery on gingham this week. Love all your vintage haberdashery items.
Hi, KB-
Great to meet you. We're regular readers over at Sugarcreek Stuff, so when she featured your blog, we had to come over and take a look. I'm so glad I did! I have a serious softspot for gingham, too. And like "A Spoonful of Sugar," I admit a serious love of Little House On the Prairie, too. Great minds think alike?
Kathryn
KB
that was an awesome deal on the bias tape makers, they are around $9.00 here in Australia.. I go to garage sales and never get anything EVER.. I hate scratchy fabric too, if i use linen I use a blended one, I hate how wrinkly it gets too!
Lissa
I remember thinking it would be cool to be Nellie (ringlets and all) and have my parents own a shop like they had. I wouldn't be a brat though.
Spoonful of sugar - Now I want to use the words "haberdashery" more. It's a fun word.
Lissa - I think the reason I find so much haberdashery is because this town is full of fashion and costume designers. Finding stuff like this was rare when we lived in West Virginia.
Magic Stitcher looks like a home pregnancy test. It also looks like something else, but I'm not going to type it out loud.
Ha! That's what a couple of my Flickr friends said when they saw that picture in thumbnail!
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