Olde School

This photo is of a cashmere wool plus blend dress I made from a Vogue Pattern with a few adjustments (I have always tweaked). I took the dress apart and tried to dye the remains ....but it did not survive the process.

I always wash my wools gently before refashioning garments but once in awhile the uglies will happen. It is better to take off a pocket, cut a piece from the hem or facing and wash it first to test outcomes before throwing it all into the washer. Just a warning, personally I am rarely that patient and won't dry clean unless I can find a green dry cleaner and the fabric is wonderful enough for that TLC.

The lamp is from a thrift store and the chair is vintage Art Deco.

Antique Quilts

You never know what possibilities spring up as the path unwinds.

Alyson, a sewing student of mine, had a mother that would trade wallpaper for quilts back in the '70s. Her parents had a decorating store and her mother loved the detailed handwork on these quilts. She displayed them folded on shelves and other flat surfaces, hanging one or two at a time.

Alyson inherited them but they were stored in plastic and along with the dry cleaning her mother had done; they are sadly breaking down. They are now breathing free and the orange stars from the late 1800s can be restored with tea dyed cotton and PATIENCE - to do all the itty- bitty stitching of the background.