A Merry Heart Invites Sunshine
Here we are again. Under a white, snowey blanket. But as Mom and I merrily tell each other, "Hey! The sun is shining!"
Scraps.
2" x 2" layout
Finished pillow.
Ahhhh!
A soft place to dream of the beach!
Found a rare treasure last weekend out having "me" time. Not a lot of that happens here since we homeschool. Spent a few stolen minutes at a local antique mall perusing, peeping, searching, pawing through baskets and boxes of fabric and came upon this feedsack repurposed as a square tablecloth fringed with pink crochet. Again, a "cutter" piece with stains and holes.
In the 1800's, cotton sacks were used as containers for farm and food products. These sacks had labels or logos printed on them. Frugal American women would take these sacks and remove the labels and logos using soaks in kerosene, Fels-Naptha soap and bleach or by rubbing them with unsalted lard and giving them a wash with lye soap. Voila! Cotton fabric now ready to be used for a variety of purposes from underwear to quilts and embroidery!
On the "front" of my find, you can still see the print of when it was being used for its original purpose. At the bottom of the picture, you can see where the print has faded or someone had tried to remove the label. At the top, you can plainly see the word "One" and other letters.
Another shot where I can clearly make out "ASSOCIATION", "ABUNDANT" and the rest was blurry. Can you read it?
On the "back" side, in each corner, were these bright, happy, vibrant baskets of posies!
Someone took some time to prepare the feedsack, trace the pattern and then choose colors and thread to make a beautiful tablecloth for their family to enjoy. I picture a mother of many, hands already busy through the each ordered day...
Monday-washing
Tuesday-ironing
Wednesday-mending
Thursday-marketing
Friday-baking
Saturday-cleaning
Sunday-resting
...and spending a little time each day working on this lovely to brighten up her corner of the world.
Some careful cutting and I have removed the four, embroidered corners so they're ready to be repurposed into something new!
What were you up to?
Link your blog to the parties below and let us all see!
and
What a lucky find to treasure!
ReplyDeleteOooh....love those two buildings!! Is one of them yours?? The sun is always shining on Tuesday, when I visit your lovely place!! Gorgeous treasures you have there, Dee!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks like "Down from London" on the top line above 'abundant'. How cool are those! More snow for us tonight, so more sewing this week since I cannot get to work! Visiting from WIP Wed
ReplyDeleteThat is such a pretty reminder of days past. I can't pass up handmade items like this at antique stores. They were made to be used and loved!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a cool find! They're going to make something very special.
ReplyDeleteYou know you have a great scrap stash if this is the result you get - really lovely. And that embroidery is fantastic, I can't get over how vibrant the colours are.
ReplyDelete