katiecrackernuts: Collecting textiles

September 02, 2012

WAIST NOT, WANT NOT (WAIST. GET IT? GET IT?)

September 02, 2012

WHEN you are an op-shopper you have to have an open mind. Sometimes the treasures you're hunting aren't going to slap you in ...

WHEN you are an op-shopper you have to have an open mind. Sometimes the treasures you're hunting aren't going to slap you in the face or wave you down. There are treasures that are more subtle. They wait on the racks and the shelves for you to flush them out. They're coy, those op-shop treasures.

One treasure I almost passed up was this George Gross skirt, most likely from the 1980s or early 1990s. I liked the colours and the print but I am not a size 10 - well actually I am by today's standards, but by 1980s fittings, not even close. Check it out. That waist measurement says 60cm. If you have a size 60cm waist, well done you, but I am guessing the modern clothing you wear is a size 4, right?

Anyhoot, long story short, the skirt didn't fit.

Now hang on one darn minute there, what else is there to like about this skirt? It's the fabric. Not just the colour and print but the actual feel and texture of it. See that extra label in the third photo? The one right where my thumb is. It says 100 per cent silk, baby. Silk slub. Oh yeah.

OK. $6 for a silk skirt that doesn't fit is still $6 wasted if I can't wear it, right? Wrong. Like a number of my more discerning op-shop buys this one came home with me and to be whipped into a soft summer tank. There's enough fabric for that and a little bit besides to fashion into sweet pouches for Christmas favours - most likely lavender bags.

I have no idea what the cost of silk is to buy retail but I know I have a lovely piece of fabric to make into a beautiful and individual piece of clothing. Silk tops, I know, go for a pretty penny, so I've saved myself there and supported the good work of Vinnies at the same time.

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October 20, 2008

SWEPT UNDER . . . THE RUG

October 20, 2008

I LIKE a clean and tidy house. My family says it’s an obsession, but I just feel better when it’s done. I do, however, hate cleaning on the ...

I LIKE a clean and tidy house. My family says it’s an obsession, but I just feel better when it’s done. I do, however, hate cleaning on the weekend. There are better things to do. Life has been busy though and weekends have been the only time to get the housework done. Rather than be defeated by it, I just got in and did it one room at a time. A couple of floor rugs were rolled out of the way while I was vacuuming. Boring stuff this, but the colours and textures appealed. Whatever gets you through the boring bits, hey?

June 24, 2008

THRIFTED TUESDAY

June 24, 2008

A 1970s stretch polyester and a very light cotton print that could be a 1950s, maybe ‘60s print, are my two most recent op shop fabric purch...

A 1970s stretch polyester and a very light cotton print that could be a 1950s, maybe ‘60s print, are my two most recent op shop fabric purchases. I have no plans for them. I’m too busy working on refashioning two pairs of pants into a couple of sassy knickerbockers. The 17-year-old approved. I must be onto something.

June 03, 2008

WARP AND WEFT

June 03, 2008

STURT , at Mittagong, is a great place for aspiring craftsmen. The weaving rooms were too inviting. Thank you to all the lovely women who le...

STURT, at Mittagong, is a great place for aspiring craftsmen. The weaving rooms were too inviting. Thank you to all the lovely women who let me take pictures, nattered with my Mum and let us warm ourselves by their open fire. Just look at that bookshelf packed with pages of inspiration.

June 02, 2008

WELCOME PACK

June 02, 2008

WHENEVER I go to my Mum and Dad's I end up bringing home more than I took. I offloaded most of the lemons, the banksia pods, the mags, b...

WHENEVER I go to my Mum and Dad's I end up bringing home more than I took. I offloaded most of the lemons, the banksia pods, the mags, books and other odds and ends I took down, but came back with more op shop finds, books, mags, and some little pressies from Mum, Dad and my sister Bron. This pic, taken late at night before I finally crawled into bed, was what was waiting on the washstand for me. Mum left Ariel by Sylvia Plath and Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes, a 1950s ceramic dancing lady, a posy of violets and one of her handmade ribbon brooches. Bron left a book on vintage clothing and a new diary and Aunty Denise (my Mum's friend of more than 20 years) left a swatch of 1970s fabric. I feel loved.

May 19, 2008

TWO IN THE BED

May 19, 2008

I’M no longer flying solo and have spent a week adjusting to being on overdrive. I did get pressies. The ring and earrings are handmade in C...

I’M no longer flying solo and have spent a week adjusting to being on overdrive. I did get pressies. The ring and earrings are handmade in Cambodia, as is the Khmer kroma they’re resting on. The trio of fish paintings are on rice paper and from Vietnam. The little bit of a giggle is the White Monkey Holding Peach Balm. Well, the white monkey is holding a peach – makes sense to me.

March 30, 2008

EMROIDERY DESIGNS #4, #5, #6 and #7

March 30, 2008

I AM cheating a bit with these last few “embroidery designs” and have moved onto my love of textile design and weaving. I lived in Vietnam f...

I AM cheating a bit with these last few “embroidery designs” and have moved onto my love of textile design and weaving. I lived in Vietnam for a very short amount of time in 2000 and started collecting woven textiles because they were light and easy to pack for when I returned to Australia. I have always had an interest in woven textiles and in textile design, and was lucky enough to see beautiful weaving techniques in a village in Bangladesh when I was there for a month in 1994. My mother was also a weaver and while she doesn’t do it anymore I loved her books on dyeing and spinning wool. I can recall standing on a chair with a tool that created yarn from hunks of dyed wool. Goodness knows what happened to the pieces she created. I can’t recall there being any around her house now. The pieces of woven cloth pictured above are from Vietnam. The red and white piece is from the White Thai ethnic minority and was woven in a village called Mai Chau, out of Hanoi. The other piece was bought in a market in Hanoi.

March 30, 2008

THIS piece is woven from silk and I bought both pieces from a fair trade store called Craft Link . I was lucky enough to talk to Craft Link ...

THIS piece is woven from silk and I bought both pieces from a fair trade store called Craft Link. I was lucky enough to talk to Craft Link workers while I was living in Vietnam and saw Dao women, near the hilltribes area of Sa Pa working on projects for this store. My photos from this time are on film, so I can’t quickly share them here.

March 30, 2008

THIS is a more recent acquisition and bought by my partner on a trip to Laos last year. I have tried to check the origins of cross stitch in...

THIS is a more recent acquisition and bought by my partner on a trip to Laos last year. I have tried to check the origins of cross stitch in Laotian textiles and, while I wasn’t able to find much online – without wading through pages of academic writings – I found loose references to a French influence. If anyone can tell me more, I’d be thrilled to know, or be pointed to good reference materials or websites.

March 30, 2008

THESE are a return to embroidered designs and come from Bangladesh. I have friends who have the most divine quilt stitched in this way. Thes...

THESE are a return to embroidered designs and come from Bangladesh. I have friends who have the most divine quilt stitched in this way. These are more than 10 years old and have faded. They’ve been used and loved because I do try and display the textiles I have. I can’t say I am a collector, but I do try and find textiles on my travels – and yes, baskets and felting and dyed materials are collected as well. Can you see that there isn’t a square inch that hasn’t been stitched? There is a kind of quilting stitch over the whole piece to create an effect that looks like seersucker. Unlike quilting, however, there is no wadding and no backing fabric. It’s just a stitch to create a textured surface.

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