I stumbled upon a fabulous deal for vintage homespun handwoven linen today from Etsy seller Lisa's shop CoolVintage. I couldn't help myself. I bought 10 yards! It has a pretty cool story behind it as well. In her listing Lisa explains:"I came across a real treasure last week when I wandered into an antique market in one European town. I met a lady who was selling her grandma's homespun linen.
The grandma spun it herself to sell and make some money for the family.
She saved a trunk full of the best bolts for her daughter's dowry. However, by the time her girl was old enough to get married, homespun linen wasn't in style. So, all of that was passed on to the granddaughter who only now decided to do something about it.
Her grandma spun linen from 1890 to 1930. So, the lady who sold it to me didn't know how old each bolt was. She was confident though that it was at least 80 years old.
Even though it is antique, it is very sturdy and is in great shape."
Lisa also carries a huge selection of vintage photos and postcards. Click here to visit CoolVintage.
What a cool story! I see why you couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! What a fantastic story! It's thrillng, too, that someone like you who is going to appreciate it for what went into it is getting some. That is absolutely wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHow amazing! Can't wait to see what you'll do with it!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! As a total fabric-holic, I am soooo jealous! Lucky you!!! I once lucked out on some heirloom lace that someone's grandmother had made while living in Ireland... You just don't find things like this everyday!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait, either, to see what lovlieness you will make of it! What a sweet story--with a happy ending...
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant find!! Really pleased for you. I found a box of old poetry books in a warehouse sale last weekend... amongst them a first edition tennyson, a first edition masefield, and much much more.... i paid just £5 for the whole box - still smiling now :)))
ReplyDeleteWOW!! I'll bet your heart really started beating when you heard that story! lol It's beautiful and I'm sure you will do wonderful things with it--just what that Grandma would've wanted.
ReplyDeleteSmiles, Karen
congrats on your fabulous find :) I have an interesting linen story as well. A few years ago (about 20 now) I was asked to spin some dog hair for a friend. She offered me a swap since we were both very poor college students. What she had to offer was two large piece of handspun and woven linen fabric that were about 400 years old. She was working at a museum and they needed to remove the linen backing off the 14th century tapestries because of the caustic effects. The museum had no use for the linen so they gave it to the fiber interns.
ReplyDeleteI spun the dog hair and got the linen. It was very awe inspiring to hold something in my hands that had been hand made so many generations ago. It took me a long time to decide what would honor the fabric appropriately.
Finally I decided to make a period hunting frock for my husband to wear at our reenactments. I sewed the entire coat by hand with linen thread and it came out quite nice. He has gotten many compliments on it as well and I am well satisfied that the linen has been used appropriately,
Lori
webworksfiber.etsy.com
I saw your etsy art. you should go into an art gallery!
ReplyDeleteYour work is simply breathtaking..
ReplyDeleteas soon as i saw your etsy shop i wondered if you were using this very linen. you have given it a wonderful new life. when i first found that linen listing i had images of wonderful embroidery with it and your work has surpassed my imagination. i'm so glad to see a full circle story with this fabric i've been a little obsessed with for a couple of years.
ReplyDeleteThanks chasing. I LOVE this fabric and buy it up like a greedy little hoarder:) I wonder what the woman who wove it would think of my work? I wonder what she'd think if she knew bits of her fabric have found new homes all over the world?
ReplyDeletePart of the cool thing with using antique materials is all of the wondering involved:)
xoxo
cindy
what a great story - seeing the age of he blog post makes me curious as to how much you still have, and whether you're now wishing you'd bought even more! Your dioramas are beautiful, I tracked you here from an etsy front page a couple of hours ago.
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