reassembeling the past

Last month I participated in Barb's (Woof Nanny) purse project challenge which was to make a bag from vintage linens (curtains, dresser scarf, tablecloth, etc). I thought it would be easy but I just couldn't seem to think of the right bag for the linens I'd designated for cutting. Then recently I came across a towel that looked like ones we had when I was growing up. A lovely teal blue and avocado green brocade. I forked over $2.00 for it and brought it home washed it and then used it as a lap blanket for a while. I wasn't going to cut into this piece of my past until I was sure I knew exactly what I wanted. It wasn't really a piece of my past but it was close enough.

When I first left home , I took very little with me. My( first) husband and I were building our boat. We lived in my mother in law's pool house for a couple of months until we were able to get the interior roughed in and move aboard. During this time my parents moved from their home in Southern California to North Carolina. There were lots of things that wouldn't be making the trip , linens, china , knicknacks. Since I lived on a 32' boat, I couldn't take anything, there just wasn't room. At the time I was working as a Buyer, a job where dressing trendy was required. Every extra inch of storage was filled . We had a rule, bring something new home, take something old out. Eventually the boat was finished, I quit my job and we spent more days at sea then in port ,so there was even less room for frivolous objects.

We finally settled in Hawaii and started building our home. I was building a new life and collecting things from the past didn't really matter to me. Living on an island I can tell you , there are no treasures tempting you at garage sales, no antiques waiting to be found. Everything is used until it disintegrates, or breaks beyond repair. I collected sea shells, sea glass and seeds. It wasn't until years later, after my divorce , after my parents had passed, that I wanted to surround myself with the familiar objects of my childhood and happier times. I had inherited some art , some jewelry but it was the every day hand me down objects I longed for.

Now I live in a place where thrift shops and white elephant sales are commonplace . I am slowly reassembling my past, piece by piece with kitchen wear, linens and fashion accessories of days gone by . They may only be replicas, but the memories they evoke are genuine.

Todays haul

Today's haul
Originally uploaded by Saltygal.

Today was the first estate sale I've been to this year. I went for the button collection . We had to wait over an hour ( in 23 degree weather) to get inside. They only let a few people in at once. I was number 65 and I thought for sure the buttons would be gone, but I got 2 huge jars and a bunch of other sewing things. I love old tools and supplies , Today's finds included a 6"embroidery hoop exactly like the one I learned on. It is really nice wood, so much smother than today's models with a thin strip of felt to help snug the fabric. No tightening hardware so it was easy to learn with and not get tangled. Another find was a sweet little pincushion to hang on the wall. I think that's a great idea and I'm going to hang mine is side my closet for safety pins and to put the pins I take out of my husband's new shirts. I think I'll make a few to gift to girlfriends.
The best find were the two giant jars of buttons from Victorian times up to now . While sorting through them I love to imagine the garments they were on and think about the people that wore them. These were the buttons of stylish people. The men wore white shirts and the women pretty dresses. There were few utilitarian buttons. No uniform buttons.There were lots of pearl shirt buttons and smooth colorful Bakelite, Glass , cut steels and rhinestones. Big fancy coat buttons,small figural plastics and big chunky Lucite. Unfortunately they had all been stored together and I had to throw out many of the celluloid, composition , fabric and 2 part buttons. If you have old buttons it is worth the trouble to separate them by material and keep like kinds together because some will disintegrate or rust when stored with others. This person had saved her extra fabric buttons, beautiful velvets, silks and crocheted buttons It was a shame to have to toss them. All but the most recent were rotting away , but you could see they were once beautiful. It took me all afternoon to sort them., my dwindling selection of red green, pink and pink replenished . My stock of black ,white, brown and grey now overflowing.