Spring 2003 Multi Petal Patch - includes:

• Bermuda Pink Grrranium
• Lime Green Rhinodendrum
• Havana Blue Snap dragon
• Havana Blue Marigold Fish

Resort 2003 Multi Compass Patch Includes:

Spring 2002 Charming Patch - includes:

• Mary Mary
• Tortoise & Hare
• Prince Charming
• Beauty
• Meadow Butterfly and Daisy
• Ladybug Picnic

Resort 2002 Tropical Patch includes:

• Mango Momma
• Birdie
• Tropical Punch

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Linens Cleaning, Stain Removal Antique/Vintage Fabrics

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I frequently find old linens that are gorgeous and intact but have unsightly stains.  Using patience and the method below, old linens often can be restored.  In my experience, it is possible to remove stains without destroying the piece at least 95% of the time.

Ingredients

BIZ - at least 1 cup
Clorox powder (the blue one) - 1/2 cup
Dishwasher powder, any brand - 1/4 cup

Method

Add ingredients to washer and fill with hot water. Add linens and let washer agitate, but do not allow to drain and rinse. Some washers have an agitate or soak setting, but you have to manually control most of them (stopping before the drain and rinse). After 10 or 20 minutes of agitation, leave linens to soak in washer for 5 or 6 hours. Agitate again. Repeat this process 4 ? 8 times (until you can see that stains are gone).
When you can see that the stains are gone, drain the washer and wash and dry normally.

Caution

How long pieces should be treated depends on how old and how extensive the stains are. I haven?t been able to find any shortcuts for this method.  The long soaking periods are vital to success.
Occasionally a delicate piece will disintegrate during treatment. If this happens, it wouldn't have survived normal washing either.
Because the ingredients in this quantity are expensive, I usually wait until I have at least half a washload before using this formula.

Wandering Creek Antiques

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LILLY PULITZER Year 2000 PATTERNS - Part 1

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Hi all Lilly lovers! 

I was able to write this guide with the help of ebay member Scootertooter, who kindly shared her meticulous research with me.  This guide begins with the patterns from the Spring and Summer 2000 collection which are not contained in a multi-patch fabric.  Multipatch patterns are a combination of several patterns within a season's collection.  Many seasons have more than one multi-patch pattern.  The patterns within each are released together and at intervals with other multi-patch patterns.  Multi-patch patterns are a favorite with collectors because they combine the best from a season.  The 2000 Multi-patch fabrics are contained in Parts 2, 3 and 4, because ebay only allows 10 pictures in a guide.

 

Sunset Pink Beach Blanket Bingo 

 

Sweet Blue Picnic Plaid 

 

Strawberry Pink Jumbo Daisy 

 

Surf Blue Charlie's Crab 

 

Sunset Pink Mixed Drinks 

 

Subtle Green Lil Critters  Show Guide...

   

 

Discover the fibre content of fabrics using a simple home test, The Burn Test.

I remember when I first began to sew and I had no idea what fabric content really meant.  Browsing through the fabric stores presented no problem, the bolts are clearly labelled for the customers.  What about when you have stumbled across a great estate sale, where there are boxes of fabric with no labels? Hopefully the seller can assist you with their own knowledge of the coveted fabric.  If the seller has no idea, then what?  This is where the good ole' Burn Test comes in handy!

 The burn test is super easy but I only recommend adults try this activity. You are going to seperate the strands of your chosen fabric into crosswise threads and lengthwise threads. Test them seperately, to distiguish any differences, which will indicate your fabric is a blend of fibers.  Have a porcelain dish ready to hold the burning fiber. Do not use matches. Instead use a candle or lighter, as they have no smell. Watch the fiber for the following:

1. How fast is the thread buning?

2. What does it smell like?

3. What sort of ash is left behind?

The answer to these 3 questions will indicate the sort of fabric you have tested. The following information categorizes common fabrics with their characteristics.

• Cotton: Burns very quickly with a large yellow flame. The fire wil creep along the threads. The odor is like burning  paper. The ash is brown grey, feathery and floats away.
• Linen: Burns slower than cotton. The odo is similar to paper or burning wood. The ash will ...

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  Color in Printed Vintage Fabrics

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  I'm a fabricaholic. As a person who enjoys sewing, and a sometime quilter, I have always had wonderful fabric stashes. I love fondling the bolts in the fabric shops, even if I don't buy anything. Selling vintage fabrics on ebay gave me the perfect excuse to buy more fabric!
  
  Of course, I didn't know what I was doing. The biggest problem for me was recognizing how old a fabric was. How could I  tell the difference between a fabric from the Civil War period versus a textile from the nuclear era?
  
  One rather weak, but frequently used, indicator of age is the selvedge-selvedge width. A fabric from the 1870's is likely to have a narrow (around 24") width; a material from the 1970's is likely to have about a 44" width.
  
  Another indication of textile age is color. The type of green, for example, is often very revealing. So is the shade of blue. Pink is also indicative of textile age.  Electric pink? Guess the sixties. Bubblegum pink? How about the thirties. A print of electric pink plus neon green? Sixties for sure! In fact, in my experience, color combinations are far easier to use in dating a fabric than the presence of one particular color.
  
  The sixties hippie era often had bright, unnatural colors in combination with other bright, unnatural combinations. Hot yellow plus hot orange plus hot pink, for example. Exciting! Color combinations from the fifties (often called atomic fabrics) seem weird to my contemporary eyes: pink and aqua, aqua and brown, gray and pink. The forties color combinations often featured a white background with red, white and blue prints (recall this was wartime. Dyes were costly, and patriotism imbued even the fabrics.) How about the thirties? The colors were fun, playful and often opposites on the color wheel. Pastel pink and mint green. Purple and yellow. The more colors the better!
  
  But perhaps the most ...

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  Marimekko; Bold Confidence Since 1951

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  This review and guide is written based on research from marimekko's own published books and website.

  Marimekko was registered with the Finnish Trade Registry on May 25, 1951 but grew from two seperate companies; Tex-matto and Printex.  Marimekko was started by the husband and wife team of Viljo and Armi Ratia.  Viljo had purchased Printex in 1949 and it was there that Maija Isola designed her first fabrics.  Marimekko was a typical small business that Viljo and Armi ran as a sideline.  Their top product the first year was a pinafore dress designed by Armi.

  In order to understand marimekko you need to consider that Finland was enjoying the post war years of the early 50's with both economic recovery and and the awakening of design.  We visited Helsinki last year (2005) in October and found the people to be very open and friendly.  We were surprised however at the grey and somewhat bleak tone of many of the City's buildings in comparison to other Scandinavian Countries.  It is our assumption that this character was a result of many years of Eastern European influence and oppression.  To say marimekko brought things in Finland to life through design and color would be an understatement.

  In 1952 marimekko opened its first retail store in Finland.  The marimekko logo followed in 1954 and by 1956 international exports began.  In  the words of Kirsti Paakanen, Owner and President of marimekko now, "Marimekko was boldness, unconstrained young energy, creativity with no regard for rules and without borderlines.  Marimekko also reflected subcultures that had started in the wider world, like the hippy movement and pop art.  Marimekko became the baby boomers protest against their parents' lifestyle and it provided an alternative to a grey and convention...

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  VINTAGE FABRIC!

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  RETRO VINTAGE FABRIC!THOSE WONDERFUL TIMES OF DAYS GONE BY!  What wonderful memories from when we were growing up to see these beautiful retro fabrics from the1950's, 1960'2, 1970's, 1980's! All eras were unique but I speak to the heart of all you Baby Boomers out there in Ebay Land!  Retro dresses hand made during the depression and those wonderful clothes and vintage jewelry from the "Atomic Bomb" Era , during WWII and after.  Polka Dots!  Pointy Bras!   Push Up Pants!  Those dresses from the 1950's are oh sooooooo RETRO and very wearable TODAY!  Those lovely aprons, some with hand embroidery that our mother's and grandmother's wore.   We were allowed to wear one or we had one of our own size to "help out in the kitchen".  Those times are gone! The handmade pillow cases and sheets with wonderful hand sewn colored embroidery from the late 1950's  or a set of sheets bought from the department store and hand embroidered in pale pastels so lovely with the 1940's and 1950's era decor and furniture.  WONDERFUL hand made quilts of all kinds, sizes, shapes of pattern and textures.   Many of them were hand sewn and batted; they used the left over fabric remnants displaying and array of wonderful, varied colors, shapes, sizes and textures!  Hand crocheted doilies and arm chair or couch arm covers.  Oh and the ones...

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