Tuesday 7 March 2017

Holiday Additions to the Stash

It's always good to get away for a holiday - time to relax and break the everyday routines. Add some sewing related shopping to the mix - even better. I've just returned from a few days away, and as we often do, Mr TMW and I visited a couple of antique shops.


At the Bowning Antique Centre, I found a couple of boxes of porcelain thimbles. Even though I rarely use a thimble, I couldn't leave these two in the shop. Being a chocaholic, the Cadbury's one is perfect for me. And as an avid gardener, the one with the flower had to come home, too. It needs a bit of a clean - looks easy enough. Now I have no excuses for not being able to use a thimble properly.


I couldn't resist a couple of jars of buttons. I'm not sure what it is about buttons, but I fondly remember playing with my Mum's buttons as a child. That fascination with buttons has remained. It'll be interesting to sort through them, deciding how to store them. I'm thinking of showcasing a few vintage buttons in some small glass jars and leaving them on display.


A couple of days later at Dirty Janes, I found some fabric - bags and bags of mainly offcuts. I had fun sorting through them all. Knowing full well that I don't need any more fabric, I was able to narrow my purchase down to two bags. 

There's two half metres and two fat quarters in the first bag. They all look and feel like quilting cottons. Only one has a selvedge - the patchwork print on the top - button button designs by cheri for SSI.


The second fabric purchase - two metres of Up "Postcards" by Cyrus Clark. The overall design isn't one I particularly like, but I have a thing for text fabrics and with a bit of imagination, I thought I'd be able to combine the parts I like with other fabrics. At $7.50/m, it was worth a try.


On opening the packet, I spied the word Teflon written on the selvedge. I didn't for a minute associate that with the Teflon that's used in cookware. After doing a bit of research, however, I discovered that it is one and the same.

Teflon in fabric??? I'd never heard of it, but apparently it's incorporated into the fabric to protect it. That fabric was manufactured in MCMXCV (1995). Do they still make fabrics with Teflon? I have no idea.

I initially knew I was taking a risk buying fabric with a design I'm not overly keen on, but now I know it was not a good choice - for me, anyway. There are too many chemicals in this world!!! Someone else may think differently, so I'll donate it to an Op Shop (thrift store).

Lesson learnt - open packets before buying fabric. If you had purchased this fabric, what would you do with it?

... Pam




8 comments:

  1. It does have that Shabby Chic, Victorian ~ English cottage look to it. Not sure I would have much idea for the fabrics either. When all else fails, I would use it up as a grocery sack fabric or an apron!

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  2. Love the Cadbury thimble! (I would have snapped that up too.) About your teflon fabric... maybe keep it in the kitchen and make hot pads or oven mitts??

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  3. If I had purchased it I would pass it on - it's really not my style. I've been given a lot of fabric over the years that didn't really float my boat, and spent HOURS using it up so as not to "waste" it. Pillowcases and totes are my go-to projects for using up yardage :D Aprons are a good idea as well, as Anita mentions!

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  4. I am not surprised about that. Kids clothes are manufactured with some kind of coating that is really bad. When I worked in the kids section at a department store, my hands were always breaking out in rashes from the clothes.

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  5. Teflon - Really? I had zero idea this was in our clothes.
    I do love your cadbury thimble - too cute for another chocoholic.
    Now I'm off to research this teflon in fabrics. Most of my auto-immune seems to be about chemical exposure...

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  6. Lovely stash, Pam!! Beautiful fabric.

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  7. The Cadbury's thimble is so cute Pam, I couldn't have resisted it either!

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