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antique, country, fabric, Green Living, home life, Kitchen Collectibles, Quilts & Quilting, sewing, Uncategorized, using color, vintage

Gold on the Ground

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:Fall colors, Poudre Canyon, Colorado
:Fall colors, Poudre Canyon, Colorado (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I get giddy this time of the year.  Giddier then usual I should say.  Maybe it’s the chill in the early morning, the frost on the rooftop or the simple realization that I can see my breath as I walk to the car that gets to me.  I don’t know. Fall just makes me feel alive.  I love sleeping snuggled deep into the covers, whining noticeably to my hubby when I have to get up and he gets to stay warm.  Padding around the pre-dawn hours in my heavy winter terry cloth robe is a perk I leave to winter.  While I dislike freezing temperatures and ice on the windshield, winter white represents a sense of purity that’s refreshing.  The beauty of new snow, dotted here and there with the evergreens; against a contrasting gray sky, signals rebirth is but a few months away.The best thing about fall is the linens.  The rough texture of a vintage linen towel or the silky smoothness of an Irish tablecloth, in vibrant fall colors, gets to me.  Nature knows what she is doing when she carpets the floor of the forest with the gold and reds of fallen leaves.  That’s the image represented by fall linens carefully landscaped on a Thanksgiving table.

Winter morning
Winter morning (Photo credit: blmiers2)

We’ve just put our fall stock into the stores and both stores look great.  As we have an abundance of summer linens, I did my best to separate them, but for you diehard summer people still clinging to the waning summer like weather that we have here in Colorado, don’t despair.  There are still summer linens left in stock for you.  To my fall people, go crazy.  Again, if you see me in the stores with my face buried in the linens, just move me over.  There’s room for both of us.  By the way, for my quilters getting ready to burrow in this winter with your quilt projects, we just put our quilting and fabric stock on sale.  Look in the material cubbies for the 30% off stickers.

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antique, country, fabric, Green Living, Hints Tips, home life, Kitchen Collectibles, Quilts & Quilting, repurpose, restoration, sewing, Uncategorized, vintage

The Care and Cleaning of Vintage Quilts

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I just put in a bunch of 1900’s to 1960 vintage quilt pieces (scraps, fats, squares, oh my)  Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Anyway, as I started to say before my mind wandered off to its secret place, I put of load of vintage quilt material in both stores, and this got me to thinking about how to take care of vintage quilts.  I called a friend who quilts all the time. First words out of her mouth were “very carefully.”

my new (new to me) antique quilt! i lurve it.
My new (new to me) antique quilt! I love it. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I asked what she meant by very, she explained.  Never dry clean a cotton quilt since the weight of the ‘fluid’ may place more stress than ‘water’ on old fabric.  I emphasized fluid and water for a reason.  Dry-cleaning fluid is heavy with chemicals. (Who would have thought?)  Its weight will tear old fabric.  Her next bit of advice was “never hang a wet quit on a single line.”  Same reason.  The water pools at the bottom, placing stress on the seams and threads at the top as they drape over the small line.  If you have to dry a quilt outside, then hang it over two or even three lines, evenly distributing the weight of the quilt.  If you have a lot of quilts or need to wash and dry many for sale, then consider making a rope drying rack. The look like an old rope bed.  One of my mother’s friends uses an old king size bed frame she weaves a bed of ropes.  Bottom line of all this is be careful with vintage quilts.  I am sure you have seen some beautiful ones for sale in an antique store, only to turn it over and find the material separated, or the stitching torn out.  Makes you want to cry doesn’t it?

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About Julie:

Julie is a homemaker, mother, teacher of special needs children and an entrepreneur. As a teacher with along history of teaching students in the elementary grades, she obtained her credentials for Special Need teaching and advocacy late in her career, because – as she puts it, “these kids need to be taken out of the corner and given a voice.” As a means to lessen the stress that comes when one deals with bureaucracy, Julie – her Mother-in-Law and her daughter, opened the Mom & Me Vintage Linens and Lace shops late in 2011. Now with two locations in Colorado Springs, (The Treasure Shoppe – downtown CS and American Classics on N. Academy) she has managed to gather a rich following of friends and steady customers who look forward to seeing her come in with an armload of vintage linens, fine lace and the occasional vintage purse or pillow to round out her diverse selection. Julie can be reached by JClark@Linens2Lace.com . You can also follow her blog at www.Linens2Lace.WordPress.com, and her Tweets at #MomNMe.

antique, country, fabric, Green Living, Kitchen Collectibles, lace, Uncategorized

Wrinkled Fingers and Time

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A wrinkled finger after a warm bath
Image via Wikipedia

This has been a busy two weeks.  We, (Mom & Me,) have washed, pressed and folded more vintage linen in the last two weeks then we would have in an entire lifetime.  We both have wrinkled fingers.  I have to admit, half the time we sat admiring the linens we held and the other half of the time, between the folding and stacking, was devoted to commenting on them.  What is it about a pure white or cream Damask tablecloth that brings a sparkle into ones eye?  What is it about a table napkin with 1950’s colors and patterns that bring me back into an era I would have longed to live in?  What causes me to pause when I hold up a bit of vintage pillow lace?  Is it the thought that someone, years early, in a quiet and dusky room, sat patiently and painstakingly, twisting and turning each individual bobbin until inch by inch this lovely delicate pattern emerged?  Perhaps that’s why when I try to press out the wrinkles accumulated over the years it sat idle, I don’t get frustrated.  If they had the patience to make it beautiful, I have the patience to present it properly. 

Lace
Lace (Photo credit: Nefi)

Take a look the next time you are in our store.  We put our lace pieces in the lace basket, usually in zip-lock bags to keep them clean.  See if you see what we see and then let us know what you felt when you ran it through your fingers and held it up to the light.  I guarantee you will come to appreciate it more when you apply it to your new dress or table creation.

Until next time, recycle, repurpose and stay green.

fabric, Kitchen Collectibles, lace, Uncategorized

A Great Day for Shopping

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Bobbin Lace, Tucked in the Craft Room
Bobbin Lace

It has been a great day.  Met a beautiful grandmother who had a great selection of vintage linens and old lace she wanted to sell.   Our arms were full by the time we left and most of it will soon be in the store.   What was as great was her charm and outlook on life.  She had such a refreshing – and yes, a positive outlook, that it was a treat to talk with her.   I told her of my resolution to shut off the news and end my subscription to the newspaper.  Her response was “did that years ago.”  Go figure.

On another positive note, about two months ago, we found some lace curtains; Scranton lace to be exact and my husband did some research on the Scranton Lace Company.   From all the reports he found, and the documentary on the History Channel, it turns out this company was a fantastic company to work for.  They opened in 1897 and closed their doors in 2002.  At one time they had over 1500 employees producing some of the finest Nottingham lace money could buy.  What was more important was how they treated their employees.  Between the in-house bowling alley, the gymnasium, the movie auditorium and the employee medical center AND daycare, they really cared for their people.  They made them feel like part of the company and that the employees were important to the success of the firm.   I won’t go into any more details here, but suffice to say, if you want to read about a special time in American Manufacturing history, read about the Scranton Lace Company.   It will make you wish for the old days again.  If any of you readers are familiar with Scranton and the Scranton lace company, write me.

Until next time recycle, repurpose and stay green.

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Resolution for the new year

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I woke up early this Sunday morning of the first day of 2012, resolved to not look back.   That’s right, NOT to look back.  That may be hard for a person who deals in vintage linen and lace, but that was my resolution.  I opened my Sunday paper and immediately the opening headline is “A look back on 2011.”  Who wants to?  2011 was a disaster.  Who wants to go back?

I prefer to look forward to the good times coming in 2012.  Sounds a little unrealistic I know, but that’s my attitude.  I hate negative anyway, so why surround myself with it.  I prefer the positive and that’s how I am going to approach the new year.  It’s going to be fun to record my posts and see if I can keep that attitude throughout the year.  I’m positive I can.  How about you?

Happy “Positive” New Year citizens and readers.  Shut off your news, end your subscription to the negative press, and learn to live happy.  You’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner. Remember to reuse and recycle items as much as you can.

Until next time.