the joy of repurposing...

 

 

...a couple of months or so ago, I was asked whether I could make a curtain panel similar to this one by a client of mine for whom I had done some commission work in the past. I don't take on commission work very often for a whole bunch of reasons which I won't go into here and, in this case, I was also hesitant about taking on this work primarily because of a lack of time and, even more importantly, because of a shrunken supply of vintage embroidered linen...

 

 

One of the main reasons I made the curtain mentioned above with vintage embroidered work was to finally make use of the many embroidered lovelies I had been collecting over the years; my collection had grown not because I had any particular use for these linens, but simply because I could never resist buying them whenever I spotted pretty examples of them in thrift shops! So, in making the curtain which now hangs happily at the lake in our bathroom, my collection of these stitched linens became more manageable having been shrunk down to one little basket.

 

 

However, now with this new request for a good-sized curtain panel of about 1m wide by nearly 2.5 m long, my little basket worth of embroidered goodies would not stretch very far, and before even thinking of committing to this commission, I set out to my local thrift shops to see if I could even replenish my collection -- and guess what?... There were practically no embroidered linens to be found! Now, I don't know if I was being jinxed because I was actively looking for something (you know... when you're looking for something very specific you can never find it, but when you're not, it seems to be everywhere!), or there really is less vintage embroidered work to be found in the shops then there was, say, only five years ago. While there seemed to be a fair amount of it available online such as on sites like Ebay, I didn't consider this buying option as viable due to the increased cost (especially when shipping is included) and delays in receiving things.

 

 

So, given my depleted stock and my client's wish to have it made in a relatively short time frame, I was ready to give up on the project. However, before I did that, I thought I would ask a good friend of mine (who has, I'm sure, set foot in all the thrift shops in our area!) if there was somewhere in the city I could maybe find some of these vintage goodies. Well, he did point me in the direction of a few out-of-the-way thrift shops where I did find some pieces, but even better than that...

 

 

...he single handedly built up my supply of vintage linens from my one little basket to three fair-sized ones in no time at all -- how did he do it? Well, as my friend Reid loves browsing around thrift shops and his movie industry related business often takes him to many small towns on the West Coast and beyond, when I got in touch with him, he just so happened to be on a production which was being filmed in a series of small towns in British Columbia and he gladly offered to pop into any thrift shops on his way to hunt down vintage embroidered pieces for me. And, oh my gosh, what goodies he did find, often at $1 or less a piece (thank you, Reid!)...

 

 

So with my very quickly replenished stock of  embroidered gems, I now definitely had enough material to make the panel. And, as I looked through my newly-acquired napkins, tablecloths, runners, and pillowcases, I couldn't help but think of the very skilled hands from all over the province, if not from all over the country and beyond, that so lovingly and patiently (oh, the many hours of labour!) stitched all these sweet masterpieces (I get goosebumps when I think like this!), that it seemed a shame in my mind to just tuck them all back into a basket where no one could see them nor admire them... Hence, I took on the project and...

 

 

...so enjoyed meshing all these beautiful odds and ends into one patchwork, that I'm itching now to do more of this type of work -- so, stay tuned for more vintage linen repurposing... Thanks for popping by!...

 

 

 

Comments

[mrs robinson]

Beautiful... I love how you have incorporated the crochet edging too

[Carla]

What a beautiful combination of stitched flowers, an eternal garden on this curtain panel!

[Surley Dammann]

Very beautiful

[Helen]

What a lovely way to use up the linens. Hx

[Rachel]

Absolutely beautiful! x

[Angela-Southern USA]

I love it! As well as the one you made before. It has inspired me to make one too after just recently deep cleaning my laundry/linen room (I too cannot pass those gems up at thrift stores)I have some that my great aunts made, some I've made and of course all those thrifted, enough in fact I think I'll make a shower curtain with them. Thanks for the inspiration!x

[Rebeca Tegon Vaz]

Ficou lindo!

[Susan Fisher]

I only wish I could see all the patterns and maybe replicate them. It is hard to find those sweet floral patterns now-a-days.