Friday, June 13, 2014

The Vintage Bazaar's Vintage and Antique Textile and Costume Event

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Knowing the Vintage Bazaar's Vintage and Antique Textile and Costume Event at Frome is fast approaching, gave me the insentive to give my workroom a much needed sort out this week... 
No scary 'before' photos, just the result of two days hard work. 
Normally I would be very reluctant to part with any of my vintage/antique fabrics that I've collected over the years - They are worth a lot to me as the raw materials for my work. 
But as I get a little older, I realise there will never be enough hours in the day for me to make use of all of my textiles...and so I've decided to offer some of them for sale at Frome, in the hope that other crafters or collectors will snap them up and use them in their work instead. 

As I priced up the items, I found it quite therapeutic and slowly became more comfortable with the process of letting go...Hopefully there won't be any regrets...
And now I can enjoy the lovely space to work in, using the pieces of fabric I've chosen to keep. 

Under the stairs is where I've stored my wares for now...

I have bundles of assorted textiles, such as scraps of Scottish mohair, Welsh Wool plaids, and fragments of antique quilts.
A huge pile of remnants at bargain prices to rummage through. 

Pieces of old patchwork and bed covers waiting to be repurposed.

Bundles of ancient French ticking and checks. 


Tiny scraps, suitable for patchwork, card making and other small projects have been boxed up ready for the event, to provide inspiration for the visitors.  

I have a large collection of my downproof cottons...salvaged from damaged vintage eiderdowns many years ago. The result of many an unpicking evening sat with quick-unpick in hand and the 'not fun' final stage of emptying the handfuls of feather from inside! 


A large pile of French art nouveau fabric panels of usable lengths. 

And a variety of other fabrics...Some large...

And some smaller...
Lots to chose from and priced from £1.50 to £5.
If you are a maker, collector or an artist looking for inspiration, with 33 stall holders, it promises to be a fabulous event.
Hope to see you there,
In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine and have a wonderful weekend! :)
Niki x

8 comments:

  1. Wow! You are the Fabric Queen :) A few years ago I went through my stash as well. I kept a half yard of each fabric I loved and got rid of the rest. Still probably wont use whats left, but keeping a little of each one was easier then letting favorites go. :) Hope you do well at the sale!

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  2. Wow! An amazing collection- they look so beautiful all piled together. Hope you have a very successful fair- you deserve to! Jane xx

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  3. Oh Niki
    how lovely I would love to have had a look through those, I would love some red ticking if you have a bundle for sale still please may I buy one.
    Kind Wishes Lynn xxxx

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  4. Oh Niki
    how lovely I would love to have had a look through those, I would love some red ticking if you have a bundle for sale still please may I buy one.
    Kind Wishes Lynn xxxx

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  5. OOOOH! Such temptations..cannot wait to see what you have on your stand at The Vintage Bazaar. Lizzie x

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  6. If only I didn't live at the bottom of the earth!!! Wishing some of your lovely fabric was in sale on the net....

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  7. PS I wish I read about the "quick unpick" tip before I tried to empty an old eiderdown last week!

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  8. Hi Lizzie - Yes the way I've always done them is to use a quick-unpick over the surface of the eiderdown, taking out all the stitched channels. Once they are all unpicked, you are left with a large bag full of feathers. I then slice open one end and empty the contents (not pleasant - do it outside - always looks like a bird massacre!) Once empty I cut the eiderdown along the outside seams which leaves two large usable sheets of pretty fabric. I usually launder them too to remove any stains plus the tufts of feathers left behind. Lots of work, but worth the end result for so much yummy vintage fabric. Niki x

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Thank you for finding the time to visit me...
Niki xx