Rekindling an Old Flame and The Need to Destash

I've been reunited with a former love but my husband need not worry. The old flame I'm speaking of is hand sewing and embroidery. Ahhhhh.... so nice to be back where I started! Handmade objects, no matter how crude or refined, have always held a fascination for me, especially Victorian crafts like crazy quilts, tatted lace and embroidery. I'm sure I've mentioned to you the crazy quilt I made from men's vintage brocade ties. Well, if I haven't.... I once made a crazy quilt using men's vintage ties. The process was truly wondrous to me at the time and I felt transported by it.

In a nutshell, I love this quilt. It's not anywhere near the size I wanted it to be, it's backed with a very unglamorous twin sized sheet and it's sort of falling apart after being dragged around the world with me and living on my bed for many, many years but I still love it. It is completely hand quilted and embroidered with ribbons, doilies, lace and buttons. The quilting was done in squares so it would be easy to transport the section I was working on at any given time. I kept my supplies in an old candy tin which I had lined with a bit of terry cloth. This was a great way to pass time when I was gallivanting around the country with a touring musical group or working aboard cruise ships back in the 80's and 90's. I did ultimately sew the squares together using a sewing machine - so I guess I cheated a little!

The only way I can describe going back to hand sewing and embroidery is that I was simply jonesin' for it. That's it... jonesin'. I felt a need to work with fabric and just HAD to get back to it! That is what led me to start making fabric roses and then fabric cuff bracelets (sort of like crazy quilts in the miniature!) and what has also led me to do yet ANOTHER reorganization of my studio (aka. 4' x 8' closet). The fabric and trims I want to use in the cuffs need to be accessible and sorted so I can find them easier. That means that some stuff has to go someplace else and when you live in a house as small as the one I live in, that means it has to actually go someplace else all together.

So, you know what it means when I reorganize my studio, right? That means DESTASH!! Yay! And that means lots of lots (you know... big bunches of stuff) going up for sale in my shops on Etsy and Ebay (yes, I said Ebay - dang it, anyway - but if you want it to sell fast and cheap, that's where you list it!). So, if you need some goodies and supplies at your house, please visit my shops. I love it when I can send things to a new home rather than donating. Not that donating is bad - I totally believe in donating - but I somehow think that alot of stuff just gets tossed because the people at the local thrift stores just don't see the same value in old stuff as I (and many others) do.

So, here are some of the lots of treasures available now or that you can expect to see going up for bids in the next few days - Let me know if you see something you like and we can haggle, baby!