Oldies but Goodies

My stint as a knitter was illustrious but brief. I loved making scarves and baby hats and even more scarves. My arms, however, couldn’t keep up with all the repetitive motions. After more doctor appointments than I can now remember, I had to acquiesce: I wasn’t a knitter after all.

My friend Miss C has had the opposite experience. As an art-school graduate and graphic designer, this lady knows her way around a sewing machine. Her arms are on board but her heart isn’t: she’d rather knit and pearl than thread her vintage Singer any day.

Miss C and I, we make a good pair. She welcomes my knitting and graphic-design needs and knows where to go when she wants something sewn. So far in the bargain, I’ve received a fancy-pants header for my blog as well as a big box of fabric-y goodness. I will transform some of this, most notably the unidentified print with the Matryoshka dolls, into pillows for Miss C’s living room. But I have yet to determine the destinies of the rest of these older-but-still-beautiful fabrics.

When I first opened the package from Miss C, I spied various Marimekko designs. My favorite is a red fabric with 11” red dots on it. This swath is a generous 54” in width. The repeat is huge, and photographing it requires more ironing than I can be bothered with. You’ll have to wait until I use it in a project to see it. : )

Other highlights include a fat quarter of Heather Bailey’s Freshcut ...

 
... and this lovely unidentified green print.

The real gold in this booty? Denyse Schmidt.

There are three fat quarters of Katie Jump Rope, which I should have stockpiled by the bolt when it was released. I know I won’t cut into these anytime soon; I’ll visit them regularly in my stash cabinet, though. And there are 2 yards of Flea Market Fancy. I don’t know what to say about such a find—something so coveted and so large!—other than WOW.

Rediscovering out-of-production fabric designs is like spending time with old friends. Man, it makes me happy. I have my sources other than Miss C, both online and brick and mortar, for older bolts. I’ve shown great self-control on that front of late—passing up on bolts of Tula Pink, Anna Maria Horner, and Denyse Schmidt—as my friend Sarah at Smiles Too Loudly can attest to.

How about you? What oldies but goodies do you covet or have to buy when you encounter them?

Linking up to ...