Starting with Friday, I would say that I have had a rather stellar weekend for thrifting. This past Friday, as I have done for the past ten years, I had my hair done by a hair stylist who lives and works outside of the city in the community of Embrun, which is about 25 minutes east of Ottawa. I started having her do my hair when she worked in an upscale salon in the city. When she had her second child, she decided to work in a studio set up in her home which allowed her to pass on some savings to clients and gives me quality service at prices that I can live with. About a year ago I found a second hand store in Embrun which, for the three to four times a year that I have my hair done, I have added to my thrifting path . When I walked in last Friday, I saw these mixer/processor/blender bowls and blades without the motor for $10. These belong to the Braun 5 in 1 machine which is the type that I have had for almost 18 years and have spent more than $10 dollars when replacing a lid, blade or bowl. The parts are no longer available to order in North America as Braun is now distributing only its personal care products in North America. My Mum still has the predecessor, the Braun KM32, to my machine. It first came out in the 1950's and my Mum purchased one in the 1970's. She was pleased when, last year, I found a unit for her at the thrift store to use for parts. It has only needed minor repairs over the years but with parts unable to be ordered buying a unit at the thrift store becomes sensible so I was happy to do the same for mine. Both machines were designed and produced before the wide-spread practise of planned obselence over-whelmed the kitchen appliance market: With this quality in construction and design it is worth trying to repair them. At this store, I also found a small white with black enamel saucepan, some small, vintage Swedish candles and a little bit of trim in ivory and orange just waiting to be used on a Autumn themed vintage style apron.
The next morning, I was off to the Fabric Flea Market which is held every year to benefit a downtown public school. The vendors are made up of home sewers reducing their stash and professional re-sellers. Just in from the entrance, I rummaged through a table that had hundreds of patterns, sewing books, fabric remnants, buttons and laces and trims. This table was run by the public school that benefits from the whole event and is stocked by donations. The first thing I picked up to buy was a bag of about 10metres of this 1950's printed ribbon/lace. There were a few more bags of this same trim but I felt that I needed to set some personal limits from the start.
The next two bags contained various ribbons. The really wide ribbons(on the upper right hand of the photo) are vintage hat ribbons while the rolls are mostly gift or bouquet ribbons along with twill and seam binding.
The next picture is one of aged and stained bits of lace. Not everything in the bag is shown in this photo. I will wash the bits and pieces and try to remove the stains but try not to whiten them. That may take a little research but I suspect that a bar of Sunlight soap will be involved. Oxyclean might remove the patina of age and, if there is any silk, destroy some of the fibres. Even tea staining does not get the same subtle tone as simple age.
This fabric will likely be made into an apron. I collect vintage aprons and I have almost too many to count but the ones that wear out for me are the full ones. I love beautiful clothes and I have a busy household to run so full protection is a must! The dominant colour in the kitchen is blue with mostly red and yellow accents depending on the season and which direction you look. All of the colours in this fabric are found in my china on the
plate rack which is Laura Ashley's Hazelbury.
I bought this fabric from a lovely lady who had all sorts of vintage fabrics and some vintage clothes including some made with Liberty fabric. This piece is likely from the late 1940's and is artificial silk, mostly likely rayon. I love the colours and I think that I have enough to make a sleeveless blouse to wear with a suit. She also had a vintage floral bedspread that was exquisite. It was the colouration and type of floral pattern that inspires Cath Kidston and
Cabbages and Roses. I kind of wish that I had asked how much but I was pondering a bigger purchase. I also regret not getting her contact information as she was the type of vendor who is obviously in it for the love of the textiles and I would love to get know her.
Here is the artificial silk again with a little tray cloth/place mat that should look great with my aqua and pink Pyrex and a fascinating December 1939 magazine from England with a Canadian insert. I cannot wait to explore its pages in depth. I was acquainted with at least half a dozen of the vendors but did not have the chance to really chat with any of them. I also ran into people that I know from other interests. The mood was very happy with most buyers not looking to haggle and the vendors did not seem competitive or pushy but just there for a good cause and the love of fabric and everything fabric related.
The bigger purchase that I was pondering was eight 1.2 x 2 m panels of this vintage Gabrielle Cie. upholstery fabric to update the look in our family room. Some of the upholstery that I have already done has some of these colours already and the feel of the room is mid-century modern so this 1950's design will be fabulous. Recently I found a great deal on two upholstered chairs at the Sally Ann and since then I have been looking for suitable fabrics for slip-covers. I was glad that I had limited myself to that point as it was easier to make a bigger purchase when I discovered this material. The analogy of 'kid in a candy store' could not be more apt!
On Sunday the Thrifting Fairies called me again and some of the family made a late afternoon visit to Value Village where I was justly rewarded. The beautiful printed corduroy (1950's ?) and vintage Anchor Hoching Sun Tea jar were waiting for me! The colouration and design are amazing and look great with the two pastel pink platters, stamped Morn Glo, and Ice-o-matic that I found at the Salvation Army on Monday morning. Join the sharing excitement with
Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday. I love to see what everyone finds.
Clothing care is an important part of any one's wardrobe. While most store-bought garments have a garment care label, it is really only a guideline. When you make your own clothes or you have bought used clothes, a deeper knowledge of how to care for them is required. Most, but not all, can be laundered if proper care is taken. The "dry clean only" recommendation is purely a recommendation and is certainly not necessary for all garments. Jodi at Couture Allure has just posted an excellent tutorial about washing vintage silk scarves which is a happy coincidence. I would use the same advice for washing silk blouses. My intended post for today was touching on spot cleaning. The photo here shows a chocolate-brown linen skirt with a mark, which I believe is chocolate. While travelling in Europe this past summer with the choir in which my boys sing, I learned a new method while wearing the same skirt. The wife of one of the men in the choir, a long-time wardrobe mistress for musicals, operas, ballets and theatres, noticed some marks on the back of my skirt and said that she could take care of it. She grabbed a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and applied it directly to my skirt and rubbed it in with her hands. Within seconds, the mark was gone and within a minute or two, the spot was dry, without a trace of a mark.
Here is the same spot shown in the above photo after using the same method. You may wish to do a spot test in an inconspicuous spot on the garment, but as I understand it, most fibres will not be harmed by the hand sanitzer. From an environmental perspective and frugal slant this method wins over the spot treatments available to the home consumer or through the dry cleaner.
Now for a little thrifting: Here is a lovely pink melamine bowl. It is not vintage, but I have a soft spot for melamine and this shade of pink should work well with my vintage pieces. This pink is a happy colour for me and with some rather grey days in the last week, it gives me a boost. I am also very excited about this ribbon which is also not vintage but drew me in with its colour. 
I love using wooden hangers for clothing care and these will work well for skirts and jacket. Good shaping through the shoulder or waistband require a solid hanger that offers enough support. When it is not necessary to launder a garment, hang the garment and allow it to air out, to dissipate the heat and moisture from your body, before returning it to your closet. This photo shows a packet of craft magnets and two hem clips along with a package of suction cup spiders to aid in Halloween decoration. 
I also found pyjama pants for my husband and a long-sleeved polo for my eldest along with this somewhat homely stool. I have been inspired by the lovely Tif Fussel at Dottie Angel rambling on about dumpties. I love all of her crafty world and would like to stay there for a while. I hope that my stool will live up to the magic of Tif's inspiration. I found the Dottie Angel Blog through Sophie at Her Library Adventures but immediately recognized its style having seen it in Mollie Makes and Uppercase magazines. Her blog is fabulous and I am linking this post to Flea Market Finds.
