Florence Broadhurst article - Australian Home Journal 1968

I absolutely adore Florence Broadhurst. Not just her designs - but the woman herself. I have a lot of old mags I haven't fully read - but decided today to read the Australian Home Journal from Feb 1968. And who do we find on page 24? But Florence Broadhurst herself.



Instead of me writing about the article I have scanned it for you to click on to read about the wonderful woman herself.

How are those magnificent quotes?

"People who take LSD must be terribly bored. I don't need it. I find the more I do the more I can cope with."

and

""How do you know you are living?" and I said "I create so I know I am living."
An amazing person to look up to and learn from.

Blue birdies

Blue birdies on a divine cotton linen...sigh...aren't botanical prints gorgeous?

#2 fabric giveaway...

Using the wonderful random.org....comment number 3 wins!

Renee G said:

I'd love to see some vintage pattern ideas (for aprons, etc) to use some of the vintage fabric. (Or placemat patterns, etc.)

Congratulations, Renee - we'll be in touch soon to get your details to send off your wonderful fabric!

Next giveaway is this coming Sunday!

Tweet 2.48pm Tuesday 28 April

Gosh it's cold outside. Thank goodness for ducted heating keeping everything warm in here. Don't forget to leave a comment for the vintage fabric giveaway - click on the apple right to this post, leave a comment and cross your fingers! It closes tonight!

Tripping through the friendly forest

...tripping through the friendly forest and what did I see? Giant sunflowers looking down at me!

And large Scandinavian style leaves :)

Vintage fabric giveaway #2 - rockabilly fruit gingham leaf

I just had to offer a crackin' 50s cotton! You know me and my love of 50s and 60s cottons...I just can't get enough of them!. Our vintage fabric #2 giveaway is a 88cm wide x 50cm long vintage 50s rockabilly dress weight cotton featuring large scale fruit with gingham leaves - aren't they the cutest? The photo above it half of the bolt width and the shot below is a close up...it's unused from the bolt but it smells a little like its been stored in a smokers household - sunlight and airing will get rid of this, even without a wash.

This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere - yes, that's right - anywhere around the world. It's open 'til 8pm, Tuesday 28 April, AEST and the winner will be announced later that night...as I have an event I need to go to on the Wednesday night and I don't want to keep you hanging!

To be in the running for the cotton leave a comment answering "what else you would like to see us do with this blog?" Good luck!

COMMENTS CLOSED - THANK YOU!

My new favourite blog - ahhh...the simple life

As you know, I am always striving to live a simpler life. I am a total thirfy soul in more ways than one. We never buy something unless we truly need it and we always strive to ensure we're treating others (including the earth!) as we ourselves would like to be treated.

I found this truly magnificent blog last week and I have been totally addicted since. I even baked the banana bread and butter pudding the first day I found the blog (scrumptious!) and have been busy reading about vegetables and vegie patches and lots and lots of bread making. Rhonda Jean from down-to-earth really is the type of woman I would love to be :)

And the winner of the 1st vintage fabric giveaway is...

Using Random.org (gosh - that was easy!) the number 7 popped up - so congratulations to She who said:

"My favorite vintage fabric is this crazy metallic print with blue, turquoise, and gold on a skirt of my grandmother's from the sixties"

Congratulations, She! I shall be in touch soon to get your address details...

Thanks to everyone who left a comment - another one coming up this Sunday - and the next one shall be an old cotton...hint, hint.

PS. More gorgeous fabrics went up onto the site yesterday and there shall be more up soon!

Taking it to the streets

Comments are now closed for our first vintage fabric giveaway! I shall announce the winner tomorrow night...in the meantime, enjoy the remarkable design of this streetscape Parisien style print. Always makes me want to have a coffee.

Packing up the Mill Markets

Isn't it funny that something I thought would be so much fun and enjoyable has turned out to be the most time consuming part of the business? We opened a large stall at Newcomb's Mill Markets in January - with great passion and care - but we've decided it just doesn't suit us at the moment. You need to 'work' four hours a fortnight (so little - but, truly, you try walking around and around for four hours!), tend your stall (much more time consuming that what you think - some stall holders go in there daily to rotate stock etc) and then iron, hang and price each piece. When I write it like this it seems like a little work - but it's not :(

So we are currently packing the stall up. We're vacating by the end of this month - and looking forward to it, I can tell you! The rent is so high compared to the workshop business and so much more time...well, you can see...it's time to shut up Mill Market shop...

One night left to leave a message for the vintage fabric giveaway - go on, you've just got to leave a message to be in it! Closes 8pm Tuesday night, AEST. And it's open to everyone, everywhere!

Vintage fabric giveaway #1 - Italian modernist 60s silk

I figure if you're going to get on this 'giveaway on your blog' bandwagon I may as well start with a stunner! Our first vintage fabric giveaway is for this divine vintage 60s fine silk twill, manufactured in Italy for the European couture market.

This shot above shows the fabric at half width. Sorry about the creases -this piece is from my own collection and my own stash isn't as neat as what it should be! *gasp*. The giveaway is for a 50cm length cut, full selvedge to selvedge width.

If you would like to win this fabric simply leave a message on this post with a brief description of your favourite vintage fabric. If you don't have any then let us know what your favourite fabric design would be.

I don't really get a lot of comments on this blog - lots of lurkers, I think! - so I'll leave this giveaway open until 8pm Tuesday 21 April (Australian eastern standard time) and I'll either do that random.org thing or get our eldest son to think of a number in his head and if it's your message 'number' then you'll get this divine fabric...

And, yes, this giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere :)...enjoy!

COMMENTS CLOSED - THANK YOU!

Woo hoo - big pictures!

Woo hoo! I have finally worked out how to put nice big pics on the blog :) - don't forget - vintage fabric giveaway tomorrow (Sunday night)...

Vintage fabric giveaway - tweet 5.59pm Saturday 18 April

Have no idea how I am going to do it but I'll be putting up a vintage fabric giveaway tomorrow evening - Sunday PM, Australian eastern standard time. I think I'll leave it up for two days or so and get people to leave a comment. How does that sound?

Tweet 11.34am Saturday 18 April

A first for me. And it has saddened me. People asking for quantities at the deli by the dollar and not the gram or slice. That's not that different - but the food they asked for was.. Like $3.80 worth of chicken drumsticks (not the kilo prince) and $2.00 worth of little cocktails. People are doing it tough.

More apples on vintage fabric

Tweet Friday 17 April 2009

I am trying to work through the 'offering free fabric on blog' thing. How does one do it? Would you like it? A half yard or so each week? Or maybe a full length?

Am currently thinking up ways to do this - maybe a lazy Sunday night would be good? Would it be a first in best dressed thing or a leave a comment thing? Thinking, thinking...

Happy Friday!

Happy birthday to the most fabulous fabric blog!

As you know I don't often get time to read blogs etc - or do anything outside of family and business and holidays etc! - but I do try to put a little bit of time aside every day or two to catch up on Kim Kight's True Up blog. Her tag is 'all fabric - all of the time' - and she sticks to this motto! Day in day out she lets us know about all things modern and vintage fabric and delights in teaching us all about make, manufacturer, weaves etc. And she's the loveliest person to 'chat' with, to boot - and it's her 1st blog birthday today!

Tweet Thursday 16 April 2009

I went out to lunch today. Nice to get out and about. We went to Gobble in East Geelong and I feasted on a chicken tika masala wrap and yummy after dinner mint ice-cream.

It is so good to get out and about. Fresh air. New things to see and do. I am just too full as my taste buds are stronger than my will power...but that's a different story :)

Retro Age Vintage Fabrics

Retro Age Vintage Fabrics
Originally uploaded by retro age vintage fabrics

One of my favourite little pieces at the moment - a mint Moygashel tea towel - Irish linen with a beautiful retro mod print!

Butterflies

An apple a day for vintage fabric

I need to get healthier. I don't really dig fruit but I can eat an apple or two every now and then. Doesn't put me off this vintage fabric border print, though. A veritable stunner.

Now for a coffee and vegemite on toast :)

Tweet Tuesday 14 April 3.09pm

We're under the pump with orders. And the bank stuffed up some payments so we're backtracking on two orders. Not good. I hate making mistakes. And it wasn't even our mistake!

Too much dark chocolate. I can't keep away. And we've decided to pack up Mill Market stall by end of month. More to come on that later.

Also - thinking of regular weekly blog giveaways. How on earth do they work? Is the same day good? Am still wondering if anyone reads this thing even though the stats say you're out there!

Roll on putting fabric up on website. My favourite part of the day. Least favourite? Ironing.

Easter favourites

I have so many favourite fabrics ready and waiting to go onto the website. This is one - I have been coveting this piece for a while now, but I hope it would go to lovely homes where wonderful prints are appreciated. It's a French cafe street scene with lots going on...

I just love how kitsch it is....it has so much movement, so much vibrancy. I feel it's a great example of how textile design can move - while still retaining its inticacy and lovely form.

Easter was/is fabulous. I have eaten too much chocolate and we have enough to last us until next year. I feel the Easter Bunny went a bit too overboard on the egg hunt :)

Our boys are growing so fast. Both loves the Easter celebrations with family and friends, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad their childhood is going to fast for us. So not fair :(

It was a wonderful weekend spent with loving family and friends - and its a bit of a shock we're back to it tomorrow !!! Bah!!!

Tweet 9am 8 April

Justin has been cutting fabric for an hour already and I have done the emails. We're on fire to have a holiday over Easter! Now I just need more coffee...actually, I would really love a coffee machine, but how can one justify spending hundreds on coffee when you're the only one who drinks it?

Looking forward to Easter...

We are taking some time away from the business over Easter - from Thursday to at least the following Tuesday or Wednesday. We always have a full Easter weekend, spending quality time with family, friends and enjoying/supporting the Good Friday Appeal, Easter Sunday lunch and then the all-important relaxation on the Monday.

So I am madly uploading fabric and tea towels onto the website - with more to come tomorrow. Lots of retro mod prints went up today...

Tweet 2.04pm 7 April

One of our lovely customers has just told me she's making her own hot cross buns for Easter and settling in for a weekend of relaxation, sewing and such. She cooks her buns with a sticky glaze...that sold it to me. I am imagining freshly baked buns coming out of my oven and Easter egg hunts abounding. Can't wait.

Tweet 11.44am 7 April

Water. Need one. Amazing how much water the body needs to feel energised and alive. I currently feel flat and thirsty :) Thinking about why people still feel the need to be rude to each other - there is no need in this world for rudeness. Currently ironing fabrics.

Tweet

I feel like tweeting but don't do Twitter. Every time I try I get bored with it. So I thought I might tweet here - without photo, just like Twitter.

Am just starting work and have a big fat coffee in front of me. Have already written myself the following not:

1. Must work out how to put sale section of website as a link into my emails
2. Must work out how to put new arrivals section of website as a link into my emails
3. Must put link to sale section of website onto blog.

'morning!

The vintage fabric sale section begins...

I am endeavouring to balance life and work and I am trying to structure the business to enable me to 'slot' things in when they should be slotted in. As hard as I try, this doesn't necessarily work for me. Things come into play - auctions to go to, kids to ferry to karate, Mill Markets to work at. So, the easiest way to put the fabric on sale is to do it whenever I can :)

The fabric sale section of the website will not be announced via the blog, website or our subscription 'new arrival' email. The fabrics will just go on sale quietly...and off sale quietly. But there will always be fabric on sale, that I can definitely promise you :)

I've started the 'vintage fabric on sale 100% of the time' today - here. Get set for some major price reductions over the weeks to come...and enjoy!

Things I am toying with...

I have been tweaking the website a little lately. It's gotten a bit too unruly for my liking...so I have created a new category and am slowly streamlining it. For one, the right click usage has now been enabled to give peeps the capability of right-clicking to look at a specific fabric in a new window. Yay! for that...I prefer it myself, but our web person popped it in our script when the website was first launched and its taken me this long to work out how to disable it!

I also created a new category called 'vintage fabric misc' - basically it's where all the non-vintage fabric on bolts will go - so linens, buttons, bags, brooches etc. I am also going to change our 'sale area' - instead of choosing fabrics weekly that go on sale I am just going to put random fabrics on sale for at least 10% off. Also toying with some type of fat quarter club - or half yard club - and offering services to sell your vintage fabrics for you on consignment, if that makes sense. Lots to think about, as per usual, and I'll announce any changes as I go...

New stock going up over the next five days...some true breath-taking beauties in this lot...:)

Saturday in a whoosh

Today went by in an absolute whooooooooooosh! I got up and then blink! it's night time...I hate it when days are like that as it feels like I didn't really 'feel' the day - do you know what I mean?

I love Saturdays. Love reading the Saturday papers. Love going to be favourite fruit and vegie shop and buying fresh salad, fresh baked sourdough bread and yummy St Claire cheese and going home and popping it all together in a lip-smacking fab sandwich. I also visit my grandmother who is now in care (she has dementia) and sharing an hour or so with her and my boys. She loves them both - and is consistenly bombarded with the older ones new toys (today it was a Ben10 omnitrix thingie) and the toddler brought his box within a box toy (and also showed off his first pair of 'real' shoes vs the pre-walker Volleys he's been running around in). And then it was back home to enjoy a yummy dinner (sweet corn light fritters etc) and now, with boys all cosy and quiet, it's time to enjoy a scotch (or try...my stomach still hates it!) and some TV for the first time is days................

I hope tomorrow is just as wonderful - but slower would be good!

Vintage linen - Irish and Scottish tea towels

Sometimes the lots we buy just doesn't contain vintage fabrics. As many of you know, those who have fabric envariably have other craft or crafty things. Most often or not lots have sewing patterns - we used to see these on ebay but now we prefer to give them gratis to buyers who collect them . And we come across buttons and ribbons and trims - although not a great deal of these are abouts nowadays - the original vintage ones, I am talking about.

And then occasionally you get some linen. Usually we give these away to family and friends who collect it and give the rest away to goodwill. When everyone has their fill...well, we've decided to offer some of the website...

You'll see a batch of teatowels going onto the site this week. All unused stored condition - antique pieces of Scottish and Irish linen...the best quality you'll find. Someone has (tried to) sew the linen into teatowels many a moon ago, so you shall be able to use them in the kitchen...or pop them into your own stash :)

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

More photos of new arrivals...looking strange :)

Great sunshine today but I just didn't have the time to get out into it to take some clear shots of the fabric. I have 40 waiting patiently for their photo shoot. All neat and tidy on their bolts waiting to go off to new homes :)

The top piece is a 40s Cepea and the one directly above is a gorgeous polished cotton.

Fab retro paisley cotton linen above (one of my current faves!) and a paisley sweetheart below...

And a wipeout psychedelic piece below - cotton linen and oh so retro loveliness!

Hopefully tomorrow their shall be no parent teacher days, no sick kids, no Shadowclad quotes, no ducted heating quotes and no other stuff inbetween so I can get out into the sun. Poor Justin just logs and snips away.

PS. I have officially lost my admiration for tradies. They are officially on my 'hard to work with' list - if you can get GET them to quote, GET them to your home or even GET them to answer the phone...sigh...

Testing the inside

The weather is definitely turning now - it's getting darker and you can sniff the coldness in the mornings. Lots of fog, too. So that means very little opportunity to take shots of the fabrics out in sunlight. Boo hoo. So I took myself off to buy some Tungsten lights today to test them out inside. I am disappointed in them...the colour is too yellow. Sunlight really is the best option for photography, I have come to the conclusion! May have to make the most of Winter sun when I can like I usually do :)