If you are a frequent reader of this blog you will know that I am constantly searching for antique fabrics to fashion into doll clothes. I hunt for antique quilts and garments that are far too worn to be restored, but are still in good enough condition to sew with. One of my favorite places to shop for antique textiles is at the May antique shows in Brimfield, MA. My husband and I had planned to spend two days in Brimfield, but heavy rains made Friday a washout, so we packed all of our shopping into one day on Saturday!
I’m feeling a bit like the princess and the pea with this new waist high stack of antique quilts in my studio!
Our textile scavenger hunt started out slow, with only a single white wool baby blanket in my shopping bag when we took a break for lunch. Things picked up in the afternoon, after a few disappointing instances where we found great quilts that turned out to be very over priced. By the end of the day we had accumulated almost more quilts than we could carry, along with half a dozen pieces of antique underpinnings.
Some of the white textiles that we found on our weekend shopping expeditions.
On Sunday we ventured out to the Elephant’s Trunk, our local flea market, where we purchased another quilt and an additional armful of antique petticoats and nightgowns. In the afternoon we went to a car show, since turn about is fair play and Brian certainly deserved a reward for all of the miles he walked and pounds of fabric he carried for me during the rest of the weekend. ❤
Chandeliers were a very popular item at Brimfield this year.Lots to see…A great counter!We’ve owned and sold several similar carousel horses, so it was fun to see this one and compare prices.Loved the train!A terrific paint brush advertising display 🙂so cool…Yes, there were dolls to see and drool over!a long day…An unplanned purchase, simply too great to pass up!An amazing sewing machine.I spent a few minutes trying to figure out how this machine should be threaded…We saw this little horse on Sunday at the Elephant’s Trunk and thought it looked like a lot of fun!Two of our Sunday buys, a child’s rocking chair and a Christmas tree fence.Good thing the dolls are willing to share… these antique nightgowns are destined to be summer dresses for me!
My name is Paula Walton. I’m a working craftsperson. I’ve been self-employed since 1986, when I started selling the items that I make under the name A Sweet Remembrance. Among other things, I am a doll maker, a dressmaker that specializes in reproduction women’s and children’s clothing, maker of spun cotton ornaments and holiday figures, and a freelance designer. Upon occasion I write magazine articles and am a Craftsperson in Residence. I teach and do demonstrations quite frequently, plus I was previously the director and curator of a small museum in Connecticut.
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