Sammysgrammy Expansion

I'm taking my etsy shop in a new direction. Since the beginning, I have always focused on the repurposing of vintage linens and laces. I have made snowmen and Christmas stockings from vintage bedspreads and seed sacks, I've made aprons from heirloom tablecloths, old buttons remade into brooches and bracelets, messenger bags from coffee bean burlap bags and on and on.

Body: Martha Washington bedspread and hobnail spread arms-fur wrap

I've pumped up the volume in my shop by also carrying a selection of items that I've knitted and crocheted. But, my hearts desire is to refashion the antique version of what I can make with my own two hands. The lace crocheted by yesterday's homemaker, I want to make  usable again for today's bride. I am so determined to rescue these beautiful pieces of lace that someone worked so diligently on so many years ago. There were once useful and needful to Victorian, Edwardian, bungalow style, roaring twenties, depression and WWll years households. They protected the parlor upholstery from soil, kept genuine wood furniture from scratches and spills, they hung in the windows, keeping out mosquitos and filtering the sunshine, they trimmed every kind of linen imaginable. The Victorian housewife loved decorating "overkill". Their hand crocheted lace strips (many times crocheted by young girls learning the skill) trimmed petticoats, nightgowns, towels, pillowcases, sheets, napkins and tablecloths.

Example of lace trimmed pillow cases

Now this magnificent needlework that was once so highly valued is found many times at garage and household sales because no one wants it any longer. It is not a needed commodity. The fact that it's lasted intact for 100 years does not seem to impress. The skilled needlework of generations of women and girls is entirely passe'.

But there is one place where romance and nostalgia still reign supreme - that's the wedding industry.

Granted, there are many brides who want a svelt, modern, contemporary, sleek style of wedding. But, Hallelulia! there are some brides who want romance, tenderness, sweetness, ruffles, girliness, intrigue, enchantment, lushness........... This girl wants a wedding with some sentimentality and tradition. She may not know it yet, but a garter made from a 100 year old strip of lace is perfect for her big day !

Example of wedding garter made from strip of vintage lace

Example of wedding banner made from a collection of round vintage doilies

Example of bride's clutch made from a lace doily




 

5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party

This is a milestone for me - joining a "linky" party. Reason being: I am almost completely technology challenged. I did not grow up with a tiny hand-held computer for a toy. I played with dolls, hopscotched, hid and seeked (sought), played school, bathed my dollies, went to the library where I borrowed all the Madeline books, almost never went to the movies, took piano lessons, put on plays with my playmates which we charged our parents to attend and all those sorts of things. We had no computers in school or university. I never even saw one until my kids got an Pong game on a small Atari computer for Christmas one year. And the computer invasion has amplified since then until it has taken over my phone, my TV, my desktop, my lap, my purse, my shopping habits, my recipe collection, my communication with friends and relatives on Face Book and on and on...............

I solicited technical help from my dear sisters on the castteam   http://www.castteametsy.blogspot.com/          (Christian Artists Street Team) on etsy to help me understand just how to get that little pink badge that you see over on the right column of this blog. If you click on that, it will take you for a visit to the http://www.5minutesformom.com/  5 Minutes For Mom blog home page. Two sisters blogging about Mom Entrepreneurs. If that's you, too, pay a visit to their blog. I think you'll like it.

For the "linky" blog party, I am supposed to share a little about what sammysgrammy is all about  https://www.etsy.com/shop/sammysgrammy?ref=si_shop. It all started because I'm a "collector". I collect vintage linen. My collecting fever started when I wanted all handmade lace trimmed napkins for setting my dining table. I didn't want plain linen napkins. I wanted them embellished with the hand crocheted lace made in the 1920's, 30's and 40's.

I began going to estate sales. I discovered plenty of lace trimmed linen. More than I could ever use. I began to re imagine the napkins into other things. Mainly angels. Angels were in vogue then. Everyone wanted them. Either to trim their Christmas trees, or to give as a Christening gift or hostess gift or just to hang on a door knob. I sold a lot of them at craft shows and on consignment at local gift shops. I had not heard of etsy yet.

My estate sale habit got bigger and bigger and I began to branch out to collecting other than just napkins. But I was and still am in love with vintage linen. The more embellished it is the better I like it. Handmade lace, embroidery, fancy needlework, monograms, stitchery, etc. It always gets re imagined and reused to make something that will delight a modern bride or homemaker. Fortunately, I discovered etsy and sammysgrammy was born.

                  This purse is completely re imagined, using vintage handmade lace doilies.

               Banner made with vintage lace trimmed hankies

Bride's wedding garter re imagined from a strip of handmade lace. Interestingly, young girls practiced their crochet skills making strips of lace. The mama's then used these strips to festoon everything linen in the household -  towels, pillowcases, table linens, bed sheets, and petticoats.

It delights me no end, to rescue these treasures at estate sales before they end up in a landfill. Sadly, many have. I delight to remake them into something that can still be used today - almost 100 years later. A true heirloom.