i'm about to talk about something a little bit sad. not terribly sad, or very sad, or even somewhat sad... just a tiny little bit sad. we all know there are very horribly sad things going on in the world. perhaps in our own lives. this isn't one of them... but i do feel a little bit sad...
in the grand scheme of things it means nothing...but...
... everyday i have the joy of working with vintage fabrics.... i love vintage fabrics... i am so lucky to have a glorious collection that for me each tell a great story, and have a great history behind them... now the sad part ... sometimes, when i'm using a piece of fabric... i come to the end of it. i come to the last small piece of it that i can use to make into something else.... the last of a beautiful, well-loved apron to turn into a wallet... or the last of a gorgeous bedsheet to turn into a scarf.. .. when i've used almost all of a certain vintage fabric, i feel this tiny, little sadness. this missingness and this real covet-ing of the little tiny remaining scrap. alas... no more of this brilliant fabric.. or no more of this delightful print! (this might be why i never REALLY use the last peice of any vintage fabric. i always save a wee tiny bit for the *next* project with it, even if it's the tiniest scrap ... so that i have something of a scrap collection as inventory of all of my fabrics... i know.. this sadness sounds crazy! i know! but it's true! you should see my bins and bins of little tiny last piece scraps...)
i've had to *retire* many a glorious fabric from my collection. i had to say goodbye to what might have been my most favourite last year, seen in the top photo... that glorious this deer print bib. .... ahhhh.... dear dear deer print!
and said goodbye (after only a few items) to this fabulous vintage cowboy print....
and while i know it's the nature of the limited edition vintage fabric i work with, i guess i'm just crazily attached to the charm and story of those fabrics!! heavens!!
i'm at this place now with this beautiful retro mod purple print.. down to the last item with it!
and the same for this lovely navy mod print!! eek!
now i know this isn't really, actually sad... but do any of you ever feel that way... cherishing your arts & crafts materials in such a crazy, personal way? or is it just crazy, nostalgic, fabric-obsessed me?! :)
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in the grand scheme of things it means nothing...but...
... everyday i have the joy of working with vintage fabrics.... i love vintage fabrics... i am so lucky to have a glorious collection that for me each tell a great story, and have a great history behind them... now the sad part ... sometimes, when i'm using a piece of fabric... i come to the end of it. i come to the last small piece of it that i can use to make into something else.... the last of a beautiful, well-loved apron to turn into a wallet... or the last of a gorgeous bedsheet to turn into a scarf.. .. when i've used almost all of a certain vintage fabric, i feel this tiny, little sadness. this missingness and this real covet-ing of the little tiny remaining scrap. alas... no more of this brilliant fabric.. or no more of this delightful print! (this might be why i never REALLY use the last peice of any vintage fabric. i always save a wee tiny bit for the *next* project with it, even if it's the tiniest scrap ... so that i have something of a scrap collection as inventory of all of my fabrics... i know.. this sadness sounds crazy! i know! but it's true! you should see my bins and bins of little tiny last piece scraps...)
i've had to *retire* many a glorious fabric from my collection. i had to say goodbye to what might have been my most favourite last year, seen in the top photo... that glorious this deer print bib. .... ahhhh.... dear dear deer print!
and said goodbye (after only a few items) to this fabulous vintage cowboy print....
and while i know it's the nature of the limited edition vintage fabric i work with, i guess i'm just crazily attached to the charm and story of those fabrics!! heavens!!
i'm at this place now with this beautiful retro mod purple print.. down to the last item with it!
and the same for this lovely navy mod print!! eek!
now i know this isn't really, actually sad... but do any of you ever feel that way... cherishing your arts & crafts materials in such a crazy, personal way? or is it just crazy, nostalgic, fabric-obsessed me?! :)
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Oh yes... I have that sadness too! You put it so eloquently... in my life that sadness manifests itself not so much as an inventory but as a very potential patchwork project that will never be. So sad. - Karen @ thejunebride.etsy.com
ReplyDeleteOh I completely understand!! It's a tiny little heartbreak every time a loved fabric is gone... what about making a scrappy lap quilt so that the fabrics can all be in one place and and you can gaze and touch your pretty fabrics forever!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same sadness when I sell the last of a series too. Then not only are the materials gone, but the finished item is gone from my home too...
ReplyDeleteI'm with you too. You may console yourself with the fact that you have breathed new life and admiration into these fabrics by creating such pretty pieces from them. Still, it's sort of like sending your kid to kindergarten or something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteI can empathize with you there! (thus all my yarn scraps) Where I have a really hard time is when I go into a 2nd hand store and find these lonely, handmade items, that some granny has made with lots of love and care... i ended up buying 7 pairs of knitted mittens last night- they are SO precious!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I will dedicate a blog post to them!
I feel the same way about some of the papers I use in my collages! I thought that I might be the only one to feel this sort of sadness, but alas, I am not. That makes me feel a little bit better :)
ReplyDeleteI know just how you feel, I get a little sad to when i'm at the end of a fabric that i really like.
ReplyDeleteI know EXACTLY what you mean... in my greavesdesign shop, where I also use vintage fabrics and buttons I have a hard time when the last bit of fabric or last button of a certain type is used up. I always wonder if the piece is worthy of using that remaining treasure...
ReplyDeletelove your blog and your shop btw!
Hi Kristal,
ReplyDeleteYou should keep a swatch book of your vintage fabric that way you could look back and reminisce and you'll always have the real thing!
Funny story though, I was thinking oh, oh, this might be sad. Fortunately, it's not tragic! (ha, ha)
I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteI think you should create a magnificent collage from all your last little pieces, pinning them to a large cork board. Then you can always look at them and hopefully, not be so sad.
awwww!!! i know what you mean!!! i feel the same sadness when one of my favorite items in my store gets sold esp when i am not gonna do anymore remakes...but of course i'm happier when i've sold them.
ReplyDeletesuch a cute post!!!
cheryl@ http://cherbie.etsy.com
Ohh, I sure can relate to that! Especially with my ceramic work. I will never be able to sell some of those pieces. Although clay is just clay and the last bit can be replaced very easily, the work made with it has a soul...
ReplyDeleteYES. I'm a quilter and when my favorite forest green fabric was finally gone after years of being added into so many projects .... it was a sad thing. But I've kept most of those projects so I can see 'em.
ReplyDeleteAnother "really sad" category is finding vintage needlework in the thrift shops and chopping out pieces to use ... who made this? how long did it take? why did it land in the junk heap?
Thank goodness for digital cameras ... I now take pics of all the treasures I bring home before I cut them.
you know what?
ReplyDeletethat last wallet?
the one with the gorgeous navy and red print?
its MINE!
and i LOVE it!
so maybe knowing that your last pieces of fabric end up in good homes and are loved and cared for would make the separation easier?
i have some supplies i cant part with at all
i hord all sorts of shinny colourfull bits and then never want to let go
I'm like a magpie
when i do force myself to use _some_ of them, its always with a little regret
i did so last week... vintage Rhinestones i took out of a big bag of broken vintage jewelry... i've had them for YEARS until i finally decided to use them
*sigh*
they are still on my workbench, ready to be shipped out...
I definitely feel that way! Since many of my items are OOAK, I am always sad to see them go! I get really misty when I use a vintage button on some of my items. Many are from my mother's vintage button collection!
ReplyDeletelooks like a lot of us have this problem! those are really gorgeous fabrics- especially the deer print, I'd be super sad to be losing those!
ReplyDeleteI understand you...
ReplyDeleteI sometimes have some kind of nice paper and I use it for doing my artwork. Then, no more paper...it´s a little bit sad :(
I totally understand! I have bits of favorite fabric stashed away.
ReplyDeleteCool note: I am so very glad to have your mod fabric business card holder!!! I love it so very much. The fabric is stunning!
Strangely enough, I do understand. Even stranger... It is just this very article that brings me to this site, and your site makes me just a little bit happy.
ReplyDeleteI googled "A little bit sad" on a whim, and this was the first entry... I wondered if you had a story for me... but no, not quite... It's a place full of beautiful old-fashioned textiles and knitting? Reminds me of home, so far away... Thank you, Rikrak. :)