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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Saturday, February 25, 2012

vintage love...

Modern technology has made many advances in the way of textiles.
Some downright scary (like the thick polyester of the '50s - '70's!),
and some incredibly amazing (like Gortex and polar fleece) but there's 
nothing out there that beats a lovely old wool blanket...
Once in a while I come across these beauties in the thrift shop and if the price is right, I scoop them up.
This one I found the other day for $5.49 and I love the pastel tones of the stripes...
I love to see the weave of a wool blanket ...
 This other one I found a few years ago is an unusual combo of mint and pink...
I keep this over my duvet and Ruben thinks that's just grand!...
(sorry for the disturbance your Highness)
Another pale cream one I keep in the studio for those chilly morns until it warms up in there...
One of the things I adore about these blankets is sometimes they still have the label attached...
This red plaid one I bought years ago became so worn that it became a dog blanket
but it still carries a nice vintage label...
Don't you just love the name of the town of Moose Jaw?
Only in Canada ey?
I have a friend who uses these blankets in her craft.
I've posted about her little studio called the Wren House
here
 She makes these beautiful images with vintage sweaters, embroidery thread and blankets and applies them to pillows or puts them in frames..
I love the history of a thing.
I always wonder who owned it, who cuddled under that blanket, where it was made.
Wool is a textile from the past.
Has been here forever and will certainly be with me forever.
Maybe it's the Irish blood in me...connecting me to sheep and green hills of Eire.
There are still some places that  make woolen blankets the old fashioned way which
gives me comfort to know it's a craft being kept alive and well.
 

3 comments:

farmlady said...

How beautiful. These wool blankets are so wonderful. You have found some of the best. I love the first one. It even has the ends in tact... and no moth holes. Amazing!
I DID know someone from Moose Jaw. She was married to our minister when we lived down in the low lands. I thought she was kidding when she told me where she had been raised, so she showed me on a map. What an odd name for a town but I've heard worse.
The last photo is lovely.

Valerie said...

My Mom was born in Dilke, grew up in Holdfast - and the big day in town was to go to Moose Jaw!

I have a great old wool blanket, from my Grandma, that comes out to keep our guests warm. I just love it.

Sherry O'Keefe said...

i love these blankets because of the way you acquire them (or they acquire you..!) such things take time and you are the lovely one to invest in such time. my grandmother always made quilts and i had saved one from her last years of quilting, not wanting it to get worn out. but last month i decided to start using it...and wow, it smelled of my grandmother's house. that scent has seen me through some tough times way back when and how good to still have it with me now.