Removing Stubborn Black Mildew Stains From Fabric

My friend just bought a quilt from a thrift shop. It's not a vintage quilt, but it had those dreaded black mildew spots that can be very hard to remove. She's laundered it but the spots are still there. So I did some digging around for more info on spot removal and came across this advice from 'How To Clean Stuff'.
Now I've written previously about using Oxyclean, Clorox II or the cheaper alternatives you can buy at the dollar stores.  I've used them with great success for most stains.
The Dollar General brand is:
DG home
All Fabric Powder Bleach
-Phosphate free/Non-chlorine
-Color safe
-Safe for septic systems

 If that doesn't work; the article suggests:
Test a small area first to ensure that the color is not affected, as lemon juice can have a bleaching effect on some fabrics.
    Spread the paste over the stained areas.
    Allow it to set for 15 to 30 minutes.
    After the paste has set on the stain, scrape it away and flush the area with water.
    Launder again as usual.
    For cotton and linen fabrics, oxygen bleach can be used (oxygen bleach is different from chlorine bleach, which is not recommended).
    Mix powdered oxygen bleach (do NOT use chlorine bleach), water and a few drops of ammonia.
    Test a small area first.
    If the test area goes well, and there are no adverse effects, spread the paste over the entire stained area.
    Allow it to set for 15 to 30 minutes.
    Remove the paste and flush the area with clean water.
    Launder the piece as usual.
    Check the fabric thoroughly before drying to ensure the stain is completely removed. It works well to allow the piece to air dry the first time to check

Do not soak darker color fabrics such as red, black or navy with pastels or whites!  Even today's modern fabrics dyes can be unstable and bleed.  We all learn from trial and error, but that should be at the top of the list of  'thou shalt nots'.  Hubbys usually commit this crime early in the marriage.  Sorry, fellas....we love you to pieces, but the next time you throw that red football jersey in the washer with my white chiffon blouse;  you will suffer unspeakable pain.
Men, just write this caveat down when you take up residence with your other half:
Don't pi$$ off the cook!

Sweet Country Cottage Style Cathedral Quilt Pillow from Vintage Linens & Lace

This is my sweet cathedral quilt cottage style pillow with Laura Ashley 'Rosemoor' print.  I used the roses & buds for the 'windows' and trimmed it with a wonderful vintage lace I found on a trip through Amish country.

I actually started working on the pillow while on a road trip up the east coast with my hubby and thrifting/salvage partner in crime.

That in part is why of all my shabby cottage pillows; this one took me the lo-o-ongest time to complete.  Once I start working on a project I tend to lose myself in the design, but it was a great way to pass time on the road and it beats counting blue cars!

The central part was a cathedral quilt square I started and I didn't know where in the world I was going with this pillow.  Most projects I just sit down and start stitching and playing with fabric until it talks to me.  Just setting the central section in a standard square didn't feel quite right, so I placed in on the diagonal. 
I selected Laura Ashley fabric 'Rosemoor' to use as the 'windows'.  I cut out individual squares of the roses and rosebuds as focal points and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

The beautiful vintage ivory lace is from a bulk lot I found at Barnesville Antique Mall in Barnesville OH which is a wonderful two-story old brick building and a wonderful place to browse.  The upstairs had several dealers who specialized in vintage textiles and this is an excellent area to find vintage handmade items from the nearby Amish communities.  The batch I found had all sorts of neat items that were saved from old clothing such as lace trimmed jabots, cuffs and bodice neckline inserts as well as crocheted trim.  When it comes to recycling-the Amish can really show us how!

Blessings...

              Pamela

Vintage Chair Is A Time Capsule

This is one of my more recent thrift store finds.   I've started to track down the era for this chair and as you can see; it's quite ornate.  The top of the shield back is intricately scrolled and the arm rests resemble lion's paws.  The legs are wonderfully turned.

 There's work to be done to restore it, but it's mostly minor.  Loose joints to be clamped and re-glued and a few small pieces of the veneer on the shield back are missing, but I've got an old sheet of walnut veneer that I can use to patch those areas.

 I decided to gently take the old furniture tacks out and strip the fabric layers back one by one.  And yes...I saved the old tacks.  I told you I never throw anything away!
This was like going through an archaeological dig with multiple layers of fabric from the past.

Now, to me this is the real challenge.  After I got down to the real nitty gritty; I was thrilled to see that the original beautiful wool needlework seat cover had been left intact. Sadly, part of the floral design was gone due to years of wear.  I give thanks to the former owner who decided to cover it over instead of ripping it off and throwing it away.

 I took the previous picture and ran it through photo editing software to pull out the 'ghost' of the missing yarn.  This gives me a better idea of what the missing flowers would have looked like.

Now off I go to try and track down a similar design in all of the antique/vintage cross stitch or other needlework patterns out there to bring this baby back to it's former glory.
Wish me luck!

Pamela

Well....I'm back.  That took some digging around in the interwebs.  I finally came across this needlepoint design that I might be able to adapt to this chair seat.

It's close enough to give me an idea of what the original flowers might have been.  Especially the blue ones.
After I completely removed the seat cover and was able to see the reverse side, it gave a better look of the original colors of the yarn.

Look how clear and bright those colors are!  Now I can rummage through that stash of yarn I've been hoarding for thirty years and see if I can come up with a match.
A nice winter project when the cold weather chases me out of my garden!

DIY Birdbath - A Plowing Disk Gets A New Life

A neighbor planned on tearing down an old barn that had been on his mother's property since the early 1900s.  It was filled with old farm implements and cast-off furniture that no-one in the family wanted so he let me go through and haul out what I could before he took the dozer to it.
I found a new use for one of the plowing disks.  My husband had an old hand pump stored away in the garage that he rescued from his grandfather's farm in Pennsylvania and we paired them up on a garden seat for the birds to enjoy.

The trellis had already been there for my autumn clematis so I hadn't given it much thought until later when a friend said it reminded her of a church window.
An accident of design, I suppose.
The crape myrtles were in full glory and made a nice backdrop.
It was sad to see a barn that had stood for a century reaching the end of it's life in order for someone to build a new house, but I console myself at reminders like this and realize this is why I rescue what in someone else's eyes is useless clutter.  
We're just keepers of the flame.

Works In Progess - My Little Angel. Naughty or Nice?

I love angels and had kicked around an idea how to incorporate one into one of my cottage pillows. So I sat down at the drawing board and started sketching. Did I want my angel in flight, with full flowing robes? That would be a bit busy to fit onto the central section of the pillow. Then I wondered if my angel was going to be a girl or boy.
I finally settled on a head and shoulders sketch with wings outstretched. And the short feathered curls could belong to a boy or girl, so my little angel turned out to be more unisex.



Then after transferring my sketch onto vintage white percale via a lightbox, I went to work embroidering my design.
After I was done, I sat back and studied the final project and had to admit...my angel looked just a tad naughty.
But I guess there's a bit of devil in us all.
Even angels!



Now I'm off to rummage through some vintage fabrics and lace to find the perfect border for my sweet little angel!

Care To Join Me For Tea?

I went to a local Habitat Restore shop on John's Island and found this darling vintage wicker breakfast in bed stand with glass tray.  The stand has two side compartments for magazines and newspapers.
This makes me think of those 1940s glorious goddesses of the silver screen relaxing back among tousled satin sheets and enjoying early morning tea or coffee while they browsed the latest scandal sheets.

And of course there was sultry film queen of the 1930s, Jean Harlow who had breakfast in bed down to a science.



I can't wait for warmer weather so I can play dress-up in a vintage peignoir and coax my hubby to serve me breakfast in bed.
Okay, well.....maybe not breakfast.

Hey!  Can I get a cup of coffee over here?

Clamshell Cottage Vintage

Confused Camellia

Every once in a while mother nature throws us a curve.  We planted this pale pink camellia japonica three years ago and some of the blooms are starting to come out a deep rose pink.
What a delightful surprise!

We'll be covering this poor sweetie tonight as the temps dip down into the upper 20s here on the island.

Antique Valentines Cards

Valentine celebrations have evolved from the martyrdom of St. Valentine, a third-century priest, into a romantic exchanging of gifts, notes and cards.
Early valentines were produced in a variety of forms-mechanical, flat, and three-dimensional.

The card below was valued at $350.

From a February 2005 issue of Country Living

This antique valentine dates from the early 1900s and is a three-dimensional chromolithographed card printed on heavy card stock imported from Germany.  The fold-out mechanism allows it to stand alone.
The most sought after cards are ones made by Esther Howland, the McLouglin Brothers, and Raphael Tuck & Sons; all of whom were active during the mid-19th century and collector values range from a few dollars to prices in the thousands.

Clamshell Cottage Vintage

Vintage Dresden Quilt

My Vintage Quilt Rescue

I found this dresden quilt at the bottom of a bedding bin at a local thrift store and the first thing that went through my mind was; how in the world did it escape being damaged and torn? Anyone who's ever been thrifting knows how much pulling and tugging goes on when people rummage through those bins.