dimanche 12 avril 2009

Flea Marketing and Housekeeping Tips, Please!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it! We don't, so it's just regular goings-on for us.

It's been raining all weekend over here in southwest France, which meant that I've been stuck indoors for two days. Not a bad thing, since if I can get away with it, I'd stay home all the time. (Sometimes I wonder what the heck ever happened to the twentysomething version of me, the one my friends and family doubted ever slept, as I was out either working or partying all the time -- but that's for another blog post.)

So what do I do when I'm home with lots of free time on my hands? Why, I sew of course. This is a sneak peek of my weekend project, a line of new pillows I'm working on for the shop.

I did want to go to the Saturday flea market in Lunel, but I doubted if even the hardiest vendors (they line up to get a place as early as three a.m.!) was going to be there, so I scratched the idea.

I love that market. I drove over there two Saturdays ago. If you read this blog, you'd know that I have a thing for lace, but seeing the inspiring ways crocheted doilies are being used over at Etsy these days, like here and here, I snapped a few up. And yep, I used one of them for the pillow above.

Along with the doilies, I also got this woven blanket that reminded me of Christmas, sort of, what with the red-and-white colors and the snowflake pattern. The woman selling it said it belonged to her mother-in-law, but she couldn't tell me much more than that. My cat Luna had a sniff, but couldn't tell me more either. Anyone has an idea where it comes from originally?

Still on questions and acquisitions from that trip: I was looking at this piece of cloth that was charming and old, but was unfortunately marked with brown moisture spots. The woman (the same one selling the blanket), seeing my interest, just gave it to me and wished me luck with the stain removal. I pre-soaked it, then put it in the machine at high temperature, but the stains are still there. I'm sure there's no way I can remove them now, but I see these kinds of stains a lot when I'm digging through fabric at flea markets. I find it such a shame when I see an otherwise nice piece of cloth rendered useless this way. Can somebody help me out and tell me how these stains can possibly be removed?


P.S. Je me demande si je dois traduire mon blog en français. Si vous êtes francophone, puis-je vous demander votre avis?

16 commentaires:

Dawn of LaTouchables a dit…

Hi La Pomme,

Beautiful blogpost! I don't know how to remove stains like that, but you might try and cover them intentionally with a patch, making it a part of the design, or a doily or lace or large button. I curious to see what you do with your finds!

Cheers,
Dawn

ira a dit…

lovely post pomme, not sure how to remove it, tell you what try to google it:)

Apol a dit…

great suggestion, DAWN, thanks! will try to do this, i think.

i did, IRA. didn't find anything that might seem to work though.

Kajin a dit…

Sun does wonders for stains - I usually soak the spot in water (with a bit of lemon juice, it helps a bit) for a few minutes, and let it dry in the sun.

Great finds! :-)

ingermaaike a dit…

I am clueless on stainremoving but Dawns idea seems like a great plan to me. It is a very pretty piece!

That pillow is looking pretty awesome too .

MQuin a dit…

hey is that "Wet Cat"? pretty pillows, Pomme. I tried baking soda paste before and lemon. It worked but I tried it on a plain light coloured fabric, I'm afraid it might ruin the print on your fabric..

Nathalie a dit…

Have you tried "Ace délicat"?
Luna has grown up a lot! She is so cute.
I have seen woven fabrics like yours in the Vosges and in Alsace...maybe it's typical of the area?
I should translate my blogs into French too...but I am too lazy ;)

Susannah @ art nest a dit…

How would translating work? Would it still be in English as well?

Apol a dit…

Thank you for the tips, EVERYONE. Will try some of them for sure.

SUSANNAH, yes, of course! Mainly in English, and underneath, a French translation. This idea comes because I am noticing that several French-speakers have been leaving comments here. And also from that Etsy survey saying that, after English, Etsy users speak mainly French.

Anonyme a dit…
Ce commentaire a été supprimé par un administrateur du blog.
Lila Ruby King a dit…

great post, I love the new pillow!

Sorry I can't help you with the stain removal, what a beautiful piece of fabric, I hope you will be able to save it!

Kreativlink a dit…

Oh that pillow looks very, VERY nice!
No idea about the stains, though. What with this - magic stain removers I see on TV all the time? The really bad chemical ones?

Unknown a dit…

Oh, wonderful post! We sure have a lot in common! What lovely doilies you found! Thanks for mentioning my doily bunting!
~Emily xx

X by Leina Neima a dit…

Oh, I am really helpful on stain removing... but this new pillow is really romantic and beautiful....

fleurdefibre a dit…

Bonjour La Pomme,
So bad about the stain, try some of the tricks suggested... but, no guarantees. I would try a little abrasion using toothpaste, maybe? Just a thought!
Et le blog en anglais, pas de probleme !
And flea market are great! Some of my best finds for materials and inspiration comes from those sales.
You can check my work at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fleurdefibre
salutations
Mireille

Brianna a dit…

Beautiful pillow!