Moving

Movement seems to be the word to describe life these days. For one thing, my sister and I are working on La Pomme's new blog home, and should be launching that real soon. I promise - no, I swear! - that when that is launched I will be blogging so much more regularly that I am doing at the moment.

For another, husband, baby, and I are going to Africa for a few weeks to take a break from our normal hustle and bustle. We plan to do some serious chilling out, stay in places where there's no TV and no Internet connection, and just listen to the silence. Well, that, and wailing of the baby who, advanced as she was in walking and in growing teeth, has continued in her precocious ways and has hit her terrible twos many many months too early :)

Anyway. Let me make an announcement and say that if you've been wanting to get anything at the shop, please do so by 7 April so that I can ship your purchases off to you right away. Purchases made after this date will begin shipping in the first week of May.

Here are some new things we've stocked at the shop:

Vintage horn instruments.

Beer and lemonade bottles.

Carpenter's wooden vise to use as bookcases.

Reclaimed Postal Bags

Here are new photos of the vintage postal bags I made for my Reclaimed line. Two of them are still available at the shop.

Reclaimed Pillowcases

These pillowcases are recycled from vintage French ticking fabric. This kind of sturdy cotton was in the past used extensively in France to make mattresses. I found these pieces at various flea markets here in the south.

The idea for Reclaimed pillowcases came from seeing how my mother-in-law meticulously mended her children's clothes. Jeans were patched and re-patched at the knees. Holes in shirts were camouflaged with fabric of similar print. It spoke to me of love, frugality, and a natural environmental awareness.

Vintage "toile à matelas," or ticking fabric is quite popular in France now. Many crafters use them to make bags and scented sachets. Most, however, look for fabric in almost-pristine condition. Lengths that have too many holes or that are stained are ignored. And yet these pieces to me are somehow more interesting than their fresher counterparts. They have lived - if we can apply the term to inanimate objects - and are not afraid to show it.

I have taken the tattered and stained vintage ticking I have collected, and mended them, repairing holes and patching over major stains. The original mending I found on them, those made by previous owners, I have left intact. Some stains I left alone - proud marks of the fabric's history.

You can find these pillowcases at the Reclaimed section of the shop.

Reclaimed Pincushions

The first pieces of my spring collection, these are now at the shop.

Recycled Vintage Postal Bags

From my new collection, Reclaimed. Soon at the shop.