Pallet for Home: textiles

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My Rummage Sale Treasures!

Last night I unpacked some goodies that I bought at a huge rummage thrift sale

last May. This was the Boutique At The Rink rummage sale in Bethlehem,

PA, whose proceeds benefited St. Luke's Hospital Cancer Center & Hospice.

This was my first time visiting this huge sale, and when I say huge, I mean huge!

The previous year, the sale raised $150,000, so just imagine all that STUFF!

In any case, take a look at what I scored!

The first thing that caught my attention was a gigantic rusty tin object that was

far across the room on a high shelf in the appliances section. I wasn't sure

what it was, but it was mine! On closer inspection, it turned out to be an

old punched-tin pendant light fixture. What a fabulous vintage farmhouse find!

It cost $15. I grabbed it. It filled up most of my shopping cart!

I was happy to see there was a crafts section. Here I found box upon box of odds and ends

of craft supplies. There were things like knitting needles, yarn, fabric remnants, leftover project supplies, etc., but what caught my eye was a bag of sequin and bead-filled large glass cigar tubes. Forget the sequins, those glass tubes were going to be turned into something fabulous! I'm not sure what they'll be transformed into yet, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. What's that you say? The bag of nine test tubes for 50 cents? Sold!

Next!
Well what to my wondering eyes should appear but a set of nine old embroidery hoops of various sizes all tied together and priced at $1.50. Can you say dreamcatchers? I can't wait to see what happens with those. They will be a great project to do with my daughters this winter, perfect for the first school-closed snow day of the season.

Fabric? Why yes, please.

I'm not an avid sewer, though I have made a few quilts and I know how expensive fabric

can be, so I was sure to take my time and go through this section thoroughly. I found some

great remnants in all types of colors, patterns, and materials. One that immediately

caught my eye was this lightweight canvas vintage horse print drapery material. The piece was 1 & 1/2 yards and only cost a few dollars. Wow.

Along with the horse fabric, I collected a mixed selection of upholstery, quilting, and decorating fabrics. For some time now, I've been wanting to craft up a Bohemian style flag similar to the art flags made by Sara Rahbar (see her flags below at the end of this post). These remnants are perfect for that project. They sold them in packs of 4 or 5 remnants for 50 cents a pack. What a great deal!

Here it is all unwrapped on my workbench...

Art flags made by artist Sara Rahbar:

Art flags made by artist Sara Rahbar

What do you think?

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Filed Under: Bethlehem PA, Boutique at the Rink, rummage sale, St. Luke's Hospital, textiles, thrift shop decor, thrift shop shopping, thrifting

Interiors: World Traveler

Maybe it's because spring is nearly here, but I'm finding myself very drawn to the bright and sometimes clashing colors and prints that are associated with world market style. A basic room can be given a whole new identity when a handful of screenprinted or tie-dyed throw pillows are introduced and a beautiful textile is hung on a wall. The look can be achieved on any budget so that it works both in college dorms and in grander surroundings. The focus is on cheerful colors, an overabundance of pattern and an appreciation for handmade goods. The result is casual elegance and if a glass of wine or tea ends up on the linens, who's going to notice?

Images: Lonny magazine, Oct/Nov 2010 issue, Jan/Feb 2011 issue, April/May 2010, Dec 2009/Jan 2010 issue. British Homes & Gardens magazine, November 2010 issue. Living etc magazine, October 2010 issue. Casual Living: No-Fuss Style for a Comfortable Home by Judith Wilson, photography by Polly Wreford; published by Ryland, Peters & Small, 2010.

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Filed Under: textiles, world traveler

Shop: Les Indiennes

At Les Indiennes, traditional Indian textiles are re-interpreted through Western eyes to beautiful effect. Vibrant motifs are minimized to one color palette and given space on white backgrounds so that their intricacies can really be appreciated. The website provides a Flip Book of inspiration showing a range of products--upholstery fabric, cushions, wallpaper, and bedding--in a variety of settings. One of my favorites, paisley, makes frequent appearances without being overkill. The images are so inviting that they even make me rethink polka dots--a pattern I never thought I would embrace.

All images are the property of Les Indiennes by Mary Mulcahy.

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Filed Under: fabric, les indiennes, paisley, polka dots, shop, textiles, wallpaper

Design: Sculptural textiles

Design: Sculptural textiles

Helen Amy Murray is a London-based textile designer who sculpts floral designs into wools, suedes, and leathers. Her work was originally inspired by the wood and marble carvings she discovered on a research trip to India. Upon returning to London, she experimented with translating these similar sculptural effects into a new medium - textiles. The intricate patterns found in her work are a fusion of her upbringing in the English countryside with her urban city life: drawing inspiration from nature, the city and its architecture.

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Photo © Helen Amy Murray. The Chrysanthemum pattern sculpted in white leather.

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Photo © Helen Amy Murray. The Feathers pattern sculpted in beige leather.

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Photo © Helen Amy Murray. The Tropical pattern sculpted in ochre leather.

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Photo © Helen Amy Murray. The Oriental Flower pattern sculpted in sienna leather.

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Photo © Helen Amy Murray. The Succulent pattern sculpted in brown in leather.

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Photo © Helen Amy Murray. For those unfamiliar with Helen's work, this is an example of her gorgeous Peony pattern sculpted into the suede upholstery of a Phillimore chair.

Modern Laser Cut Textiles by Camilla Diedrich

Finding inspiration in everything from a movie to architecture, Swedish textile designer Camilla Diedrich is challenging conventional ideas of what textiles should be. She is one of the first designers to structure textiles in terms of negative space by cutting holes into them using a laser. This exploration of negative space has led to the incredible transformation of a fabric's flat surfaces into richly-textured, three-dimensional forms. Her most iconic product to date is the BPL Lamp for Rotaliana which is wrapped in the Bubbly textile.

Organic Felt Textile Art Installation by Janice Arnold

Palace Yurt was created as a site specific installation at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum by Janice Arnold to demonstrate the link between the historical origins of Felt and contemporary Felt Art though the symbolism of the yurt. Home to Turkic-Mongolian tribes for thousands of years, the yurt is a tent-like, collapsible dwelling, covered with felt. Arnold, renowned for her felt textile work, keeps with traditional Mongolian culture by creating a lavishly decorated yurt that is elaborate in its ornamentation and design.

Woven Fiber Optic Textiles by Astrid Krogh

Astrid Krogh is a Danish designer who is making her mark in the world of textiles by combining the ancient art of weaving with the most unconventional materials: fiber optics. With properties similar to those of traditional textile fibers, optical fibers can be intricately woven on a loom. When the ends of the fibers are connected to color radiating light monitors, tapestries are created with an incessant flow of ever-changing color. Astrid's woven light installations have created a new product vernacular where textiles and light merge.