Thursday, June 17, 2010

Vintage Love Affair

When I was 18 my great uncle Joesph died and left his country home and all in contents to my mother and my aunt. There was much ado about the antique furnishings collected over many years by my great grandmother Catherine Lenore and my great aunt Maude both of whom shared Joe's home for many years. To say these 2 ladies did handiwork is an understatement. There were storage rooms filled with quilts and crochet or embroidered home decor items.
From the moment we began sorting through the shelves of stored goods I was enraptured by the vintage laces and delicately sewn garments I found. Since neither my mother nor aunt was interested in those items they became mine by default. Packed in boxes for many years and through many moves I really couldn't remember what I had saved all those years ago. Recently though inspired by all the lovely photos posted here on so many blogs I decided to open some of those boxes and take a few things out to photograph and post over the course of this summer.


Here then are a few pictures of one of the camisoles I had in one box. I am not sure what the fabric is but it feels silky, batiste maybe? Note the little white buttons which feature a small star in their centers.
I hope you enjoy seeing them!

21 comments:

  1. Oh they are gorgeous Tina!Thanks for sharing!

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  2. That one was most likely my great aunt Maude's as my great grandmother was a little larger and wouldn't have fit into that. Well I'm not sure I would fit into that right now..:(
    Tina xo

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  3. Ooh,just look at that beautiful lace.. heaven.
    yep - Bernard is a cuddly soul... he seems to have too much flesh for his body, so he is all squidgy!!

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  4. Hi Abi!
    Yes it is beautiful and all hand crocheted with very fine cotton thread. I guess with the time ladies had on their hands (before tv) they spent their evenings creating lovely things to wear.

    Oh I could just tell that wee Bernard was a cuddly darling. I love dogs and puppies are so special!
    Tina xo

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  5. Tina!
    Enraptured is the perfect word!
    How lucky for you to be bestowed with such lovlies from the past...
    even if by default!
    I've some I've collected over the years ...
    but none were passed down from the family.
    Very special.
    Have a lovely weekend,
    xoxo~Kathy @
    Sweet Up-North Mornings...

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  6. I do feel lucky that I was able to save what I could. You see my aunt and mom were not sentimental at all and originally when they were cleaning his home out for sale they were going to chuck the whole lot in the trash! My aunt especially, who later that year took all the family crystal and sold it on a local tv channel in Montreal without telling me so I didn't even get the chance to buy it. Ahhh family, you got to love them but every once in awhile I would love to smack "em!

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  7. I just love Antiques and vintage things. Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, all the girls on my mom's side of the family(aunts,cousins, and my grandma)go antique shopping. It is so fun; I look forward to it every year. You are lucky to own such neat things.

    <3Laura Beth

    PS. Thanks for the compliment on my "Owl Maiden" painting. That is just the mood I wanted to capture; glad it came across. ^_^

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  8. Thanks for stopping by Laura Beth and for the comment. It is so neat to be able to do family things like that, you're lucky to still have so many ladies and you have that wonderful tradition!
    And your art work is always so unique and captivating, I look forward to what you are going to do next. Have a wonderful weekend!
    Tina xo

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  9. Those vintage pieces are exquisite!You are so fortunate to have inherited them.
    Thankyou for popping in and for your comment,lovely to hear from you.

    Bellaboo :0)

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  10. Thanks for stopping by and yes I am fortunate that even as a young person I valued the old things no one else wanted.
    By the way I love the picture of Bella you have on the header right now, what a gorgeous poochie!
    Tina xo

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  11. Wow....these are amazing..you are so lucky to have them. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. Have a blessed day. xoxoxox

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  12. Hi Koralee
    Thanks so much for the comment and believe me I know I was lucky to have taken the time to drag those boxes around on numerous moves. Many was the time that someone tried to get me to get rid of all "the mess" so they wouldn't have to carry the boxes anymore....sigh...Philistines!
    Tina xo

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  13. Oh my goodness! i more than enjoyed this post!

    all of those wonderfully crafted articles of clothing...i crochet and have always wanted to incorporate it into my clothing...and this is the creative boost and inspiration i needed!

    simply and elegantly stunning!

    thanks for sharing!
    and for stopping in to see me...

    i'm off to catch up now

    ciao bella
    creative carmelina

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  14. This lace top is so dreamy! So delicate and beautiful.
    So lovely to hear from you and thank you for asking about the textures and layers.
    I use craft tissue wrapping paper glued onto would, as smooth as I can get it so the ripples arn't to pronouced. Then I sand it with fine sand paper and paint over with gesso. Layers of thin an d dry brushing effect with acrylic paints. Use a little crackle glaze one step crackle by Decoart.
    I have a few video's on you tube shows you a little how I paint.

    Hugs!

    Julie

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  15. Those are lovely pieces - I am so glad for your sake you were there to save them! The blogging world has certainly opened my eyes, not only to the treasures from another time that I have packed away, but the beauty of things I have never noticed before. I am looking forward to your "Summer Show" - thanks for sharing!

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  16. Thanks Jillayne
    I in the process of getting the spare room organized so I have an area where I can sort through the things I have saved and I can get a few pictures to share. There is so much though and everyday life keeps dragging me away, :)
    Tina xo

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  17. Wow what a great story. I would have loved to discover these.

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  18. Yes it was like Pandora's Box going through all the stuff my great uncle had stored over the years. Sadly we were under time constraints and didn't get to inventory everything. I do have 2 sets of my great grandmother's tea services and I am going to unpack those soon (hopefully this week) and post photos of those as well!
    Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave a note!
    Tina xo

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  19. Hi Tina... These are a true treasure... lucky you:-) They are gorgeous... what talented women your Great Grandmother and Great Aunt were!
    Bella

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  20. Such gorgeous treasures..these are all truly special..and so beautiful!! Lovely post!!
    Kiki~

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  21. Oo-er Tina! I SO want to see all your photos of these vintage treasures. How lucky you are to have inherited them.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and for leaving a comment. It truly brightens my day to read your thoughtful remarks!
Tina xo