Saturday 29 May 2010

One Womans Trash is another Womans Treasure


This week one of my favourite things happened. A friend knocked on my door with a plastic carrier bag saying an elderly friend of her mums was having a clear out and she had heard I was an avid quilter, and would I like her old scrap bag? My friend apologised, said it's probably not what you want/need, feel free to throw it/recycle it if it's no good, etc etc. Yippeeee! My heart jumped a beat, because there is nothing I enjoy the expectation of more (except perhaps a rummage in a charity shop in a well heeled market town) than the donated scrap bag. I always have to wrestle it off of the usually awkward donor ( people feel like they are offering you literal scraps I think).



Within minutes I had the bag upturned on the floor in My Front Room, and after a hasty edit of the inevitable polyester bits and bobs, it yielded this impressive stash! Isn't it yum?

I can't decide which fabric I love the most, but it's between the bright blue with red and yellow flowers in the blue pile and the gorgeous primary group in the first piccie, so 1950's that colour combo? Which do you like best?

6 comments:

  1. How exciting I love being given mysterious bags of goodies.
    Do you go to the craft shop in Hemel?
    They had the most gorgeous fabric in there the other day I think it was hedgehogs, very Japanese!

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  2. Its called needlecraft
    http://www.needlecraftstore.co.uk/index.htm
    It's fab, is this the one you meant it is on a corner almost opposite the Kodack building.

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  3. Lucky duck! I like the pink flowers - the top piece in the second group - with the purple and green bits.

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  4. Firstly I am so jealous - those fabrics look so fabulously gorgeous and there are too many lovely ones to pick a favourite. Secondly, I did 99% of my fabric shopping in Needlecraft growing up (I grew up in Berkhamsted) and can't believe it's still going strong!).

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  5. Very exciting!! I love this too. And to Lynne...I am now living in Berkhamsted... Great charity shops here!

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  6. Lindsey, Lynne and Natasha - Well who would have thought that all things turn on a Berko/Hemel axis? I am off on a humble trip to Hemel asap, I can't believe this shop has not registered on my quilt-radar! p.s Berko is especially lovely for the very well healed elderly who very kindly like to turn out their wares to the charity shops, I can also reccommend Wallingford! te he

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