Wednesday 21 March 2012

Jammy

Yes indeed - that's me!  

If you popped in yesterday, you will have read that a nice lady called me up because she had some bits and pieces that she wanted rid of (she is soon moving to Somerset), and she wondered if I might like them.

I waited till elevenish today before hot-footing it over to the nether regions of Farnham to collect said items from her.  We had a nice chat and she handed me over a Starbucks bag...


I would have liked to dive straight in and toss everything out to see what was there, but I restrained myself to a quick grope to the bottom of the bag as I walked up the extremely steep hill of the lovely lady's drive, before jumping in the car and heading for home, anticipating the delights that might lay within.

Well, you cannot imagine the squeals of delight when I gently emptied the bag onto the dining room table.  The deeper down in the bag I went, the more amazing were the finds!

On top was a Beading Loom, some brightly embroidered mats, a set of napkins embellished with colourful butterflies, a couple of rather sweet guest towels with appliqued swans and a couple of flannelette sheets...

(Hold onto your hats, ladies, you're about to go on a whirlwind tour!)


Next were some cutwork and Madeira pieces, plus the odd bit of Chinese applique...


Then a heavily embroidered rayon  tablecloth...


Next, crumpled bags and old envelopes...


...revealed some sweet ribbon roses (larger than the ones you can acquire nowadays)...


...a good length of vintage ribbon, some pretty braid and a considerable amount of cream lace...


...and a piece of Indonesian silk.


The next layers were mostly wrapped in blue tissue paper.  Little did I know the beauties that lay within!

A beautiful bag handle...


A card with numerous lengths of delicate cotton lace...


It had been attached to the card with sellotape.  I am hoping the stains will come out, but even if they don't there is lots that is useable.

So very delicate...


Love the dottiness of this one...


The top one here is very fine, but look at the one below!  This lace must have been very expensive!


Another oh-so-very-fine lace...


 Then there were some bits of nylon lace.  I remember this one from my childhood - it was on everything!


 These may be nylon, but the quality is very good.


Then I found an Egyptian themed bit of filet lace...


And a cute bit of braid.  I never tire of red and white, and there's quite a length of this.


A few bits of broderie anglais...


A long piece of very thick and shimmery gros-grain ribbon...


Next an amazing collar...



And then a second...


This lace is stitched onto the paper.  I assume it was for going round a handkerchief.


I'm not sure what this pretty strip would be for - any ideas out there?


Then several hankies - or are they mats?


The silk on this one is slightly damaged.


This one is so very delicate. The fabric in the centre is quite sheer.


The work on it is so beautiful! 


But then came the 
pièce de résistance ...



I am almost speechless!

I am so thankful to Ainsley for all this loveliness which I will treasure (and find ways to reuse) and hope that her generosity is rewarded in ways other than just the tulips I took her!

22 comments:

  1. Oh my! Jammy indeed! Jammy as a dodger even xx

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  2. Oh you lucky girl - well done to Ainsley, she's chosen the perfect person for all these goodies.

    I envisage you sitting in a darkened room (against prying eyes) stroking these treasures, while giggling to yourself. Am I somewhere near the truth?!

    x

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  3. What a wonderful selection of goodies. I bet you didn't want to get to the bottom of the bag. People can be so kind can't they.

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  4. Wow!! Lucky you! I look forward to seeing what you do with it all!!

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  5. Wow you were indeed jammy. How kind of your friend to think of you .

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  6. Oh wow, what a very kind lady!
    Loads of treasures there, must have been so exciting delving through the bag and unearthing all those beauties!
    Enjoy!

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  7. So exciting ! What treasure you have. I love the red & white braid.

    I had a lot of my Great Aunt's lace & trims but was sadly lost forever when we moved back from Spain & used the removal van man from Hell.

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  8. Oh how lovely Alix to recieve all those beautiful things.Look forward to seeing what you do with them Im sure you will create very pretty things.Love Jill xx

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  9. Jammy, jammy, jammy!

    I love the bag handle & lace collar ~ beautiful! Lucky you, I think I would have been having palpitations opening the bag!
    Ali x

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  10. WOW! Where about in Somerset is she moving to.........?
    Julie xxxxxx

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  11. Oh my oh my, aren't you one lucky lady?
    You will have so much pleasure working with that wonderful pile of treasure.
    Carol xx

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  12. Such pretty treasures - lucky you! xx

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  13. Blimey that's such a lovely selection of goodies!
    I love that bag..........WONDERFUL!
    xx

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  14. Fantastic treasure trove, you are one lucky lady! Enjoy each piece, I am sure you will make lovely things
    Heather x

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  15. Goodness, feels like heaven, doesn't it? I loooove the last item on your list!

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  16. Oh! how lucky can one be? So many wonderful things, and the bag is beautiful!

    Enjoy your thursday!

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  17. oh how lovely to receive such a bag of goodies.

    The little Irish Crochet strip looks like it may be an insert to match the collar, or one of a pair of matching cuffs- can't quite see in the pics.
    Are the larger collar and one hankie Maltese lace- are they a slightly golden colour?
    The last hankie looks exquisite, definitely one to check out.

    Daft as I am, I always love the blue tissue that so many of these pieces come wrapped in. I must've been the colour de jour all those years ago and has such a lovely feel to it!

    Did you re-wrap it all, put it back in the bag and then take it all out again and unwrap?
    Enjoy
    xx

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes - it was essential to unwrap it again to make sure it was really there! Thanks for your helpful suggestions - I don't know much about lace. I think you're probably right the strip is a cuff. I hadn't even spotted that it matched the collar, and I didn't know that is Irish crochet! The larger collar and hankie are golden, and quite 'sheeny'.
      x

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  18. Where to start!?! Such beautiful bits and pieces - glad they were given to you - someone who appreciates them.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  19. Oh my word - I can just imagine your jaw dropping! What an amazing gift, I think my favourite is that Eygptian lace - never seen anything like that before. Oh, and the bag of course. You're going to be able to make such lovely things from that little lot.

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  20. Gosh you lucky thing, what an amazing gift! The handbag top is stunning

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  21. wow lucky you!!!!!!! what a nice lot of treasure you got!

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