Wednesday, September 16, 2009

And sew on....

I mentioned a while back that I learned from my grandma--who will turn 96 in a week, thank you very much--the fun of repurposing old things into new. I even recently bought 2 books on the topic and I'd highly recommend them as containing both great projects and as good reads in their own right. One is Sewing Green by Betz White. The other is Handmade Home by Amanda Soule. As you will see, both women write lovely blogs, as well.

But I also want to tell you about another book I stumbled across in my own home (after Andrew had tossed it to the floor as he was emptying the bookshelf) a few months ago. The New Encyclopedia of Modern Sewing edited by Francis Blondin. Right off, the title is a kick considering the book was originally published in 1943. (I was totally inspired to post about this gem of a book by Bitter Betty after she recently posted about an old sewing tome.)

What I have really found intriguing is that there is a chapter on repurposing in this old New Encyclopedia. And it makes sense, because of the Depression Era-into WWII publishing date. Boy do I want to give some of the projects a try--like that beach ensemble! One of the many wonderful things about sewing is you can just pick up an old book like this and follow the instructions just about as easily today as 66 years ago. I love the sense of history in that. So, I'm going to keep my eye out for more old sewing books. Too much fun!

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