Old Stuff

Nice post on Kate Davies blog about origins of British socks. It has fantastic photos too. Thanks Kate. I love the history of textiles and knitting. Cannot get enough. 

For all you folks who like old things and are up for an adventure, the first Brimfield Antique Show begins May 13 and runs through May 18. In particular - I like J&J which is Friday and Saturday. Always lots of great textiles. If you aren't familiar with Brimfield, there are several fields and they open different days. If the weather is nice, it is a great time. If it rains, wear rubber boots and be prepared. It is best to go early before it gets too crowded. It is even worth taking a day off of work if you can and going during the week. You can see from this page, the names of the different fields, opening times and days of week they are open. Many of the vendors move fields from day to day as the different fields open. 

If you have any questions for me about attending Brimfield, I will be happy to answer with what I know. Leave them in the comments and I will answer in the comments. I may not know it all but I have been going for several years. I'm lucky because it is only a little over an hour from our farm. There's also lots of information on this page for new show-goers. You do not need to bring a lot of money with you. I've gone with varying amounts and always have a great day. 

From Houghton Library at Harvard University

Here are some amazing old things - a sample book of felt from Harvard University shown above via the blog of Erik Kwakkel who is a medieval book historian. See his interesting blog here. I stumbled upon him via a link from SwissMiss. I was intrigued with a one of a kind 700+ page book Dutch book handwritten with samples on mixing watercolors. You can see the entire book here. It is kept in a museum in France. Wow. So gorgeous.

 

Maybe when I go to Brimfield, I'll be lucky to find something like this? I doubt it but a girl can dream.