One other thing is certain other than death and taxes, and that is far more pleasant …
French textiles can always be found at a French brocante.
Lace, linen, monograms, napkins, sheets, old chemises…
Given that French linens are plentiful one can be selective when sorting through the stacks of linens dating back over a hundred years ago.
Death, taxes and French linens.
Take you pick.
Snippets of conversations over heard last weekend at the Brocante:
"No it doesn't have a monogram, leave it."
"But it is hemp! Hemp is hard to find, shouldn't we take it and cut it up for pillow backing?"
—-
"How about this piece: Large sheet, with a monogram…"
"No, it has a small stain on the corner, see it there," the buyer points to it.
They drop it as if it is worthless.
The dealer offers it for ten Euros less, the potential buyers shake their heads no and walk on.
Often these French textiles were rarely used, often guarded as prize possessions kept in armoires or chest for special occasions.
These sorts of bedsheets were used for the marriage bed, or after a woman gave birth. The bed was re dressed with a beautiful linen so that the mother and child could recieve visitors in simple elegance. Again after a long illness, when guest would come to visit.
Hence these sorts of bedlinens were used only a few times.
Used nevertheless. That is a turn off for many.
My grandmother crocheted, and made lace trim for our pillow cases and towels. I have one towel left, and two pillowcases.
I use them often, and know one day the pillow case will tear from usage. I plan to take the lace off and reuse it on another pillow case.
That is the beauty of old things, they last.
Some people are bother by using old things. As the old item might have bugs, or bad energy connected to it. I have been asked, "Doesn't it bother you to have dead people things in your house?"
The obvisious answer is no.
But with that said I can find something interesting at a brocante, buy it and bring it home and then after a few days, for no known reason it starts to bugs me, and I have to give the thing away because I cannot stand it in the house. Yet other times I can find something that isn't important or valuable yet it strikes my fancy, as if the object has a spirit and it is begging me to take it home.
Are you calling the psych ward on me?
If so no brocante for you.
One hundred year old darn sock, that has been kept.
I bought a few of them to hang at Christmas behind our dining room chairs.
I like to keep the French guessing.
One of our guest says to the other, "Why does she have old socks tied to our chairs?"
The other guest shrugs.
The other guest replies, "Oh God she is probably up to one of her crazy dinner nights… did you hear about her blind dinner? Where her guests were blindfolded during the entire meal?"
They looked at the socks differently after that.
They were clean at least!
True. And I am not the only one with that crazy blindfolded dinner idea.
Toile de Jouy is not as easy to find anymore.
How I wished I had bought more years ago when it was plentiful but I was poor.
Yes, the brocante has changed.
If you like to create, the brocante is where to be. Old ribbons, threads, varied textiles, buttons, jewelry elements…
But if you are like me you like to lick everything and gooble it up and digest happiness.
Maybe I should serve that for dinner the next time I have a blindfolded dinner party.
Okay I made this:
Matelas toile (Old mattress material) sewn into a square cushion-
Filled with a handful of lavender-
A piece of tattered lace-
I covered the tattered part of the lace, with an equally as old piece of paper that had black glass pin heads attached to it.
Pincushion for someone who doesn't sew.
Tell me a some wild hair idea of yours and win a sock like the one above.
Come on you want a sock.
I'll pick a random winner tomorrow.
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