Two lots of vintage fabrics - 8 euros each

Hello there! I mentioned in my garden party post that I'd had enormous luck finding vintage linen sheets and other white embroidered cotton cloths for a total of 8 euros. More recently I repeated the trick at my other charity shop, so here is the tale... First off, I went to Frip Relais looking for white sheets or other tablecloths for the party. It turned out that they were having a 'foire a l'ancien', with a lot of linen and embroidered cotton collected together for the event. What a day to turn up! I was quite picky, and avoided the more expensive pieces, choosing an unused pair of linen sheets (the nicest one is above) for eight euros, a few oddments of cotton with broderie anglaise edging for 1 euro 50 each, and a couple of other bits of linen or emboridery.

In front of me at the cash desk was a North African man, trying to beat down the price of the rucksack he was after. It's truly in the blood of a North African man to barter, but you really can't do that in a French charity shop, and he was only annoying the shop assistant, and finally he gave up with a shrug of disgust (the normal end to unsuccessful bargaining, I've noticed). When I presented my bundle of linens, having carefully left behind the more expensive items like the embroidered red-initialled nightshirt, the assistant seemed rather pleased to see me!He clearly wasn't into the whole 'ancien' thing, and sniffed at the price labels. '8 euros the lot' he told me. I felt this was sightly a reward for not trying to bargain with him, and perhaps a bit of a reward for being European too, so I very Britishly offered him 10 euros. He refused the offer and I staggered off with my load, rather cross that I hadn't gone for the nightshirt too! Here are the results, after the party and the washing line:Large linen sheets take forever and a day to iron!

Lo and behold, a week after the party, Son 1 and I took a load of bags of old clothes to Veti Relais. Obviously, I couldn't pass by without a quick look in their fabric section, and I found an amazing collection of vintage furnishing fabrics that hadn't been there last time I looked! I piled up the real classics, leaving behind some groovy 70's stuff, and asked for an idea on the price. Once again, 8 euros the lot! What is going on here? I'm not complaining, you understand...

First off we have have this charming pink woven fabric. It's a couple of metres long, I suppose.

Here's the label on the front.There's a second label of some sort on the back. I don't know if I can keep these on, because the fabrics are very musty and really should be washed. At least I have a photographic record of the labels.There is about 4 metres of this printed fabric.More of the woven stuff - maybe 3 metres of it?I think it's Jaquard weave (remembering my O Level history) - this is the wonderful reverse side.Ben has had a brainwave and suggested that some of these fabrics could make wonderful wall hangings on the high barn-style wall in our living area. I think that would be a great way of preserving them in their entirety, although I will cut some up to make cushion covers for my rocking chair, I think.There's a bit less of this very pretty wreath fabric.From the same shop, of course.Again labelled on the back, too.This is much less special - just a sample piece of newer velour, but I quite liked it and I don't imagine it added to the price!And now a large piece of English curtain fabric! I love this Arts and Crafts type pattern.This piece (smaller, maybe only 1.5 metres) is Laura Ashley from the 1980s!Here is the proof (on the selvedge) that this very long and lovely piece is also Laura Ashley!

I really don't know what all this 1980s English fabric was doing in amongst the French pieces from an earlier decade, but I was delighted to give it a good home, and will show you the results when Ben and I get round to the wall hangings.