Like most of us, travel hasn't really been on the agenda this year due to Covid restrictions and Covid caution. I know for many folks it's been tough to not get out to see relatives afar, and tough to forgo travel jaunts of every kind. My own take on travel is to almost exclusively travel in my home state of Virginia, with a little travel further afield occasionally. Over 30 years ago I … [Read more...] about My Birthday Buying Trip for Vintage Fabrics and Textiles
Fabric
How to Take Care of a Fabric Covid Mask
While people in East Asia and other parts of the world have dealt with wearing face masks during other pandemics, during flu season, and even to cut the personal impact of pollution for years, in America, wearing fabric masks during the Covid pandemic has been a totally new experience for most of us. Unless you work in healthcare and are required to wear disposable medical masks, chances are … [Read more...] about How to Take Care of a Fabric Covid Mask
Customer Story: Meg Busacca and Her Amazing Masks
Editor’s Note: The second in an occasional series focused on Lady Virginia Vintage customers and their projects using our fabrics. See the other profiles here. Earlier this year I was thrilled when one of my Etsy customers, Meg Busacca, left me such a nice review: This fabric is one of my absolute favorites! I am so happy with it, it really is special. I love this shop! Who doesn't love … [Read more...] about Customer Story: Meg Busacca and Her Amazing Masks
Book Review: ‘The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History’ by Kassia St. Clair
"The industry of fabric is older than pottery or metallurgy and perhaps even than agriculture and stock-breeding. Cloth is the original technology." So writes Kassia St. Clair in the introduction to her 2018 book The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History*. It's a pithy statement, yet with it she hints at a thesis that the book amply — and entertainingly — defends throughout: that cloth … [Read more...] about Book Review: ‘The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History’ by Kassia St. Clair
Customer Story: Vintage Fabric Pieces Make Cheery Home Art Gallery for Designer’s Grand Niece
Editor's Note: The first in an occasional series focused on Lady Virginia Vintage customers and their projects using our fabrics. Earlier this year I received a delightfully excited note from one of my fabric customers who had picked up a few vintage Kent-Bragaline pieces in my Etsy shop, Lady Virginia Vintage. "Hello! I just wanted to say thank you. I am the grand niece of Edward Bragaline … [Read more...] about Customer Story: Vintage Fabric Pieces Make Cheery Home Art Gallery for Designer’s Grand Niece
Introducing my line of high-end fabric masks
At first I didn't think I wanted to produce a line of masks in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Even though I wrote an essay with a full-throated cry for fair pay for all the seamstresses out there (professional and hobbyists) who pivoted on a dime from their usual sewing and alterations work to mask-making, I still didn't think that I wanted to do it, for a couple of reasons: First, I mainly … [Read more...] about Introducing my line of high-end fabric masks
