Feedsacks

Dancers closeup, originally uploaded by String and Scissor.

I read This Vintage Chica's blog yesterday (www.thisvintagechica.typepad.com) about finding the amazing stash of feedsacks at a Texas fleamarket. Believe me, its a truly astonishing number of gorgeous feedsacks for an unbelievable price. It reminded me of my oh-so-thrilling find last weekend...

Last Saturday morning, at my first thrift shop stop, I noticed several "pillowcases" thrown into the fabric bin. They looked old and handmade, with some puckering at the seams. The material looked strong and patterns interesting, so I bought them along with a zip lock full of scraps.

I got to the car and looked at my "pillowcases" a little more closely with this monologue in my head:

"thick cotton cording. thats weird. Its kind of twisted as its sewn. You would have to have some big ass pillows to fill these cases. Hmmm. This fabric looks pretty old and it feels kind of nubby. Maybe this is a sack of some... "

And I said to myself out loud "Oh my god, this is an unopened feedsack." I called my husband to tell him what I'd found, but he didn't seem to understand the significance.

The rest of Saturday Morning Thrifting was spent basking in the soft glow of my feedsack finds and feeling like a first class idiot for not figuring out what they were more quickly. I take solice only in the fact that I was still smart enough to buy them thinking they were pillowcases.

I don't know exactly why vintage fabric, especially of the feedsack variety, excites me so much. It may have to do with the history behind them. Feedsacks remind me how very lucky I am to be living during this era and in this place. The reasons they were saved reminds me that some people during the 20s and 30s were desperately poor. And yet, their cheerful prints and patterns tell me people still had hope thier luck would change.

Plus they are really pretty.