Australians all, let us rejoice, for we wipe dishes clean!
Amelia posted her Tassie teatowel earlier this week, so I thought I'd continue the Australia Day theme and add a few of my finds to the blog. I love Australiana, and usually the more kitsch, the better. As one of my sidelines is making handbags, I've turned many a pretty souvenir teatowel into a nice colourful bag with a retro feel. And as Amelia pointed out, the quality of the fabric is usually excellent.
Here's a couple of bags:
Kanga tote from a 1974 teatowel.
Bag made from a souvenir teatowel from the Pinnacles, WA. (Ended up with more flowers on the bag than Pinnacles.)
I've got a few more linen souvenir teatowels kicking around in my fabric stash...I'll try and dig them out for Monday.
Here's some more recent scores, I think all of these came from Frankston Savers.
Some cheeky cockies, 50s or 60s I'd say.
Koalas and wildflowers, off to a friend in Arizona for her collection.
And for the same friend, an apron:
This one is modern and says "Made in India", but has printed on the front "designed in Australia by Buck Marketing."
I'm a big fan of native plants, they dominate my garden and my favourites are banksias. So I was stoked to find this yesterday:
I know I've got a couple of other souvenir silk scarves somewhere, finding them will be my task for the weekend. Any suggestions as to what to use them for, given the fact that if I tie one round my neck I feel somewhat like an air hostess?
As I collect vintage linen, I'm always excited to find Aussie themed examples of stitching, and am still sulking about missing out on a traced linen tablecloth with blue wrens and gum blossoms that I couldn't buy from Savers due to lack of funds. Yep, of course it was gone when I went back. But I've found other pretty things:
And speaking of Mr. Koalas, here's Sid. Technically he doesn't belong here as he didn't come from an oppy, but from a nature strip in Narre Warren. Now he's an ornament in my front garden, facing towards the lounge room window. However I had to share him as he's such a treasure!
Happy Australia Day peeps, and let's raise our beer glasses to the souvenir buyers of the past whose hoarding allows such op-shopping joy!
2 comments:
I usually hate souvenir stuff but if it's super-kitsch I am a bit fond of it! I like the idea of a tea towel as a handbag... do you think my 'Kath and Kim' teatowel would make a suitably kitsch "noice" bag?! Happy Aus Day lovelies, great to be a part of the op shop team!
I think the Kath and Kim towel would make a "noice, unusual" bag! I must admit I can't bear to use pretty tea towels for their original purpose :)
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