Friday 25 January 2008

Australiana-rama


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:

Flowering gum doiley.


Mr. Koala doiley, given the style of the background, I'm guessing this is from the 40s.

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:

spices for violet said...

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!

Drewzel said...

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 :)