Friday, May 9, 2008

Show and Tell Friday

Well I haven't participated in a Show and Tell Friday down at "There is No Place Like Home", for quite awhile - but I recently acquired something that I wanted to share.

Here it is:

Click on the photo to enlarge it and get a better view.

A little fabric sample that measures about 5.5 inches x 3 inches. Now why would this fabric be noteworthy??

Well it is old - about 160 years old. It is scrap of fabric saved from my husbands' great-great-great grandma's wedding dress!

In case your monitor doesn't show the true colors - it is a deep olive green with two shades of purple flowers with gold colored leaves. How fun to think that this piece of fabric has been saved for so many years!

Now my question is - what can I do with this bit of fabric? I want to preserve this - but not sure how I can do that. I am not terribly crafty - but I thought I could use it in a scrapbooking page along with some information about our ancestor etc. Any ideas?

14 comments:

Heather said...

A scrapbook page would would work if you are very careful about using archival quality everything. Usually with fabric, though, you want to keep it in something out of light and moisture. A shadowbox with UV resistant glass works well. You might want to do some research on preserving fabrics. I have done before (work part time for an antique appraiser) but it has been a while. Tons of resources online though.

Simply Heart And Home said...

Your fabric is lovely. I'm not sure how to preserve it. Perhaps you can put it behind glass in a frame.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

Gina

Dianna said...

I was going to suggest a frame, too.

Hootin Anni said...

Oh my!! OH MY!!! What an absolute treasure this is.......to preserve it. I'd do like the museums do...frame it in a glass 'air tight' frame and then keep it out to view....but where there is STRICTLY no light to fade it. [sunlight or glaring light bulbs]


My show n tell has a "mother's day" theme, I sure hope you can stop by if you have time.

Happy Friday.

Susie said...

What a true family keepsake. The olive green shows up very well on my monitor and I would have never thought it was for a wedding dress.
Glad you're looking for ways to preserve part of your family's history..

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

I agree that you should shadowbox it. They have frames now for a scrapbook page 12X12. That way you could still do the decorating of the page and show the fabric...plus display it. That is such a precious heirloom Show and tell the finished project!

Constance said...

I would hate to cut on that since it's so precious! I would figure out a way to do a shadowbox display and maybe put some antique things in with it. Maybe some lace, a brooch, gloves, dried flowers and a picture if you have it. I'd love to hear more about how it came to you.
Connie

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful piece of history! I like Constance's idea.

on the ROCKS said...

What a treaure to have it is beautiful. I was thinking shadow box too. It would be nice if you had a picture of your husband's great-great grandma to put with it and maybe some of his family heirlooms. Enjoy your piece of history, we sure did.

Anonymous said...

I love those colors together. I think I'd have it professionally done and have them float it in a frame. Although I enjoy simpler art rather than much frill. Do it in a way that reflects your own taste so you don't ever tire of it. Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

That's amazing! What a treausre - I love the embroidery on it.

Anonymous said...

How precious ! Get it professionally done and it will last forever . I like the idea of having a picture to go with it.

Edi said...

Thank you for all the comments and ideas of what to do with my fabric scrap. It'll take me awhile to decide what to do - b/c I want to be careful with it...and b/c I'm a procrastinator!

nancy said...

I'd frame it with either a beautifully calligraphed description of what it is and any documentation you might have. It deserves to be displayed. Not in a scrapbook but out where everyone can see it.
Nancy