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| My archive of tickings collected 20-years ago -over 130 different patterns - the best came from Germany and I found several thousand of them in the lofts of two barns - all waiting to be shipped to a rag factory for cleaning machinery! |
HAVING ALWAYS HAD A BIG CORNER IN MY CUPBOARDS AND IN MY HEART FOR THE GENUS ticking, IT IS SAD TO SEE THE LAST FEW RUNNING OUT AND SO EXPENSIVE. AT EVERY FRENCH FAIR I KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM AND OFTEN FIND SOME BUT SO PATCHED AND MENDED THAT THEY ARE USELESS FOR UPHOLSTERY -I DON'T MUCH CARE FOR THE PATCHED LOOK OF SOME DESIGNERS WHO OBVIOUSLY HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS AND CALL IT NOW THEIR 'DESIGNER' LOOK, AND PROBABLY CHARGE EXTRA, BUT THEN I AM STILL IN 19TH/20TH CENTURY MODE AND ONLY LIKE PATCHWORK WHEN IT IS DONE TO A REAL PATTERN OF COLOUR AND SHAPE - I DON'T EVEN LIKE CRAZY QUILTING SO MY TASTE IS VERY LIMITED. THE OLD TICKINGS WERE USED UP IN THE POORER HOMES WHEN THEY BECAME SO WORN THAT ALL THE FEATHERS ESCAPED AND THE BUGS CLIMBED IN, AND WERE MADE UP AS APRONS FOR WASHING THE CLOTHES IN THE VILLAGE LAVOIRS, COMMUNAL WASHING TANKS AND POOLS WHERE ALL WAS SCRUBBED OR BEATEN WITH A 'PLANCHE' TO PUSH THE COLD WATER AND SOAP THROUGH THE DIRTY WASHING. THE TICKING WAS VERY CLOSELY WOVEN TO BE DOWN -PROOF, SO IT WAS ALSO WATERPROOF AND SAVED THE WEAR ON THE CLOTHES UNDERNEATH, WHICH WERE USUALLY LONG BLACK SKIRTS WORN WITH A WHITE SHORT BLOUSE , THE CARACO.
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| MORE RECLAMATION FOR TICKINGS DESTINED FOR THE RAG MARKETS. |
See also my post It's good to be in the red
Hello from New York City, a place not recognized as part of the States by lots of folks. I like to think of it as a world city.
ReplyDeleteI love ticking fabrics, particularly vintage varieties woven in France, and so wish that I could have seen the examples that you collected over the years.
Imperfections are part of life. Seems to me that as the years pass by that there are fewer examples of natural fiber fabrics, much less fabrics that were not mass-produced in places where the labor is most cheaply found.
I digress. What I really wanted to comment is how much I always love your posts. I don't always comment, but always read them.
Best wishes.
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