A Girl On A Mission (To Buy Some Vintage Barkcloth)

One thing you need to know about me is that once I make up my mind to do something, watch out, because it will happen! So, that in mind, don't be surprised by my recent craziness.

There's a little secret I've been keeping under my hat and I can finally share it with all of you. A few weeks ago, the most fabulous little bird whispered in my ear about a truly amazing collection of vintage barkcloth, owned by two of the most amazing women, of course. They were contemplating selling their gorgeous collection and I decided I had to have it, fortunately they complied. This past Friday afternoon we finally worked out the terms and it is officially mine. (Insert picture of me wearing a HUGE smile right here!)

Now I know your saying, "what's so crazy about that?" Well, here begins the crazy part...I've never actually seen the fabric. To top it all off, the deal was struck on Friday afternoon at about 2PM.  By 7PM, I had rented a trailer, packed a bag, prepped the truck and organized the childcare. At 3AM I jumped out of bed, finished the work I needed to do in my Etsy store and started the 600 mile trek south. I arrived at my destination by 3:30 and immediately began sorting through the first 12 tubs of fabric. Let me tell you, I haven't had so much fun in years. I oohed and ahhed, danced and giggled, and smiled and be-bopped my little head the whole time. Yes, you are right, it does sound crazy to get so excited over fabric, but let me tell you, I love my insanity!

My insanity just lead me to a collection  of some of the most rare and beautiful barkcloth fabrics I've ever seen. The first lot of boxes included abstracts, mid-century, tropicals, calder-esque, Dali and for those of you that love your romantics... pristine Glen Court. As if this wasn't enough, I had the opportunity to spend time with some of my favorite women in the vintage textile business, who of course were almost as excited as me!
They treated me to a lovely sushi dinner and then we headed to location number two where nine more boxes were waiting for my eager hands. This lot included hundreds of small scraps and sample pieces that were left over from their sewing business. I found juveniles, novelty prints, grandma moses and amazingly eight more Glen Court panels.

After all the excitement, at about midnight I was finally able to fall asleep. Much to my surprise, at 7AM I was raring to go. I visited with the girls, had an extra large cup of coffee and headed upstairs to sort through some beautiful, but not so vintage, home dec fabrics. Yes, they even threw in a hand picked bonus box. Max is about to have the cutest cowboy room ever! By noon the trailer was loaded and I was migrating north. The long trip home was filled with more anticipation than the ride down, believe it or not. At 10PM, I pulled in the drive and stumbled up the stairs, into the house. I immediately crashed and woke up this morning ready to attack another day. After driving 1200 miles in 40 hours, my body did not agree with me of course, so we had a bit of a sluggish day of taking the kids to school, unloading and returning the trailer and a quick nap this afternoon. And I'm sure you know by now, I had a dream about buying more fabric.

Pictures will be arriving in the next few days, so keep checking back. Hope you had a great Monday!
Courtney

Starting Over

Ctrl Alt Del pillow set by Diffraction Fiber Etsy

Anyone who knows me well, knows that change has been a huge part of my life in the past year. My oldest child started preschool, my baby turned two and my business, unfortunately, fell by the wayside due to "sticky life situations." Personal life aside, I have been regrouping and refocusing my business, hoping to hit the ground running in 2012. So, what does this mean for In With the Old Vintage? Hopefully a new and exciting adventure. I'll be ramping up my Etsy store, (adding lots of new goodies), spending every other weekend in NYC at the Garage Antiques Market and loading up my show schedule. It will not only include Brimfield, a.k.a. "The Greatest Show on Earth" in my opinion, but also some great quilting, sewing and knitting shows. To top it all off, once I'm sleep deprived to the point of no return, I'll hopefully have time to pursue my creative side, you know, the one that's dying to escape the confines of my overcrowded brain. New products a plenty are in the works as we speak.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.... relaunching this blog. I've always enjoyed writing down my thoughts. Sometimes I do tend to babble on, probably making my readers feel like they're on an overgrown wooded path, lost, wandering for hours, desperately hoping that a sun filled clearing will appear. You know, like I did just there. This time around, I'll try to be a bit more concise, promise! I'm smiling, just in case you didn't figure that out yet. Anyway, I look forward to sharing with you all of my adventures this year, and hope to hear a little bit more about yours too.

Here's to starting over!

Courtney

Vintage Fabric of the Day: MidCentury Abstract Print

This vintage fabric, created by Vlisco Van Vlissingen of Holland, is true abstract perfection. I couldn't believe my eyes, the first time I held this fabric in my hands. It is one of my own fabrics, currently for sale in my shop. I just couldn't resist sharing this autumnal midcentury beauty. I've found very little information about the manufacturer, besides his famous lines of tribal inspired fabrics. If anyone knows where to find the comprehensive history of the Vlissigen company I'd love to know more.

This fabric is crurrentlye for sale at In With The Old Vintage. 

Have a favorite vintage fabric you would like to share, leave a link in the comments. I would love to see and maybe feature it as a Fabric of the Day.

Happy Hunting!

Vintage Fabric of the Day: Mad for Plaid

I've been particularly drawn to plaid and striped fabrics recently. So don't be surprised if, for the next few days, you're seeing a plethora of vintage plaids. This first example is a double whammie for me. Not only does this fantastic plaid boast those ever enticing, crisscrossing stripes, but textured stripes too! Yes, you guessed it, a plaid plisse. So, here it is, my vintage swatch of the day, courtesy of Thryftypyg!

The First Post From My Home to Yours

Well, here I go...

My name is Courtney McCabe. First and formost I am a mother to my beautiful daughter Katherine. I also run a small business out of my home selling vintage and antique textiles. It has been a passion of mine for over 10 years. I began shortly after college and never looked back.

My blog will be dedicated to sharing my knowledge of antiques and where to buy them, fabulous finds I make, friends and antiques dealers from all over the country and promoting my new on-line business. (Talk about a run on sentence, whoo. Sorry!) All this while raising a soon to be expanding family.

I guess that all for now., Kate's nap time has come to an end. I hope you enjoy what I have to say in the future.

Wishing all of my friends in Round Top a great show. WishI could be there with you.