Way, way back, an eternity ago, before this little babe arrived into our arms I bought a wonderful kitchen larder cupboard off eBay. As I was very, very pregnant at the time (just a few days pre-birth), I didn't view the cupboard as I couldn't face the car journey. I spoke briefly with the seller on the phone and sent John and our neighbour off to pick up the cupboard. Now John is one of those people who talks to anyone, helps everyone and is generally just all round nice. So he chatted with the seller, admired her home, told about our excitement at soon meeting our new baby, and how I loved to sew, and knit, and all things crafty. He came home telling me what a lovely woman she was and how I would have enjoyed meeting her. He also had a bag of goodies that she was including in the sale, just because she thought I would like them. And such goodies they were. Would you like a peek?
There was a bag stuffed with pieces of fabric:
I shook them out and discovered that the two floral pieces on the bottom right were very pretty, but old, half pinnies, and the square motif fabric was a pair of vintage barkcloth curtains. The baby pink is a length of quilted fabric destined to soon become a quit for Heather's baby and the other fabric pieces were all at least a metre length each and so pretty I'm sure they'll be used, just no idea what for just yet....
There was a paper bag with a piece of white fabric poking out. As I tipped it gently out I discovered it was a heavy linen tablecloth partly embroidered, with a huge collection of embroidery threads hidden beneath it:
One day the love and care put into this piece will be continued, maybe by me, maybe by someone else, but it will be beautiful.
And then another bag to empty, this time containing a mishmash of sewing goodness:
Press studs, and needles, and threads, and bias bindings, and hooks ad eyes, and elastic, and needle cases, and darning yarn, a huge bundle of fixings and trims. And some still carrying their pre-decimal price tags!
Yet another lovely thought was in how this lady had wrapped the glass shelves from the cupboard - in heavy vintage cotton embroidered bedsheets! So lovely, and just what I like, crisp and white and beautifully trimmed. Unfortunately no photos of these as they are living in the back of the wardrobe for now until such time as I have a bed to just my man and myself, rather than two little girls, an occasional boy and an assortment of cuddly toys, odd socks and crumbs....
The final gift from this kind, sweet lady was these:
A riot of colour and fragrance picked in her garden and sent with John to become the first thing displayed in our lovely new unit.
A reminder of the old saying - A stranger is a friend we haven't yet met.
-x-
