OLD TREASURES

One of my earliest memories is going through my mother's button box. Funnily enough I do not remember particular buttons, but I do clearly remember things in the box like suspenders, buckles and cigarette silks.
I have often thought about those silks over the years, because I would love to have included some in my Crazy patchwork.

A year or two before my mother died 19 years ago, I asked her about them. She told me she had been looking for them, so she could pass them on to me, knowing that was the sort of thing I would like. But she simply could not find them!!
In the meantime I had an opportunity to acquire a few other silks, in quite good condition. 

Some were just printed, but I had the opportunity to buy a few old woven ones at a good price. 

We had a lovely shop here that used to sell Cash's woven silks as bookmarks and in cards, and I often bought them to give to friends and family, asking the recipient to return them to me when they had finished with them!  

But wished I could have my mother's.
Then a few weeks ago, there was a small discussion on Facebook about old tins of buttons, and I reminisced about my mother's collection, and about the buckles and silks there. My sister responded that they were still there!
But sadly she was only referring to the buckles and buttons.
Then today, a parcel arrived. There was a present for my birthday next week. But there was another package containing the cigarette silks!

Sally had found them in a box in her garage, At some stage our mother had sewn then together with a very fine machine stitch.
Sally carefully unpicked them, cleaned them according to Sharon Lush's instructions for cleaning old silk, and sent them off to me. She kept a couple for herself, I am glad to say.
They are so fragile and delicate. I  shall probably have to put them behind glass, like this one, perhaps combining them with old lace.

They would be very old, older than me!
In the meantime. I shall continue producing my own little fabric pictures using my computer and printer, but they will never be the same!