Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Inspirations | Tags: Feedsacks
Realizing that many folks have questions regarding my vintage feedsack fabric obsession, … Who gave you feedsack fever? What is the Daily Feedsack all about? Where can I join the Feedsack of the Month Club? When were feedsacks used? Why did they make them out of patterned fabric? and many more. I decided to put a lot of the answers in one place. Once and for all. Available for all to read anytime with a link –What is a Feedsack?– in the upper lefthand corner of my blog. If you have a question that is not answered, please let me know!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Inspirations, Letterpress | Tags: Feedsacks, Hope
I’ve mentioned my contributions to the wonderful idea of HOPE is in the Cards before. This time I even integrated it into the Feedsack of the Month Club for September. FoM members are now sending HOPE!
Filed under: Craft Biz, Feedsacks, Inspirations, Life | Tags: bean bag toss, birthday party game, BoCo, Feedsacks, juvenile prints
Feedsack Friday is here! on a Sunday night! Sorry for the delay, … I was attending an awesome new conference in Boulder, called BoCo.
So, back to the yellow retro birthday party, and the bean-bag-toss, the beanbags {see photo below} were made from feedsacks, specifically yellow juvenile prints. Juvenile prints were really popular back in the heyday of feed sacks. You can imagine the number of baby quilts, clothes, bonnets and even stuffed toys that were made. Imagine my delight at being able to incorporate feedsacks in my little one’s birthday party decor. There were a few reproductions included in the flag banner and the prize tablecloth was a border print. Well, that concludes my week-long cheer for Cullin’s 3rd Birthday Bash. { happy birthday, sweet pea! } I hope you enjoyed the yellow – yahoo!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Letterpress | Tags: Feedsack of the Month, Feedsacks, Letterpress, stationery
If you’re not a card-carrying member of the {letterpress} Feedsack of the Month Club – FoM – well, now you’ll know what you’re missing. This is a little peek from July’s edition, it included letter-writing stationery customized with wood type initials of each members name in a cheerful shade of yellow and two fun stories on the history & lore of feedsacks. It was a big one!
*No jelly biscuits were included in the package, although, that gives me an idea.
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Green, Handmade Revolution, Life | Tags: Feedsacks, National Geographic, sackcloth, vacation
The BirdDog Press is on holiday June 28th – July 8th. We are recharging our inspiration batteries. In the meantime, we leave you with this feedsack advertisement from the December 1947 National Geographic, No. 6, Volume XCII
The copy underneath reads :
From the Feed Store, Now a Fashion Emporium, Comes Sackcloth for Colorful Dresses
Many a poultryman has overstocked mash to please his wife. “Give me that one in pink,” says she, pointing to a mountain of 100-pound bags. At no extra cost she gets fine-quality, ready-to-sew cotton prints.
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Inspirations | Tags: Etsy, Feedsacks, flour sack, Lyons Outdoor Games
Yipee! Look what I got in the mail from Etsy!?!? Two real deal vintage feedsacks of the same pattern. Oh, well, technically they are flour sacks. I’m keeping one for myself to add to my feed sack collection and sending one to my Granny Lou! I’ll have to look in my book to see if I can date them.
ps. The Lyons Outdoor Games start today! If you are in Colorado, come join in the fun!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Inspirations | Tags: Baum Textiles, feed sack, Feedsacks, Windham Fabrics, yellow
Got another great package from my Granny Lou the other day … she has been collecting feedsacks since well before I was born. She added a little more to my history of feedsack fabrics research that I have been working on and also sent a jar full of real pearl buttons …{tangent}… she made this great “house dress” for me way back when, and I still wear it every chance I get. So, continuing on the trend from yesterday with the discovery of reproduction feedsack fabrics and the day before with yellow … I found a yellow version of the fabric in my feedsack dress shown above, and then i found a yellow version of the one i used on my bird dog messenger bag. Both reproductions were from Baum Textile Mills/Windham Fabrics who now apparently produce all of these listed feedsack reproduction collections: V, c. 1930, Feedsack, II, and III c. 1930, so where’s IV?
Happy Feedsack Friday everyone, if you love vintage fabrics, go get some of these repoductions! Available here or maybe even at your local fabric store.
Filed under: Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution | Tags: alphabet, fabric, feed sack, Feedsacks, Purl Bee, Purl Soho
So, how do you teach your little ones about the alphabet? Purl Bee has an idea with fabric magnet letters. I’ve seen many a project to achieve this very same lesson in varying ways, but none that drew me in like this one because I spy a feedsack fabric here! and when I checked the list of fabrics they used, it turns out that maybe some companies are reproducing feedsack designs again? Need to investigate more, but I’m really excited. Funny they don’t mention the “N” being a feedsack pattern, but I have it in a pink/black/grey colorscheme! Another thing to investigate. Purl Bee is the online journal for Purl, an amazing place to get fabric, knitting and other crafty supplies.
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Inspirations, Life | Tags: Bozeman, family, feed sack, Feedsacks, genealogy, Georgia, Montana, Sweet Pea Festival, Tennessee
IMG_5171.JPG, originally uploaded by theHandmaiden.
Earlier this month, I finally did something that I had on my to-do list for years. Enter the Sweet Pea Festival poster design contest. I have a connection to Bozeman, Montana. First of all, it is an incredibly scenic place and a really cool town, but it was also named for an ancestral cousin – John Merin Bozeman. In short, the Bozeman family {aside from being Dutch} hailed from North Georgia near Ellijay {one son eventually moving his family to East Tennessee where I am from}. This John Merin character went on a wild west trip and ended up leading wagon trains, eventually getting himself killed by the Blackfeet tribe. I could break out the family tree to prove it, but you’ll just have to take my word for it this time.
Alas, I didn’t win, but I did receive an honorable mention. I have more ideas already for next year, including some covered wagon paintings that I did back in my college days at the University of Tennessee.
My poster was created with layers of letterpress patterns and vintage sweet pea illustrations, feedsack fabrics and machine stitching. I printed panels on my hand-fed C&P using patterns derived from my feedsack collection and antique wood type to print the words Sweet Pea ‘09 and Bozeman, Montana. Cut swatches of feedsacks to create the fabric flower and then stitched it all together on my sewing machine. It was a satisfying process and I love the combination of these tools and techniques, I will continue to develop this way of working. More photos from my Flickr Set here.
ps. it seems as though Oh So Beautiful Paper had her eye on our poster today too! Thx. Nole!
