On fabric and fixing faucets

Want to see the fabric I bought Friday? Great! Want to hear about my foray into plumbing Sunday morning? Well, it doesn't matter what you say, because I can't hear you, and I'm going to tell you anyway.

But I'll show you some of the fabric first. There was quite a range, including this toweling, which made me think about how at one point in time women could just go to the yard-goods store and buy this kind of thing by the yard and sew up some kitchen towels. Men could do this, too, one supposes, but one kind of doubts that they did.

There was 10 yards or so of this loveliness, which is very pretty but not my style at all, except for the part of my style that says "I think you could sell this on eBay."

There was quite an array of silk, which doesn't usually tempt me, but this did, for reasons I'm about to explain.

So as not to stack up too many stories, let's talk about plumbing. First of all, I have some sad news to relate. My husband has injured his shoulder. Or his elbow. We're not quite sure. One of the reasons we're not quite sure is that his arm hurts so badly he couldn't get the MRI he was supposed to get Friday because it proved too painful. Because my husband is a good sport - in fact, he is the walking definition of Good Sport - he's doing as much as he can without using any part of his right arm or jarring anything attached to it. That doesn't leave a lot. It most certainly excludes crawling under the bathroom sink to reattach the mechanism that opens and closes the drain stopper. Which came off in my hand Sunday morning.

He assured me it was an easy fix, and he was correct. It would be an easy fix if one was an experienced plumber or was only 18 inches tall but possessed of superhuman strength so as to be able to remove a rusted bolt on a part tucked behind a variety of pipes and hoses. I know you don't know everything about me, but I am not 1) an experienced plumber 2) 18 inches tall or 3) superhumanly strong.

However, I am tenacious, and after 45 minutes, a can of WD-40, a variety of wrenches, an unseemly amount of cursing and the (highly recommended) This Old House web site, the faucet was repaired. I came downstairs, triumphant and feeling like I'd earned a beer. However, it was only 10:30 a.m., so I decided to wait 15 minutes or so.

Let's talk about silk. I don't know a lot about silk, but I know more about silk than I do about plumbing. And the reason I bought the silk I found had less to do with the fabric.

And everything to do with the tag. There was a tag on every piece. New old stock. There's nothing better. I had never heard of the Onondaga Silk Co., but Onondaga is the name of the county where I live, named after the Iroquois nation native to this area. I have some research to do, but I did find out that in the 1940s, the Onondaga Silk Co. hired well-known artists to design some of their fabrics, and there are examples of their work in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

So when I say I think this fabric is a work of art, I might be speaking the literal truth.

This is not silk, but barkcloth, and we all know that barkcloth is not to be ignored at a sale.

Nor is a pink and aqua kitchen print.

And yet, all this silk and barkcloth and kitchen novelty aside, this cotton print is probably my favorite. It's the kind of cotton print that could be made into a sensible housedress. The kind of housedress you'd wear to go out to collect the eggs in the morning, or to wash up the breakfast dishes at your farmhouse sink, or, perhaps, to crawl underneath the bathroom sink and repair the drain stopper assembly. And that's my kind of fabric.

 

 

Comments

[Ruth]

I love your plumbing story! I am sure that was the best beer you ever had!

[Mitzi Curi]

I'm really developing a new appreciation for fabric by reading your blog....your pictures make it look so great, I want to run out and buy a bunch! And I'm sorry to hear about your plumbing misadventures. How frustrating!

[Kim Kenward]

You definitely earned your beer after your faucet adventures. Gorgeous fabric.

[Beth Leintz]

Oh yes, I'm very familiar with the "I think that would sell on Ebay" style. It really is a great style, because when you sell something in that style, you are never sad about it leaving your house.

I know nothing about silk either, but I'll buy any reasonably priced textile with an original tag- sometimes just because I like the way the tag looks.

I'm sorry to hear that Mr Oodles is having shoulder problems. Mr Dust is, too. I'm going to share your post with him so he will get that MRI before I am forced to become a plumber.

[Linda @ A La Carte]

Oh plumbing is not fun! Sorry Mr Oodles is hurt hope that he gets better soon. I am just in love with your fabrics today! Oh wow! I think my fav is the pink and aqua kitchen print! Hugs, Linda

[tammyCA]

You crack me up...I think the only part of a plumbing problem I could do would be cursing & drinking the beer. :D
Fab Fabrics! Oh, I do love that pink & aqua - c'mon aqua cherries even! It would go so nicely with my aqua kitchen-aid. I can just imagine how cheerful the artists were drawing/designing/coloring the fun fabrics of the past.

[Kathy]

Sorry to hear about Mr. Oodles and hope he is feeling better soon. In the meantime, if you did a plumbing repair in 45 minutes and it did not require a minimum of 3 trips to the hardware store then I think you should be a card-carry journeyman! Drink the beer now.
The only thing better than the practical little housedress would be a bard coat made from the barkcloth for those cool mornings!

[melissa]

You found such lovely fabric! I really really like the aqua and pink kitchen print. It would make fun place mats. :-)

[Renee]

You do know plumbers make good money! Enough to buy a lot of that insanely good housedress fabric. Done that same fix myself in fact I do most of the work around here because I am impatient! Smiles...Renee

[julie thompson]

Tenacious is a good quality. And funny as always :-)

[Carmen]

One of the funniest blog posts I've read in awhile, love it. And my husband once asked someone, when they couldn't get a door lock to function and were locked out of a room, "Well, did you try cursing?" The funniest part was the man who was locked out said, "No, and I probably shouldn't, I'm a chaplain!" Hilarious.

[amanda]

You are an inspiration to us all - in many ways! That silk is fantastic.