Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Firkin Woolen Mills

Yesterday I had to drive to Fairford to pick up DH's prescriptions so I treated myself to a side trip to Firkin Woolen Mills. Their fabrics are so beautiful! It makes me wish I had paid more attention when my sister tried to teach me to make clothing. I did treat myself to a scarf and picked up a couple as Christmas presents. The clothing they have on sale there is really nice but with the really weak dollar I have to think twice about it...maybe later!

They also had some wonderful blankets...the colors on the household side were both traditional and a bit funky. They even used wool fabrics to upholster some furniture (I think I've seen that in a Ralph Lauren collection too) which looked very warm - it was a cold and rainy day so it was very inviting. Not sure how it would stand up to two cats and a terrier though!

They also have a wool museum there that is worth a look. I love how these bright colored yarns are on the old wooden equipment! There is also a little coffee shop there with some fun paintings on the wall. The folks working there were very nice. All and all a good stop and I am fairly sure I will go back again with other Americans in tow!

Afterwards I stopped at a couple more antique/collector shops in my hunt for the gurgling cod. No luck. This has become a bit of a Holy Grail search! Anyway the hunt will continue for a few weeks and it I don't find one the two I have will go to our friend. She really helped us out a lot when our bags were stolen in Barcelona.

A got a few emails about the Kate Greenaway book I mentioned a few postings ago...here are a few photos from it. I'm not sure if I will be able to conserve/restore the book. The binding is in really bad shape and there is some water damage on the back pages. If not, I will take it apart and frame up the pages. The halloween/witch page is not what I normally think of as a KG drawing but I really like it!!! It would go nicely with my raven and blackbird prints!

3 comments:

Darcie said...

Sounds like you had a fun field trip and treasure hunt! Love your pics!

Magpie Sue said...

Love that K. Greenaway witch! If the book is in that bad shape framing out the pictures might be the best thing you could do for it.

I've tagged you for a meme. Check out my blog and see if you want to play along!

tami said...

That sounds like a really fun day. I just love woolen mills.