Saturday, May 11, 2013

Some Things Have To Change


There are some things that need to change back to the way they were, and it would be so nice if they would change before I return to the U.S.

One thing that should change back is the availability of cotton lawn. It is a thin cotton that drapes a lot better than the quilting cotton we use for dresses. I am trying to calculate how much I can bring home in my suitcase.
It looks like the fabric we get at JoAn fabrics, and it has the lightweight feeling of soft muslin, but it is closer woven and is printed.

These are just a small sample, and I will get more photos later.

It has been very hard living out of a suitcase, with one thing piled on another, and all the shuffling that it takes to pull out thhings and put other things away, that I have wanted the 19th century travel-trunk. Our suitcases are large enough these days, that I wonder why some enterprising person could not manage to make a suitcase closet like the one I have roughly illustrated, above. Even if such a thing could never come about again, at least a suitcase should be designed to be used for something when it is closed, so that living in small quarters is easier.

Scenes of travel-trunk from the movie "Daddy Long-Legs."




Finally, one thing that really must change back home: perhaps some independent dairy folks could give us double cream. They could really get a corner on the market, and with so many tea rooms in America, and as nuts as people are about tea and scones in the U.S. these days, double cream would be a sought-after commodity. It is extremely under-stated to say that double cream is "nice."
I attended the wedding of a childhood friend from the old days back in the 1960's when I lived in Tasmania. You might remember my writing about the Martin family; one of the members of that family got married. The brother, who stayed with us in Oregon a few months ago, is still on a motorbike trip . He began in Alaska and has now gone as far as Columbia, South America. I visited with his sisters and mother and their children today at the wedding. We will be getting together again while I am still here. As I said, my social life is expanding.
When I returned to my mother's caravan, all the "cousins" in the caravan park called out "Hi, Cousin," and asked me how I liked the wedding. They know every thing I do.

Tomorrow one of the residents at the caravan park is taking us in her car to worship services in Frankston. The ladies of the Lord's church have asked me to speak to them so tonight I am preparing a lesson and will post it later.
Sunday afternoon we go to a Mother's Day dinner hosted by one of my brothers.
I am still sewing and have done a few more things in the caravan. I will take lots of pictures to share.
By the end of the day I am so tired and even discouraged and want to cut my trip short and go home, sleep in a nice bed and wake up to familiarity. The next morning I feel a little better and think I could manage to stay here another day. I am supposed to return on the 31st of May but if needed, can extend my trip.
Since I am able to video Skype my family twice a day, it makes it a lot easier to stay.

24 comments:

Jacqui said...

Really enjoyed that post!! Cannot believe you can't get double cream in America! The fine lawn is beautiful material and your pictures are stunning
Have a lovely weekend
Jacqui

Lydia said...

Thank you Jacqui, You are sweet. The absence of double cream in the US is tragic. This is the year 2013 and we have no double cream. I sing it to the tune of "Oh Solo Mio": No double cream-o. So sad, so sad, no double cream.

Michelle said...

Double cream, yum! You simply must try it on pavlova. You can buy the little meringue nests at the supermarket over here in little packs of 10, dollop on some double cream and top with passion fruit pulp, sliced kiwi fruit, banana and strawberries. Such a treat, and they look so cute.

Lydia said...

I hope to9 try this. Thanks for teling me. That is a very historical treat that Australians have served for generations.

Lydia said...

I hope to9 try this. Thanks for teling me. That is a very historical treat that Australians have served for generations.

Anonymous said...

As a sewer, fine lawn fabric will be truly appreciated. And double cream...oh my, that will be a real treat!

How wonderful that you are having a good time - but a touch of home sickness is expected :) You mentioned that your friend is in Colombia, my country, I am sure, is enjoying his visit.

I pray that your time together with the ladies will be enjoyable.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day! m.

Lydia said...

Maria I wish your family could host our famous friend for awhile. He always does something helpful for those he lodges with.

Anonymous said...

By the way...I went into Fabric.com and searched cotton lawn fabric and was able to find some, but the price - ouch! $10.98 a yard - width 44"...this dress would have to be for a very special occasion :D

anglow said...

Is double cream the same as clotted cream in England?

Anonymous said...

Laura Ashley dresses were usually made out of the prettiest cotton lawn. While you could buy their line of patterns from McCall's , the beautiful lawn fabric was never available locally. Glad you found some and since it is so lightweight, it should be easy to bring home.

J♥Yce Burrows said...

What a wonderful visit you are having! Double cream...sounds yummy ~ those fabrics look quite lovely, too! The first time I learned of lawn fabric was when coming across the book by Ann Ladbury, Dressmaking with Liberty. Sale price of that Liberty of London lawn fabric is $23+ on Amazon...fabric.com, etc. though other names are less...hopefully better prices can be found with a little watching and digging. It's so pretty and the hand is quite appealing ~

J♥Yce Burrows said...

BTW, double cream is offered on Amazon. Maybe elsewhere in the states? :-)

magnoliasntea said...

I agree that we need to be able to by lawns. I don't understand. And I can only imagine how good double cream must be.

Best of all, though, I like your traveling trunk idea. There has to be a way ...

Gayle said...

What beautiful fabrics,how on earth can you choose?I am sure your mother is really enjoying having you there.What a blessing you are to her.And to us as well with all your wonderful posts.

lynn said...

things are changing! English Double Devon Cream 3 pk $23.97 on Amazon and Clotted Cream too 6oz. $5.50!!!
Laura Ashley cottons on EBay,mostly.
In the 60's one could buy lawn cottons...where did it go? Was it manufactured in America once? This would be a good topic to research.
Glad to know you can Skype your home family every day! And seeing more of your photos will be such a pleasure and treat! Happy Mother's Day , Lydia!
Lynn M

Anonymous said...

Completely off topic, but I hope you get to visit the Tyabb Packing House nearby to where you are staying. Im sure you would enjoy looking around there immensely. Kind regards, Tania in Melbourne

Lydia said...

Have not heard of this place but will surely visit it!

Finding Joy said...

I bought Japanese Lawn at the end of summer , it was pricy but too nice to pass. Lawn is very soft and the patterns this year have been lovely. Liberty of London produces amazing fabric.

I grew up on a farm and the cream we produced was so thick you could tip the jar upside down and it wouldn't move and it tasted wonderful. Besides great butter and cream, Australians should be very proud of their cheeses, King Island in particular double Brie is just gorgeous.

magnoliasntea said...

Thank you for posting the traveling trunk pictures! Love it.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen the "Inspirations" magazine. It is an Autralian embrodery and needle craft magine. The photos are lovely to look at even for non-sewers!
I was very happy to find some back issues at a craft sale.

Anonymous said...

I have seen "cotton lawn" on fashion fabrics.com but never purchased it because I didn't know what it was!! They have sales periodically, you get notified of them if you sign up, so maybe next sale I'll try some. I could let you know if the sale comes up about the price. I think at the end of summer it goes very cheaply.

Anonymous said...

About the suitcase problem of getting to your items you want I have had success with two things for travel. One is a packing envelope that comes in 15",18" and 20" sizes.
You put the clothing item on the unfolded surface of the envelope and fold according to directions or your own neatness pattern. You then fold up the envelope and it is ready to go.The 20" one can take 15 pieces. these envelopes have a handle if you want to hang them up. They stack nicely in a suitcase.
Also,I use packing cubes that come in three sizes. These are good for undergarments,socks,nightwear,grooming,shoes and other clothing that doesn't wrinkle easily.
These two types of packing gear have made it easy for me to go through checking in and finding things in my suitcase to corral clothing piles.Found them both on Amazon.
I also got some tips from minimalist packing site.

Anonymous said...

I love the steamer trunk drawing. I would not mind having a steamer trunk, myself!

Anonymous said...

Sharon has left a new comment on your post "Some Things Have To Change":

I just saw the pictures of the movie, "Daddy Long Legs". Funny, too, because when I first read this blog, I thought of the trunk in that movie. The trunk opened up and they pulled out a longer pole so they could take the dresses out and hang them up on that. Also, I looked for "lawn", also known as "handkerchief" fabric, if I got that right. I remember looking for handkerchief fabric to make my first baby's first dress back in the early 80s, but couldn't find any. It's the fabric my grandmother said she used for my mother's first dress. I ended up using regular cotton, but it wasn't as nice. This week, I ordered some from fabric.com. Hope I'm pleased.