More fabric removal

With the red and green drawers waiting, I turned instead to a couple of upper drawers that probably wouldn't yield much fabric to send to the Bring & Buy, so this would be quick, yes?

Nooooo - there were many treasures to stroke and appreciate - and iron. The ironing board is my new best friend. 

In the "Silks" drawer were these -

 and some old silks from China -

 Those cloud patterns are great -

The back -

 The fabric has a stiff weft, and this is what it looks like when crumpled -

 What was it used for, in its day?

Backs and fronts of a couple more old pieces -

This sample of (modern) painted silk was impossible to photograph, but is gorgeous. I'm tempted to stretch it over a small canvas -

 These old silks have lovely selvedges and borders -

The silk drawer is ready to go back in place - it was lovely to dig round in it -

Another drawer had mostly papers (a job for another day) - and this -

 which had several of these on the other side -

 Was tension the reason it went no further? Or did I realise it wasn't such a good idea...

These fused plastic pieces are at least 15 years old ... what to do with them ... (any takers?) -

I couldn't resist doing just one more "easy" drawer, but this one proved more difficult. It had a lot of textiles with family resonances, including a bit of a blue and white printed linen tablecloth that I found in my mother's cleaning-rags box - it dates back to my early childhood and must have come with us from Germany.

And this dishrag the my mother not only knit but mended in three places; she was a frugal woman, making and mending, generous with her time and care -

 A gift from an American friend -

The impersonal handmades are also difficult to let go of - I value the skill and labour that went into making them, and hope they weren't produced under gruelling conditions -

 At the end of the morning, a little more has been bundled and bagged -