It's gorgeous, isn't it?
The clothing labels - there are a few pieces to this, so go get a cup of tea. I've always loved vintage clothing and during the 1960s it was the perfect time to raid my mother's attic and cedar chest. I just loved the detailing in the clothing back then - the buttons, the little finished darts and -- the beautiful lables that were hand stitched into the clothing - sometimes with herringbone stitches, florals, anything but plain old stitches. When I wore those clothes into the ground, I saved the buttons and lables.
Time passed and I ended up living with a bunch of artists in Brooklyn. There was a street that was condemned due to a collapse and all the buildings were empty and waiting to be torn down. It was a playground for us and we found stained glass - an old wicker casket for collecting bodies (which got turned into a coffee table -- I know -- ewwww -- and a closed label embroidery company! I was in heaven!
Time marched on and in my 30s I was getting my degree in ethnomethodology/sociology and I took a class having to do with the international economics of women. One of the first assignments we had was to go into our closets and look at all the clothing labels to see where they were from. The idea was to start thinking about the women who worked in sweat shops throughout the world, but I started thinking about the label makers and the women who stitched the labels into the clothing ... I ended up making a little wall quilt of hand embroidered labels for the professor.
I wanted to start a series of little quilts with labels having to do with different themes -- one of which had to do with XL sizes and the process of losing weight and becoming strong (XS labels). Another one was a large piece of international labels with Made In the USA labels forming a map of the US in the center. (I found several boxes of new Made in the USA labels at an estate sale). These were well underway and lots of my darling QB friends (especially Quiltymom) send labels so I could finish. But then ... well, you know what happened. Gone. So, I'm starting to collect again. Maybe I'll make place mats out of XL labels to encourage careful dining! (Confession, this formerly size 3 sliding into a size 1 plumped up considerably over the years ...)
More than you wanted to know about labels, I'm sure.