Friday, June 01, 2012

Favourite Things Friday






Winter officially starts here today. Autumn has already been freezing. Electric blankets, heating turned on full blast and dressing so I look like the Michelin man have been the order of the day. I've spent a lot of this week imagining what it's going to be like when it gets even colder and I have to scrape icicles off my car when I go outside to go to work. OK -I'm joking about the icicles part. It never gets that cold here . But sometimes it feels like it might. 

However as sure as day follows night (or is it the other way around-it's a bit like that chicken and egg conundrum) rain will continue to fall, the weather is still going to be cold and overcast and I'm going to continue to need clothes made from hairy yak and other woolly sources in order to not freeze to death before spring hits in September. So rather than grizzle about something that's impossible to change I decided to out my big girl undies on and think about the positives that winter brings.


And one thing that I absolutely love about winter is the fact that I get to blob around inside wrapped up in warm blankets and quilts while it's cold and vile outside. Which led me to think about my obsession with chenille. 


I was born in the 1960's. In the 1970's practically every kid in Australia had a chenille blanket on their bed. Some of them were hideously ugly especially when they started losing their chenille-ness. There's nothing uglier than a partially bald chenille blanket. 


But at some point I decided to make a chenille quilt and started collecting squares, and random bits  and later whole chenille blankets. And my obsession was born. I can't walk past a vintage chenille blanket without buying it (just in case I need it ) And they're fabulous for backing quilts. I've probably backed at  least 10 quilts with chenille and they are ultra warm and cuddly.


The chenille that started it all, which is also backed in fluffy white chenille. This one is currently on my bed.



Part of my stash . I have more, but it's hidden from Mr. P who keeps mentioning ( quite rudely )  that perhaps I should seek therapeutic help for this obsession of mine.


Bits- waiting to be made into my next chenille quilt. I'm sure the fancy will strike at some point. 


Yes- we have chenille blankets on all the beds here - even the guest room...


So my favourite things post this week is an ode to chenille. It's not just a relic  of  the 1970's! And so fluffy and warm. It's probably one of the few things I love about winter. 


What are your favourites this week?






29 comments:

Jennifer said...

Ah yes, chenille......when I was a child I has a mauve chenille bedspread on my chrome bed, very 1950s......I don't mind winter, we're expecting rain later today for which the garden will be very thankful.

seabreezequilts said...

If I get a chance I will have a look on the weekend I might have some more to feed your obsession, though it might of got purged the last time I needed to find some space. I went through that obsession but have nothing to show for it at the other end.

Canadian Abroad said...

Pink wine and running away from home tomorrow (our Friday) are my favourite things today. But fluffy chenille is good too!

ThreeOldKeys said...

I wonder if people can be divided into 2 separate camps ... those who LOVE chenille and those who ... do not.

I would be in the "not" group ... there was too much chenille in my earliest days.

Although ... waking up from a nap with funny designs pressed into one's skin is quite entertaining.

Do you back regular cotton patchwork quilts with chenille? Or just chenille quilts?
laurie

Sheila said...

Oh Yes! I had a chenille bedspread. I had forgotten. And I remember we used it every night and long past the the time of it's optimum chenille-ness. Thank you for a trip down memory lane.

thea said...

I was deprived as a child and never had a chenille anything .. love your chenille blankets/quilts. What a great obsession. Mr. P doesn't know how lucky he is, I mean, you could be obsessed with diamonds or something ..

Kris said...

Doh! Totally forgot FTF! Just posted, and so could have done a FTF! Oh well...

I had chenille on my bed too as a child. Right up until 1974, when it was out with the chenille and in with the fluffy lime faux fur bedspread. (My mother was nothing if not modern! We had cream shag pile carpet too. She had a box of "Home Beautiful" magazines that I used to love to trawl through.)

Oh. And please inform Mr P. that therapeutic help is not necessary for such a condition. It IS the therapy we all so desperately need! Tell me you don't feel better just looking at that pile of chenille? Therapy would cost oh-so-much more! See, it's like therapy, but cheaper! (Lol! He doesn't know when he's on a good thing!)

Hope you have a great weekend Shay!

Kris said...

Just feel the need to point out here that I totally knew what day it was, so don't go pointing that finger at me Missy!

Kris said...

Totally AND completely.

Baa-Me Kniits said...

I think I used to have a chenille poncho for when we went to the beach and a matching beach bag.....Green I seem to remember. It does look so much better as a quilt! :-)

Michelle Ridgway said...

I agree with you Shay....love them. I have always wanted a white one with the retro green leaves and lovely pink flowers. I still have 2 very ugly ones that my kids had one pink with ballerinas and one blue with trains. I love the one on your bed. By the way I haven't packed any Hairy Yak clothing...not sure where to source some.

Rachaeldaisy said...

You sometimes mention your chenille collection but I had no idea what an extensive wonderful collection you have! On every bed!! You'll be having a soft cosy fluffy winter.

Sue SA said...

I had gold chenille bedspreadson on the twin beds in my room and my brothers had a very nice blue. Not sure what happened to them, even though Mum seemed to have seemed saved everything else from my childhood!

Pokey said...

Your chenille quilt makes me smile, yes, I had one or two myself as a kid. I remember a pretty white one with purple daisies and green leaves.
The other smile was you dressed as the Michelin Man, in yak fur, LOLOL!!
:-}pokey

Kate said...

I never had a chenille bedspread, but my parents did. I always liked running my hand across them, the texture was wonderful. Great favorite.

Barb H said...

Mom and Dad had a chenille bedspread when I was a child in the 50's and I loved it. Mom would get so MAD when my sisters and I pulled out the threads. We thought it was a lot of fun! I think of my parents and those days whenever I find a chenille in the thrift store.

Unknown said...

When chenille gets as old as me, it is hard! Those nibs, or nubs or whatever they are called are itchy man!
I actually saw modern chenilles in a store! Honest... but not again in my lifetime...Mr P has the right idea.
And, we are getting the same weather as you, except we call it spring rains! Yuck!

Sarcastic Quilter said...

I love your chenille quilts. Being a baby of the 70's, chenille was on the beds of my brother and sister but my beds started to get the polyester blends. :D

Paulette said...

What I remember about chenille is that my mom didn't like it and claimed she was "allergic" to it. I think she meant the dust it may have tended to accumulate. So wherever there was chenille, there was mom removing said bedspread and wrinkling her nose. Personally, it never did anything to offend me, and I kinda like it. Especially your scrappy quilt of chenille. That's very pretty.

So, I moused over the word "freezing" that you had put in bold, thinking there might be a link to a dreary day at the beach or something...you know, mid-40s as far as temperature goes. Then I was going to rib you about what "real" freezing is, i.e., the kind that makes icicles. But never mind. I'll take your word for it. Cold is cold. And it was back in the mid-50s here the past few days and yours truly was bundled up in the house like Laura Ingalls in "The Long Winter." It's all relative.

Kirsten said...

How funny...I remember Chenille blankets from my time in the States but I have never seen any in Germany..weird!!!

Marg said...

I'm not that old, I don't remember chenille, cough cough.
The Eumundi Markets have stalls dedicated to chenille clothing, shorts, jackets, ponchos, etc. I haven't seen so many lately, maybe you have the world's supply of chenille stockpiled at your house.

Mistea said...

Chenille is such a versatile fabric - perfect weight for what we call winter down here.

Enjoy the fluffy-ness.

Leanne said...

Who would think chenille would create such a response LOL. I remember my blue chenille bedspread with much fondness.

Elizabeth said...

Please don't remind me about scraping ice off the car. I'll be doing that again before I know it.

You always amaze me with your awesomeness. Good for you for looking for the positive!

I love your chenille obsession. What a fun FTF! I'll have to remember that chenille makes a good quilt back.

xo -E

Kirsten's Cooking said...

blech - I hate winter! I'm so proud of you for thinking of the things that are great about it, though :)

Admittedly, I am not a fabric expert, but is it hard to work with chenille because it's stretchy?

Shevvy said...

We had a few of those wavy line ones at the bottom of the stack in the first photo.

I have to admit, my little fingers might have added to their baldness, pick, pick, pick!

Brenda said...

Too bad your big girl panties went on inside-out - hahahaha. Glad to be back from my vacation and reading your posts again!

Dianne Neale said...

We had these too, but I'm sure we didn't call them chenille - can't think what though! I have to say I wouldn't go back to them although that first quilt is lovely.

Vesuviusmama said...

Oh my! Is there anything you don't collect? :)