Monday, February 28, 2011

A Tale of Two bloggers

Some of you may remember when the floods first hit Ipswich and Brisbane, I blogged about those who had been affected and I mentioned one of our fellow bloggers, Erin. Erin's house went under. Like completely under. Over the roof. Her and her family pretty much lost everything. After the initial clean up they sorted through the ruins of their possessions and picked out what they thought they could save, and what meant the most to them to try and save. I put my hand up for laundry duty (of course) and when Erin called me one morning finally asking for help, I was thrilled. She needed help with some antique furniture she desperately wanted to save, so my Mum took a friend over to her and he got started on the task at hand. While Mum was there she grabbed some costumes, some fabric, and Erin's mothers chenille bedspread, all in need of some laundry loving. Mum set about washing and scrubbing and soaking and got almost all of her precious items looking like new. I took the chenille. I wish now I had taken a before shot. I'll be honest, when I pulled it out of the bag I thought there was no way I could save it. To say it was filthy would be an understatement. It had been tossed out with so many other things and had been lying in the mud for a week, under the rubble, before it was found. And it smelt. After several days of cleaning, this is how it came up. You would never know what this beauty had been through. There are 2 very small rust marks on it, and that is it. Maybe she should wear those rust marks as a badge of honour? The funny thing is, I had never actually even met Erin until yesterday when I got to return the bedspread to her. Thank you for trusting me with this Erin, it was my absolute pleasure to bring this back to you.


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14 comments:

CurlyPops said...

Now that is amazing - you can't even tell.
It must have been so heartbreaking to see everything you have in the world go under like that.

Nelly said...

What a lovely thing to do it came up lovely.

Ruby Star said...

That is so lovely selina, she looks gorgeous, battle scars and all :)

Ruth said...

That is wonderful. I have a friend who like you can clean anything. I did see some photos of things thrown out that looked like they could have easily been saved with a good clean and possible refurbishment. It's great that Erin was willing to try to save things and that your mother also saw the possibilities. Cherrie

willywagtail said...

That is wonderful. I have a friend who like you can clean anything. I did see some photos of things thrown out that looked like they could have easily been saved with a good clean and possible refurbishment. It's great that Erin was willing to try to save things and that your mother also saw the possibilities. Cherrie from willwagtail (Ruth is my daughter's account!)

melissa said...

Wow Selina, that is amazing! What an absolute beauty!

blandina said...

You are such a good and generous person.

BubzRugz said...

How lovely and you must've really enjoyed working with such a beautiful piece....
Hugz

Vande Historic Costuming said...

Treasures are always hard to come by....and sometimes hard to let go of - but to have come across two 'living treasures' in Selina and Carolyn...that is where you can find comfort...
Having said that, of course, Selina, should you EVER spend the night at my house - you shall have reserved for you the best bed: which will be covered by the best bedspread...
And it now has a new chapter in it's story.

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

Well done! It looks fabulous, you've done a great job. Thinking of Erin and her family as they rebuild after this terrible tragedy. x x

Photography said...

Oh Lovely. Would have loved to have seen a before shot.

jknee said...

you amaze me jack of all trades lol!!!!

zigsma said...

Very kind of you to salvage this. My Nana had the exact same bedspread. LOVE seeing it!

Packrat said...

Popping in way after the fact, but the bedspread looks wonderful. You did a great job.