Heirloom Treasures Fiber Arts

06/08/2026

Getting ready for my crochet lace demo at the Folk Art Center this coming Thursday through Sunday!
I will be demonstrating Broomstick Lace, Hairpin Lace, Tunisian Lace, Irish Lace and Thread Lace and have lots of samples to enjoy!
The Folk Art Center is the perfect place to visit on hot and rainy days; you will be comfortable and enjoy our demonstrators, the gallery and 2 special exhibitions.
Hope to see you there!

05/31/2026

Check my June Musings at www.heirloomtreasuresfiberarts.com to read about my May adventures and restorations!

Heirloom crochet restoration and vintage lace repair by fiber arts expert Rita. Explore workshops, boutique designs, and handcrafted textile care.

05/31/2026

My most interesting work this month was this lovely vintage tablecloth, which was attacked by a rodent family working their way through a closet wall. The distraught customer was able to remove the brown stain with Oxy Clean before sending it to me for restoration. I was able to match the linen material to use as underlayment, recure all the loose embroidery threads and then duplicated the established machine embroidery design onto the underlayment. This was quite a challenge, but the work is not noticeable and blends right in.

05/31/2026

This lovely antique wedding hankie was extremely fragile and sported a red lipstick stain in the center section. After reattaching the floral embroidery designs and some delicate mending, I put it into a large pie plate for support and sprayed Oxy Clean Max on the lipstick. After a few minutes I added a dash of Woolite and some warm water and massaged the spot very gently until it disappeared. After a long clear water rinse, supported in the pie pan, I rolled it up gently in a towel to catch most of the water and let it dry on another towel. A gentle steam treatment with my trusted Sunbeam iron put it back in fine shape. I did advise the customer that I would recommend framing it (with airspace please) to pass down to the next generation, it will not survive another cleaning and restoration.

05/31/2026

If this looks familiar, it really is! This antique Baptism gown is very similar to one I restored in February. The bodice is made from embroidered Swiss Batiste and I used soft cotton underlayment to secure everything back in place, reattached the sleeves to the bodice and then the bodice to the skirt.

05/31/2026

May was a busy restoration month!
I started with this machine made Irish lace round beauty, it had many broken connector threads, most likely caused by machine washing stress. Never put your lace pieces cotton lace pieces directly into the delicate cycle, always put it into a zippered mesh bag or duvet cover to distribute the weight of the water.

05/03/2026

Fiber Day is on my mind! Come to the Folk Art Center this coming Saturday, bring your mom and enjoy all the festivities in the auditorium. Watch over 20 fiber artist work their magic and see our animals on the hill. Weather permitting, we will have sheep, goats, llamas and rabbits, who knows?

05/03/2026

I enjoyed restoring this Daisy Wheel pattern tablecloth in April. It brought back nostalgic memories; decades ago, my mother in law made many of these for all family members, never wavering from the pattern.

04/20/2026

Rita's April Demo Date and Sale -

Hello Fiber Friends and local Customers,After a restful winter season, which gave me time to rebuild my inventory, I am now ready to start my demo weekends and special events for 2026 at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.More sections of the Parkway are now open and we still appreciate e...

04/20/2026

I am very exited to be demonstrating lace crochet at the Folk Art Center again! Come on by this coming Thursday through Sunday and learn more about Broomstick lace, Hairpin lace, Tunisian lace, Irish lace and thread lace.
I have new tools for you to try, lots of new baby items and ladies' accessories for the summer season.
Hope to see you there!