Gabrielle Blair Profile picture
Feb 3, 2022 22 tweets 8 min read Read on X
I want to show you something I found in this house. It was built in the 1400s. It's in Normandy, France, and my family calls it the Small House. It's basically a ruin. No electricity. No plumbing. But we are slowly bringing it back to life. Here's what I found...
We were clearing out the attic loft, and a dusty pile of burlap and canvas caught my eye.
I turned the top piece on the pile over, and I noticed a hint of blue.
The form of the canvas started shaping up and I was like: Hold on. Is this a traditional "French blues" worker jacket?
And then I saw the incredibly cool Le Mont St. Michel tag on the inside pocket.
I mean… holy cow this thing is so fabulous.
The jacket was incredibly gross and dirty — the dirt so thick you couldn’t even tell what color it really is. But I thought I might be able to salvage it.
Here it is in a pile on the floor of the laundry room. This image is showing you the interior of the jacket, which looks much more blue than the outside.
Something cool: These jackets have been made since 1913, and they’re still being made today — with the same tags! Here’s a link to the Mont St. Michel shop: lemontsaintmichel.fr/en
I rinsed the top layer of dirt off the jacket. The water was filthy and I emptied the sink multiple times. Then I soaked the jacket with a very mild detergent. I left it for a few hours.
Then I put it in the wash with some old dark towels. I chose a long wash cycle for heavily soiled items.
Here it is drying on the hanging rack.
These jackets are made from 100% cotton moleskin. When the jacket was new, it was this color — a dark indigo blue.
Now it’s faded to a lovely ombré denim.
You can tell it’s been mended many times over the years. When this dark patch was made, I’ll bet the jacket was much darker, and this thread likely blended in.
Here’s a little video tour of the old patches, the holes that need mending, the mismatched buttons — 2 are missing, and every single one is different! And you can see the interior color which is much less faded (the tag is on the interior pocket).
I gathered my mending supplies. And found buttons that are the correct size.
I mended 3 holes, a 6-inch rip on one sleeve, and I sewed on 2 buttons.
I chose a thread that is close to the current faded color, instead of the original dark blue.
Hello Fabulous Jacket.
Still going strong! This jacket will get a ton of wear and enjoy a second life for years to come. We’re a family of 8, and it seems to fit everybody in our family!
I’ll bet this jacket belonged to the blacksmith who worked at the Small House when it was previously a forge. I think this is my favorite thing we’ve found in the house so far. I love it so much!

/end of story

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More from @designmom

Dec 1, 2023
Don’t be ridiculous, obviously you’ve done dozens of witchy things.
-Saving a lock of hair from baby’s first haircut. Extremely witchy.
-Picking up a penny for luck. Witchy.
-Knocking on wood. Witch vibes.
-Kissed a scraped knee and magically made a 3 year old feel better. You are a witch.
-Brought a tree into your house for Christmas. Classic witch thing.
-Wrote a poem. Poems are just witch spells.
-Made chicken soup when someone was sick. Fully witchy.
-Sewing is witchy.
-Photography is witchy.
-Sketching is especially witchy.
-Most art is witchy.
Read 21 tweets
Aug 10, 2022
For those of you following the story of my nephew and his wife, finally some good news: They just won their hearing! Our whole family is breathing a huge sigh of relief. I'll share a few more details about the outcome of the hearing in the next tweet.
Though they've been awarded custody, in the short term (3 to 6 months), the parents will still be required to have visits from DCF to observe their parenting. I’m told that full unconditional custody is simply not ever offered in these hearings.
Something you might be interested to know: As soon as the judge ruled against DCF, DCF promptly asked for a gag order against any discussion of the case with the media. But their request for a gag order was denied (except for the actual court records).
Read 4 tweets
Aug 7, 2022
Many of you have been following the updates about my nephew and his wife. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Boston took their babies (3 mos old and 3 yrs old) in the middle of the night, with no warrant or paperwork. You can catch up here:
I have an update for you: The 72-hour hearing is happening this week. They are told it will begin on Monday or Tuesday. It’s called a 72-hour hearing because it’s supposed to happen within 72 hours of DCF filing the paperwork after separating a family.
If you can’t afford a lawyer, the court appoints one. That lawyer may have little or no experience with DCF, and because the hearing happens so quickly, they won’t have time to prepare. So the chance that parents will lose custody of their children is very high.
Read 24 tweets
Jul 25, 2022
Two Saturdays ago I wrote about a nightmare my nephew and his wife are experiencing. Boston DCF (Dept of Children & Families) took their babies (age 3 months and 3.5 years) in the middle of the night. With no warrant. Here's the whole story written up by the mother.
/1
Their children have severe allergies.
/2
She took her 3 month old baby to the emergency room for a high fever.
/3
Read 29 tweets
Jul 16, 2022
My extended family has been thrown into a hellish nightmare. My nephew and his wife, who live in Boston, just had their two sons taken from them in the middle of the night by CPS. Their sons are 6 months old, and 3 1/2. A baby and a toddler, the baby still nursing.
Very late on Wednesday night, they took the baby into the emergency room because he had a high fever. In a scan, the hospital staff saw signs of a possible injury from 6 weeks ago, the parents weren’t aware of the injury, so the hospital suspected child abuse. CPS was called.
My nephew and his wife were in shock. They immediately complied with all CPS requests. The baby was seen by his usual pediatrician, who vouched for the parents and confirmed the baby was thriving in this family.
Read 35 tweets
Jun 23, 2022
This guy is rightly getting ratioed because he doesn’t know his “secret” is having a wife. Makes me think about how often companies hire men with stay-at-home wives. Based on what he describes, we can see his wife is doing ~70% of the work it takes to keep him thriving. So... Tweet from Tobi Emonts-Holl...
Common sense says that his company should split his paycheck 30/70 and pay 70% directly to the wife. She should get 70% of the retirement benefits directly in her name, and 70% of any other perks or benefits. They should both be on the payroll.
His company is taking a huge risk — they have a CEO whose entire life is built on volunteer, unpaid labor. Can you imagine if this company relied on key internal departments that were run only by volunteers with no paid contracts? What investors would support that kind of risk?
Read 11 tweets

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