Box Lot

Another sale this morning very opposite of yesterdays.  This was  a professor and his wife's estate.  Years of books in every room.  An obviously dedicated sports fan.  The house was overwhelmed with dealers.  Loads of vintage items the likes of which I have never seen and would never pay the price to own.  All fun to look at but I feared my hands would be empty when I left because of the lofty prices...

Deep in the depths of the basement...an open bucket with mangled fabric and a tag with fifteen written on it.  More than I would normally pay.  I walked past it the first time. 

On my second round through the downstairs (something I always do is walk through twice, just in case) I overheard an older woman ask her husband if she could get the box.  "No...you don't need anymore of that..."  I wanted to get it for her just to put him in his place but it wasn't mine to do.  "But it has so many good things in it honey!"  "Gladys come on.  Let's go."  

That is when my magnet took over and pulled me to the open box.  Stupidly, I did not look through it the first time.  Only priced it and walked past.  

With Gladys safely out of the house, I made a bee line to the check out table.  Sure that there were goods inside enough to pay the price. 

I couldn't buy it in good faith in front of Gladys...poor soul.  That would be a smack in the face.  Sweet lady at the table "Is that all?"  "Yes ma'am."  I tried not to peel out as I raced home to see what was waiting for me inside the bin.

Gladys was right...from unopened needles, pins, Olfa rotary cutter and 5 blades to pin cushions, and a sterling thimble.  Fat quarters of the most darling feed sacks.  Laura Wheeler patterns for Attic window quilt and I wasn't even at the bottom yet...

Full panels of Attic Window quilts.  Thirty six inches squared.  Amazing!  

Laying on the bottom of the bin a tiny velvet coin purse and a souvenir program from Holiday on ice.
Gladys, thank you for the heads up about the bin.  I had a fantastic afternoon going through it...and the evening wishing it was 1955 again.

Pull!

This morning found me at a very nice little estate sale.  Cute older couple.  She the dotting grandmother. He the woodworking grandfather.  I found myself the lucky recipient of a couple of their treasures.

Perhaps a couple of their children and grand children's treasures too.

I have seen these pillows once before and I adore the way they look.  Today I was lucky enough to get the pillow and the pattern.

This is the largest Meyercord decal I have ever seen.  What on earth am I going to put it on.  I don't have a crib any longer.  I am going to have to thing on this one.  Claire got some new doll house furniture. 

Child sized apron...tin coasters and seamstress hem chalk/stick.  On my way in from the car the bottom dropped off and cracked...bummer.

Inside the garage was an extreme maze of furniture in all states of refinishing.  Tools strewn as if things were still being worked on. Table after table of bagged hardware.  Department store quantities.  No two bags were alike.  Some were just singles.  Others full sets of 12.  All from different furniture eras.  All marked at one dollar a bag. I didn't think much of it until I got home with my 8 bags.  I should have grabbed more as I am sure to never see this again. 

Mere moments passed before this gorgeous knob made it to the newly painted table.  Amazing how these handles are such a beautiful work of art. This one like a little doily.  A workshop full of prized pieces. Something I will never forget every time I pull it.  

Stitches for Fall

This vintage Christmas stocking pattern I found last week cleaned up so beautifully.  All the little pattern pieces are still in the folded pages so carefully cut.  There were even a few extra images she had free handed.  A local university mascot the Jayhawk, was lovingly drawn.  I wonder which stocking she sewed that on?  The little baby stocking is quite obviously my favorite...hello stitched on the sole.  An image so cute for a bingo card, tag, or Christmas pattern box.  

Car line stitching has been fruitful already.  This is my second pattern in the Cotton Floss set.  You might remember the first. I switched up the same floss colors to give it a different look.  This is now ready to be stitched up into little bits and bob bag.

Now that the cooler temperatures have set in, I am happy to bring out my fall (felt embroidered) Cath Kidston bag.  It was purchased during the summer sale at a very nice sale price.  When it opens I feel very much like Mary Poppins pulling things out of my carpet bag.  Maybe I can pull a cute little Hoosier cabinet out of there one day?

Fall footwear can be troublesome for me as I am a planter fascists sufferer.  Orthopedic shoes can be...well not so cute.  These cute Dansko shoes were right up my alley.  Another great buy off the Internet of course.  

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my nesting bins.  I have way too much fun sewing.  Followed closely by blogging.  

A trio of dots...

Time management used to be my forte.  I live by lists and labels.  Somehow I can't seem to fit it all in any longer.  Must be my age?  Perhaps I just no longer worry so much if I get it all done.  Whatever it is it is making my lists longer and my nerves frayed lately.  Tackling projects that should only take a few hours now are taking days.  Wait...I got it...its my kids.  We live too close to the schools for bus service but not close enough to walk!  That leaves me the taxi.  In other words...start and stop on projects.  But today I finished a fun little project that produced sweet little storage and I managed the kids car lines.  

Drawing inspiration from my favorite designer Janelle Wind.  These three fabric bins have always been on my to do list.  I however needed to make them my own.  

Polka dots...primary colors and children's hankies.  

Yards of homemade ruffle trim. I have tried my ruffle foot attachment several times with very little luck.    Not a big fan of the large hem stitch either as the thread often breaks when I pull too hard.  This is my preferred method.  

This way I have full control of the ruffles and placement.  I sewed right down the middle to give it a double ruffle look.  It will look fuller when done this way.

Another project with such sweet results.  Sweet hankie images ready to fill with storage in a nursery or studio.  Hang a tag with a safety pin to label and your set.

Love how the ruffle graces the floor.  I am so surprised how much they hold.  

All nested together.  You can just see the bands at the tops perfectly placed.

A perfect trio of dots to fill...

I am linking up to a wonderful dotty hop blog day over at Cutie Pie Cottage....

and Rednesday over at Sue Loves Cherries

Paint and Wax

We have been doing way too much Weekend Warrior work around this house.  This weekend was no exception.  The contractor called and said they will be starting work on our roof, gutters and paint next weekend.  That meant all the clean up had to be done this weekend.  I am exhausted.  Over grown shrubs have been removed and hauled off.  Trellis' have been unscrewed from the house and plants cut down as far as I could handle!  A bubble bath is calling my name.

I have been putting off some furniture painting waiting for the weather to get cooler. This weekend was gorgeous.  Since we were outside anyway I went ahead and did two little tables in dire need of a face lift.  You have all heard my spiel about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint before.  No sanding or prep required.  Just paint and finish with wax.  Perfect for me.

I picked up this french provencal style side table at a second hand shop a few years back.  It is sturdy and solid wood.  I like the lines and loved the price.  I have never loved the finish.  Honey Maple-ish...

Three kids and a hearth room will do this to furniture even if you provide coasters!

Olive and country grey are its new colors.  

Clearly, I abstained from my OCD nature and only put two stripes of the country grey around the table.  I would have been oh so happy to highlight every curve and spindle but I didn't just to be different this time.  It is finished of with clear wax. 

We have had this pine entry table for years.  It is another second hand shop purchase.  There is a sweet little drawer hidden underneath.  It has been well loved both here and before our house. After years of waxing and neglect I have given in to painting it.

Paris grey seemed like a nice neutral color.  

Just one shade off the blue walls in the bathroom...whoops!  A little to matching for my liking but so much better than the state it was in.

I sanded it down just enough to highlight the curves.  As much as I wanted to add a second color...again, I did not.  Fearing that every piece was going to turn into the same repetitive processed looking item.  

Some sanding on the top to  show the pine below.  Right about this time my husband came wandering in.  "Honey, next time make sure you paint some extra stuff on the legs or something.  Not just one color!"  Are you kidding me?  Here I was thinking I was getting a little too crazy with the paint and he likes it like that.  Heaven forbid he tell me so in the first place.  The very best part of the process was being able to start and finish this process in two hours.  They were back in their original places in no time.  It is almost as fast as painting with spray paint without the fumes...

Composition

Girls day out yesterday.  My best friend Amy was in desperate need of stress relief.  Her father is recovering from open heart surgery and multiple family members coming in from out of state have created havoc instead of peace.  Retail therapy always helps.  Time together without kids in tow is a bonus.  I threw in a hitch by making her stop at an estate sale.  She loathes these.  Amy has this belief that they are morbid looking through dead peoples stuff.  I continue to tell her they are more of memory rescuing.  I think she is catching on....good thing too she seems to be my good luck charm!

Shelf after shelf of vintage Christmas.  I only snatched a few things to add to my lot.  The stocking pattern is adorable but in desperate need of photo shop clean up.  The opaque apron doesn't even look like it has been worn.  

Notions to cry over.  Rack after rack.

All of my treasures fit in this mint Harvey sewing basket...I haven't seen one in this good of shape so far.

a plethora of needles.  These little packets are so charming.  Tiny graphics and notes on each one.  Some have the needles nested in velvet.  Most are wrapped in paper.

Cigar box full of glitter, sequins and beads.  I knew by just flipping it open it was worth the purchase so I placed it in the holding area.  Once I got it home I was happily surprised to see aluminum glitter, glass bead, pearls, and even rhinestones in these little vials. 

Wire caddy for storage...just because I love them.  Sewing do dads.  Beautiful grey/blue film canister.  Vintage pillow case and a darling lone mary jane.

What a beautiful memory.  This is a mother after my own heart.  Vintage baby items and millinery will soon fill this treasure.

I know!  I am surprised too.  But this chubby composition baby needed a home and I was taken by the look of its painted brown eyes.  How perfect for my doll crib.  I didn't hurt that Amy kept telling me how it was so well priced and well taken care of.  She knows I have an aversion to dolls.  I couldn't say no after another women swept in and told me what a gem it is.  Probably laughing at me today!

This cracked and crazed face was enough for me to swallow and take this baby home.  I need to purchase proper clothes for her/him.  I can't find any markings on this poor soul.  Me, the doll dummy knows nothing more than the fact that it is a 16 in composition doll from the early 1900's...Research ensues.

 Thirty minutes at an estate sale and I think Amy's catching the bug!