Estate Sale Finds

These are the treasures I found at the estate sale I went to last weekend. I wanted to get these posted to share with you for a couple reasons. First is that I hope that besides having a wonderful Thanksgiving with family or friends, that you have some "down time" or "me time" and are able to relax and read blogs for awhile. I consider this wonderful eye candy for those of us who love fabrics, linens, and all things related. :-) Secondly, as I've mentioned before, I want to start reselling most of my estate sale treasures in my Etsy and Art-Fire Shops, which are both just skeleton shops right now. These pictures were taken for the blog, and they are not artfully staged. The items have not been washed and pressed as they will need to be before being listed for sale in those shops. However, if you see something you might be interested in, or if you'd like more information, please contact me by email. And alot of the items I've shown (and some of you have drooled over) in recent posts (over the last several months even) will be put up for sale in those shops. That green needlepoint purse comes to mind. So ask questions or make me an offer.

Lots of wonderful hankies in very nice condition, two crocheted potholders (I love to add those to tea towels or aprons) and a wonderful needlepoint glasses case.

Look at that yummy embroidered pink batiste pillow casing! And that tablecloth with 4 napkins is beautiful. My favorites, though, are those two silk hankies. I've got detail shots of the hankies & tablecloth set below.

The hankies below are not only hand painted silk, but the edges are burned. Burning silk is part of our November Challenge on Crazy Quilting International, so I was especially pleased to find these vintage examples of the technique.

I couldn't resist the screen-printed farm scene on the napkin in the grouping below, although it probably only dates back to the fifties. There's another potholder in there, plus lots of interesting embroidered pieces.
Check out that very Thirties-looking woman holding the flowers!

Here's a close-up of the embroidered lady.

I don't know why I found this dress interesting, because it is in pretty shabby shape. But I can tell it was once beautiful, and the embroidery is so feminine. The front skirt is actually a little apron that is attached over a layer of the same fabric underneath.

The tablecloths in this picture are probably cutters (stained and holey), but the embroidered images are so sweet and ready for picking to embellish crazy quilting, aprons & pillows.

And you know me and aprons..... couldn't pass these beauties up! There are seven half-aprons, and the four nylon/chiffon ones on the bottom row all appear to be unworn.

The red one still has a Christmas tag on it that says "To Margaret From Aunt Hazel".

Next, here are the pillowcases. There are a pair of the pink rose design, a pair of the orange floral, and the other two are singles.

Again, there is some lovely embroidery!

The woman whose estate was being sold was the Margaret from the red apron. She had several porcelain plate collections. My favorite was the birds from Lennox. I purchased two of the dozen or more that she had, and each one was exquisite. They are gold edged, numbered and limited edition plates and they remind me of my friend Gerry K who taught us to paint these very birds (cardinals and goldfinches) at the CQI Retreat in September.

Surprisingly, for me, I was thoroughly enchanted by some of the vintage baby clothing that Margaret had saved from her children. I would judge it to be from the late 1940's to the mid 1950's.

The above picture shows a brushed nylon kimono, my least favorite piece. The three back sweaters are wool; one is badly stained (haven't tried cleaning it yet), another has been shrunk (shrunken?), and the third is very nice. The front lacy crocheted one is probably a wool blend.

These sweet kimono (pictured above and detail below) are my favorites. They are a soft nylon, which is what my own christening gown was made of. The "baby" embroidered piece on the top left is actually a linen baby pillow case.

For lovers of ephemera, I found two unopened rice paper napkin packages, probably from the sixties. They sold then for $4.50 each (imagine what the same thing would cost today!). The framed embroidered picture will be one of the items in the embroidery category of my giveaway (more about that later in the post).

These are sooooo Fifties! Those little birds (and flowers) are candle holders. Those plus the Alice in Wonderland napkins will be part of the ephemera giveaway.

ARE YOU STILL WITH ME???? WE'RE ALMOST DONE!!! lol

And who doesn't love vintage Christmas ornaments?? These are probably from the sixties, possibly the fifties. They're not mercury glass, but they're definitely vintage. I even found the red gift box charming!

I'm developing such a passion for soft pink. It must be that I'm getting older - pink goes so well with gray hair, I hear. LOL (not that I'd know anything about that!) And the chippy, timeworn look adds to their charm.

And finally, we have beaded fruit, birds (probably from the sixties. I have some great Christmas birds from the fifties in my personal collection; these are newer). The bell is probably forties or fifties, the clip bird about the same.

Whew! Quite a haul, eh?? DH got some tools, too, so he was happy (but then, he's always happy! He's such a sweetheart!)

Finally, I will announce the "Something for Everyone Giveaway" by Saturday. There will be 6 (yes, six!!) prizes in these categories (but I reserve the right to "tweak" them a bit): Crocheted, Christmas Fabrics, Sane Quilter Package, Ephemera/Collage, Vintage Fabrics & Scraps, and Vintage Trims & Lace. And I'll probably stuff a few hankies in somewhere, too.

So, I'm off to pull and group the Giveaway items. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I'll see you back here this weekend!!

Hugs,