Too Pretty To Pass Up

Hi Kids,

I hope you're all enjoying a long holiday weekend.

Yesterday was pretty productive for me, not in the creative sense, although I got a little work done last night on a small antique quilt I bought a few weeks ago. All the hand tied points need to be redone, they're falling apart and a bit delicate. I snipped them all out and retied two rows, but not much else as far as stitching and sewing. Lord knows I've got plenty to do, I just can't concentrate properly right now, most of my focus is elsewhere... I'll share this with you guys in due time.

We got out bright & early, Sean and I, and our dogs, Butch & Lola went downtown for breakfast, we sat outside on a patio and watched our little town come to life. It was a nice scene, one I don't get to witness often. The dogs loved getting treats (most of my bacon) under the table, and watching people pass by.

Later on I accidentally did a little antique shopping, you guys know how that goes, right? You don't mean to, but you see that the store is open, so you decided to pop in for a sec, just to see if there's anything new. Not going to buy anything, oh no, no... but... well, you end up finding just a couple of things. That's what happened to me yesterday. I picked up a handful of new-to-me stitchies, none of which were priced yet. When I inquired about a price, the lady asked me if I thought $1 each sounded fair? Let me tell you, I whipped out a fiver faster than you could say "jack-flash"!

I think this might be a small table runner, the stitching is about 12" across. It's brand spanking new, not a single blemish. It looks like it could have been finished yesterday, and then folded up and tucked into a drawer.

I think this is a small napkin, but I couldn't resist it's charm. I think it'll look great under a candle or whatnot.

I think this next piece is machine stitched, but the stitching is with a single thread, it's very delicate, and old. It's also brand new, still has the sticker on the back from China. I think it's might be a hand towel, but I'm not sure, the fabric is very thin, maybe it's a napkin also.

And then there's this, isn't it pretty? I have the perfect place to put it this Christmas, over an antique plant stand from Sean's grandparents estate.

This last piece is a vintage pillow case which I thought was so pretty, and so finely stitched, I had no choice but to rescue it. It's also in pretty good condition, with only a small spot of yellowing, some of the stitching has come out, but I think I can fiddle with that. After consulting my stitchy peeps, I gave it a nice long soak in a basin of cold water and Oxyclean, then a delicate wash in the machine with Woolite. It's currently out drying on the patio.

Isn't this a cute scene?

The handsome gentleman.

A lovely lady, I can see now that her umbrella is missing most of it's handle, yes a repair is in order.

Look at how finely stitched the trim on her bodice is! That is tiny, tiny blanket stitch. I think it's gorgeous, even if it isn't as perfect as it could be. Someone stitched this with a lot of care, and I'm so happy to have it. No life safely stashed in a closet for these two, they will be used and loved by me.

The pretty edging is done in pink & white crochet, lovely. I need to learn how to do this. Does anyone know if it's hard? It looks hard...

EDIT:

Just to share a bit of happy news, and some 'after' pictures. The Oxyclean worked perfectly! After a quick iron, my new pillow case looks great and ready to use for a nap!

Have you had any good thrifty finds lately? Tell me all about it!

oxo,

Lisa

p.s. I don't know why my pictures are coming out so blue?! Anyone have any idea? These pieces are all snowy white. I don't get it, I need photo lessons...

Roseville Antiques Fair

Well hello there, you's! My, aren't you looking fabulous today!

I had a mostly fun weekend, and I actually remembered to take my camera and get some pictures of the best part, so I have a few to share with you guys. Most of Saturday, eech... don't ask, it wasn't good. But Sunday at the Roseville Antiques Fair with Jill was fun, fun! Take a lookie...

I love that shelf full of metal bins, I think it was in the ballpark of $600... That blue chest is cool too, I bet it would be especially loved by those of you who do paper craft. I love the bright color!

Heavy metal! I may, or may not have purchased one of these items for someone who shall remain nameless. If in fact, I purchased one at all...

I saw a lot of terrific drop leaf tables at this fair, I especially love this one. I'm a big fan of storage.

Pretty in pink... this booth was overflowing with it. Very, very pretty and very, very girly. Maybe even a little too much for me. But I did manage to stick my arm in for a few pictures. I noticed that most of the husbands wandered about outside this booth while their ladies perused inside. Teehee...

This was the banner hanging inside the ultra girly booth. I LOVE the font they used on their bunting. I never get tired of beautiful, ornate letters. I wish I could find embroidery patters in this font, maybe I'll use my handy-dandy light box to trace one so I can stitch one up. Hmmm...

Ooh, la, la...

This picture was taken on the back porch of a great little shop called The Tattered House. Lots of pretty to behold!

Dig that succulent planter box! What a great use for an old glass side table. It's amazing what a little spray paint and some sandpaper can do for a piece that's no longer "in style". I think this is a terrific example of repurposing.

Eh, eh... do you see it tea lovers?? Those pillows are covered in the names of several varieties of tea!! And again with the gorgeous fonts! Be still, my heart.

Jill picked up a few goodies too, one of which I was in love with as well. It was purrty!

I even got to meet a fellow blogger and FOJ (Friend Of Jill's) Marsha, she's posted some pics too, pop on over to her blog and have a look. The day was sunny and fair, perfect T-shirt weather. Look at this tree bursting to life! I'm fond of spring, yessiree!

 

I picked up a great little side table at this antique fair, quite the bargain too! I'll tell you about that later though.

We worked up quite an appetite gawking at all this goodness, so after we left the fair, we lunched at one of my all time favorites, Chipotle! Are y'all familiar with Chipotle? I'm a slave for it. I get the same thing every single time.

Carnitas Burrito Bowl, with everything.

(...drool...)

It is sooo good.

After lunch we hit up another {massive!} vintage/antique place called Midway Antique Mall. Those of you who like mid-century modern would have an absolute field day here! Walking through that store is very like walking onto the set of your favorite old TV show. It was pretty amazing, I must say. Many of the "booths" are picture perfect vignettes of vintage rooms. There are pictures of some of these rooms on their website, check it out. There's definitely something for everyone there. I kept expecting Dean Martin or Mary Tyler Moore to pop out from around a corner. It was funny to walk through and constantly say "Hey, my mom had one of those!" like every 5 seconds. Made me feel kinda old, actually. Maybe I'm starting to get a little "vintage" myself, heh.

Ok, so that about wraps it up! We also made a quick trip to Ikea, but I'm saving that for another post too. Hope you guys enjoyed some of the pictures, I always love to see where you guys are going on your blogs, so I hope you like that kind of thing too.

Have a great day out there!

oxo,

Lisa