Catching up...

Hmmm… has it really been over a year since I wrote in my blog? Guess so. It’s not because I’ve nothing to say, truly… friends can vouch for this, but simply because I’ve been really busy this past year, often with projects that would likely bore quite a few gentle readers… so no need to inflict those posts on anyone.
During this not-blogging time, I’ve found out a few things about myself, about writing and about my vintage obsessions. Fact is, I really like to hunt down the treasure, but I’m not so keen on actually parting with it, even if I bought it with the intention of selling it. Sound familiar to anyone? I do like to write about stuff though; that’s how I blog roll, it seems. Over the winter as this realization began to sink in, I stopped going to auctions and stopped buying whatever looked interesting or had possible sales value. Still my house is filled with the things I collect… books, vintage linens including aprons, table cloths, fancy work (pillowcases, dresser scarves, countless tea cloths with matching napkins), books, framed prints, vintage sewing notions and of course, vintage sewing patterns (my current love), and books, did I mention books? I’ve watched that show about hoarders (for about 45 seconds) and I don’t think I’m there yet.
No auctions, estate sales, or garage saling for many, many months, until yesterday when I took myself on an artist’s date (a creative practice from Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way) and went to an estate sale on a farm. It started at 7:00 a.m. and I got there a few minutes before. Loads of really great looking vintage items, all of which I managed to resist. Not because I didn’t want them, but because the woman running the sale was from Texas (I’m guessing here… the daughter of the homeowners) and had her own ideas concerning market value of vintage items. She priced everything by Texas standards which don’t actually translate very well here in SW Nebraska, if you get my drift. You don’t find B&B’s around every curve in a country road in these parts, nor any Texas hill-country style mansions whose owners decorate in vintage style. Case in point, the box of fancy work I considered buying (a small box, really) that she was convinced was worth $40.00. Well, maybe in Texas, but not around here. At a local auction that small box would go for around $3.00… and well, I felt compelled to tell her so. Leaving empty-handed, quite self-satisfied… and okay, a bit superior, I soon arrived at the next stop on my list. It was a lovely little home in SW Lincoln where the dear friends of an octogenarian were holding an estate sale for their friend. Now these ladies knew how to price things!! I walked away from this one with a smile on my face. My finds: 2 sewing boxes filled with vintage rick rack, lace, buttons still on the cards, a buttoneer (never used, still in the box), a couple of vintage patterns, some really old handmade braid from Germany still on the card, the big yellow Pyrex bowl (50 cents) and a two pristine, block-printed mid century tablecloths (50 cents each -- just the sort of thing I hoard). Ahhhhh, I’ve got my game back I think; a happy thrifter indeed. Here’s a photo: