Done Good

I was SO proud of myself on Friday! I did a great job of staying focused while we were out on the garaging trail, keeping my purchases to practical stuff I’ll use. More or less. I could certainly have lived without another whisk, but I've never seen one like this before.

I figure if it doesn’t work well I can take the little inner ball out for a cat toy! And using this pewter-handled spreader by Arthur Court to smear brie on a cracker is way fun.

Who can’t use a couple of pairs of socks for a quarter each?

My main search was for a dresser for the bedroom; at every sale I scanned for one I could use. We had a few estate sales on the list which are typically inside the house, and I made a beeline for the bedrooms with my fingers crossed. But no luck all morning.

I've been looking for a dresser for several weeks now, and let me tell you: there are a lot of hideously ugly dressers out there looking for new homes! I visited just about every thrift store in town, and saved a search on Craigslist so every new listing came to my email. Lordy, lordy. Maybe I'd have seen nicer things if I had been looking in a higher price range, but maybe not. My research indicates that dressers in this country lead a very hard life! They get beat up and painted and decorated with stickers and lose their handles. People try out treatments they’ve seen on Pinterest and end up with something that should go on a Pinterest-fail site. I was getting thoroughly discouraged.

The last sale on our list had a picture of a dresser, but the sale didn’t start until noon. We had lunch first and so didn’t get there till closer to 1:00. Made that beeline for the bedroom, and the dresser was still there. And I liked it! And it was marked $25! I tested the drawers (they all rolled in and out just fine), gave it a quick sniff test (no icky smells), and immediately bought it. And I like it a lot!

It's not a high end piece of furniture, but it’s exactly the size and shape I needed. Perhaps someday I'll find something better, but in the meantime this is just fine.

I spent Saturday switching my summer clothes for the cool weather stuff, and the dresser allowed me to remove all the clutter in my closet that’s been bugging me. I can't tell you how happy I am to have all my shoes off the floor!

So – Friday I was thrifty, Saturday I was industrious, and Sunday…I just went wild.

Earlier in the week, KK was asked by a friend of a friend to look over some art that would be in an estate sale over the weekend. (KK’s an artist as well as an architect.) We were regaled with stories about all the art in this woman’s house, as well as many other interesting items, but we also heard the prices were going to be high. I resisted checking it out on Saturday, but Sunday would be half price on many things, so I decided to see what was left. I just wish I could have known the lady who collected all this stuff (I heard she is quite elderly and has gone to Minnesota to live with her sister) because I think we would be simpatico. Yes, she had much fine art…but she also had a taste for whimsy to match mine.

There was something about that half-price thing that made me think I could buy everything I wanted. And I did. Some of it was indeed practical, like a lamp for the corner of the living room I've been watching for.

This molded glass table lamp is both whimsical and practical. The red cord was what made me buy it.

I was excited to find the laundry basket I've been wanting, something with a lid because Fannie loves to remove dirty socks from the basket and chew on them. 

This one fits in the closet and has a removable cloth bag. Perfect.

A little vintage drawer cabinet is just the thing for jewelry-making bits and bobs. I'm saving it for a rainy day activity to load all the drawers.

But…much of what I got was just for fun! Like an original framed watercolor. 

I love daffodils (I had hundreds in the front yard of my last house), 

but what really made me buy it was the two little birds in the corner.

This kinetic toy is so goofy when you roll it along I had to have it. The wings flap in a very erratic manner.

Who actually  needs more mugs, right? But for a quarter each I brought home two; I can always give them away when I get tired of them. I just liked the blue & white design,

and the colors on the large hand-painted one are luscious. It's the perfect size for soup. I think I'll make soup this week.

I'm certainly not short of fabric, but they had some bundles of high quality stuff that at half price were only $3.75. That bought me about 2 yards of the heavy cotton striped piece, and about 3 yards each of heavy natural linen and blue & white ikat. If you’ve been in a fabric store recently you know what a steal that is!

A couple of pairs of earrings came home with me. Everyone needs more earrings, right? (Even though I have so many I keep saying I need to grow more ears so I can wear them all more often.)

I probably got a little carried away with ornaments. This metal dog has washers for eyes, and look at his toes!

Another dog – how could I resist that crazed expression?

I'm a little surprised by how much I love this primitive angel, with her embroidered threadbare fabric and wooden wings. 

Maybe it's her finely-drawn face with the stern expression.

I'm ready for Hallowe’en with my handmade clay jack o’lantern.

This little cardinal carving is only about an inch high. Cardinals were my favorite birds growing up, but we don’t have them in Oregon.

I can't believe no one had snatched up this wonderful mouse with his umbrella.

And I almost resisted the paper mache bunny basket

 – but the carrot on the handle was too much. He’s perfect for holding pens and pencils in my kitchen.

Thank heavens for these sales, where we can indulge our whimsical souls without breaking the bank!

Rummaging for Irises

Oh, I had such a cool day planned for Thursday. Karen and Judy had never been to see the demonstration gardens at the local iris grower. Which are amazing.

 

The website for the grower said the gardens are open ‘early May to early June.’ The weather forecast was sunny and a high of 70. Perfect. We decided we’d go out for a special breakfast at the restaurant that’s so good you always have to wait at least half an hour, then the garden, then lunch. A field trip!

So a few minutes before Karen picked me up, I double checked the garden website for opening time…and saw that opening day was now listed as Friday, May 8! Not open yet for our planned visit! Phooey! Now what?

A quick look at Craigslist saved the day. When we were all in the car heading for breakfast I told them I had some bad news and some good news. Groans all around when I told them about the garden not opening until the next day. (At least we found out before driving the several miles out there.) Then I said, “But the good news is…the Episcopalian rummage sale starts this morning!”

So after our yummy breakfast (mine included crème brûlée French toast) we headed for the sale, probably just as excited as we’d have been for the garden. We got there after the first frenzy of shoppers, but the gigantic room was still packed with stuff.

I headed straight for the household linens. I’m still refashioning using my duct tape dress form, and household linens can yield large amounts of fabric for great prices. In fact, that day I was wearing a shirt I recently made from a linen tablecloth. I love linen, and always look for it, and sure enough I spotted some pale pink linen right away.

A pair of pillowcases in real linen. When I checked the sign listing prices I saw that pillowcases were fifty cents per pair. So even though this pair had a couple of spots on them, they were too nice to pass up. And the spots came out in the first wash! The lovely embroidery was done by hand. I thought the flowers were in satin stitch, but when I looked at the close-up photo I realized they are actually done in buttonhole stitch.

So here’s my idea for this pair: a while back I ran across an ad for linen bath towels and I’ve wanted some ever since. But they are pretty darned pricey. I’m going to combine the two pillowcases into one larger piece; I can always return them to being pillowcases later. But for fifty cents - instead of the usual fifty bucks or so - I can try out a linen bath towel.

Next I wandered over to the tables and racks of clothing. I have to tell you, I’ve gotten spoiled by the other local churches that hand you a bag to stuff. I mentioned to one of the ladies working the sale how much the other churches like using the bag system. She thought about it for a moment, and then told me that might be okay for some churches but the clothing donated for her church’s sale was of a much higher quality. I was struggling to keep a straight face, thinking of the clothes I have stuffed into bags (100% cashmere coat! Geiger boiled wool jacket! Linen, silk, cashmere sweaters!). But you would have been proud of me; I just nodded and left her endlessly refolding shirts to keep the tables neat.

Even though I’m bravely trying not to bring home more decor, I couldn’t help a quick pass by those tables. And yes, I picked up some things I couldn’t resist. Not, I’m relieved to tell you, this cute but weird bird figurine.

We had quite a discussion about it. Dead bird? So happy he caught that worm that he fell on his back in ecstasy? The worm wrestled him to the ground??

But this little ladybug doll by Kathe Kruse (German dollmaker) did come home with me. It’s rather curious; I found nothing like it on the Web.

The face is like her Waldorf dolls, and it has a long tie as for tying around a child’s wrist, but it’s stuffed with excelsior like a vintage bear would be. Which seems a curious choice for something to give a young child, at least these days.

I think she’ll be part of my Funny Little People collection. Near her on the table I found a terribly cute Christmas ornament.           I wouldn’t have spent the $10 listed on the original tag, but a quarter…yup.

And then one more piece of art jumped out at me.

I picked it up, put it down, then picked it up again. If it had been marked at more than a dollar I might have been able to resist…but it was only a buck.

I have no regrets, I really love this thing, the way it’s carved frame and all from a single piece of wood. It’s signed on the back but I couldn’t find anything about the carver on the Internet.

As you can imagine, looking up O.H. Hilton got me a zillion hits about hotels in Ohio. It’s amazing how many woodcarving events have been held at hotels in Ohio!