Friday, August 5, 2011

Friday's Found Treasures

This installment will have to be called "Saturday's Found Treasures" through May because this is my last Friday off before school starts.  I'll be relegated to Saturday leftovers at estate sales for a while!

As always, if you click on the pictures they are clear and you can zoom.

Only two estate sales on the map today.  One was in the Southern Trace subdivision and I just didn't want to drive all the way out there.  It's about a thirty minute drive from where I am.  So I ignored it.  I went to another, smaller on in Highland which is very near me.

Highland is an older neighborhood and I always find the coolest things in Highland.  That's where I found the antique medicine cabinet and the antique mirror.  Today I found linens and a Fenton cruet.

The cruet is really cute; it's about 5-1/2 or 6 inches tall in a white opalescent hobnail design.  It's not all that old and is fairly easy to find, I think, but I like it.  I'm guessing (without being industrious enough to look it up right now) that it dates to the 50s or 60s.  But, I liked it's little size and so home it came.

I got really excited about linens today.  Like I need any more.  My grandmother and great grandmother both did needlework and my great grandmother left behind stacks of pillowcases with crochet edging, placemats, runners, etc.  I love them all.  I like trying to imagine the time when ladies had time to sit around with their sewing basket in the hot, pre-a/c afternoons and evenings, and do needlework.  A lost art.

First is this adorable little handkerchief with darling handwork in the corners:


Look at the tiny needlework in three of the corners:


And one corner has these blue flowers:


And check the delicate edging on this corner:


It's so thin you can see through it.  I've washed it, ironed it and it's in my china cabinet now decorating a shelf.

My favorite find of the day is these two German pillow cases:


The measure about 17 x 14 inches.

The blue one translates to say something about when the cornflowers blossom:


And is adorned, of course, with cornflowers:


The red one depicts a charming courting scene and I can't figure out what its translation is.  I'm going to put Steve to work on that.


Look how cute the girl leaning out the window is:


Love the hearts on the shutters!  And her fella, all decked out in his lederhosen and cap:


Love them!  There were two others I'm thinking about dashing back over there to get, but these were my favorite.

I also picked up a really pretty linen runner with gorgeous hand crocheted edging on each end.  It was badly stained with what looked like rust, or brown stains so I'm trying to save it.  It's soaking in my super secret stain solution right now and if all goes well I can show it later.  Worst case scenario I can remove the crochet work and put it on something else.  It wasn't stained.

Steve and I are going to try to investigate a new antique shop this afternoon; I can't ever catch it when it's open so we're going to give it another shot.

If anybody out there knows German, I'd appreciate a translation on the pillowcase!  The online translators I've tried don't quite get me there.

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