Flea Market Finds and Thrift Shop Treasures

 

 

Hi! I have so many treasures to show you guys. Hardly know where to begin....

Remember I am often shopping for things to use for etsy and eBay projects. ''Raw materials" like this massive bundle of  mixed white linens. Hand embroidered, many with lace.

They had a good soak in Restore and are now bright white.

Laces for other projects....

Huge 6" + crystals from an old chandelier. They will sparkle and be clear and bright once washed in an ammonia bath!

Look at the size!

These will become icicles for Christmas tress or mantel decor.

 

 

And in a musty old box of 1980s-ish weirdly ''country'' fiber crafts [think ducks with babushkas]---this lovely late 1800s/ early 1900s quilt top. All handpieced.

No I don't know the pattern name, I thought it was Philadelphia Pavement but no. I suppose, in its own way, it is a verion of the Album block I showed you a few posts ago. But I imagine it has its own name too.

The sashing fabric is really cute, tiniest circle dots in pink. And many interesting calicos in the blocks, to be studied. I hope to get this cutie quilted, though I am not sure whether it must be washed first. Probably, as I won't want to press the stains in more deeply, and also it's a bit too grubby to send to my quilter? But tops wash better if they are quilted and then cleaned. A dilemma. I'll have to see what my quilter thinks.

tiny pink dots!

Let me see.....well, I shouldn't even tell you about the sweet and primitive little miniature blanket chest I saw last week. Old. Authentic, 1800s. Blue. Still had its big old key!!! 
200.oo!
Nope.
I didn't have time to bargain with the guy. Instead let's move on to thrifting. For almost a year my favorite very junky thrift shop has been a bust. Ive been finding nothing. But last Friday! Oh wow.

Modern quilted pillow shams. Handquilted,  blue calico and stripes. I had planned to make a coffee table runner with them. [my coffee table is sturdy and a perfect size but not wonderfully attractive. I always cover it with a runner.) But when cleaning out my linen closet the other day I realized I have an awful lot of blue runners. So now I am not sure. Maybe to sell? Add prim applique?

These two large fancy Staffordshire [English] transferware platters.

Here's the maker's mark. This company began in the 1880s, I am estimating these plates at about 1910-30? 

The color is odd, a deep cream. I thought it was the glaze color but wasn't sure. I've seen household goods exposed to years of cigarette smoke that take on this color. A day in a baggie of Clorox water brightened and sterilized the platters but they're still cream colored. And a wonderful blue. One to keep, one to sell? I especially like the top one, with the egrets or herons and pond.

 

Antique cobalt blue medicine bottles to add seashell stoppers to, for my etsy shop. Great find.

Doggy bowls for our expected new arrival, Mo!

A fat quarters bundle of very cute Halloween cottons, 50 cents. For my Halloween string quilt project. Or just because.

 

 



frog prince for Mel!

And yes, I saved the best for last! As I made my final circle of the store, before checking out, I spied this stack of plates.

I took a closer look: Quilt plates. STAR quilt plates. Big dinner plates, just the color of my yelloware bowls, with blue spongeware details. These are so awesome. I was in love.

Uh oh. I do NOT need more plates. I don't use plates like this, I use moderne white porcelain plates from Pottery Barn or Christmas Tree Shop. And, well, Pfaltzgraff isn't exactly in style, is it? But look! How could I resist? 9 plates marked 12.99 and everything was 30% off, so a dollar each! I thought, How cute these would look on my autumn table with a rough natural linen cloth and a crock full of bittersweet and autumn leaves.
Yes, I brought them home. They weigh a freakin' ton!

This shop has a thing for taping plates massively together. You can see only the top and bottom of the stack. When I finally lugged these plates into the house, 4 days after purchase [I had to get my wheelie cart out, that's how much the darn things weigh!]...I finally cut and tore off all that tape and OMG! Not just Star quilt pattern but all these other classic quilt patterns too.

In the shop I had noted the Pfaltzgraff imprint, even though I recognized the style without seeing that mark. But on more careful scrutiny I found this wonderful mark. The angel with the trumpet and MAFA stamped in blue.

 This is a retired limited edition pattern made for the Museum of American Folk Art which is here in NYC. They were produced during the 1980s. Okay, not chic. But I love them.

Everything from the thrift shop cost, with that day's special discount, 24.oo. The flea market finds: lace and white linens bundle 8.oo; the quilt top, 20.oo. The crystals, I admit, were expensive but when cleaned and rewired and with a curly rusty hook added they will be beautiful icicles for someone's Christmas tree.

Good hunting, hhhmmm?

I hope the little blue chest is there next week---and the small [ugly brown, needs blue chalk paint]bookcase with the heart cut-outs that I passed up at the thrift shop.  I have a really neat garden planter that is a rusty tricycle, a scrounged treasure, to trade. Wish me me luck!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach

 

 

 

 

 

Note: May 1st: all doll quilts from Lori's swap are now on a Link page,here

A Solitary Beach Walk---and Nesting Shorebirds

Hi! Come take a beach walk with me! The fresh air will do you a world of good and the chilly ocean breeze will blow all your troubles far out to sea!

 

just now, Sunday

I checked my Map My Walk iphone app and I walked almost 2 miles at the flea market! It was good and I have lots of treasures to show you once I get them photographed this week.
Back home I went to the beach to check on ''my'' nesting birds. It is cold at the beach so I didn't put much more activity on my  walking tracker.



oystercatcher

 

Yes my beach is this empty, even on a beautiful spring Sunday. Just me (and you guys) and the birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a flock of tiny white birds, you can see them against the dark blue of the water.

 

 

 

Great tracts of this beach are fenced off for the nesting shore birds. There's an oystercatcher way back by the dunes, on the right. They are testing spaces right now, but they always nest within a few feet of previous years' nests. The OCs begin laying their eggs around May 7th. *

 

The oystercatchers' numbers are way down, perhaps 2/3s of last year. And while I am finding plover nest sites, I have only seen one poor lonely and very busy little guy! Usually we have as many as 16 nests along the entire stretch of beach.
The wildlife guys mark the nesting sites with large white clamshells, see below.

Later when the plover pair choose their final site there will be a wire cage installed to protect these tiny endangered birds from humans and predators . [The birds can get out of the mesh openings but not much can get in, except too high storm tides.]
Piping plovers usually begin laying eggs around April 30th.* Yes they are that specific!*
Here the game guys have set out a flag and a stake, plus their clam shells. I didn't see a nest hollow, perhaps it is an oystercatcher site.

 

 

 

 

Here are piping plover tracks. I wonder what the odd busy track area is? A mating dance ensued? Almost looks like a turtle was here but there's only bird tracks to and from.

 

 

 

 

Here is a very well made plover nest. This is as good as it gets if you're a plover mama. No soft grasses or strings, or cozy old plastic bags for her, just sand!

 

 

And another...

 

 

There are other wildflife signs to mull over. Tiny tracks, below,  probably seaside sparrows or pipits? But they may be our marsh toads which emerge from the dry swales and like to shelter under the wooden walkway.

 

Rabbit tracks. Beach bunnies!

Feral cats or a raccoon? I see tracks here almost daily but never have seen a creature.

 

By late May it should be warm enough for me to venture out after dark, flashlight in hand. To discover who these tracks belong to!

 

Have a great week.

 

love

 

lizzy

 

gone  to the beach.....

Doll Quilt Swap

 *click any image for full screen closeups.

 

Hi! "What's a doll quilt swap?" you ask---
Well. This was just the most fun project!
Organized by Lori of Humble Quilts blog for all her fans and readers. I think she said 60-plus people entered the swap. Plan was, we'd each make a doll quilt and send it to another participant, who'd send her quilt on to the next, then on and on. (so not a direct one-on-on swap). We had one month to make our little quilts.

So---LOOK what came in the the mail last week. For me!?

All the way from Australia, imagine that. This sort of thing could never have happened without the Internet and blogs.

Here is my little quilt, made by Dorothy in Australia.   

Is it not so adorable and so very perfect!

I LOVE Basket design/ pattern quilts.

Dorothy used different Civil War repro fabrics in each of her tiny 4" blocks. And note how all her points match, how perfect her hand quilting is.

 

I love how she did her label....

 

 

 Dorothy also sent me a lovely card and a very sweet hanky with AU wildflowers. I am sure it will work is way into a project, Dorothy. Thank you so much, I will always treasure my tiny Baskets from Australia.

Right. Lucky me. :-) Picture me squealing and jumping for joy.
Meanwhile I had to make a doll quilt for my swappee. Oh I was so excited! Lori said it was okay to use my antique blocks and antique fabrics as long as they fit the mid-1800s parameters of the swap rules.

I was/ still am/ very inspired by the antique blocks recently purchased from a dealer friend.  I  dithered, I sorted, I wondered: who is my recipient? Will she like this? Or maybe this? Is this more authentic, is this prettier?

Yes I made three little quilts.....

The first is made of approx 6"? Evening Star blocks. I loved these fabrics, the florals are probably preCivil War.

 

I  used a wonderful 19th century block on the back, for the label block.

 

I am putting block names for Mel, who always asks.
 Pls feel free to correct my guesses here, I can't find my blocks book
.
*Churn Dash*

 

But then...I had the Blues out on my table.

"Snowball with Nine Patch"

 

 

I used my favorite of the antique blocks on the back.



*Anvil/ Shoofly/ Old Maid's Puzzle*

I hand quilted hearts in the large white snowball patches.

But then...I thought, Are either of these authentic enough? They're stylistically  true to form for antique doll quilts, which were often made of leftover blocks. But they weren't true miniatures, exactly And the blues could read as any era, even though they were part of the collection of 1800s blocks.

Back to the stash... Tiny Nine Patches, only partially sewed, with cheddar, oooh. And aqua. And homespun. The little squares are tiny, finishing about 1.25".

 I used larger blocks for the backing.

*T or Cross or Temperance*
* Modified 9 Patch/ Ducks-in-the Pond?*

It looks very much like an authentic doll quilt, I thought. But is it beautiful? What if the swappee doesn't like prim?

I used a pdf image freebie from Barbara Brackman's blog for my labels.

I sent my recipient, Jill, the original Evening Stars quilt. It is, I think, 16" square.

Maybe the back is even better than the front?

Jill says she loves it, that is what counts!

The Nine-Patch Cutie will be for sale in my etsy shop if you are sad you didn't get a  doll quilt like we did. I suppose I could part with Blues, too, if someone really loves it, please email me. Pls note it has been washed but has age stains which I liked and didn't try to remove.

Thank you, Lori, for such a fun project. Thank you, Dorothy , for sending me a beautiful tiny treasure of a quilt.
I enjoyed every minute---the planning and making and the exciting anticipation.

BTW, for my non-quilter friends: which is YOUR favorite [of my three?]?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach..................

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: May 1st: all doll quilts from Lori's swap are now on her blog, here at Humble Quilts. Scroll to end for posts of the little quilts.