Dumb Daisies and Rusty Gold

As the growing season comes to an end, I want to share a little garden project and thrift victory from the spring/summer. 

A couple of years ago, I found this funky mid century plant stand at my favorite thrift store, Bethesda, near my sister's place in Horicon.  It was half off day, so it was only $2.50 - my kind of deal!  You can find a few of these for sale on Etsy most of the time for anywhere from $60-$120.  I'm no Mike Wolfe, but the rusty iron doesn't scare me.  I like stuff like that in the garden.

 Here's some rusty iron that's been in my garden for many years.  Is that a treble clef?

Anyway, back to the round plant stand that sat buried in the back corner of our shed for several years.  I'm sure my husband wanted to get rid of it.  In fact, I think I remember him saying, "Let me get rid of this thing."  Oh, but I could be confused with so many other times I've heard him say that.  Ha ha.  Cleaning it with brush and suds in the basement stationary tub was the hardest part.

Some spray paint and the job was done.

Of  course it looked better when the flowers filled in... except for the darn daisies which were custom chosen for that spot because of their height.  Anyone know why they never bloomed again all summer?  There were even buds that never opened!

Good luck with all your thrift store treasures, your daisies, and

fending off the discarding desires of your significant other!

Sometimes You Get Lucky

Thrift shopping can be like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get... I mean... find. And a few weeks ago, strolling through our local Salvation Army, I got the foil-wrapped truffle bon bon from the center of the box! There, by all the other worn out, dated sofas was this brand spankin' new looking mid-century modern couch.

I looked it over.  Lusted after it.  Wondered over it.  Could it be vintage?  It looked so new!  No, after closer inspection, I could tell it was authentic vintage.  And I also knew it would look perfect on my 60s retro turquoise porch.  But (OH NO!) I just got another cute frisé late 40s, early 50s sofa from a friend, so I just couldn't use this darling piece!  Sigh!  And how much did it cost?  There was no price.  Perhaps it had been sold already.  Oh well, couldn't buy it anyway.

Upon returning home, I casually mentioned it to my oldest son who, with his wife, is temporarily living with us in between stints in China and possibly Glasgow.  Anyway, this son enjoys quirky and retro and he's very curious.  So, unbeknownst to me, he went over to the store to check it out.  He also got them to price it.  Would you believe only $20?  YES!  So, he bought it.  And it ended up on my 60s retro turquoise porch anyway... in front of the other couch... for now... or at least until someone returns from Glasgow I guess...  hmmm...

Well, it does match.  Take a look at the weave close up in the sunlight.  

So cute.  Some blue, some olive and some brown.

How perfectly mid-century modern.  

Happy thrift shopping to you and yours and

may you also find the foil-wrapped bon bon of chocolates on occasion!

That's what keeps us going, right?

Mini Mother Load

Keaton and I decided to go (as he puts it) "thrift bombing" on Friday.  I, of course, like to find vintage fabric and he likes to find vintage electronics and game systems for his chip music.  We hit the countryside west and north of Milwaukee including Oconomowoc, Juneau, Horicon and all points in between - thrift stores, estate sales and rummage sales.

We were meeting with minor success at the stores, but the estate and rummage sales were awful.  Then we passed a house on a busy road with a big "estate sale" sign.  I drove right by and asked Keaton, "What do you think?  Should we stop?"  He enthusiastically answered, "Yes!  You won't know until you stop.  You should leave no stone unturned."  So we made our way to the next intersection and found a way to turn around.  

I was prepared for another awkward smile at the people sitting in lawn chairs by their cash boxes.   This sale was in the garage and there were at least 4-5 people who appeared to be running it.  We smiled as one woman offered to get out of the "lift" chair so we could see it.  I thought, "A lift chair... hmmm.  That's a good sign.  That means they are selling things of an older person.  Most grandma's sewed.  Maybe I will get lucky."

Then I spied it - a big box of buttons.  Oh yeah, now we're talking.  $4.  I can handle that.  Then I looked down and there they were... four boxes of fabric.  The mini-mother load.  I say mini only because I know darn well that there are people (ahem) that have a ton more fabric than four boxes.   I started to paw through it and spotted vintage stuff right off the bat along with a couple of disgusting synthetic abominations from the 70s.  I dug some more.  The boxes were labeled $10 each and I wondered if they would let me cherry pick.  Naw, I couldn't ask.  That wouldn't be fair.  I finally dug enough to know that I wanted the stash and paid up - $40... plus the buttons.

So here are the highlights and no, I did not include any of the DSAs (disgusting synthetic abominations).  P.S. Anyone want to buy some crunchy sheer polyester plissé that feels like paper?

Not like these.

These are wonderful rayons from the 40s.

The blue dot feels magnificent and pools like a dream.

 Another 40s rayon.  Lots of yardage.

 Wish there was more of this 36" barkcloth.  Love the pattern.

 Another interesting barkcloth - a little later than the first.

 Two unfinished aprons.

 36" pastel kitchen print with purple carrots and mushrooms.

 A totally cool print with a giant rooster and poodle - a little over a yard.

 36" cotton with bright daisies.  Love this one.

Ok, I've never been an expert on feedsacks.  I know people love them and I probably have some but I have not been very aware of them.  However, I believe these two pieces with the gray leaves and green polka dot are both feedsacks due to the perforations along the selvage where the chain stitch was removed.  Click on the green polka dot picture and you'll see what I mean.

 Traditional kitchen print

 A lovely border print.

 Mid-century metallic gold on black 36" cotton.

 This seems right out of Lilly Pulitzer - a sturdy mid-weight 36" cotton.

 Best part is the woven damask pattern in the ground.

 This cotton plissé seems really old and the selvages are discolored.

Lots of yardage.  I'll wash it and see what happens.

 This one gets the strange "touch my monkey" sort of award...

 ...with the odd clown, and roller coaster and castle fun house.

Originally 79¢ for five yards.  36" polished cotton.

I haven't got a clue what to do with it.

It's not talking to me.  Any ideas?

And before my story grows tiresome, the rest of these are 36" cottons - 

some with a fair amount of yardage.  Click to enlarge.

And the piéce de résistance?

This unbelievable, gorgeous, luxurious cream colored silk.

Almost 14 yards of clean 36" silk.  It's the real thing.

Looks like a wedding dress to me.

This is what earned this batch the title, "mini-mother load."

Two Trios

They are a blast from the past.  Pyrex bowls and those mushroom canisters.  It's strange for me to grasp that these are collectible again.  I found both sets in perfect condition while thrifting the other day.

I disliked (trying not to say "hated") those canisters - my mother had them when I was a teenager.  My  parents seemed to buy a lot of their home furnishings from Sears.  This was the Sears "Merry Mushroom" line.  My mom still uses her "Merry Mushroom" pans which are a lovely harvest gold.

Pyrex is again drawing attention.  This is a set of mixing bowls in the Butterprint pattern.  From Country Home Magazine: "Ubiquitous in the 1950s and 1960s, vintage Pyrex mixing bowls, refrigerator sets, and casserole dishes are seeing a huge surge in popularity since they’re inexpensive, durable, easy-to-find, and retro-mod."  Pyrex is so hot as a collectible, it has even spawned a blog called, "Pyrex Love."

Pink, Turquoise, Atomic? It's Mid-Century!

Keaton had a day off school on Monday and was persistent with his suggestion that we go "thrift bombing" all day.  He loves to look for old game systems or noise making electronic toys that he can dismantle or sample sounds from -- all this to make chip music.  Anyway, we didn't spend all day, but we did hit a couple of places that I hadn't been to in 15-20 years where I found this very mid-century, very vintage lamp.  How about those sputnik style atomic beads on the metal stems?  It even looks like it's sitting on a rocket ship base.  I think this lamp would go perfectly with the vintage radio from my November 7th post.

Check out those amoebic, spacey, pink shapes with the gold painted stars in the middle.   They look like asteroids or galaxies.   The American people were fascinated with the space race in the late 50s  and early 60s and our furniture reflected it.  The gold paint used in so much of the decor from that era was usually at least 22 karat gold.

Add a turquoise fiberglass lampshade and you have the quintessential late 50s living room lamp.  George, Jane, Judy, Elroy and Astro would love it.  Maybe they shop on Etsy...

Speaking of Mid-Century...

I'm kind of wild about this 8" x 22" bent glass, gold leaf serving tray I found out thrift shopping the other day.  It's so 60s.

I could just see it on a dark walnut Danish Modern dining or coffee table at Christmas time filled with candies or nuts.

It really reminds me of the style of Georges Briard, but those pieces are almost always signed.  I plan to sell it in my Etsy shop (which will be opening any day now).  I hope I can part with it.

Then, what should happen a few days later?  I DID find a real Georges Briard bent glass serving tray.

This one, about 10" square, was also a gold leaf design, but with butterflies and the glass had a pebbly finish on the underside... and it was signed.

I heart 60s glassware!