Thrifted Frames

I often find really ugly, beat up old frames while I'm poking around the lowest shelves of the thrift shop. Some have awful "artwork" or hideous stitchery in them. I pull that sort of thing out, clean the frames, and give them a coat or two of white paint. Some end up being quite charming.

I may paint flowers on some of these.

Austrian Trachten

I made a quick stop at a garage sale the other day, just to see what was there. It didn't look all that promising as I drove up, but I got out to look anyway. You never know what goodies might be hidden under tables or heaped in a box. I saw a clothing rack (yawn) full of frou-frou, and walked on by. But something caught my eye. Two looks more and I saw just the jumper part of this authentic Austrian costume. On inspection, it was perfect, but missing the blouse and apron. On closer inspection, it was my size! I asked about the blouse and apron, and the owner dug them out of big boxes. She told me that, since I knew what it was, I was supposed to have it (even though her mother didn't want her to sell it). She had worn it only once, to a wedding in Austria. Her ex-boyfriend had purchased it for her. No wonder she didn't want it anymore! It was mine for $15.

The cotton skirt has a tiny green and white floral design on the blue background; the bodice is linen. I don't love the print of the apron, but it does coordinate with the skirt. I may make a new apron someday.

Spring Thrifting

Recently, I found a number of old patterns at garage sales and my favorite thrift :

The pattern on the left is dated 1942; the other two have no dates. My guess is the middle pattern is from the mid-50's and the right hand pattern is from the early 60's. I might make the blouse from the 1942 pattern.

Next up are two 1960's patterns. I remember having patterns similar to both of these. I made a green culotte dress in high school, maybe even with this pattern. I will probably list both of these on ebay.

Patterns form the 1970's. The top left pattern was extremely popular in its time, and now a similar dress is back in style. I think I also had the jumper pattern on the left.

What A Find!

My garage sale day wasn't going well. I drove and drove and saw very few signs. When I stopped, every sale seemed to be the same: a small collection of junk. It hardly seemed worth my time or gas to be out driving. I was discouraged and ready to go home. But I saw one more sign and I decided I might as well stop. My view from the street wasn't promising ~ I had seen too much of this today ~ a few scattered tables dribbled with a few trinkets. But once up the driveway I found this beauty. A Scandinavian handpainted tole tray. For one dollar. One dollar! My in-laws have had a similar tray hanging in their dining room for many years. I love the folk designs on theirs; now I have my own.

For My Doll Chair Collection

This tiny rocking chair came from the thrift a few weeks ago. It was completely buried in faded and crumbling dried flowers, which were glued to the seat, sprouting from the arms and back, and generally looking very ugly. I almost missed the fact that there was a rocking chair under there. After I paid my 59 cents I stood over a trash can and pulled all those flowers off. A scrubbing and a cushion gave it new life. It's just the right size for a Madame Alexander doll.