Monday, April 29, 2013

little treasures

Happy Monday! Hope that you had a lovely weekend!
On Friday I went to an estate sale where the people had lived for 60 years, and I was hoping there would be some great finds. Well, I did bring home some pretties, but boy were the prices high on most things. It seems that they keep getting higher and higher here in California. How about where you live?
The sweet lady who lived there was a crafter, so I was happy to see all these pretty vintage doilies! Always on the top of my list to get! ;) 
I also brought home some lovely vintage lace and cute floral ribbon. 
And, these little treasures! 
Awhile back a dear friend's mother gave me this sweet vintage appliquéd children's quilt. It has been well loved, and I am thinking it was from the 60's based on the fabrics and colors.  
 I adore all the face and the balloons are my favorite!
Isn't the kitty just too cute! 
 A sweet bluebird and a darling little girl with a bow in her hair! 
And, oh how cute is this little mouse and his ears!! It is such a sweet quilt and now it will be loved for many more years! And, I was even thinking of how fun it would be to recreate this quilt, or do something similar. So, my thinking cap is on! 
Oh, a little side note of something I learned this weekend. As, I was about to soak all the doilies in Oxi Clean, I debated wether I should put that little embroidery piece you see in the first photo in the bowl, because I thought it would bleach out the coloring. Well, I decided to take the chance, and I was right! It bleached out the colors to a white flowers and brown vines. So, I have learned my lesson. How do you soak your vintage embroidered pieces?
Wishing you all a wonderful and crafty week!! 

41 comments:

  1. Hello sweet Heather, Happy Monday! I love all of your beautiful finds sweetie! So glad you found such nice things. The vintage quilt is adorable. I look forward to seeing what you do being inspired by it. I am sorry to hear about the little embroidery. I only soak mine in cold water with some natural dishwashing liquid that I purchase at the health food store. I swish it around a bit, then I hang it in the sunshine to dry and help it smell fresher and iron it on the back to get any wrinkles out. Have a wonderful, crafty week too! Much love, Paula xo

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    1. Thank you so much Paula and thanks for sharing how you soak your linens! Hope your week is wonderful my dear! xo Heather

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  2. Lovely doilies and super cute baby quilt!!

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  3. What great baby quilt! Lots of great lace to work with! Chris

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    1. Thanks Chris!! I can't wait to play with all the lace! xo Heather

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  4. What a darling quilt! Thank you for the tip on what not to do with doilies. I love those little elf heads they are too cute!

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    1. So many treasures! I especially like the sweet childs blanket, very unique. I like how it has action in the characters and one almost believes that they are floating up because of the balloons. It would be fun for you to do one like it.

      I use Oxi Clean but haven't used it on anything like that. I really don't use it that often as I don't have as many vintage things as you do.

      Have a great evening. xo

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  5. a lot of lovely findings!!!!
    xxxx Ale

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  6. Would love to see you reinvent that pattern and make it your own in a 2013 version! I rescue doilies too; all that work sold for pennies.

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    1. Thanks! There is something about those balloons that I love and can imagine them in pretty prints! ;) xo heather

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  7. What a darling quilt...love all the treasures you came home with. Hope your week is going well so far and you are able to get in some creative fun.

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    1. Thank you Koralee! Hope your week is going wonderful, too! xo Heather

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  8. I always love picking up doilies! Doesn't matter how many you have there is always a use for them somewhere right!?! Estate sales here in MN on the good vintage stuff is getting pricey too. Makes everything more special when you get a good deal!

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    1. Thank you so much Harriette! It definitely does!! ;) xo Heather

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  9. I love going to crafters estate sales. The prices her in Orlando vary by what company does the estate sales. I know which companies over price and don't go until the 1/2 price day. I don't use oxy clean for my linens, I have never heard of it bleaching the color out though. I soak mine in dishwasher soap, it seems to work well. Thanks for sharing!

    Carol

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    1. The crafter estate sales are one of the best to go to! Thanks for sharing how you soak your linens! Have a lovely week Carol! xo Heather

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  10. You scored some sweet pieces Heather. I love going to estate sales. You never know what treasures you're going to find. Cute quilt.

    xo Danielle

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  11. A good long soak in some gentle soapy luke warm water is all I do with vintage embroideries...then a bit of sunshine and a good breeze if they're not fragile...then a press with the steam iron. The laces and doilies are very pretty!

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    1. Thank you for sharing how you soak!! It is always so helpful to hear what everyone does! Have a great day! xo Heather

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  12. Yes Hearher you must recreate the quilt, it will be gorgeous! I love it's design, someone's put a lot of love into that one! :) x

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    1. Thank you Ada!! They definitely did! xo Heather

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  13. Helloo lovely Heather. Oooh you found some lovely little treasures and like you I always have doilies at the very top of my list, most probably the reason that I possibly now have too many of them (is that possible??). I have also noticed that the prices for these have been on the increase over the last couple of years. I remember the days where I could pick them up for a 20p, but these days they normally range from £1-£5 depending where you get them. Its this lovely supply demand theory, too many people want these lovely little things these days (boo for us). More reason to make them ourselves, right? Anyway as for soaking, I always just put mine in luke warm water with a handwash detergent and Bob's your uncle, it always works. I love the beautiful quilt you were given, its darling and I can't wait to see what youre going to do with it. Warm wishes on a lovely Tuesday xxx

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    1. Thank you so much Hannapat! I don't think you can ever have enough doilies, at least in my book! ;) Happy sweet day to you! xo Heather

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  14. Love all your pretty doilies and lace pieces you got! And those little treasure pieces are too cute!! :) It's always fun going to estate sales, its like a surprise of what you might find! :) Cute quilt too! xo Holly

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  15. You have some amazing treasures. Estate sales have become my favorite place to purchase goodies now. I can't wait to see what your thinking cap produces regarding that quilt. Happy creating!

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    1. Thanks Kim! Estate sales are definitely fun, and I like looking at the houses, too! It is always neat to see the different styles, especially the older ones. Have a great week! xo Heather

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  16. Hi Heather, Great stuff you found, and that quilt looks like it needs to be saved, too! Aside from recreating it, will you rework/fix it? I don't take care of linens and such, but my friend Cindy from "RetroRevivalBiz" might have some tips for you. I don't know if you visit her, but she does a lot of the same things and just might be able to help.

    Prices here in Arizona are crazy high, too. On my bucket list is to someday take a U-haul back east and hit every estate/tag sale from there to here and just fill the truck. It'll never happen, but one can dream. Hey, we're neighbors in a way.....California is just next door. I used to live in Visalia for my senior year of high school. Have you ever been there? I'll be in San Diego in October for my husbands reunion of navy buddies, are you near there? If I can stretch out the trip, maybe we can hook up.

    Hugs,
    Meri

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    1. Thank you Meri! I think I will just recreate a new one because I can just see all those balloons in pretty prints, and also restitch a few of the appliqué pieces of the quilt to they don't flap down. There is a a few burned spots that I won't be able to fix, but other than that is is just a well loved, maybe good picnic blanket to lay on!

      Yes, you are my neighbor! Oh, I would love to visit with you in October if it works out for you to do so! I am about a few hours away north, so that would work out! I have never been to Visalia. Is it northern or southern CA?

      Have a great night! xo Heather

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  17. I'm not remembering what I've done with my embroidered linens but I think I oxied them! Maybe it depends on the type of floss but i don't remember ever losing color...

    Don't you just love it when someone thinks of you and gives you something like that quilt? so cute! ♥

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    1. I think you are right about the floss. Oh, well at least it was a small piece! I definitely do! xo Heather

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  18. Lots of pretty bits. And super sweet little quilt. Sorry your embroidered piece bleached out. We can still find a lot of things for decent prices, here. One of the good things about living in the midwest. :-)

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    1. Thank you so much Gayle! Oh I am glad your prices aren't high. Are prices keep getting higher, but it seems that vintage items just get less and less, too. I just might have to move to the midwest, which I would love! ;) xo Heather

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  19. Such treasures. The little applique quilt is just darling, Heather. I can't wait to see what you come up with using it as a pattern.

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    1. Thank you Leslie!! I look forward to recreating it! ;) xo Heather

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  20. Wonderful treasures - you know I love those doilies and old lace - yum!
    I am really surprised the Oxy bleached out the embroidery. I have used it many time with no problem and thought the embroidery floss was colorfast. It could be that your is a very vintage piece and maybe the older floss was not colorfast.

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    1. Thank you!! I definitely thought of you with the doilies and lace!! You would have loved this estate sale!! ;) That totally makes sense with the colorfast. I think it is the same with vintage tablecloths that I have to be careful with when soaking. Thanks for helping and sharing what you do ! xo Heather

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  21. WOW! Heather you found some really great treasures. I agree dollies are always a great find. The estate sales are getting pretty pricey her too. But is also depends on who hosts it. Your baby quilt is so cute. What fun that is going to be to recreate. I am just in love with it. I have always used biz because it does not bleach anything out. It even takes out stubborn formula stains from when I son was
    little.
    Thank you for the sweet comments on my blog.
    Hugs
    donna

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  22. oh boy could just eat up every little thing here! i am loving finding your beautiful blog xxxx

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