Antique ((Mall)) Roadshow!!

Do you watch Antique Roadshow? I’ll catch it now and again, and sometimes I am quite amused by the things that people think are worth a lot, but turn out to really be junk!

Mostly because I know that the “value” we put on things ourselves has more to do with our attachment to the object, and the memories it has, than what the actual “monitary value” can give.

If one persons trash is another persons treasure, then I will surely be found in the midst of that trash!

Of course we are always looking for the elusive museum quality quilt that someone has a $10 price tag on at a yard sale, or that $25 featherweight machine – ((I’ve not found one yet, but I know some who have, the lucky quilters!)) but more often I find OTHER things to inspire me. Like this cross stitch at the top of this page. What a life statement that is for me! I tend to pick up the cross stitcheries at places like Good Will where they surely aren’t valued as much as they were in this antique mall. I love the quotes and sayings and they can be found all over my house.

One of the other things I like to do is find the WEIRDEST thing on display! I was wandering through this mall while talking to DH on the phone and I had to say “Hold ON! I gotta take a pic of this..I’ll call you back..I’ll phone-mail it to you..you aren’t going to believe this!!”

The first thing I noticed was the sale sign….and THEN…what the heck? What ARE those things in this tall glass vase? Are those???? No way! It couldn’t be….is it? IT IS!!!

CHEETOS!!! LOL!!

Yes, my friends, this item gets the “Weird award” of the day! Just how LONG have those cheetos been in that glass vase? I have no idea….will this get bugs over time? I don’t want to think about it! I was laughing so hard I didn’t even stop to find out what the “SALE” price was on this item.

Something else I saw quite a bit of….remember these folded star things in hoops?

I think “back in the 80s” I made one of these…and the thing used SO MUCH fabric that I never ever made another one! They were impossible to dust too, and when I started finding them at yard sales a few years later, I’d buy them on the cheap and take them apart and USE the fabric for real quilts! Each of those squares is folded something like 4 times, so there is a LOT of fabric in this one thing.

Here’s another one with the ever present “country lace ruffle” and it’s been poofed out to give it a 3-D effect…MORE FABRIC! No, these didn’t come home with me, just a blast from the past and a “remember when!” It’s kind of funny to see these labeled as “vintage quilt hanging” though! ((Yes, I suppose it has been 30 years?!))

Here is another little “Craft” from the 80s…my mother in law used to make beaded Christmas ornaments…but these are “crystal” candlesticks made with clear beads and safety pins! Why did we ever think this was a good idea? Could you ever get the wax out if it dripped? I remember whole sculptures made with beads and pins! I’d rather be quilting!

SO…about the treasures? Of course, the machines always tug at my heart:

This little table model was a different one than I have ever seen….It still had the shuttle bobbin, but it was electric, in a little “industrial” type table. I liked the brand name –Greyhound!

And the little Wilcox & Gibbs was just too cute for words. It’s a chain stitch machine, and I’ve got a singer one similar to it here at home.

There are so many quilts I wanted to share with you, but there is commentary on each one! So..I think I’ll just post a few here now, and save the rest for another post

This little sweetie is an “old” top, newly quilted….or newerly quilted anyway! It had a thick-ish poly batting in it, but they did do a lovely job on the fan quilting, and the prints in it are really sweet! I started one of these star quilts a long time ago, and I ought to pull it out! The little triangles have so much motion going on, and I guess I am in a springy frame of mind because the pink and yellow just brought the sunshine in!

Can you find the quilt in this picture? You gotta look close! This is what I saw as I passed this booth ---sometimes things are not displayed to “advantage” and you have to HUNT for things that are worth finding ((Yes, that is another life lesson too, isn’t it?!))

This is what I unearthed! Look at that lovely “Swallows” star in the center! This had the “whisker guard” applied over both the top and bottom of the quilt—And it has so much FUN STUFF going on. We do things so differently today! For instance, we’d probably put those two broken stars in two opposite corners, one top right, one bottom left----are you with me here? We are so about “creating” randomness today, that we plan it out to the nnnth degree! I like how she built up the other bocks with sashings to be the same size as the broken star blocks..and it IS an interesting block in itself, isn’t it:

I like those “elongaged” flying geese blocks that make the star wonky And do you notice that the units are rotated? Two are up and down, and two are side ways! OOps!

I loved this bench with the yo-yo coverlet and pillow….wouldn’t this look sweet in an entry way?

Quilts from simple squares are ALWAYS a favorite, just for the funky fabrics they have in them…true scrap baggers! This one had fabrics into the 50s and early 60s…It’s four 9-patches combined into a 36 patch block, and set in a zig zag setting. FUN!! Whose shirts, dresses, skirts, aprons, pajamas were these? Whose memories are tied up in this lovely humble quilt? We’ll never know!

Look at THIS riot of color!! And then look closer!

It’s double-knit! And it probably weighs 30 lbs!

Someone did an awesome job on this….many many many hours. This will never disintegrate, fade, or ravel! I wish I knew more about this maker!

And there is more…..lots more! And I’ll save that for another post! As for today, I’ve been heavy at the machine working on the cruise project-- It’s like working backwards for me. I need to “kit” these up. Yes. Kits. Yes. That means everyone will have the same thing. Yes. I know…I don’t sew from kits, I don’t DO kits, and kits don’t DO ME! But we are persevering and I think this will work out great!

So far, we are combining 3 unrelated charm packs to get the “scrap” look I want. NO MATCHY MATCHY!! LOTS OF VARIETY! Lots of stretching and growing for my Cruisers who think they can’t put a modern print next to a civil war! LOL!

Right now it’s a secret project…starting with a “finite” amount of fabric, finding out how far it will go and what I can do with it, all while keeping it at the $35 per Cruiser that I am allotted. Can ANYONE make a quilt from a kit for $35.00 anymore? Not if it is bigger than a baby quilt! So we are a bit limited there, and I need it to be a project that takes THREE DAYS…so there are lots of things in this equation that I am bumbling with.

The cost, the amount of fabric in limited variety, the time it takes to sew it, and the size. Anyone want this job?! I’m just feeling a little bit stressed about it, but I’m making headway!