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Thursday, February 02, 2023

Decompressing My Way Home -


It seems I hit the motherlode of spool cabinets yesterday on my journey from Greensboro, NC to Mouth of Wilson VA.

Not that I need one.  Not that I can afford one!  But I love seeing them - 

I imagine these beauties sitting proudly near the checkout counter in the local general store, and the customer - what was she wearing? Asking for a spool of black, a spool of white - and perhaps a vibrant pink for the dress she is making for Easter, or cousin Ruth's wedding.

What a history these simple pieces of thread organization have seen!


But yikes!

I think I remember paying less than this for my first car back in 1980.

The two drawers (Printing is on red glass!) I find most interesting are the ones I've never seen before - the one saying George A. Clark and the next touting Sole Agent.

Come to think of it, I've never seen Milward's Needles either.

Definitely a cool piece - but sadly doesn't fit my budget!  And I have no room for it.


Pretty little thing - still in the $1,000.00 range.

Are you wondering what O.N.T. means?

O.N.T. = Our New Thread


Yes, really.


And evidently the competitors had cool cabinets too!

I have picked up spool cabinets in various forms over the past many years - most of the 2 drawer variety. I love them as long as they have a FLAT top.  Some come with slanted desk top lids that can open to store things inside, but the slanted top makes it hard to place on a table and then put something on top of it.  Things around here gotta stack, baby!


My coffee station in the kitchen at home.

(Old photo - we've changed that countertop!)

Someone at some point added legs to the bottom one turning it into a side table.  The bottom shelf has another attached box - it was a cute thing.  When we moved here, I didn't have space for the one on the top elsewhere so I stacked them to bring them up to counter height and it is the perfect little coffee station - the drawers hold all of my K-cups and tea supplies.

There were a few other things that caught my eye at the antique mall near the airport yesterday:


Cute little spinning wheel.


ONE sewing machine - a Minnesota model A.


Oh my gosh - we had this fondue pot growing up!

Ours was avocado green.  Of course.


I'm not a grease keeper - or I would have snatched this up!

I imagine it also has quite the life!


Oh, what a gorgeous bedroom set!

I love big furniture and I cannot lie.  It's a good thing that there is no more room around here for more furniture. 

The front of that serpentine dresser is just wonderful.


I found a quilt!  A yellow/brown double wedding ring!

It's fun to see things in out-of-the-ordinary colors.  And something else is a bit different:


Someone extended the quilt with more yellow so no one had to bind those scalloped edges! (they also rounded the corners - check whole photo above.)

The scraps are mostly 1950s - it's a wonderful quilt.  No - it did not come home with me, I have far too many as it is.

If you are new here - we call discovery, and simply taking a few photos while leaving the item behind as "Catch & Release".  Someone else will take it home and love it, I am sure.

Over the years it really has become harder to find quilts in good condition, or sewing machines.  They used to be so plentiful!

I can only hope that they are being loved and cherished by the families they came from rather than ending up in antique malls and flea markets.

Maybe folks have started to appreciate their value? We can hope!

Yesterday's slow crawl home included not only the antique mall, but stops at all of the places I needed to hit to get the inn ready for opening day - next Wednesday, February 8th!

I was driving right past our nearest Costco which is about 100 miles from home.  I needed to stop there and stock up.  Oh, did I stock up.

There were a few other places that we don't have nearby that also put a dent in my wallet as I jump in to getting the house ready for our 4th retreat season.


I've picked up where I left off!

I made it about half-way down the 4th side last night.  I was just too tired to go any further.

Even after a full night's sleep, it still felt like I was getting up at 5:30am when I crawled out of bed at 7:30am.  Even a 2 hour time difference takes a bit to readjust!

It's grand to be home, getting back into the hustle and bustle of life as an inn keeper.

Today - all of the mail order will be caught up and I'll be in spruce it up mode!


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere! 


Vintage double wedding ring quilt found in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Oh, and Happy Ground Hog Day!


 

9 comments:

  1. I have that fondue pot - in YELLOW!!! and my daughter just borrowed it for New Year's (first time it's been used in forever)

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  2. Yep, I think he Saw his Shadow. I am in that 2 hours behind zone. Glad you made it home. Beautiful Double Wedding Ring. I don't dare lay the Quilts out when in an Antique Mall. Thanks for the effort it takes to capture and release. I have a Blue and Yellow one I need to finish. Enjoy the day of catching up.

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  3. The unusual colors in the DWR is so striking! Have you named the triangle quilt? In my mind, I think of it as Triangle Trips because it gives the same feel as Scrappy Trips. So pretty! Making trips count is always a plus when you live rurally. Glad your AZ trip was so enjoyable. Jet Lag is a real thing, for sure! Ease up on yourself for a few days.

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  4. I worked a lot traveling overseas. It takes 1 day to recover for every hour of time difference. You should be ok after today. Glad you and a great trip with your dad and a safe travel home.

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  5. Oh, I love your antique excursions! I literally went, "Hello!" when I saw the sewing machine! The double-wedding quilt is beautiful as well. I understand about the stocking up while you can. Got to get it while you can! :) I'm glad to see you made it home safely, as I'm sure the furbabies are as well. I hope this week's group has a great time!

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  6. my fondue pot was orange... i have no idea where she nd six forks & lid are now!!!! Oh Bonnie! I love those spool cabinets and was very surprised to see the price... wowie, i managed to get myself a Singer Featherweight for less than the national debt, but i cannot bring myself to support some of the prices some are getting ... sigh, and you have managed a spool cab and quilt or two... smiles and welcome home, enjoy your next inn-keeper season as well as travel host! Both are beyond my aged abilities, but i love sharing the experience as you report... the vicarious is ALMOST as good as the reaity... snuzzles to Lola & Ivey, hugs to *?? & bear... Cats in Carlsbad CA

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  7. Milward needles are well known in the UK . I still use some and many of my knitting needles are from them too. They used to be made in Redditch near Birmingham (England) as it was the needle making centre for the country. Helen in France

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  8. I grew up with that grease pot. Being a farmers daughter we always had a big breakfast of bacon and eggs and all the fixins when the men came up from milking and chores and before going out to the fields for the day. I also remember a green fondue pot.

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  9. I could use that grease pot, I save my bacon grease in an old can. A few weeks ago I got 3 long narrow-ish sweet potatoes, cut them into "coins" with my bacon. Boy was that yummy.

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