It was 11 am...laundry had been running since 9 am.
I knew I had an afternoon chiropractor appointment - what if I went early and filled more time?
What if I treated myself to lunch out and a bit of antique mall time?
As you can tell from this first photo - I found machines! The top photo is a well loved and hard used early 1900s singer red-eye.
This sweet thing has been turned into a lamp. Not sure how I feel about it. But truly - if it was a non functional machine, why not? Why not have it in a spot where it can still be enjoyed?
Singer 201!
No idea if it runs or not, but my 201 always has her walking foot on for binding. She is my best binding machine with that potted gear-driven motor and is a powerhouse.
And no, I don't need another so I left her there.
Japanese import - likely 1950s.
Beautiful decals on this old Newport!
A bit of a rust bucket boat anchor - I bet she was someone's pride and joy in her heyday.
And yes - there were quilts!
I feel like there has really been a dry spell when it comes to vintage machines and quilts. But I felt surrounded by old friends yesterday as I wandered booth to booth.
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I love looking at the fabrics - the stripes and prints - and how the maker substituted the "feet" on those yellow basket blocks because she ran out. Bless her!
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She got a bit fancy here, using striped fabrics for the outer diamonds on the basket blocks. If you look at the other blocks those outer diamonds are barely visible. This changes the look of things.
Two of these things are not like the others!
Look at the top row. And then the bottom row. Someone had some "other" blocks they included just because!
I also love the scrappy sashing and borders in this one.
Close up with the "two others."
You'll find the free tutorial for the Sugar Bowl Block under the Free Patterns tab at the top of the blog.
If you like half square triangles and four-patches, give this one a try!
Stripy triangles!
She did her best to have the strips meet and form boxes, but I love it when she had to make substitutions best!
Aren't these blocks just the best?
Big hexagons with no rhyme no reason -
Did she care if the same fabric touched? Nope!
One of the green striped hexies is even pieced to make a piece big enough.
In fact, quite a few hexies have seams!
With the limited number of fabrics in this quilt - I'm wondering if they are off-cuts from a dress factory?
If you look at the solid light blue hexies, you can see she quilted not only around the edge of each hexagon, but echoed closer toward the center a smaller hexagon shape, making the quilting take twice as long as it normally would if only outlining once.
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Who else drank this as a kid?
It wasn't "real" coffee, but we pretended it was! We felt so grown up adding our milk and sugar.
Ours came in glass jars, but this tin caught my eye and made me smile.
Club cookware!
My mom had the aqua set. I remember this well - heavy cast aluminum.
I did score two irons. The vintage one was $6.00 and the "nearly" vintage one on the right was only $2.00.
I pick up irons when I can for the inn. Only if they do NOT have teflon on the bottom. (It peels over time.) Soleplates must be chrome or other metal. NO non-stick.
I know why they call this our golden years - they are priceless beyond measure!
15 comments:
Thanks Bonnie for the hexies quilt. I know there are not enough hours in the day to make every quilt. But that hexies quilt just fascinated me. Loved seeing how quilters in the past solved problems.
That strippy triangles / boxes quilt is absolutely charming.
Love today's quote! I'm 69, retired, and so very happy to be home with hubby, dogs, fabric and projects! I enjoyed the pics and reading about your antique mall finds. You mentioned in one quilt that the maker might have been using cut-offs from a dress factory. My Mom and Grandma worked in a shirt factory--it was the main working place for women in their small town. They were allowed to pick up the cut-offs from the floor and take them home. They shared with friends and many quilts were made from them. Years ago my Dad cut out a Bow Tie quilt 'kit' for me that I have waiting to be sewn...oh my that adds another quilt to my UFO list. Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July Holiday everyone, Jenny
I want to know where this antique place is located. I have my ordinal green club pans and an aqua frying pan and would love touring (draggin) my husband on an antique hunt. Thanks
I still have a Club cookware large pot - aqua of course. It was a gift from someone when I got married, in 1968.
That mug and earrings would have come home with me, too! Enjoy!
Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. Looking forward to the leader and ender challenge, appreciate all your do!
I never drank Postum, and actually just heard about it recently when listening to the book 'The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post' by Allison Pataki. Living so close to Battle Creek had me interested in the cereal heiress. I enjoyed the book and now want to visit her home/museum in DC. The Hillwood Estate Museum & Gardens actually lists Postum as being available for sale in their gift shop! They claim the recipe is the same as it was 'back in the day.'
You're right, some people are just impatient. And these are likely the ones that have a quilt top the next day after the release... SMH!! I absolutely adored the Singer machine turned lamp... and what better way to decorate a space! I hear so much about those vintage irons. I would like to find something that doesn't put off a lot of heat when I use it all day long. I love seeing your shop finds. Thank you for sharing, as always. I hope you made it to your appointment on time, though! :)
I enjoyed reading about your mom and grandma working in a shirt factory, did they make quilts from the fabrics and do you have any of those quilts if they did? Great memories, Happy Sewing Miss Papa
Thanks for sharing your shopping day, looks very relaxing and a perfect way to recharge your batteries. Lovely finds :0) and so enjoy seeing the old machines too.
Yes they sure did make quilts from the shirt factory scraps. I don't have any from my Grandma but I do from my Mom. You're right--great memories. Thanks for your note and Happy Sewing to you too Kim. Jenny
I also like vintage irons. How do you check that they really are getting hot. I've gotten rid of 2 irons recently because when I checked with the infra red heat thermometer they were only getting to 200 degrees on the cotton setting rather than the 400 they should be. I can check after I get home, but not sure the thrift store will let me turn them on and check in the store.
I am in your vicinity at least once a year. Love to browse antique malls! Can you identify the one you featured in this blog entry?
Debbie Williams
Hillwood is fabulous. she had a different set of dishes to change out every meal for weeks...and didn't have to clean them!! Mar-a-lago (yes that club) was her private residence...she didn't have to share ;) in addition to Hillwood. Her life was interesting and the times she lived through were exciting.
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