My goodness but I have had a good couple of weeks thrifting. The linen gods smiled benevolently down upon me and showered upon me many gifts of embroidered bits of stuff. Of course, it helped a little that I had a car all to myself, was on holidays from uni, was celebrating my better-than expected results (two distinctions and a credit, thank you, thank you very much, no, no, you're too kind, well, okay, but this will be the last bow) and was handily armed with a smattering of birthday money. Also, I was housesitting, so I could do all my post-purchase soaking and washing at that house, which further allowed me to sneak my new (now-freshly-laundered) treasures into my actual place of residence without the other eagle-eyed residents of the house (i.e. mum) who do not appreciate the collectors of the house (i.e. me) having a tub of Napisan always on the go and always filled with bits of fabric being any the wiser. Why is it that I feel like I am sometimes the only person in the WHOLE universe who appreciates quality (and sometimes tattered) embroidered pillowcases and tablecloths? Okay, so I don't actually own a table of my own upon which to put these tablecloths...yet...but when I finally get my own place, I am SET. I can't wait to be able to have girly afternoons again - teacakes and three-tier cupcake stands with petits-fours on them, all on beautifully-embroidered vintage tablecloths and linen napkins with delicate pulled-thread work on them and do girly crafts like making cards or bracelets...sigh. Only 1.5 more years of uni to go, though I hope to be out before then, for both my and mum's sakes. :D
Anyhoo, enough rambling. I am blaming the chattiness today on the many many many panadeine forte I am taking for my back. Never had a back problem. Hit *cough*forty*cough*, and it all falls apart. S i g h. I am typing this while lying on my stomach. Ask me how comfortable THAT is. Let me tell you. It's not. At all.
Right - drifted away from gloating again.
Behold my wealth of thrifty goodness (pre-washing and ironing, obvy):
Two pillowcases. Pwetty. I love these embroidered ones - they all seem to be made in China, but dang they're pretty. I think I have about 15 of them now, in assorted flower colours. And the mod-ish flowery one just makes me happy. Sometimes I wish my nephew was a niece so I could make pillowcases dresses for him/her to wear. Sigh.
A pretty little tray, now in my bathroom, and a couple of little doily things. I LOVE the lilies (one doily has two lilies, the other smaller one only has one lily). even if they are a little tatty. I'll probably spend a little bit of time snipping off threads and reweaving what needs to be rewoven, and then maybe frame this. Again, it just makes me happy to look at.
(Ed.: NOW WITH CORRECT PICTURE! Yay!)
Two lengths of Indonesian-type batik fabric, a barkcloth curtain and some ikat (I think) fabric. Skirt, skirt, bags and skirt (or top. Or both).
This tablecloth is perfect for Easter or something else spring-y. When I first picked it off the rack at Vinnie's, I thought it was gorgeous. Then I noticed the smell. I looked around to see who or what it was, and then realised it was...the tablecloth. Euw. Not mould, not musty, just...euw. The guy at the front counter had a sniff as well, and promptly took 75% off
. Nice man. Got it home, washed it, no more smell. Thank goodness Vinnie's has a return policy, even though I didn't need it.
Two towels - same design, different colourways. Brand new.
Linen guest towels. I have soooo many of these now, but one day, when I have my own home again, I will be happy to put these out for guests to use.
Detail on two of the towels.
Mohair blanket! Full-size! $4! Perfect condition! Not shrunk or felted.
I am not a big fan of mohair as, to me, it is a little itchy. I appreciate it's warm, but it's still itchy. However, my cat, Petey, LOVES mohair blankies, so when I saw this one on sale (did I mention the $4 price tag?), I snapped it up and brought it home. I made the mistake of asking mum if mohair could be washed with Woolite. She stuck her head out of her bedroom, saw the blanket I got at the op-shop, inspected it, and declared that she would like to have it. I explained that I had *actually* bought it at the op-shop for Petey (my cat) as he liked her mohair blankets so much and I wanted to keep him away from them. So she traded me - I got the old, small, slightly felted blanket for Petey, and Mum got the better blanket. Sigh.
The lumpier parts of the following (formerly mum's) mohair blanket are Petey. Poor shorthaired kitty - he lived his whole life in Santa Monica in California where it never got colder than, say, 16C, and that was considered near-freezing by the locals. Now that he is in Australia and experiencing much more intense winters, he is often cold. He discovered mum's mohair blankets, and I discovered him discovering mum's mohair blankets, when I looked in the linen closet one day for a towel, and saw his back paws hanging out from one of mum's blankets. On the third shelf of the closet. No idea how he got there, but I knew Mum would flip out if she caught him so out he was tossed. I guess he got his blanket in the end.
Well. That will do for gloating for now. Happy treasure-hunting!
