Blogtoberfest Day 20: A little Last Minute Thrift

Sometimes the opportunity to thrift comes in little snippets of time and quite often results in finds as exciting as longer sessions. This evening, with less than 45 minutes of time before closing, I took the opportunity for a quick quest at the closest Sally Ann. My first find is pictured in the centre, a bulb planter which is seasonably useful. I have always dug holes for bulbs with a small spade but I am interested in giving this a try. The next find was a sad Pyrex fridgie rather faded from dishwasher cleaning. It does not look too bad in the picture but its finish does warrant trying the oil trick to restore the finish that I used here. The two turquoise melamine plates made in Canada by Duraware will be a fabulous addition to my vintage melamine dishes. On the plates are six skeins of tapestry wool and a package of white rick-rack. Behind the plates is a white Royal Art Pottery bowl which will augment yet another collection of utility pottery. While some pieces pre-date the Second World War. Utility China was designed to fill the household needs of everyday Britons during the days of austerity during and for a while after the war.



The American versions of this kind of dishware were produced by Homer Laughlin, Fire King and Lu-Ray among others. This saucer is by Lu-ray and is in my favourite vintage blue with platinum bands. Behind the saucer is a chrome toothbrush holder made by Restoration Hardware. This is a design that I have been interested in for quite a long time but the catalogue price of $45 has deterred me. I guess, if you wait long enough your thrifting dreams may come true. Behind these two items are two books: Imperial Russian Style and a reproduction dot-to-dot made a local Almonte (one hour west of Ottawa) company, Algrove Publishing, that specializes in reprints and reproductions of old and out of print books. The founder of the company also founded Lee Valley Tools. Their Early Christmas Gifts Catalogue, which has long been a favourite, arrived today. I will be asking Santa for this.



The final find of the short session was this petit point silhouette of an 18th century couple. This would seem to contribute to yet another collection that I seem to be creating. The tin with the crinoline lady and gentleman was a recent find. The musical trio was a gift from my sister who purchased it from the artist, Steven Gu. I love Scherenschnitte and found this blog that celebrates it in all its intricacy and whimsy. The silhouette on the extreme right is one that I did 25 years ago for the poster design for my first flute recital where I used a photo of me playing to create the image. In the frame is a scanned image from the poster; I do not know where the original paper cut is now.

Blogtoberfest Day 18: Weekend Thrifting Thrills!

Starting with Friday, I would say that I have had a rather stellar weekend for thrifting. This past Friday, as I have done for the past ten years, I had my hair done by a hair stylist who lives and works outside of the city in the community of Embrun, which is about 25 minutes east of Ottawa. I started having her do my hair when she worked in an upscale salon in the city. When she had her second child, she decided to work in a studio set up in her home which allowed her to pass on some savings to clients and gives me quality service at prices that I can live with. About a year ago I found a second hand store in Embrun which, for the three to four times a year that I have my hair done, I have added to my thrifting path . When I walked in last Friday, I saw these mixer/processor/blender bowls and blades without the motor for $10. These belong to the Braun 5 in 1 machine which is the type that I have had for almost 18 years and have spent more than $10 dollars when replacing a lid, blade or bowl. The parts are no longer available to order in North America as Braun is now distributing only its personal care products in North America. My Mum still has the predecessor, the Braun KM32, to my machine. It first came out in the 1950's and my Mum purchased one in the 1970's. She was pleased when, last year, I found a unit for her at the thrift store to use for parts. It has only needed minor repairs over the years but with parts unable to be ordered buying a unit at the thrift store becomes sensible so I was happy to do the same for mine. Both machines were designed and produced before the wide-spread practise of planned obselence over-whelmed the kitchen appliance market: With this quality in construction and design it is worth trying to repair them. At this store, I also found a small white with black enamel saucepan, some small, vintage Swedish candles and a little bit of trim in ivory and orange just waiting to be used on a Autumn themed vintage style apron.


The next morning, I was off to the Fabric Flea Market which is held every year to benefit a downtown public school. The vendors are made up of home sewers reducing their stash and professional re-sellers. Just in from the entrance, I rummaged through a table that had hundreds of patterns, sewing books, fabric remnants, buttons and laces and trims. This table was run by the public school that benefits from the whole event and is stocked by donations. The first thing I picked up to buy was a bag of about 10metres of this 1950's printed ribbon/lace. There were a few more bags of this same trim but I felt that I needed to set some personal limits from the start.


The next two bags contained various ribbons. The really wide ribbons(on the upper right hand of the photo) are vintage hat ribbons while the rolls are mostly gift or bouquet ribbons along with twill and seam binding.








The next picture is one of aged and stained bits of lace. Not everything in the bag is shown in this photo. I will wash the bits and pieces and try to remove the stains but try not to whiten them. That may take a little research but I suspect that a bar of Sunlight soap will be involved. Oxyclean might remove the patina of age and, if there is any silk, destroy some of the fibres. Even tea staining does not get the same subtle tone as simple age.








This fabric will likely be made into an apron. I collect vintage aprons and I have almost too many to count but the ones that wear out for me are the full ones. I love beautiful clothes and I have a busy household to run so full protection is a must! The dominant colour in the kitchen is blue with mostly red and yellow accents depending on the season and which direction you look. All of the colours in this fabric are found in my china on the plate rack which is Laura Ashley's Hazelbury.


I bought this fabric from a lovely lady who had all sorts of vintage fabrics and some vintage clothes including some made with Liberty fabric. This piece is likely from the late 1940's and is artificial silk, mostly likely rayon. I love the colours and I think that I have enough to make a sleeveless blouse to wear with a suit. She also had a vintage floral bedspread that was exquisite. It was the colouration and type of floral pattern that inspires Cath Kidston and Cabbages and Roses. I kind of wish that I had asked how much but I was pondering a bigger purchase. I also regret not getting her contact information as she was the type of vendor who is obviously in it for the love of the textiles and I would love to get know her.


Here is the artificial silk again with a little tray cloth/place mat that should look great with my aqua and pink Pyrex and a fascinating December 1939 magazine from England with a Canadian insert. I cannot wait to explore its pages in depth. I was acquainted with at least half a dozen of the vendors but did not have the chance to really chat with any of them. I also ran into people that I know from other interests. The mood was very happy with most buyers not looking to haggle and the vendors did not seem competitive or pushy but just there for a good cause and the love of fabric and everything fabric related.


The bigger purchase that I was pondering was eight 1.2 x 2 m panels of this vintage Gabrielle Cie. upholstery fabric to update the look in our family room. Some of the upholstery that I have already done has some of these colours already and the feel of the room is mid-century modern so this 1950's design will be fabulous. Recently I found a great deal on two upholstered chairs at the Sally Ann and since then I have been looking for suitable fabrics for slip-covers. I was glad that I had limited myself to that point as it was easier to make a bigger purchase when I discovered this material. The analogy of 'kid in a candy store' could not be more apt!







On Sunday the Thrifting Fairies called me again and some of the family made a late afternoon visit to Value Village where I was justly rewarded. The beautiful printed corduroy (1950's ?) and vintage Anchor Hoching Sun Tea jar were waiting for me! The colouration and design are amazing and look great with the two pastel pink platters, stamped Morn Glo, and Ice-o-matic that I found at the Salvation Army on Monday morning. Join the sharing excitement with Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday. I love to see what everyone finds.

My Creative Space: More inspiration and the creative process

As I wrote last week, inspiration can come from many places. I also mentioned how inspiring nature and especially flowers are for me. Pattern on china is something I really enjoy. When I was in my early twenties I was especially drawn to geometric borders on plain white plates. I like the food to be the starring attraction so most dishes are best served by presentation on plain white china. Maybe as a reaction to the long winters in Ottawa or as a throwback to the Bunnykins of my childhood, I now enjoy pattern on my china. A simple cup of tea gives even more reward when I drink from a beautiful cup and saucer like the one here.

A single cookie is more satisfying on a lovely plate. Both china patterns are predominately pink and are beautiful in the sitting area of our bedroom. As I wrote last week, translating flowers to felt benefits from help in seeing artists renderings. It may be obvious by now that I am very inspired by blossoming trees. That love may come from my father's appreciation of Japanese gardens. Many family day trips as a child were spent enjoying the Japanese gardens in and around Victoria, B.C.

Sometimes we were able to visit the world renowned Butchart Gardens. It was expensive to visit even in the seventies so we tended to go only when we brought out of town guests. While many people think of the sunken garden or the Italianate rose garden when referring to Butchart's, I remember the Japanese Garden and the plantings of azaleas and rhododendrons most fondly. While thrifting I came across a souvenir book of the gardens that was published in the mid-seventies. Memories of Butcharts is also a memory in my husbands childhood. His love of gardens did play a small part in the development of our relationship and he is quite delighted that I have inherited some of my skills and love of gardening.
In Ottawa spring takes a long time to really arrive and then suddenly it is summer. In Victoria spring is a long season that gradually unfolds. The cherry blossoms are first and there is one street that sometimes has them blooming in February. Usually the colours and texture of the felted sweaters inspire what sort of surface decoration I create. Possibly because of the faint spring green stripe(between the thick brown stripes) is what suggested the cherry blossoms on this purse. I apologize for the poor quality of the colour in this photo. It was a commissioned bag that I presented to its new owner without taking a digital shot. Another person had a film camera and this is the photo scanned into my computer. The pussy-willows I had in a large pitcher in my dining room when I started this bag likely inspired much of the design.

My domestic surroundings seem to have a huge effect on what I create. Spring seems to suggest little tweaks to refresh our home. The two pieces of pottery are both Denby that I found at the Salvation Army, the ceramic bird is Danish and I bought it at the garage sale of a friend of my grandmother when I was a child. The pillowcase in the background was picked out by my husband (at a great discount) is the only new object in the photo as even the pillow form is an unused Ikea feather pillow form that I thrifted last year.
Be sure to check out what inspires others in there creative space at Kristy's

blog.

Thrifty week

I do not thrift everyday or sometimes even everyweek but some weeks the thrifting fairies are on my side. It seems that a lot more people are thrifting or all the good stuff is not being donated. I get more excited about less. I am happy about how I did the week before last. In this photo there is new(tags still on) Echo silk scarf, Fall 2007 MSL, vintage English binoculars, and a unseasoned Pampered Chef mini-multiple bundt stoneware pan. I have been looking for binoculars for a while and the bake ware should be perfect for mini (6 inches across x 6 cakes) pumpkin loaves and especially gluten and egg free baking.


Also found was a lovely for spring silk chiffon blouse in a lovely robin's egg blue. I had to add some new Tag soap that look like duck eggs. A cute satin evening purse was something I was also delighted to find. It reminds me a little of a Faberge Egg in construction and the handle detail is something I would like to try on my purses.

The best find for my family was a new set of vintage dishes. We have been more than a little frustrated by our current set of stone ware as it is chipping and quite heavy to lift. This almost complete service for eight is Noritake's Progression China in the Arunta pattern. It was made between 1966 and 1974 as everyday china and is microwave and dishwasher safe and the serving pieces appear to be atleast somewhat oven-safe. Does any one know more about this range of china? Replacement pieces are available online and I will keep my eyes out in the thrift stores for more. I find it interesting that the plate size today is so much bigger. If you have an older home with an original kitchen you would be unable to store today's dishes in most upper cabinets. We are becoming a more overweight society and plate size will not help that trend if the plates stay bigger or get bigger still. I have read that even in cookbooks the portion sizes are bigger than 50 years ago. One other recent thrifted find (not photographed) was a 1950's Good Housekeeping cookbook. It has sound nutrition advice for feeding your family and interesting practical meal plans for weight reduction that would seem to work far better than most of today's fad diets.