It's UN-Official

Yeppers, it's the unofficial start of summer for us here in the USA this weekend .

 Memorial Day.

I love Memorial Day Weekend. 

Back in 1980, Mr. Quiltdoggie and I got married on Memorial Day Weekend. There's been 33 Memorial Day Weekends since then, and this year, we'll be home. Quiet is the name of the game, getting caught up on some house & home projects.

Last year, Mr. QD and the kids took our Little Munchkin fishing.

 We have a big state park less than 1/4 mile from our house, and she loves fishing there. 

My how she's grown since then! She's anxiously awaiting her baby sister's arrival this summer, and her patience is wearing thin. . . . . . July will be here before long, and she'll finally be a big-sister.
Can't. Wait.

Last year I also had all my flowers planted by now.

My tomato plants were in, and thriving.

The clematis was going crazy.  

Not this year.
We're attempting some raised veggie beds and hoping to get that finished up and get them planted this weekend. I also need to get my hanging baskets up on the deck. Nothing says summer like red ivy geraniums in my book!

I'd love to cozy up in the kitchen and make this:

& I might just do that! The kids are all headed down to DC for the weekend to visit with Becca and Yawkey. Rach is headed north to spend the weekend with her boyfriend, and MR. QD and I are on our own.

I'm planning nothing beyond some Baseball watching, hooky crochet time, gardening, lobster eating & grilling. Maybe even get caught up on my Netflix queue.  We may get some rain these next few days, but I'm hoping by Sunday Morning it's all gone and the flea market is bursting with  blue skies & sunshine!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful weekend, too! 

Talk Soon! xo P

Trivial Nonsense . . .

Good Morning!

This morning, I'm home, sipping my coffee, listening to one dog snore by my feet, and one sleeping on a chair near me, apparently having a very happy dream as his feet are racing like the wind. 

  I'm recovering from the massive undertaking of Brimfield. (Massive in my little world, anyway!) and thinking, planning my next big event in July.

Normalcy.

I was going to chit chat with you, my online peeps, about my finally reaching the border of my cute Granny Blanket.

I was going to chit chat some more about my booth, and how me and Sistadoggie had so much fun, and I've declared her the official VP of Brimfield Booth Fluffing.

I also wanted to discuss how I just about burst with glee upon finding these red gingham plates for summer. So cute, they look like paper plates but they're plastic.

. . . . . but it all seems so trivial now, and I can't stop thinking about all of the broken hearts and broken homes and buildings in Oklahoma. 

Keeping every single Okie in my thoughts and prayers.  

Please join me.

Talk Soon. . . . xo P

Brimfield Bound . . . and some Sweet Vintage Finds!

Good Tuesday Morning!

Brrrrrrrrrr! It's C*O*L*D today! My weatherbug is telling me it's 42 degrees here in Connecticut this morning! A few of my Brimfield peeps texted me from the field this morning, telling me that they are bundled up with layers, gloves & scarves and yes, SUNGLASSES! It's cold, crisp and sunny . . . . perfect junking weather for Brimfield Week!

I'm headed out tomorrow, so I wanted to show you a few of my thrifty finds from yesterday, and Sunday at the Flea Market.

Who doesn't love a swanky swig?? How cute are these? I found them yesterday at Goodwill, just waiting for me. . . .

Along with this darling vintage white milk glass creamer trimmed in the best shade of Cherry Red.

Oh how I love our Goodwill, it's been good to me lately with lotsa vintage treasure, and priced right for sure!

Sunday at the Flea I found a box full of vintage Vogart embroidery transfers. SUPER PSYCHED about these and they're already packed up and ready to bring with me. One woman's lifetime collection of embroidery transfers. Seriously, I'm bursting with excitement.

BUT, by far, my favorite finds from the flea on Sunday were these scrumptious buttons! The nicest couple from New Jersey had bought out an old collection and there were HUNDREDS of carded buttons.

Love the graphics on the old cards, too. I picked out a bunch of these, bright colors & fun shapes. They also had a ton of super-collectible buttons. I spent alot of time chatting with them, but didn't even find them til my second walk through the field.

Red & White Stripes?? Daisies?? Yes, Please!

So. Much. Fun.

Vintage Buttons Make Me Happy!

Love these Blue Art Deco Style squares and these GIGANTIC Cherry Reds!

So FUN! 

If you're on Instagram, I'd love for you to follow me. . . I'm QUILTDOGGIE and I'm always posting photos from the flea markets and estate sales in my vintage travels. I'll be posting pics from the Brimfield fields LIVE this week if you want to come along for the ride!

We're packing up the trailer and headed out soon, so if you're headed to Brimfield, we'll be at J & J on Friday & Saturday,  Row C. Look for the PINK tent, that's my pal Annemarie set up right next to me.

NOTE TO SELF: Need a RED tent!

Talk Soon! xo P

Vintage Roses ~ a Little Nugget and the Mother of all Weekends!

Good Friday Morning!

I hope you're all planning a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. I'm pretty psyched myself, as Becca is coming home for the weekend and I get to meet this little nugget . . . . 

Meet my newest grand-dog Yawkey.  How cute is this little mister??! If you're a Red Sox fan, you know where his name came from, if not, Yankee Fans, we'll leave it at that! He sure looks cute as a button and we can't wait to meet him. Here's hoping he has a good road trip for the first time. 

In the meantime, my pre-Brimfield prep continues, along with a Gawd-Awful Spring cold that has had me pretty much down and out for a few days.  Hoping for a good nights sleep tonite so I can sit back and enjoy this weekend.

The girls and I are headed to lunch and Gatsby on the big screen on Sunday for Mother's Day.  Can't Wait!  I've been a Gatsby fan for decades and I'm really looking forward to it, not to mention that Leo is looking mighty fine in this production . . . . .

Early in the week I did a bit of treasure hunting and found these darling vintage Lamberton Demitasse cups. I'm really loving vintage roses these days (yes, I know, I'm late to the party on this one!), but since I have to remind myself that I'm a finder and not always a keeper, these pretties are listed on Etsy. I'm hoping they find a good home as they are so pretty, and perfect for a little after dinner espresso!

So, so pretty!~ I'm currently delicately sipping my morning coffee from a giant-size coffee mug that says "venti - 20 ounces" . . . .a far cry from a delicate demitasse, but necessary this morning!

Alrighty then, I'll leave you with this little gem that really has me cracking up!

Here's to all the Moms out there, whether your kids are grown, ups, little ones, still in the belly or the furry kind, take a moment and put your feet up this Sunday . . . . . .  and Happy Mother's Day!

Talk Soon!

xo P

My Lounge Act

No no, I haven't run off to Vegas to persue my lifelong dream as a showgirl. I still spend all my spare time perusing the flea market and local Estate Sales. 

. . .  and a few months ago I found this lovely upholstered chaise lounge. I love it so much, the fabric is very Liberty of London-ish and it's solid as a rock. Only problem is, there's some serious discoloration and I'm having a hard time removing it. 

I think I read somewhere that some famous antique-picker-extraordinaire-blogger-type-person said that they always PASS on upholstered furniture if it's not in good condition, unless they're planning to REupholster it.  Damn. I love this fabric so much, and this gal has had a couple of Oxy baths and a big dose of sunshine.  I'm still working on it, but now my mind is rethinking the whole project.  I was hoping to get her all nice & clean in time for May Brimfield, but we'll see.  She may end up having a makeover and living out her days here with me.  

Stay Tuned.

Suggestions Welcome.

In the meantime, it's been BUSY around here! I set up at the flea market last weekend as the weather was absolutely picture perfect. I try to set up once a month or so locally, and always do pre-Brimfield as I'm in junk-removal-mode here at Casa Quiltdoggie.  I even ran into a pair of my favorite tablecloth loving pals, Jimmie and Timmy, from the Vintage Tablecloth Lovers Club. They were down in this area visiting Jimmie's family and stopped by the flea for the morning. . . . .always fun to talk the vintage talk with some pals!

I seriously wish I had more time for some of this:

 

I've cut down the amount of gluten we're eating around here drastically, and baking has become a challenge, but a welcome one.  I actually have perfected a gluten-free banana bread that Mr. Quiltdoggie and the rest of the family cannot tell from one using regular flour. 

SCORE!

My cute little sign was repurposed from a vintage drawer front . . . .  see the keyhole??? I love that it has the original white paint, too ~ weathered & worn to sheer perfection!  I used scrapbook paper and vintage wallpaper for the letters and then embellished it with rick rack and vintage buttons. This one's coming to Brimfield, too, but methinks I might need to make one for the ol' homestead. This has been in my pile of unfinished projects for awhile now, so I'm happy to check it off my list!

I hope you're having a good week so far, enjoying some Spring Time weather as we are here in New England.  Mr. QD put the screen in the front storm door this weekend and it feels so good to let some fresh air inside after a long winter. . . . . 

Alrighty then, enjoy your day . . . . Talk Soon!

xo P

 

Parade of Pachyderms

Good Tuesday Morning!

I hope that you're having a great week so far, and that the sun is shining, wherever you are in the world. Here in Connecticut it is yet another beautiful day, the lawn has been mowed for the first time this year, the yard clean up from a harsh winter has begun, and all is well in our little corner of the world.

Last week as I was perusing Craigs List for the weekly lot of Estate Sales, I came across one that peaked my curiosity. Something like "70 years of collecting, home is FULL to the brim with vintage treasure, many elephant collectibles". Now usually,  vintage collectors are right up my alley. I love 'em.  I respect 'em. I think like they do. "why have one {Insert your favorite collectible treasure here} when you can have several??"

Well that's all well and good, but on Friday, my eyes were opened up to a style of collecting that I've never seen before. Now, if you've seen Hoarders on TLC, you know that the hoarder homes are usually kind of a mess. Not this place, it was immaculate. It was pristine. It was filled with nothing short of 4000, yes I said FOUR THOUSAND elephants. A pachyderm lovers paradise . . . 70 years worth of collecting pachyderms.  They were stuffed, they were posters, they were planters, they were figurines, they were plastic, they were china, they were swizzle sticks, they were swanky swigs, they were ugly, they were cute, and boy o boy, they were PLENTIFUL!

The home was indeed, filled to the brim with vintage and retro "good junk". When I first walked in, there were cute and not-so-cute elephant figurines here and there. Fine. I could deal with that.  I usually  head to the bedrooms & kitchen first . . .  nothing there for me, so  I headed for the basement, which was refurbished, probably in the 1960s into a classic basement "REC ROOM" complete with paneling, a bar with lots of mirrors, and well, here, in this rec room, is where about 3500 of the elephants have lived for decades.

Oh. My. Gawd.

One of the few times in my life I've been speechless.

I picked out a few cute ones, the prices were great, they had to move these suckers, and unless a pachyderm-lover-extraordinaire decided to stop by, they had a big ol' problem. These two are bubble containers, actually BIG bubble containers, they're chunky and stand about 8" tall.

After my initial shock, I realized that the rec room was actually 3 rooms. ALL filled, walls literally lined with elephants. There was other stuff too, but you really had to dig to find it.

 {enlarge for detail}

The elephants did have some friends.  No idea what these are. . . . ornaments?? They are hard plastic and A*D*O*R*A*B*L*E. Love the penguin!  Maybe some sort of premium??

I spent ALOT of time in that rec room trio, and the funniest thing was listening to other shoppers as they entered the pachyderm paradise. . . . some were speechless, some just couldn't stop saying "OH MY GAWD!!" or thinking it was just too creepy to enter! It was scary and funny all at the same time.  There was a guy down there who was perusing through the record albums, only to discover that EACH AND EVERY ONE HAD AN ELEPHANT ON IT. He and I had a little chuckle together :)

Yep, it was a new level of collecting for me. Junking is my passion. Flea Markets & Estate Sales are my favorite places to hang out, but this gal, (or guy? or gal AND guy??) had me beat. I've never seen anything like it.

. . . . and I hope I never do again. I'm still having bad {jungle} dreams. I'm on a mission to find these few that I purchased a good home. Here's hoping they're not experiencing separation anxiety from being taken from their 3994 siblings. . . .

Crofting: The Art of Cleaning Vintage Linens

If you know me, or you've been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you already know I love vintage linens, particularly vintage printed tablecloths! They are so much fun to collect and I'm proud of my own collection. I've gotten a bit more selective as the years pass, I try to buy only those that speak to me, or my general rule is NO RECTANGLES, just SQUARES (or square-ish). I have a round kitchen table, and I use alot of my vintage linens, so it's easier to make them fit.

Rectangles, or prints that I already have, I still purchase for sale, and usually when we take our little show on the road to Brimfield and other Antiques Shows, I bring a good selection.

The one problem with finding these pretties is that many times, they're just plain dirty! Storage spots, Food Stains, you name it, I've seen it. I've learned alot over the years about cleaning them and I thought I'd share with you, my method.

Have you heard of crofting?? It's the process of letting textiles dry on the green grass in some strong sunshine. The chlorophyll is what makes the grass green, and in combination with the heat from the sun, it creates a natural bleaching agent, without using bleach or chemicals.  Bleach is so harmful to these old fibers, causing them to unnecessarily break down over time, so while it's tempting, don't do it. I've done this for years, and rarely have I been unable to remove a stain, other than rust, which is another story!

A few years ago when Mr. Quiltdoggie and I visited Mount Vernon, one of the outbuildings at George & Martha Washington's home was where the laundry was done and there was an explanation of the process of crofting, and how it was used back then to keep the whites white. Somehow knowing that George & Martha's house help used this process seemed to validate it for me in some strange way!

I soak my linens first in plain water for a few hours. . . . . rinse rinse rinse to remove surface dirt. I then mix up a concoction of Dawn Dishwashing Liquid and Oxy-Boost (or Oxy Clean) and soak them in buckets, swishing the water around every couple of hours. If they're really dirty, I might change the water once, then I rinse rinse rinse again and lay them out in the sunshine on the grass. It's magic, I tell you:

These three are laying out  in the sun, working on their tans now:   Enlarge the photo to see how clean they are! When I tell you they were dirty, I'm not kidding. The Maine Souvenir cloth is unused and had it's original paper tag, but when I tell you it was brown, it really was.  After a 24 hour soak and an afternoon of sun, it's perfect!

Strange  I know, but I do love the whole process, from finding these pretties to getting them clean as a whistle, well worth the time and effort.

 Everyone has their own method, but this one has worked for me for a long time. Unfortunately, I can't do this in the Fall & Winter, the sun just doesn't get hot enough, even on a cool, crisp, sunny Fall day here in New England.  During the spring & summer, I've been known to have quite a few vintage tablecloths sunning on my lawn! Fortunately anyone who knows me, neighbors included, knows what I do for a living and now they don't blink an eye, including my own family.

If you have a favorite method for cleaning vintage textiles, I'd love for you to share!

Talk Soon . . . . xo P

Rescue Mission: The Vintage Apron Edition

Honestly, I don't think I've ever met a vintage apron at the thrift store or flea market that I didn't love, and if I didn't love it ALOT, I still felt the need to rescue it.  

How about you??!

Enlarge the photos to see the detail on these pretties. These old fabrics are just the best, they don't make 'em like this any more. . . .

This one has a sweet red & pink strawberry pattern. Love that color combination.

 Will you look at these colors?? Autumn leaves in vibrant shades of Mustard, Tangerine and Olive Green . . . yum!

Seriously, are these cute or what?? I'm really loving them! Even when they're tattered & torn, I still buy them for next to nothing, just for the fabrics.

Sigh . . . . I truly think I was born a few decades too late, as sometimes all it takes to make me happy is a lot of pretty aprons . . . 

Hope you're having a great day . . . . . Talk Soon! xo P

Talking to the Animals . . .

Do you?? 

I do. I talk to my animals all the time. I'm popular amongst the hounds in our family.

Now I've started talking to other animals. Seriously, how cute are these little fellas (& gals!) I've been carrying on a conversation with them since I found them at Goodwill last week. Just, you know, telling them how cute they are and all.  I don't know about where you are, but here at our Goodwill, they bring the goods out in big blue bins, and if you're lucky enough to show up when they wheel 'em out, you'll see what's coming first, before it hits the floor. I literally happened upon these in the blue bins. I'm always amazed that more of these things don't get crushed or broken, they just chuck 'em in there . . . . poor little critters.

This gal's my fave. She's a Lefton chick . . . . . quite a pedigree, right?

I'm told that Vintage Elephants are quite popular these days, along with flamingos. I didn't find any flamingos, but I did find this darling vintage elephant nursery planter. She was Made in Japan and has that lustre-style glaze, uber-shiny.

 Seriously the cutest frog ever. He was Made in Japan.

 A pink bluebird?? Too Cute! This gal is marked U.S.A.

 . . . and never being one to leave a vintage potholder behind, I found these two cutie-pies in the same blue bin.  They were tied together with a white bow, but I removed it and gave them a sudsy bath, they were somewhat dingy from storage. I'm always amazed to find unused vintage treasure. Who made these?? Why didn't they use them?? Were they gifted to someone who never used them?? So much work in a tiny pair of potholders. . . I'm on a mission to find them a good home via Etsy . . . .soon!

Hope you're having a good Sunday! I just got home from the flea, where I found the always popular "box lot" of sewing notions. I'm hoping to sift through it a bit later and weed out the junk and see how much real treasure is in there.  I'm headed up to shower, then to watch the Red Sox and spend some time with my crochet hook. The kids are coming over to retrieve a bunch of Kadence's baby stuff that we've had stored in the attic for a few years. Baby Girl #2's arrival is just a few months away and we're getting excited! Also firing up the grill for the first time since ol' man winter made his long overdue exit. . . could it be that Spring is finally here to stay???!!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend . . . . Talk Soon! xo P

Pastel Style - Where's the RED??!

Good Friday Morning!

This week, I made a quick trip down to the Goodwill OUTLET in Hamden, CT. It's a strange sorta place, if you've never been there, it's difficult to describe. Everything there is sold by the pound and in big shallow bins. 

You've gotta dig. 

You've gotta wear gloves. 

You've gotta be in the mood. 

 Sometimes, it's worth it:

I found these pastel pretties while diggin' in the bins. The hangers have the best painted patina on them. Chippy, weathered & worn. I found a total of 8 ~ Robins Egg Blue, Turquoise and soft Aqua. YUM.

The hankies were quite dirty. After a good, sudsy bath, they're clean as a whistle!

Also found these darling vintage pastel bowls with amazingly, no chips! No small feat, given the fact that the stuff is literally chucked into the bins. 

You're probably thinking I've gone and lost my love for RED. Nope, but I am really loving the look of pretty pastels, mixed with a bit of red! Pastels have come a long way, no longer just for babies and nightgowns!

I've also had my hook at the ready this week! These darling little Matryoshka dolls are so easy and quick to whip up. The crochet is super simple, and I had a ton of fun embellishing them!  I do love a quick and easy project, and yep, I proudly jumped on the bandwagon on this one! You can find the basic pattern Here at Annaboo's House.  I first saw them on Instagram and via Becky at Hopscotch Lane. Both of these gals provide tons of hooky inspiration so stop by, if you haven't yet.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead.  Please keep Boston in your thoughts & prayers. Both of my nieces live a few miles from where all of the horrific events took place. Alot of family is still in the area, and it's harrowing to see the details unfold in our home city.

Talk Soon! xo P