First quilt, auction find. I loved all the 1940s novelty print fabrics they used.
After I bought it, I turned it over and found another quilt on the back:
The pattern is called "Grandmother's Flower Garden." It needs some seam repair but no shattered quilt squares. I'm waiting for a nice warm day to wash these and lay them out in the yard to dry on blankets. I was prepared to go to $50 on this one but somehow I got it for $5.
Yesterday I had another great quilt find at a local thrift store for $8 (pictured below). It's in great shape, I thought it was machine quilted but when I flipped it over I saw all the hand-quilting and the names embroidered on the edge. I think the pattern is called "Tree of Life" or some variation of that. Very pretty-- I love the way they quilted it too!
Third quilt, embroidered bunnies! Ideally I'd like this one in a guest room but until I find a better centerpiece for above the bed, it stays. I think this is circa 1930s/1940s. Ebay splurge for $35.
I also thought I'd throw in some cute ceramics:
$2, little owl dish
$4, handmade ceramic heart dish
A Few Good Reasons to Buy Vintage:
- Your money goes back into community programs and local charities through thrift stores instead of the pockets of megacompany CEOs exploiting impoverished people in developing countries with no labor laws or environmental restrictions.
- Less in the landfills. Buying vintage not only saves items from going into landfills but it saves the earth from the waste byproduct and subsequent production industry pollution of creating new items.
- Investment value. Vintage and antique items retain their value which increases over time.
- Furniture was made to last... out of real wood by real craftsmen…a novel concept for the Ikea addict. Items were made from better materials with better manufacturing standards.
If people really knew how most items they purchase were made they would probably feel sick with guilt or foolish at the dirt cheap cost to make the item versus the markup they paid for it. You don't have to sacrifice quality when buying used items. If anything you sacrifice quality when you buy crappy particle board furniture from I*** with a life expectancy of 5 years. And really...you aren't just sacrificing quality, you are destroying the planet--- we don't have enough resources to support this made to break consumer society. I'm in no way implying that you can't buy quality clothing or furniture today. Just saying that we've all collectively lowered our standards for a good shopping bargain but there is no such thing, you get exactly what you paid for, poorly made junk and a worse environment from the production process.
I'm not saying don't shop at Target, Ikea, etc. I'm saying... why not check secondhand resources and artisan shops first.
