Vintage Thingies Thursday

I was over visiting Rechelle's blog and found this fun way to show vintage things. You can find other Vintage Thingie Thursday blogs over at Colorado Lady blog - a wonderful blog.

Rechelle had a red bowl - which I also have - and it got me to thinking about how much I do love vintage things. I have teapots, linens, pine cone dishes, silverware - oh the list goes on and on . . . I could have posts from now until . . . well until I run out of pretties to show - which would be a long long long list of Thursdays.

Today I'll share some vintage linens - one of my very favorite things. I look for them at flea markets and swap meets, at yard sales and thrift stores.


This is my most recent find - a lovely Irish crochet edged pillowcase. I have tried and tried to do Irish crochet, I just can't seem to get those little roses to look right. After looking at this I just might give it another try. I would love to have a bedspread with Irish crochet roses - ohh that would be so sweet. Do any of you have any hints that might make the Irish crochet come out standing up so pretty like on this pillowcase? I'd surely appreciate any ideas.

We go to Skagit County (here in Washington) once a year for their annual swap meet. It is huge - held in the fairgrounds and emcompasses many buildings. By the time we've hit every building - or at least most of them - we are ready for a lunch break, or at least a sit down break.

I came across a booth in one of the first buildings that was selling BAGS of vintage linens for 2.00 a bag. I wanted all of them - but they had over 100 bags so I knew I wasn't going to get all of them - so I picked through and got 7 bags - and what treasures I found. Some other booths had linens for sale also but they were selling for 1.00 to 3.00 each - I really got a bargain!!!

Table runners, doilies, dresser scarves - many with pretty hand crocheted lace edgings . . .

Some napkins . . .

And ever so many pretty hankies!!!

My plan is to make a crazy quilt using the vintage linens - but in the mean time I am using some of them in other projects.
I like to make angels - all colors - with fun embellishments . . .

Their heads are felt - their wings are felt backed quilt blocks, hand stitched buttonhole stitch around the edges. I use mini 9 patches - each nine patch quilt square is 3"x3" - just the perfect size for a pair of angel wings.

A lot of the nine patches I got in a swap I was in long ago, when we still lived in CA. We had a color theme each month and we'd all make zillions of the little nine patches to send off in the swap. I've used the swapped nine patches to make whole quilts, used them in about 7 other quilts, given bags and bags of them away and still have two plastic shoe boxes full for other projects.

I can get four angels from one hanky if the hanky has design on all four corners. Napkins make one angel, since they usually only have design on one corner. I make a basket full of the heads and wings and then search for hankies to match the thread and nine patch colors. These are fun to make - nice handwork project for in the evening when we sit in the living room and Don reads to me.

My angels have flown all over the country - some even flew across the sea. I've had requests to send them to children undergoing medical treatments, to people who are lonely and need a bit of cheering up, to friends of friends who need something uplifting in their lives - and then I've also sent them out as give-aways on my blog and to friends and relatives. I just love making angels. Do you know someone who might need an angel?