treasure seeker

last weekend I decided to get back into the habit of "garage-saleing", something I used to do every Saturday. it's so exciting to get the weekend papers and scour them for the best sales to go to, and luckily i've now got a little helper to go with me, since Abby found she enjoys the treasure seeking as well.

cut-work lace skirt

at first we got a little discouraged, when turning up the same boring stuff we see at the local op-shops. our last stop was a deceased estate, which i always hesitate to go to because i feel like a vulture picking over someone's precious things. then i thought about the help it is to the people sorting out an estate, for us to take things away and treasure them all over again.

lovely lemon lace blouse

i found some lovely clothes and linens, but my favourite purchase was this old suitcase, still in quite good condition and just needing a bit of a clean. all the catches still work, although a little rusty, but i'm thinking it will work perfectly to house my vintage sewing patterns which need a bit of cosseting!

vintage suitcase

love the label!

these last few days i've been carefully soaking and hand-washing the garments, with a few surprises at how pristine they turned out, and also some horrors at dye running. in some ways vintage lovers are a bit like museum curators and i've found it best to err on the side of caution when washing old textiles. i've got a beautiful French silk scarf printed with the Eiffel tower that is completely shredded because i put in the washing machine to get rid of that musty old smell they sometimes have. shame, shame, i only had to learn this lesson once and now i hand wash everything!

lacy Gatsby style dress

i also scored a pile of old Women's Weekly magazines dating from the late 1950s to late 1960s. i remember Mum buying this English magazine when i was a kid, and it still had that same pink cover. back then i used to read "The Robins" but now i love reading them for the knitting patterns, gardening advice and answers to personal problems. even the ads show how different women were expected to behave and think just 50-60 years ago. i hope to scan some of these pages for your enjoyment and share some vintage knitting patterns in PDF form if i can manage it!

 

vintage magazines

all in all, i'm very happy with my bargains, and can't wait for next weekend when we can look for treasure all over again...