Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Midweek: another estate sale and a finished quilt

 

This past weekend there was an estate sale two blocks over.  I'd walked past the house many times,.  I popped in Friday morning (before leaving for the AAUW convention).  Wow.  The estate sale personnel said the people had lived there 50+ years but had not occupied the house recently.  1960's decor never updated.  The basement had boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes of fabric, nearly all polyester double knit.  I didn't have time to dig through everything but there was some cotton yardage and I grabbed it.  



Isn't this cool?  Cafe curtain yardage in two colorways.  About 7 yards.  36" wide. No manufacturer info on the selvage.   Note the hanging tabs and instructions printed on the fabric!   $5 total.

The turquoise piece is stained along the fold which did not come out when I washed it. Not suitable for curtains but a lot of usable fabric anyway.   Since it hasn't been used in 60 years I am in no rush.


I also got a stack of TAB/Scholastic books from the 60's for my friend Betsy who collects vintage YA books.  Perhaps you remember the Scholastic Book Club.  Your teacher provided a little catalog and a list for you to indicate your selections. The deliveries went to the classroom.  That was before kids' paperback books were sold in bookstores.   I read and re-read SO many TAB/Arrow Scholastic books!!  (Tornado Jones...Katie John...Seaview Secret....)


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In the studio:   Batik Diamonds is finished!  54 x 60.  6-1/2 yards including back and binding. 


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It was warm and sunny yesterday so we visited a forest preserve.  

Clockwise from left:  yellow marsh marigold (caltha palustris, also Crazy Beth and Brave Bassinets); woodland phlox (phlox divaricata); spring beauty (claytonia virginica); trillium; mayapple (podophyllum); bristly buttercup (ranunculus); more spring beauty; center:  white trout lily (erithrodium albidum).  



There were happy rocks.


Linking up on this cloudy, chilly, and happy Wednesday with Wednesday Wait Loss  Midweek Makers








P. S. These are crayfish mounds.  I had never seen them before.     

10 comments:

  1. Batik Diamonds is lovely - great finish! I was a 5th grade teacher in my working career - we loved the Scholastic Book Club. I got many free books for my classroom library that way, and gave kids many free books, too. So nice to be seeing wildflowers in bloom!

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  2. Sounds like a fun sale and fun to see the *retro* things
    Your Batik Diamonds is AMAZING!!!

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  3. Your batik diamonds quilt turned out great. I like the variation in the background fabrics to set off the diamonds. It's so much more interesting than just one fabric.

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  4. Love your photos of nature! That preserve must be an amazing place. Congratulations on the finish. Batik Diamonds is lovely! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
    https://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2024/04/24/wednesday-wait-loss-377

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  5. What a lovely finish on your batik diamonds...;))) nice work hugs, Julierose

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  6. Batik Diamonds turned out beautifully. I remember those Scholastic Books. Haven't thought of that in years. I would scour the catalog and had the hardest time picking just one book.

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  7. I think, at least here in Canada, that the Scholastic book club is still going...at least the last time we were visiting our family out west our grandie had a 'catalogue' from them that they could order books from.
    Your batik diamonds looks wonderful! And I do envy you the estate sales which don't seem to be a 'thing' here, sadly.

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  8. love the vintage kitchen fabric! what a hoot! oh yes i remember scholastic book fairs in school....always loved them....and how about weekly reader? dating myself here...

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  9. Wow! You sure used a lot of scraps in Batik Diamonds. Looks like another good idea for crumbs. Yes, I remember Scholastic Book Club. I have three shelves on a bookcase of children's books. My daughter liked Babysitter Club books and youngest son liked Goosebumps. Oldest son had dyslexia and so I bought him any kind of trivia books to read with short paragraphs and not a long storyline to follow. Also belonged to Dr. Seuss Book Club when my kids were little so have lots of old Dr. Seuss books on the shelf. To this day I get oldest son Uncle John's bathroom readers as a fun Christmas gift. I have a little vintage rocking chair next to the bookshelf and grandkids used to go pick out books and read there. I was hoping grandkid's generation would like the books some day when they have kids. Must be fun walking at the nature preserve. And someone must have fun painting rocks and planting them. How nice to see those too.

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  10. What a fun print for cafe curtains. I'll watch for it to appear in an upcoming quilt.
    I think I'm too old for TAB/Scholastic books during you young years (or else my mom just didn't buy any), but I remember getting them for my daughters. I always thought it was a great way to encourage reading at home, as well as stewardship.
    Batik Diamonds is fun, especially for the recipient to marvel and enjoy all the fabrics in the diamonds.

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