Well, first of all, thanks for all the love Wednesday. If I could bring each of you a pitcher of daffodils, I would. I'm humbled and touched and overwhelmed. If I say much more, Alice is going to have to hand me another hankie.
I traveled a long way Saturday (well, not like to another state, but off my usual route) to an estate sale that promised sewing goods. They did have lots of sewing stuff, but none of it the kind I like. That's disappointing, but not annoying. Annoying is when somebody lists sewing stuff and has one shoebox of polyester thread. I did find a number of spools of vintage seam binding in really nice colors, though, in a box of gift-wrap ribbon, so at least I got something. Like most things vintage, old seam binding is so much nicer than new.
The pincushion was a freebie from the Alice and Edna sale, and also a good example of karma. I had seen it in the proverbial shoebox of polyester thread the first day of the sale, but I didn't want it enough to pay $3 for a box of mostly junk. I got my other stuff, waited in line, and let an elderly man with just a couple of things go ahead of me. I didn't think much of it at the time, but if you ever go to a sale with me, you'll find out that waiting in line is not something I do well at all, so for me to let somebody go ahead is completely out of character.
When I went back for the second day of the sale, I picked up a few things and was paying for them when I noticed the lady in line behind me had bought the shoebox full of thread. I mentioned that I had looked at it the day before because I thought the pincushion was cute. So she handed it to me. She wanted the thread and was just going to throw out (ack) the pincushion. I didn't think of it until later, but it was kind of interesting that somebody did something nice for me in the exact same spot something nice had occurred 24 hours before. I don't think karma works if you do it with the conscious hope of payback, though. So, like, if you let somebody go ahead of you in the Powerball line when there's a really big jackpot, it probably won't help.
I have a lot of leftover pattern parts from the big sort the other day, and I'm trying to put them to good use. I shredded (this was such a huge step for me) some of the tissue to pack the inside of a box, and it looks really nice.
The instruction sheet makes good wrapping paper. Between the vintage seam binding and the instruction-sheet paper, I was feeling very environmentally responsible. Hope you like what's inside, Jewels!
I used some rickrack scraps and buttons and whatnot to make some tags to go out with Etsy orders. These still need a seam-binding tie, but you get the idea. Thank you, too, for all the Etsy love. The shop is practically down to cobwebs again, so I'll update soon.
We had our first picnic on the deck earlier this week. A family that we've known forever but had never had over came to dinner, and at some point it occurred to me that they might find the whole old-dish and mismatched tablecloth look kind of weird. And it wasn't like I didn't care if they found it weird, because they're our friends, but I was somehow OK with the idea that if it wasn't exactly their cup of tea, it was not a big deal. Which is a far cry from how I used to be when people came over. Anyway, the whole dinner was great, and if it weren't for the fact the next day was a school day, we'd have probably sat out on the deck a few more hours.
That wrapping idea is SO CUTE!
Posted by: Tina in Duluth | April 30, 2009 at 09:58 AM
Loving that you got your desired pincushion. I totally believe in the good kharma thing - what goes around comes around. Life is all about spreading the good and happy.
Posted by: laurie - magpie ethel | April 30, 2009 at 01:05 PM
Another pretty table setting! I also believe in spreading the good kharma around. I try to do a good deed every day if I can!
Posted by: Carol | April 30, 2009 at 09:05 PM
I did something similiar when I wrapped things up at an antique show- I used pattern tissue paper and vintage pattern envelopes as paper bags. Customers loved it.
(It was kind of hard for me to part with the pattern envelopes, but it did make a lot of people smile- and then they probably put them in the garbage...oh, well)
Posted by: Beth Leintz | April 30, 2009 at 09:53 PM
oh good karma indeed! i saw somewhere where they had a apothocarie jar filled with old tomato pincushions, talk about love! someone sent me a swap and it was wrapped in the tissue pattern paper. i thought it was a great touch. i like your wrapping very very much...especially that vintage seam binding. perfect!
Posted by: susan | May 01, 2009 at 12:09 AM
I have an old enamel pitcher just like that. I love to fill it with flowers too. What a pretty vignette this whole post is.
I'm so sorry to read in one of your other posts, that someone was unkind Barbara. I can't imagine anyone ever thinking your blog was anything other than thoughtful and inspiring. Even if one doesn't want as much stuff, your arrangements are always so attractive to me, and you are good to provide informative information too. I've learned within blogging, that there's just no way to make everyone happy. Just be your own sweet self. Like my friend Kelli said to me, some folks need to be reminded, that's what the "back" button is for.
Posted by: Lena | May 03, 2009 at 01:00 AM
Late answering but I DID LOVE IT when the parcel came - really appreciated the extra touch (and I actually kept the shredded stuff cause you never know when you can reuse) Thanks so much! Jewels
Posted by: Julie | May 03, 2009 at 07:58 PM