Estate sale picking

I have visited a few estate sales lately and found them mostly crowded and thin on the stuff I love.

Does that affect you the way it does me?  It makes me more determined than ever to uncover a treasure!

At one sale, I liked these blingy little buttons; they are sewn onto a piece of velvet and then the velvet has a snap on the other side.  So, I guess it was an embellishment.  But to me, just two pretty vintage buttons!

Check out these beaded poinsettias -- hand made by someone long ago.  I love finding little boxes of Christmas kitsch!  I haven't decided yet to keep or sell them.  They are listed in my shop now!

A little made-in-Japan spun cotton girl doll -- or is it an elf?  Look at those big eyes. I thought she was cute and she's in great condition, so she's going in my shop for sure.

Something unusual: a little girl's hat.  It is made of a kind of shiny terry cloth, in pale blue, and lined with satin...

then it holds its shape with wire (like a headband) at the front.  But what I thought was unique was the little "tail" of three flaps in back, bundled together with a ring.  And the intact white millinery and paste-y sparkles!  This is also going in the shop as soon as I can get it cleaned and listed.

I find this stuff kind of hard to resist: a small (for your purse) red leather stamp holder...

I'm not sure why there are numbers on the front of the little pockets -- unless they are for denominations of stamps (cents.)  I can just imagine the young woman who would have carried this in her bag so she could write letters, and stamp them, while she rode home on the train...

Then, I bought this book all about barns -- all different styles/varieties.  It was a "bonus" included with an encyclopedia set...

more than you would ever want to know about barn construction!  I really like stuff like this.

This rusty, dented garbage can got me one of "those looks" at checkout, but I think it's lovely -- dents and all!

'Remember how I was just talking about how much I love salmon red and Tiffany blue together?  Then I found this linen towel...with birds!  It's faded in a lovely way.

Old burlap sacks -- one that is huge (like, lawnmower size) and the other with a finer weave and soft fibers.  Each was 75 cents.  What a bargain: you can't buy that timeworn texture.

Old linens -- especially ones with beautiful monograms...

 and tatting -- are almost impossible for me to pass up at estate sales.

I don't care for butterfly motifs myself, but I know someone else will love this little cut-out design on this child's linen pillow!

This one I probably won't be able to part with...

especially since it has  these sweet little button holes in the back; I think it's of the age that buttons were removed so it could be squeezed through a wringer.  I can just imagine the tiny shell buttons that were lovingly removed and re-sewn onto it with each washing.

But there were two finds that made me more happy than all of the others put together: one was this box of old paper napkins and doilies; there were stacks of them in this box from the 1950's -- some very old and faded, and all different styles including metallic ones.  I love to use these in my collages and paper art!

Then I found something I have very much needed/wanted: a small quilting frame, similar to the one above in size, but a different design.  I think they call it a lap quilting frame (which is just how I like to sew!)  Mine has four legs and is adjustable, too, but actually folds flat and, as my husband was pleased to note, is made from quality oak with stainless steel hardware.  It will be perfect for that hand-quilting job that has been hanging over my head for a couple of years now.  I can't tell you how excited I was to find this for about $20.  Have you found any "finds" lately?