Well, getting back to that auction, I ended up with lots of goodies, but none of the things I mentioned in the previous posting! That happens to me sometimes. There were a few ladies that share my tastes and I wasn’t in the mood to get in a bidding war over the perfume bottles, holiday stuff, and the quilts. I’ve had particular difficulty buying quilts at auctions. Usually there’s a collector/quilt fanatic in the audience ready to do battle and I get outbid.
The quilts offered at this auction were really fabulous, I have to say. I love the names of the old quilt patterns like "Grandmother’s Flower Garden" and "Drunkard’s Path". What a fascinating area to explore! I’m totally nuts over yo-yo quilts myself, although they didn’t have one at this auction. I also look for unfinished quilts that I can re-purpose. Individual yoyos make great embellishments for clothing or even paper crafts. I like to pile loose yoyos in milk glass bowls like potato chips!
They had a lot of great costume jewelry including Bakelite and Lucite examples that were quite nice, some in a kitchsy tropical theme. Once again, I decided to stay out of the battle and ended up with other odds and ends.
I stayed until the end of the five-hour long extravaganza and brought home some wonderful old women’s magazines from the 1940's and 50's. They are so amazing.....they really show a way of life that seems so much more wholesome, so innocent. The way women are depicted in the ads for appliances and cleaning products is just too funny. They are all dressed in their June Cleaver dresses and high heels with the required apron.
Stuff I Like Right Now:
Jute upholstery webbing (you know, with the red stripes)
Little chenille Easter chicks (I remember how they were all attached by their little feet to a cardboard display at the store, and I would get to pick one out from the various colors offered)
Vintage flocked wallpaper
Yoyo Quilts and individual yoyos from incomplete quilts. Great for a variety of crafts. Here's a nice sampling of yoyos that I will be using for some upcoming projects:
My Favorite Movies with Old Timey Goodness:
"Sweet and Lowdown": Woody Allen’s faux-documentary about a guitar player/con man during the 1920's played by Sean Penn. Lots of great flapper fashion and swell interiors.
"O Brother Where Art Thou": The Coen brothers depression-era masterpiece. The whole film has a dusty sepia-tone look without one bright color anywhere. I love all the cloche hats the women wear.
"Chicago": Once I got over the fact that Richard Gere could sing, I noticed and appreciated the great set design including Roxie Hart’s boudoir, a great example of my favorite style....sort of a warm, cottage-style with painted furniture circa 1920's and cool old lamps. Lighting is soooo important! More on that later....
"Coal Miner's Daughter": I love the decor in the little motel room where Loretta and Doo spent their wedding night. Do you remember it? Bark cloth curtains, seafoam green walls, an iron bed and dark chenille bedspread. I'll betcha there was a tiny bar of Cameo soap on the bathroom sink....
