Thursday, June 12, 2008

Vintage Goodness

I must admit, I think that I have a button problem. A year ago, I hosted a tea party for a bridal shower for a friend of mine, and one of the games we played was guess the number of buttons in my button jar. The total I recall was around 1300 at the time and I'm certain my collection has easily tripled since then. These are some of my more recent snags. One of the thrift stores here in town removes all the buttons from the damaged clothes they receive and have volunteers sew them on to cardboard to sell as matched sets. They then cut up the damaged clothes and sell them as rags to local garages. I thought this was such a nice recycling idea and it makes for some really cool button opportunities. Sadly, this store is uping their pricing as it seems more and more thrift stores seem to be in the business of making money rather than offering affordable options for those needing those options. Certainly, for myself, I cannot complain as I am not in need for anything......... but to my mind, these stores should be there to cater to those who do. It seems to be a trend started by the big box thrift stores in town who operate at a huge profit giving very little money to the charities they support for the free donations left with them. I have issue with that and refuse to give my donations to big box thrift shops and will go out of my way to donate to the ones still operating in what I feel is a more ethical manner.
I did manage to find some cool patterns recently, and these are a few of them. I snagged about ten Mackintosh petite point kits and patterns...some one must have been house cleaning and wanted them out. Nothing quite like a super deal to make my day! The smocked pillow pattern caught my eye as I remember my grama having the round pillow as well as at a few other households come to think of it. Underneath it all is a cool set of 4 vintage 100% Irish Linen new with tags, place mats just waiting to find the right home. The colour does not work for my house, so I'm just waiting to find the right recipient.....maybe in a swap some day.
Another addiction is vintage china. I'm afraid my cupboard are straining under the weight of it all and quite honestly I'm running out of room. But I found this cute little set of 12 Royal Doulton serving plates which at 99cent each, I could not pass up. You just never know when 11 of your closest friends might stop in for tea and cake?? The etiquette book was also such a hoot I couldn't pass it up. Who knew Canadians were so up tight they needed a "complete dictionary of etiquette"?? I've certainly got my monies worth on that one in laughter alone.
Lastly is my big china splurge. I've wanted one of these Royal Winton tea sets for a while now. And after much ebay perseverance she's all mine. I have yet to try it out

6 comments:

Yes It's Me :) said...

Those are some really awesome finds!

Yes It's Me :) said...

Those Scotty dog buttons are too much! :)

Anonymous said...

My little miss red said friend, that tea set is incredible. I think you should bring it with you next time and we can try it out!! (And just maybe you would forget and leave it behind!)

LittleRed said...

Maybe I'll just have to buy another set so I can share.

Lisa said...

I love buttons also! My mom picked up a sewing tin at a junk sale once for me and it was full of buttons and all kinds of stuff. I treasure that tin. It also has some funny looking needles in it...I should post them someday and see if they can be identified. I'm here thru I love your swap 2! Come see me sometime...I added you to my subscriptions. Thanks Lisa

LittleRed said...

I hear you. There are a few things that I can't stop myself from buying if I find them in a thrift shop. Vintage buttons and tins are two of those things for me. Thanks for stopping by:)