Vintage Quilt Rescues

 I have loved quilts for a long time and have been collecting them for a couple decades.  Both of my grandmas were excellent quilters!  They both gave me lovely quilts for my wedding.  I am especially fond of quilts from the 1930s to 1950s.  I haven't quilted much myself but have plans of doing so someday and so I have been collecting a fabric stash in preparation for that.  I love fabrics too!

I like to find quilts at thrift stores and yard sales. Antique stores always have nice quilts but they are WAY out of my price range. I really admire quilts that are hand quilted! I'm always tickled when I find one that has been hand quilted.  I always think who would ever get rid of this quilt?!!

Recently, I have had some luck finding quilts at thrift stores.  At the time I wasn't even looking for quilts and even debated whether or not to buy them thinking about where would I put them and so on.  But the hand quilting wooed me and I bought them.

This quilt (above), I found at a Goodwill Thrift store it was totally filthy and had a nasty large stain (that I lightened considerably) but it was only $6.00 dollars so I thought I would do my best to clean it.  This quilt was very sturdy and had no tears so I began by putting it in the bathtub and rinsing it with the strongest setting in my removable shower head.  I blasted it then put some shampoo on it for good measure.  Then I soaked the quilt in the bathtub in biz.  I changed the water twice.  Then I washed it twice in the washing machine. It was like a whole different quilt by the time I was done with it.  

Large quilt held by Declan and Quinton

This quilt (below) was mint and is huge king or queen size. I found it at the same Goodwill as the one above and it was $20.00.  It had never been washed and probably was a wedding quilt for some couple.  It is embroidered and quite lovely.  I was worried about the red bleeding and so I washed it with 4 color catching sheets.

McCoy holding red and blue quilt

 This quilt has amazing hand quilting and seemed little used if at all.  It is hard to see from the pictures but it is also embroidered in pale blue.  It too is a large quilt.  This quilt was $10.00.  Such a bargain!

McCoy and Zany hold this quilt

It is so fun to find a bargain at the thrift but when it is a quilt it is thrilling.  I sometimes feel that I am a quilt rescuer. Abandoned and unloved quilts are taken in and clean and sometimes simple repairs are made.  Now if I can just get Quinton to build the quilt cupboard of my dreams I can have somewhere to display more of my treasured quilts. 

Findings

Its been awhile since I have updated on things I have found while running about in our town. I tend not to find as much as in the summer as I do in the winter. Probably a combination of not as many people being about and also the fact that I am not as about. And the idea that snakes may be lurking in the bushes where all of the good stuff normally is. In addition to below I also found the pair of shorts that McCoy is wearing when we went to despicable me. Besides the earthquake, half of the reason I fell on the fourth of July was due to the fact that instead of looking in front of me I was gazing off to the side looking for treasures. Also there is a large banner on the side of the ride that says "Arizona Anti Auto Theft Association" but it is past the size threshold that I am willing to carry. I think that on any run, one could find a glove. The world is covered in missing gloves or so it appears.

Here I am with a pair of sunglasses I just found

View of Steeple rock from my favorite route

Cows grouping up before they attack

Now there are milipede everywhere

Here is my  haul. $5.55 in cash. 5 sunglasses. My goal is ten so I can outfit everybody for an explorer war. Three spoons. One pair of some sort of electrical pliers.

My findings for the week 2/17-23

It was a very lucky week for me. I only found 3 pennies but I made up lots of ground with the watch (it works) and the brass casings. I also found a fork, which was only silver plate and not worth anything as it was smashed flat. Luckily because of my Pa, I knew that the shells had value to re-loaders. I first saw them on my sat run, but I didn't have anything to carry them back in. I talked to Pa, who was quite horrified that someone would leave them behind, he said to get them. I felt I had to get them soon before someone else did. So Sunday morning I set out on my mission. They were out in the desert about two miles away from the house. It was hot. Hotter than realized. And it took longer then I realized to collect them. And they were heavier than I realized.Lots of hard realizations that trip.  I weighed them and they were close to 4 LBS!! I had only brought my small waist pack so it really wasn't meant for that weight and it kept slipping and was hard to run with. Needless to say I was super thirsty by the time I got home.  I was wondering if they had been worth it. Once Pa sorted them, he said he could give me $15 for them. I only got $3 for the leather watch. I told them to only give me what they would if someone came in trying to sell them stuff for some quick cash.  So for the year my total is $19.24. I am keeping a jar with my earnings and plan and using for a souvenir when we take the family vacation to Disneyland.
Ash

A good week!