June's Finds

This month, I went to a couple of estate sales and yard sales. I thought you all might like to see what I picked up. Get excited!

Yippee! - (source)

It all started when I found an estate sale listed on Craigslist, described as a "mid-century time capsule." How could I resist! It was held on a Friday and a Saturday, so, since my current work schedule is M-F, I was only able to go for the second day of the sale (once I'm done with training at my new job, I'll likely have a Sunday through Thursday work week, though!). I'd had a nagging feeling that all the really great stuff would get snapped up before I could get there on the second day, so my estate sale buddy and I showed up right when the doors opened on Saturday morning. 

 

My suspicions were somewhat correct, as the selection was a bit picked over and the woman in charge let me know that someone had bought all of the sewing supplies on Friday. Understandable, I suppose. The house itself was fun to check out, though, as the kitchen appeared to have been untouched since the 1960s, at the latest (why didn't I get a photo!). As I investigated the bedrooms,  I found these cute napkins that I just had to buy, tucked away in a box of old curtains. They came with this booklet describing all the fancy ways to fold the napkins into animals and other fun shapes, like they do at nice restaurants. I'm not a huge collector of vintage linens, but, at $3 for the set of four, I couldn't pass these up.

Pretty "Vera" floral napkins, with folding instructions

 

While we were out and about that Saturday, we saw a sign for another estate sale nearby and found a yard sale across the street when we pulled up to the house - double whammy!

The house where the estate sale was being held was rather interesting. There were many rooms, including two kitchens, a back, windowless den/room filled to the brim with Christmas decorations, and a lovely little greenhouse/enclosed porch off of a bedroom. While rummaging in the laundry room, I found a bin of sewing supplies and a couple worn and torn, unremarkable 1970s sewing patterns. I managed to dig this bodkin out of the bin and bring it home, complete with original packaging. It seems like a pretty useful tool to have in one's sewing kit and ended up costing something like 50cents.

bodkin!

When we checked out the yard sale across the street, much to my surprise, I found some pretty linens, scarves, and fabric, and my shopping buddy found some cute little lanterns. I ended up bringing home this cheerful floral fabric, with a bright pink, blue, orange, and green print on a white background - four yards for $1! I'd originally thought it was some kind of linen or linen-like blend because of its stiffness, but after laundering it, it feels like soft cotton, and has a little more drape to it. I've really been wanting a bright floral - I'm hoping it'll get used for a sundress sometime soon.

pretty floral cotton

After our yard sale and estate sale success that morning, we were still hungry for more, so we ventured out to downtown Leesburg to hit up some antique stores.  When we stopped by my favorite, Black Shutter Antiques, I snapped up this cute 1960 Simplicity dress pattern for $5 (not the best bargain I've ever seen, but still a good price!). I love the sweet, simple neckline on the dress.

1960 Simplicity 3340

The straight skirt view paired with the coordinating jacket instantly made me think of Emma Stone's character in The Help when she goes to her job interview. Her outfit is a bit different, but there's nothing cuter than a matching dress and jacket like this! I have quite a bit of brown tweed from a past yard sale that I could use to achieve a similar look. We'll see how I feel come autumn.

 

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