Going to auctions is one of my favorite things to do. I especially love auctions with old quilts and vintage sewing supplies. Auctions are becoming decreasingly popular these days, as sellers just sell stuff online instead. I’m old school though, and absolutely love a good outdoor auction, rifling through piles of old vintage items and imagining where the owner had acquired everything.
Auctions are a little sad – because usually the owner has passed away and a bunch of strangers are all bidding on everything they had accumulated during their lifetime. I always hope that the person would be pleased to see his or her sewing items go to to a good home (like mine!).
I attended an awesome auction on Saturday. It was only a few blocks from my house and had two tables stacked with old quilts. The quilts were beautiful, but judging from the fabric, I dated most of them to the 1980s. Nothing against the 80s, but that was not the era I was looking for. And then there was one at the bottom of the pile that was drop-dead gorgeous. I am still unsure on the dates but my best guess is the 1930s. This quilt is a Grandmother’s Flower Garden with the smallest gosh-darn hexies I’ve ever held. To say I am in love with this quilt would be an understatement.
The only other thing I wanted at the auction was a pile of old sewing notions and sewing baskets. The auctioneer sold it all as one lot. It had two jars of vintage buttons in it (swoon!), but other than that, it was a lot of junk with just a few small diamonds in the rough. Some guy bid me way up on and frankly, it just wasn’t worth buying. I assumed he only wanted the buttons, so after the auction, I approached him and asked to buy a couple of the more interesting notions. He was skeptical and when I only offered him $1 for a few things, he declined, with the exception of one interesting tool. I had never seen the tool before and had no idea if it was worth anything or not. I paid him $1 for it and brought it home.
It is called the Perfect Pinker and is a pinking tool. It was designed to pink fabric without causing hand fatigue, like pinking shears would. It is so cool! Have you ever seen one or used one?
I’m glad the guy at the auction let me buy it from him. There are a few on Ebay and from what I can tell, they usually sell for anywhere between $20-$30. I think I got a great deal!! And I’m not sad that I didn’t get the rest of the lot, it was a bunch of rotten thread and some rusty scissors.
I definitely think I came out ahead at this auction. I mean, really, what more could a girl want? I got the best quilt and a cool vintage notion to play with. Life is good!
‘Til next time,
Beth
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That quilt!! Amazing find!!