Table legs and charts

The taxidermied emu legs were an absolute steal at $50.

I really, really mean that. The poor seller's wife didn't find them attractive and apparently didn't feel that a small side table with emu legs was a decorating possibility, so he had to sell them. Personally, I thought that they would make a thoughtful addition to my decorating scheme - currently a cross between tip shop and demented hippie.

Alas, insufficient cash reserves....but it may be worthwhile keeping an eye on the tip shop. I got the distinct impression that I may have been their only admirer.



Otherwise, a fantastic made in Australia in the 50's Globite suitcase in mint condition, with perfect pink and cream striped paper lining.

And a huge stack of shipping charts, from as early as the 1930's. I particularly liked the warning on the Karachi chart saying Caution:
submarines operating in this area.



Some will be for working on, they are torn and in too poor a condition for anything else. Some are fragmented but will be frameable.



Which reminded me that I have some lovely old survey maps of rural WA, including the drawings for the water tank at the Quaranup Quarantine Station, signed by Hilton Beasley the Government Architect of the day in 1913.



In the less cerebral corner for the weekend there were some vintage 1970 rollerskates (I know someone going to a fancy dress party as Roller Girl from Boogie Nights), some faux Raybans in the Blues Brothers style ( for my baby girl's sunglasses collection), some manga for my boy, a Terry Pratchett paperback for me, some bits of vintage jewellery for repair and reconstruction, and just enough left over to buy a soft serve icecream to eat on the way home.

gas mask leather corset octopus hat heels ring goggles brooch art sculpture skirt watch hair comb

Ah, where else but Etsy? This was the keyword list for a particularly interesting treasury. So much fantastic handmade stuff, so little time. Oh how I would like some of those glass taxidermy eyes...

This week I saw an interesting blog entry on Florence and Florence, whose motto is 'Beautiful things, re-loved.' I think it here, it comes out there - suitcases, AND my approach to sifting through garage sales and op shops.

Although I spend far, far too much time on Etsy, I have been as busy as a bee working on the stock for Summer Street, the indie market for handmade, coming up soon on 16,17 and 18 November. So here are some photos of some of the bits I have gathered and some things made from gathered bits.

Chance favours the prepared mind

...or so it is said ( possibly by Louis Pasteur). I say possibly because you can't really trust a cheap paperback crime fiction book where the protagonist meets a girl, woos the girl, loves the girl (we are halfway in by now and zero crime so far), only to have her killed, tracks and catches the criminal (a moderately interesting couple of chapters), thence to return to wimpering over his lost love and lawyers fees for the rest of the book.

But what can you seriously expect from a book for 20c at a garage sale? Possibly the reviews on the cover were a hint...
"I loved.....this book!" (famous author's name). The exact quote was probably more like "I loved going to Paris for holidays but the plane trip was completely ruined by having to read this book". I shall, I shall, be more choosy.

A disappointing op shop Friday paled into insignificance behind an almost perfect Saturday. Weather: clear, crisp, sunny. Number of sales: not so many but enough to be going on with. Cash: check. Breakfast: maybe later.

I got this quilt first. Handmade with Indonesian fabrics, the lady said. It has a few spots which need a stitch but nothing which won't be quick and easy. A bit riotous but shows promise.

The next place had a whole houseful of furniture and accoutremonts: dangerous places, these. I did weaken for an old bookshelf, delightfully tatty but the books are beginning to pile up on the floor again. Note to self : be choosy, choosy, choosy. I will, I promise.

The next place looked distinctly... not promising.

It turned out, however, to be the depository of possibly the last of the great grandmothers' button collections. Remember the tin, or jar, or bag of buttons you were allowed to play with? Sometimes? On a wet afternoon? This one was a cardboard carton, full of buttons, some in their original plastic test tubes, some in plastic bags, some on their original cards, and a lot loose just half filling the carton. We are talking cubic lots of buttons.

Sensible me said that I have quite a lot of old buttons. I don't need more. Where will I put them?

Sensible me was shoved rather violently out of the way by the me that just loves bunches of old buttons, pointed out that they could be squished in somewhere, and OMG aren't they fabulous. I put the loose ones in a huge clear IKEA glass vase ($2, Salvo's), in the middle of the kitchen table. Last night's dinner guests spent a happy hour playing with them, rearranging them, remembering the ones they had on their clothes as children, or their mothers did. Savouring the really, truly hideous ones.

Button collections invariably also contain interesting 'others'. In this case, the knob from a 50's stove; a rhinestone earring; a huge darning needle; and a badge, plastic, "Bank C.B.A.", as well as assorted other odds and sods.

At some stage, when everyone has had a play I will give some serious thought to how they can be used.

Light headed with excitement I did also manage to snare a lovely beaded evening bag, just a couple of tiny beads missing but quite repairable.

We pottered on to find a vacuum cleaner for my fellow treasure seeker - hers hasn't a hose and as she points out, it kinda limits its use. This one met all the vital requirements, ie it had a hose and was $20. It was also a nice shade of metallic green, which made it somehow more attractive.

We did a deal and added a bowling ball in its bag for an extra five - I think she now has bowling balls in all the primary colours. There was a moment when the mother of the woman having the sale tried to hold out for $10 for the ball, she was quickly advised by its owner that there was no need for such formality. Pausing only to loosen the seller's grip on her mother's throat, we grabbed our stuff and departed.

As I pointed out, its important to have a bowling ball to complement any outfit. In case the fashion police are having their annual bowling night.

I had just enough cash left to go get some fresh local oysters - 2 dozen , just absolutely brilliant with champagne for dinner last night.

Spring has sprung, the walrus said

... (to misquote just about everyone.)

The kind of spring where it rains overnight and everything is clean in the mornings. It isn't dark till 6.30pm, although its pretty cool outside by then. Still need a fire at night but not during the day - this house has a north-facing kitchen with heaps of windows, so if there's been afternoon sun its lovely and warm.


Yesterday, on the garage sale trail there were Arum lilies everywhere, whole hillsides of them against the most glorious lush green. I know they are a weed and not to be encouraged but they are just gorgeous.

Last week I put in a small herb and veggie garden. You know the ads where Bunnings say they are the cheapest? Wrong! Way, way wrong. Found this at the Home Hardware store for half the price of the equivalent at the other place. Ah, no dig....the way to go.


And of course, at this time of year Summer Street kicks into gear. From the mess comes some order - eventually, but first, there is a terrible mess.



I finished the first piece today, and was quite pleased with it.



I gathered 5 lovely frames today, from recycled jarrah, aged with bits of old paint clinging to them. They came without glass but - pause to quietly rejoice - they exactly fit the glass from IKEA's frameless clips. And I had gathered some of those, still in the packaging, against a sudden dire need. I must have been channelling a boy scout at the time.

There are other things in construction, but they aren't ready for show and tell yet. Some things are further advanced than others, this one is a work in progress. Why is it that you never have the exact teeny bit you need? I think I need to make a head and face about 1.5cms high, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Blogging at a snail's pace

Its taken me a whole week to get this done - my laptop is misbehaving. Are laptops subject to the vagaries of the full moon? My week was brightened by news from the kind folks at Yarnmarket.com of the release of issue 48 of Rowan Knitting, chock full of droolable knits and obviously meant for a woman with a stash of wool and no need to buy more (cue irony). I love, love, love these patterns ...



The coming change of season, even though it doesn't happen on time here in Albany, is encouraging everyone to clean up and chuck out, even me. I had a wardrobe cull, which demonstrated that I have enough clothes to last possibly forever. I managed to get rid of some things, hoping to make some space which unfortunately has been immediately filled with other people's chuckouts. It's kind of a clothing roundabout. The circle of life continues. Last weekend's garage saling had been a bit of a disappointment, not many on and not much at the ones which were. We gave in to starvation and went to Ellen Cove, on Middleton Beach, to consume a gourmet snack (cheeseburger, fries, coke - OK, the word gourmet is a bit of a stretch) and watch the whales frolicking in the bay. It was, not to exaggerate, gorgeous. The whale in the shot is the teeny black spot but you get the idea....

Making the most of the short burst of nice weather, I decided to finish another of my son's 18th birthday presents - a cupboard/bookshelf made from a box used to transport bullets. I had been looking everywhere for the right danish oil to finish it off and finally found it. It's organic and smells of lemon and leaves the most beautiful finish on the wood. I left the stencilled writing on the sides, I particularly loved the 'inert projectiles'. Inside, shelves made from recycled pine tongue and groove and sanded garden stakes. From an unattractive and tatty crate an interesting piece of furniture, which reminds me of the depression era packing crate furniture. I have a second box, waiting for a sand on the inside and some shelves - anyone got any floorboards they aren't using?

Too much time on my hands

Its been an eventful two weeks, what with one thing and another.

I had a week off, too sick to do much more than trawl the internet and lurk on Facebook games from my sick-bed. Nasty virus, almost too sick to appreciate being unable to go to work. Far too ill to do housework. Possibly worse than man-flu.
But in my trawling of the interweb, I came across these little gems via a friend's "like" page on Facebook - note to teenagers, there is a use for that button other than random clicking.

The California State Button Society was formed in 1941 as a non-profit organization, dedicated to the hobby of [clothing] button study and preservation through collecting. To quote a friend, banal but strangely compelling.

Habadash from Castlemaine in Victoria, is a purveyor of vintage and antique buttons, lace, and bits and bobs, all highly desirable. A note for those who are susceptible to attacks of want, remember to breathe. It may be safer to pass the credit card to a responsible adult before looking. You know who you are.


The other thing which came under the heading of keeping warm was completing my son's 18th birthday quilt, just finishing off the quilting and binding it off - all done with the aid of a backlog of series of House. In retrospect, probably not the best viewing when one is unwell, but I can participate in the differential quite well from the couch.
Luckily, I recovered enough for some serious garage saling with friends from Perth, and Albany did not disappoint. The car was already full-ish (although loosely packed) when we came across an estate sale.



One table went home on the roof racks, and there were beautiful old books going back to 1897, well loved editions of the major cookbooks (CWA and Golden Wattle), handmade aprons, old silverware,a fabulous feather comforter (in renovation as I type)and all sorts of gorgeous old things.

We had a great chat, paused to re-pack the car, and staggered off for lunch at the Squid Shack followed by a spot of whale watching, arvo tea at Liberte, home for dinner. A gin and tonic on the front verandah overlooking the harbour, all very civilised.

I regret not getting the hand crocheted doilies in a deep teal - couldn't think what I would use them for. Of course, I have thought of several things since.

Next morning off to the Bargain Bonanza, the two monthly trash and treasure/car boot sale - the vibe somewhat spoilt by the car park having few functioning lights. Never mind, the serious shopaholic can shop by torchlight or indeed touch. Three dear old suitcases, which luckily fitted inside each other, russian doll style, for ease of transport. Beautiful daffodils, first of the season for me, and even a couple of tiny bits of jewellery.

I probably have enough suitcases now. Maybe.

Just a quick weather report

Mid-winter, Albany, Sunday.

Does it get any better than this?


Morning


Late afternoon
A perfect, warm, still, sunny, washing-drying, sitting outside, doors open, no flies Sunday.

Home-made pavlova with local passionfruit, teenagers, friends. Whales at Middleton Beach.

Nice.