The End as I Begin

Y’all… over the past few weeks I’ve bought a LOT of material. I also broke down today and bought the pretty blue-flowered dressmaker shears I’ve been coveting for probably 2-3 years. The handles are padded, which should make my arthritic hands a lot more cheerful. (Look up Joann fabric. They’re going out of business and I’m hitting their closeout sales.)

The dark brown fabric in the feature photo, at the top of the page, is one where I bought the entire bolt — eight yards, to be precise. (A bolt is the unit originally shipped from the factory – aka the whole roll.)

I ❤️ Jacobean prints, and adore the color combination in the pictured one. I only bought a couple of yards and hopefully won’t regret stopping at two.

---

After a prolonged dry spell, we’ve gotten more than a few good yard-sale deals lately. I started to say “nothing on par with a big-screen TV for $25”. Then I realized, a big(ish) screen TV for free is right on up there. We’ve mostly gotten small stuff, though, much of which was free or nearly free.

We scored a bunch of vintage goodies for photo props, including some 1950s era (possibly earlier) women’s hats, along with an Australian cowboy hat of indeterminate age. They’re quality pieces – the women’s hats are wool felt with feathers and the cowboy hat is leather and meticulously lined. No cheap straw hats in the bunch, thankyouverymuch.

The hats definitely need to be cleaned. I’m not worried about the cowboy hat, at least not for now. I have in mind a too-long-in-the-desert look for that photo series.

The ladies’ hats are another story.  You can’t exactly toss them into the washer and dryer. It’s apparently supposed to involve a soft fabric brush — if I can find one. Otherwise I’ll shake out the dust, then carefully blot with a damp sponge and mild soap. Here’s hoping that will also work to revive the feathers, which are pretty sad on both hats. If push comes to shove, there’s another red feather in my craft stash. I’d prefer keep the original if at all possible.

The black hat needs more serious help. I believe the netting is not merely misshapen but possibly torn.  I need to figure out what that hat’s supposed to look like. I believe it should be similar to the one in this eBay listing, though I can’t read the details of the inside label beyond “union made” and a serial number. Tomorrow I’ll dig out a magnifying glass.

More than half a dozen beautiful vintage hankies made it home with us, too. I’ll definitely use them as photo props, but most of them will also be used for their original intended purpose.

If you’re not aware, paper tissues (Kleenix and its ilk) embed wood fibers into your skin every time you use them. Once in a while is no big deal. Using a lot in a short period, such as with a cold or the flu, causes sore-nose-and-upper-lip syndrome. Trade your tissues for handkerchiefs. Your nose will thank you.

This is maybe a third of the handkerchief stash at the sale. The lady really wanted me to buy the whole kit and caboodle. It was tempting, because they were flawless and one of the best collections I’ve seen. Unfortunately, I had a limited amount of cash in my pocket and didn’t want to insult her by offering a tiny sliver of what she was asking. I also have a limited amount of space to put even something this small.

All photos in this post, other than the one of the fabric and scissors at the top of the page, were taken by G. A few minutes after we meandered home from our garage-sale run, I left again to get the car maintenance done – oil change, filters changed, tires rotated, the usual folderol. G photographed our finds while I was gone.

We’re planning a return to the hat place tomorrow. They literally had two trunks full of old hats for $1 apiece. If possible, I want a closer look at every one. I know for sure I saw a men’s 1920s-era skimmer, and what I think was an old hard hat – definitely metal, and similar shape. I just didn’t look closely enough to say more.

G found a pair of cowboy boots to go with the cowboy hat, at different sale across town. We paid too much for a boots as a photo prop – were it not for the fact we can most likely resell them for at least what we gave for them. It’ll take some saddle soap, Lysol, and elbow grease to transform them.

While these obviously aren’t new cowboy boots, neither are they as dilapidated as I’d hoped to find. I told G, and I quote: “I want them to look like they were left out in the desert for 100 years or so.” Mission only partly accomplished.

My final photo may end up done in sepia tones to at least somewhat boost the illusion of age.

Yeah, dangerspouse, we go hunting for photo fodder – both locations and objects. I was gob smacked to find the cowboy duet so quickly. You occasionally see cowboy hats. I don’t recall ever seeing cowboy boots at a garage sale before, certainly nowhere near what we were willing to pay for them. Cowboy boots are ex$$$$pensive. So are cowboy hats of the caliber we bought, for that matter.

I guess the average person can’t see past the dust. I’m happy to put in a little elbow grease to turn them into proverbial gold.