Some of you know that I live two doors from the local thrift shop. This can be a good thing, and a bad thing! There are several thrift shops in the area, but Impact Thrift is my favorite, especially the location near me (there are a few others). I like the smallness of the store, the friendliness of the staff, and yes, its proximity. While I can always find books that must join my collection, often times I cannot find those other treasures that speak to me. I love English ironstone, especially that by Johnson Brothers, Meakin and let us not forget Wedgwood Queen's Ware. I missed two lovely Meakin plates on Monday as I went just to look (no wallet), and they were gone on Wednesday when I went back. However, there was other treasure waiting, from Johnson Brothers. The first photo shows two dessert plates and a bowl in the English Chippendale pattern. (The bowl looks stained but that is a shadow, not a mark on the bowl). The second photo is also a Johnson Brothers pattern, Old Bradbury and I found two dinner plates in this pattern. The blue ones may not stay here but were too pretty, and too reasonable, to pass up.
I found a lot of books that interested me, fiction, decorating, children's, etc. However, these three were the real finds this week. Left to right they are:
The Age of Fable (Thomas Bulfinch, 1942); Never Cry Wolf (Farley Mowat, 1963) and Lad of Sunnybank (Albert Payson Terhune, 1929).
I have an inexpensive HP digital camera which I use mostly for posting photos on my blog or elsewhere on the web. I am saving for a DSLR, but that is still a way off. My HP does an okay job but it does not have a true macro setting. I found this at Impact this week, looking like it had never been taken out of the box, complete with photo card, remote control, all the books and brochures, a warranty that had never been sent in and a long-expired coupon entitling the original recipient to 10 free prints at Larmon Photo (our local true camera store). While the MP count is not great at 4.0, it does have 10x optical zoom, two macro settings (one of 1/2 inch away!), and a level for wide angle or telephoto with a range equivalent of 38-380 on an SLR. There is also the ability to save custom settings. Not bad for $12.00 with my coupon! As a bonus, it also feels nice in my hand, not too light, like the HP, and not too heavy. There is a hand grip on the right.
Now, for the real treasure of the week. This gorgeous coverlet has a silk face with a cotton lining. There is not one flaw on it. It was $4.75 with my coupon!
I should add that the pink wing chair recliner, on which I placed the items to be photographed, also came from Impact, and is half of a pair. There is a little wear on the arms but the mechanism work perfectly. They came from a local high-end furniture store which recently closed (Oskar Huber). I love the subtle flame stitch on them, and the muted shade of rose, like Meggie's "Ashes of Roses" dress in The Thorn Birds.
I bought this beautiful piece of cotton damask last week - 7 yards, 54 inches wide, $5.00, but again, I had a coupon so it was $3.75. It is the prettiest shade of pale butter yellow. I have no idea what it will become but it is gorgeous. It originally came from the Holy Redeemer Thrift shop (which does a better job of marking their fabrics than Impact does) but I guess it was not needed and was donated to Impact. In case you are not from this area, Impact profits aid local charities. There have been times I have passed up beautiful fabrics at Impact solely because the yardage and width were not marked, and the fabric was rolled and taped securely so you could not measure it. There is a pretty length of floral bark cloth there now, 4 yards I believe for $10.00, and a pretty Jacobean floral on a roll, but I don't know how many yards. If either of these interests you, I could go over and take photos for you and try to get an idea of yardage. Just let me know.
