I Bought Myself A Whole Bunch Of Washing And Ironing

 Yesterday was mostly work and little play so I made it my business to get out to at least one estate sale today.  This package of vintage wrapping paper cracked me up - "from your friendly Social Counselor"!  I was wondering why your counselor would give you a pack of wrapping paper then I realized it must been some sort of home-party like Tupperware - DOH!  I didn't buy those little chairs today but they matched so perfectly that I had to add them to the picture.

 So why can't I be hopelessly enamoured with something that goes in the dishwasher?  Or at least permanent press?  I was thrilled to find all these hankies and crochet and tatted trims at a reasonable price but oh.my.goodness. the washing and ironing in my future. 

 I did find a new lace-edge milk glass plate to add to my personal collection.  I haven't found one I don't have in several years and then I have found two since Spring.  I actually left it behind because the area where I have them hung up is full.  I drove about 10 blocks down the street and thought how dumb was that.  For $2.50 I can't let it sit around until I find a spot??  Sometimes I'm a dork and this is one that would have haunted me for sure.  I would love to show this collection sometime but haven't figured out a way to photograph them.  They are hung way up near the ceiling in my kitchen.

Lots of vintage hankies.  I start off soaking in regular laundry soap with Oxy added.  I do buy things with stains and attempt to rescue them.  Sometimes I resort to bleach or even Stain Bully.  Better living through chemistry - unless you're a vintage linen.  Once in a while I make an "instant cutter".  What do the rest of you use and where do you buy it?

 I got two sweet little baby jackets and a baby bonnet.  I am NOT going to attempt washing that bonnet.  It is gorgeous and looks just perfect the way it is.  Click the second picture bigger to get a closer look.  So much sweet detail!

 Vintage crochet and tatted trims.  One of my Grandmothers tatted.  I wonder if anyone still does.

A pair of appliques and a closer look at some of the hankies.  They had a LOT to look through and I was there at least an hour.  When I came out I looked at the clock in my car and thought, wow, was I really in there for two hours??  Estate sale time warp.  Then I remembered I haven't set the time back in my car yet.  Have to figure out how to do that.  {sign}

Washing and Ironing FINISHED

My husband accused me of trying to wear out the washing machine and I'll admit some of these pieces did take more than one wash. I also used my last-resort-go-to stain remover - Stain Bully on a few of the really bad stains. I tried to find you a link to the product but I couldn't find one and did find a few other people looking for it. It is made by a company in Albany OR called Effective Solutions and I get mine at Bi-Mart.
For the most part they came out looking pretty good. The pieces that didn't come clean will still make good cutters so worth the effort. This might just be the first time I ironed until my arm hurt. The linen pieces were a real bear. There is a reason we don't use that fiber much anymore!
There was a set of crochet covers for the chair arms that I held out to actually use and I forgot to put them in the picture. Yes, I use doileys on my chairs - strange but true. The thing is, they still serve the same purpose they did back in the day. If more people used them then maybe the Salvation Army store wouldn't be full of perfectly nice sofas and chairs with dirty arms - don't you think?? Now I just have to figure out where I'm going to store them. Maybe the drawer where the "tangled heap of lacy goodness" used to be. Yes, I'm still working on that. It's going to take a while! I picked up a couple more rolls of pretty wallpaper at the VofA yesterday for making the cards so that will keep me from getting bored. Making the cards is kind of mindless work so good for relaxing. I need that after my first day back to work after vacation. Good thing since I need dozens and dozens of them!