Antique shop find

I DID go antiquing on Saturday.

The first place I went, there was a crew of three loud pushy teenaged girls and their mom running all over the place and making noise (and I kept waiting for the crash of something hitting the floor; maybe not quite bulls in a china shop, but certainly it was colt-like behavior). I bailed out of there pretty fast (I have problems with shopping in noise, especially when it's shopping I don't "need")

I did move down the street to the good old Blue Moon. They often have some good things.

I found yet another house-teaset thing - a sugar bowl that matches a teapot I got elsewhere. (It has joined My Own Private Ponyville, which is how I now display these, seeing as they are about the right scale, and an almost-Tudor, almost-cottage style that seems in keeping with the Ponyville ethos).

And I found a cookbook called 50 Simple Savouries. A 1930s-era British cookbook. I find these kinds of things intriguing even if I might never make the anchovy pastes and cheese toasts in there. (It was only $4. I suspect I could turn around and sell it to a Downton Abbey fan - it's just slightly out of the era - for a good bit more, but I'm going to keep it for now).

I then traveled to Sherman, to the "big" antiques mall. That place was quieter too, the largest group there was a group of (I am guessing, from the sound of the language they spoke among themselves) mature* Japanese tourists who were looking at the various American vintage things. (I think one of the women was buying some of the nicer old costume jewelry they have at that shop).

(*In that the youngest person was probably 10 years older than I was; most of them looked like they could be retired and traveling. Well, they also behaved in a mature fashion - polite to the other shoppers and the clerks, unlike the girls at that other store)

I found a couple of other cookbooks - Ida Bailey Allen's "Cooking for Two," and a copy of something from the 60s called "What Cooks in Suburbia." Again, I might never use a recipe from the second book (but there are a couple of nice-looking simple cakes that might make good CWF treats), but the book itself is sufficiently intriguing that I've been enjoying looking at it.

And the biggest, coolest find:



Two hand-embroidered pillowcases with peacocks. The pair was $14, which is incredibly cheap given the amount of work involved in something like that. They're a heavy fabric with a slightly coarser weave than modern pillowcases - I'm wondering if it could be linen or part-linen. (Linen wears like iron - it's expensive for things like kitchen towels and bedding but it's very strong).

I actually have no idea how old these are. They could be quite recent; these kinds of designs get reprinted. (But it doesn't really matter). The pillowcases COULD be handmade - there are no tags on them. They are machine-sewn, but it could be a home machine rather than a commercial one.

And yes, I plan to use these. I feel like things like these were meant to be enjoyed rather than hidden away in a linen closet - if I rotate them out with the couple of other pairs I did, they won't wear out as fast anyway. (And if they are a particularly strong fabric, they may not wear out easily anyway).

Here's a close-up:



I think these should be used and enjoyed because they represent a lot of work on someone's part. Granted, stuff like this is enjoyable to do and lots of people do it for entertainment or relaxation, but it's still a lot of work, and should be celebrated.