Sunday, April 5, 2009

Camp Garage Sale

Rummage Sale for Eagle Fern Camp
















This past week I have been busy with a big sale for Eagle Fern Camp. Proceeds go for scholarships for kids to get to summer camp. Several congregations support the camp and work together for the sale. It was no mistake that last week when I was cleaning out the basement I had the garage sale in mind. We took a trailer full of stuff!

However, so did a lot of other people and their stuff was cooler than mine. So I had to bring some of it home with me.

The daintiest shopper

Honestly, I've been so envious of you girls over there in England with your boot sales. When you show pictures of vintage things it can be hundreds of years old. Do you know that Oregon wasn't even settled until 150 years ago--barely--and we are seriously lacking in the charm I see in your pictures. We do not have stone cottages tipping sideways and narrow cobblestone streets and we don't even know here about buntings. But I am a quick learner!

I have been buying embroidered pillowcases when I find them, but its not easy to find shabby chic that isn't really shabby. I'll show you what I found at the sale later.

And oh, the fabric! I found some nice long pieces--12 feet or more--that will be useful for backing banners. I got new material for the basement curtains that I just love (of course, the basement painting needs to be finished first.) I got upholstery fabric to recover the footstool that I was going to take to the garage sale but when we brought it upstairs we started using it again and it's still here... And I got lots of fabric just because I liked it and it was too wonderful not to rescue. I have so many ideas!

I should tell the background story, though, of how the fabric came to the sale. It was all new, from the garage of a woman who couldn't get her car into the garage because of the fabric. (They had built shelves in rows in the middle of the garage). She had an embroidery machine and did patchwork quilts of clowns, St. Nicholas, and Peanuts (the cartoon). These quilts were pieced and backed but the edges weren't finished. The workmanship was amazing. There were 2 knit afghans still on the needles, half done.

Sadly, this woman had died unexpectedly and her husband brought over 12 boxes of material to the sale. We wondered why so many things were started but not finished. I don't know what her dreams were but I hope I will bring some of them to fruition in the fabric I brought home.

And I will try to finish one project before I start another one...



1 comment:

joles family said...

I would have loved to come to the garage sale! Garage sales in the Chicago area don't quite start yet! We had snow yesterday for goodness sake! I bet Emily doesn't miss the cold winters!