This past week I took a trip to the Northeast for the Thanksgiving holiday, and had to sneak in a little bit of antique & crafty shopping while I was away! What makes a better holiday than doing some fun (thrifty) shopping?
Read more after the jump!
My husband is from New Jersey and it's always really great to make a trip up in the autumn months. The trees are perfectly turned and the air is delightfully brisk. The small towns have such character, and they're often where I find my favorite shops!
I stumbled upon a really great little shop owned by Swedish Carina Jonsson, who sews the most amazing costumes & garments for children. She had a gold mine of fabrics designed & imported directly from Sweden, a must-have for a fabric
hoarder lover like myself! If you're ever in the New Hope, PA area, be sure to visit Sewphisticated, tucked away off a main street but a true gem to discover!
All of the fabrics I purchased are juvenile, so I'll keep them tucked away somewhere special for a future little one. The Pippi one (aka Pippy Longstockings) has a great heavier weight to it, making it perfect for a wall hanging or upholstery. The repeat is about 2 feet so I'm not sure what to use it for yet. The little fairy-like creatures apparently also come from a Swedish story about flower creatures, but I can't seem to find any information on it. The only other information I can find is on Elsa Beskow, the illustrator, who is apparently an established illustrator of children's books. I'm guessing these are from one of her books! The weight of the cotton would be perfect for a delicate pillow or bed sheet set, it's really thin and soft.
We went to this great antique mall-type space in Lambertville, NJ, just across the water from New Hope, PA. I think it's the Delaware River (don't quote me!) or maybe Canal? Can a canal also be a river? I'm lost on this, and Google Maps is giving me no relief, so let's move on! The antique mall was called The People's Store (great name, I know) and had a lot of furniture that wasn't to my style, but their smaller items made up for it. I won the jackpot on a huge tin of vintage buttons, hundreds & hundreds of buttons, for a mere $30. I was guarding the tin with my life as I made it up to the cashier to pay, worried someone might discover what I had and that I was paying far too little for it.
That night the buttons took over the household, as we sorted and oohed and ahhd at the assortments. It must have belonged to someone that had some relatives in the military, because there are SO MANY old rusty buttons clearly from a very, very old US military uniform. Fancy gold buttons, buttons from the 50s, fabric buttons, super mod buttons -- you name it, this tin has seen decades and decades of garments! I was so excited, we got through about half the tin sorting by color & style, and I came home with half my stash neatly packaged in small baggies -- the rest awaits for a button sorting marathon!
I'm dreaming up excuses to use lots of buttons but the stasher in me feels bad using my favorites. Just what is it about buttons?
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