Estate Sale Treasures

I love estate sales - real, honest -to-goodness estate sales, not the kind where folks put out junk that should just go to the dump and think a sign proclaiming it an "estate" sale classes it up.  No, I mean the genuine estate sale in which the contents of the entire house,  and even the house is for sale.  Being naturally nosey curious, I love wandering through other people's houses.  You can tell so much about people by things they have keep.  I love seeing people's passions reflected in their surroundings - art, book, hobbies, photos - it all tells a story.  I have gone to estate sales at houses that had no personality - nothing to give a clue about who lived there and what they loved.

Estate sales are also sad.   I always wonder about the people who lived in the home, why their treasures are for sale and what happened to them.  There was a beautiful picture of the owners at this week's estate sale - the first time I've even seen personal pictures at a sale.   Not sure if this picture made me feel worse or better about going through their things, but I was glad to see how happy they looked.  Now I can fantasize that they were selling all their stuff to simplify their lives and are sitting on a tropical beach, enjoying drinks with umbrellas and each other.

Estate sales make us think about our own mortality and the people who might end up pawing through my stuff.  Do you suppose anyone would think it odd that I have enough small plates to feed lunch to a small town?  Or that I have hundreds of stamps?  Or that the Captain and I have hundreds of books?

The estate sale home was filled with things that brought joy to the people who lived there  - pottery, dishes, books, art, travel memorabilia and fiber arts supplies.   That and two chairs on the river bank - think they sat there and enjoyed drinks and each other, too.

This was a great sale - clearly the woman who lived here and I share a love of pottery, dishes, and art.   The kitchen was filled with gorgeous stuff - including some really pricey pieces, like hand-painted desert plates from France for $800!  But, check out these great pottery finds that were within my budget:

Berry bowl

I''ve been looking for some pottery goblets - love these!

I love finding art supplies!  The woman who lived here was a weaver and had all kinds of yarn.  I'm not a knitter or weaver, so I forced myself to walk by all those gorgeous skeins.  But then I found this box full of yarn samples - yippee!  I love punched edges and punched edges WITH fibers - swoon-worthy.

Apparently Ms. Weaver sent away for all kinds of samples, so in addition to great fibers, there is wonderful fiber-related ephemera.

I found this handmade script monogram in another box.  It doesn't matter that these aren't my initials; the design is beautiful.

I made this fun card for a friend.  See,  I knew those fibers would work with paper !

(stamps from River City Rubberworks)