New Doilies

I was so happy that there were 2 Estate Sales this weekend in Woodstock.  I was starting to get withdrawals from not going to sales.  I only found a really nice hanky from Japan, a child's Christmas apron and a Christmas runner.  A little disappointing, but still fun to go to.

I was at the Sparrow's Nest in Cary on Saturday where someone had donated a huge collection of vintage doilies, hankies, aprons, towels, embroided pieces and tablecloths.    Talk about joy!  I spent so much time going through each piece, and only bought a few pieces.  I was so proud of myself.  It was very hard to pass up pieces, but I kept telling myself that I just got rid of a lot of similar pieces and had to be choosier.  I would like to go back soon to take another look.  There are a few pieces that I may still purchase if they are still there.  I got a few nice crochet pieces that were unique to my collection.  I also found some hankies that I don't have:  Valentine's Day, Happy Birthday and the state of Wisconsin.  The prices were about average rangeing from $1.25 and up.  Most of the ones I bought were from $1.25 to $6.00.  Just like estate sale prices. 

Here is how I clean them (I was lucky that these recent pieces were in very good clean condition).  I fill the washer up with extremely hot water and put in 5 scoops of Oxyclean.  Then, I let them sit for as long as possible (sometimes overnight).  Be careful with red colors though.  I find that with crochet pieces this works extremely well because it softens up the fibers and they don't rip.  I have great success with this for taking out the yellow stains or at least lightening them up considerably.  Then, I put them in the dryer without fabric softener for at least 30 minutes.  Crochet pieces I usually hang to dry so that they don't shrink.

The kids and I stopped at the Goodwill in Huntley.  Target had donated an amazing amount of new clearance items from clothes to toys and more.  Of course, we bought a Nerf set.  The store was very busy and the employees were bringing out more Target items the whole time.  Definitely worth the trip in the next few days.  Last week they had new Tommy Hilfiger sweaters for $10 and they were gone by today.  I'm sure these Target items won't be around for long. 

I can't wait to see what this weeks sales will be...