Thursday, June 25, 2015

Estate Sales and Self Control

The pictures in this post aren't great, they're what I could quickly get with my phone. I'm still convinced that when it comes to moments like this, less-than-perfect pictures are better than no pictures.  

Because how often do you see lamps like these, still in their original setting?  


Wouldn't they go great with the tiki painting I inherited from my father's mother?


If ever a kitschy painting deserved its own light fixtures, it's this painting and those light fixtures. But neither of them is suited to our ninety-six year old farm house, so I left the lamps for someone else to love. (The painting lives in my sewing room where the rest of the family doesn't have to look at it.)



It was harder to leave behind the antique spinning wheel that had been converted into a lamp, especially after Hubby asked me if I could salvage it. It had caught my eye from the end of the driveway. I love spinning wheels the way I love treadle sewing machines, but I don't have a good spot for one that's been wired for an electric bulb and is falling apart. That poor wheel will probably never spin again, at least not well enough to turn roving into yarn. Then I realized that it wasn't thirty-five dollars, it was seventeen fifty and I started to second guess my decision to pass on it.

Someone please tell me I did the right thing by leaving it behind!

4 comments:

Carol Swift said...

Wow! Some really interesting pieces at that sale, but adding a bulb to a spinning wheel was over the top. You did the right thing if it was falling apart and wouldn't spin. But, I would be second guessing myself, too.

ImaQuilter4 said...

I have that Tiki picture too! My Mom bought it years ago. And I would go back and get the spinning wheel. I'm sure you could get it working for something again. Whether it's the light or the spinning wheel. (but you need to know that my spouse thinks I have too much stuff around that needs a little help. :-) ) I still love the painting- I'll have to take a closer look at ours to see any background figures.

Michelle said...

ImaQuilter4 - let me know if your Tiki picture has creepy guys in the background! I've never seen another one like Grandma's and have been wondering where she bought it. Or WHY.

FabricandFlowers said...

I avoided going to an estate sale that had quilts for sale. I have more fabric than anyone could ever use. I don't need to buy quilts. So...I feel your angst. Tonight I'm going to dream about the quilt I let go.

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