A Vintage Moment

This is the post I really wanted to post today for Friday Foto Friends, but I couldn't get it together in time, and also those bears just wanted to steal the show!

Anyway, this past week we did something kind of special in a bittersweet kind of way.  I know many of you are aware that several months ago we had to place my sweet Mother in law in a nursing home after years of sharing her care-giving back and forth (Click HERE for more about her story) between my husband's brother & family and us.  The good news is she loves it there and is doing so much better than we ever dreamed could be possible...and that has been a real positive answer to a very difficult dilemma.   But now we are faced with what to do about her home and the furnishings that are still there.  We can't sell the house yet because of legalities, but we don't want to leave all of her things there for others to break in and steal or in some other way vandalize.  So the decision has been made to start cleaning things out and taking the things that are valuable in any way...(sentimental or otherwise), and then we will donate what's left to a local charity.

So, this week we met our brother in law there and we made some decisions about what was being kept, and what would have to "go".  Consequently we came home with a truck load of some furnishings and other "vintage" items that were sentimental.

The "vintage" items are the things that I loved the most, and I thought you would enjoy seeing a few of them.

First of all, I have a soft spot in my heart for vintage linens of any kind, but especially some that were embroidered or hand made in any way.  And most especially if I know who did the needlework...then that makes it ultra special, no matter what the condition.

My husband's grandmother used to embroider pillowcases, tablecloths, table doilies and other special items.  Way back when we cleaned out HER house after her death, I received a lot of things that she had made...but not all of them.  Apparently my mother in law had saved back some special ones to keep herself...and these are some of what we found.  I split up some of the items to give to my sister in law so she will have some for her family as well.

I just love these pillow cases.  Thankfully this matched pair was in pretty good shape and still functional...

This lovely table runner for a dressing table or chest of drawers top has this sweet little girl with her poodle design on both ends.  Sadly, the other end is badly stained, and I am studying on ways to clean it without damaging the fragile fibers and threads. Any suggestions out there are very welcome!

There was only one of this designed pillowcase...but it is also so lovely and in great shape.

This is another table runner that has several bad stains...so I will need to gently clean it if I can...

This is one of two monogrammed pillow cases...PM stood for Pearl Martin, who was my husband's grandmother (His mother's mother).  I wanted this because my original initials were also PM for my maiden name...and when I got married, I kept my maiden last name as my middle name and added Steiner, which made my initials PMS.  There have been many fun conversations over that!

Here is another pair of embroidered pillow cases...the lace edge is a little torn in places, but otherwise they aren't in too bad of shape.  I just love the colors!

Now here's a real beauty! This is actually a flower vase!  These styles of vases were very popular back in the 50's...and this one is so beautiful...I just couldn't resist her! She actually reminds me of my mother in law, who was a beautician and always kept her hair so lovely!

Here's a picture of my mother in law and my father in law, back when they were newlyweds.  They were a very handsome couple.

Something else we brought home was this vintage bed, which originally belonged to my husband's father's family...and is the only piece of furniture we have that came from the Steiner side of the family.  It is a full size bed with a headboard and footboard...probably dates circa 1930's or thereabouts....

I love that I can finally use this vintage sheet (Click HERE for more about this sheet!) that I got some time ago and didn't have a full size bed to use it on...

And I also have a place to use these wonderful pillowcases (for special guests!)

And we also got this lovely quilted bedspread that came with the bed, which originally belonged to my husband's Aunt Nelly. (It's not an antique quilt, but just very pretty and perfect for this bed)

I had to wash it and hang it on the line to dry first...and thankfully the chickadees have moved out of the birdhouse beside the clothesline, so no birdies did anything to laundry while it was hanging there...

And of course, this lovely vintage bed needed a doll...so I pulled this sweet little "Brush Arbor" doll out of a dresser drawer and thought she looked just right on this bed...at least for now... I may change dolls periodically depending upon my mood...

Here is the information about this doll, which was given to me as a gift many years ago by my brother in law.

So, I think it is fitting to end this post with a picture of my sweet mother in law and my hubby, on one of our recent visits to the nursing home. She has been learning to paint and color and play Bingo, along with making new friends there.

Proverbs 31:28-31

28.  Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29. “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31. Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

I probably could save this post for Mother's Day, but since that is coming up soon, this will help set the tone for that celebration!

Have a blessed and happy weekend my friends!!