Weekend Junk Finds: Vintage Tablecloths

Today's junk came from an estate sale that I mentioned a few weeks ago. It opened on a Thursday afternoon, which I (mistakenly) thought meant it might not be so busy as a Friday morning sale. The kids were out of school that day, so I hired the neighbor to babysit and drove over.

I arrived at the sale about 10 minutes after opening, but there was no line--they'd let everyone in at once. Normally I hate that practice because it's just painful to stand outside in line, imagining that the people in front of you are scooping up all of the goodies while you wait and leaving you with the junk. In the case of this sale, I think letting people in a few at a time might not have been a bad idea! Surely, if the Fire Marshall had seen the place he'd have shut us down fast! It was a tiny old house and it was just unbelievably crowded and DARK.

Despite the hordes of people and the gloom, I managed to find a few treasures. In one bedroom I found a pile of vintage tablecloths. Even in the dark I could see that they were stained, but honestly couldn't tell how badly or if I thought the stains were removable. However, they were priced cheap--cheaper-than-the-thrift-store-cheap--so I thought I'd take a chance.

Love the aqua scalloped border on this one! The pale pink dye on the roses is pretty faded, though.

Pretty red flowers with blue-green leaves.

This one has a label--St. Regis by Springmaid.

This tablecloth was not with the others--it was wadded up in the top of the linen closet. This linen closet was at the end of the hall, flanked by bedroom doors on either side. It was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to even get the door open--and then if it was open, you not only blocked the hallway, but both bedroom doors. Truly, it was ridiculous. The estate sale company should have been smart and just taken the door off the hinges. There could have been gold bricks under the sheets & towels in that closet and nobody would have been able to get to them! This tablecloth is in better condition than the others and I think the aqua and orange color scheme is unusual and fun.

This tablecloth was with the others, but in much nicer condition. It features a motif of those cast iron trivets in the middle, and copper gelatin molds around the outside. (And I swear I ironed it--where did that ugly crease come from?). The copper molds remind me of my Gram, since she had a whole collection hanging up in her kitchen. The colors aren't my thing, so this one will end up in my Etsy shop.

I soaked the cloths in Biz and hot water, but unfortunately most of the stains stubbornly stayed put, so I officially have cutters. Maybe I can find more chairs that need reupholstering...

I'm linking up to Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl!