It's been a while and I think we're all over due for a little thriftiness in our lives.
Wouldn't you agree?
Last weekend, my Aunt, my Stalker and I were regaling each other with tales of wonderful thrift shop finds. From a lovely pea coat to an adorable broach, we oohed and aahed over each other's finds, found for a song, no less.
We giggled with delight at how much fun it is to go treasure hunting while my grandmother sat, off to the side, smiling with a small twinkle in her eyes.
Once upon a time, it was she who searched for bargains while her daughters sat back and rolled their eyes. My grandmother grew up during the depression and the expressions 'waste not want not' and 'a penny saved is a penny earned' were phrases I heard many times during my childhood.
And if you've known someone who lived during the great depression, you know that that experience changed them forever. And as we all deal with our own various struggles of the last recession, we also see the good that can come from having to reexamine the value of a dollar. As many people return to homesteading in whatever form they can, such as vegetable gardening, urban chicken coops, or home canning, we learn that the past trends of our throw away society, the modus operandi of 'what can I get next' is no longer sustainable and certainly not what we want to teach our children.
My grandmother who has never bought anything on credit, who has made everything from scratch and who rode her bicycle everywhere, well into her sixties, because it was fun, is finally able to sit and watch her daughters and granddaughters on a fall afternoon and smile as she sees life coming round full circle.
A treasured moment for me.
Real and free.
~~~~~
The vintage sewing basket and buttons, were a retirement gift for my stalker along with the little plate. She has plans on doing lots of quilting, hooking and weaving in her new life. I thought a little reminder of the old farmhouse to decorate her new 'office' would inspire her to finish a quilt for someone near and dear to her heart.
I've decided to keep this simple, if you feel like linking up, just leave a comment with a link to your post.
~Happy thrifting friends!~
12 comments:
I agree wholeheartly with you.My grandmother survived and so did my great grandma.We can to.
The sewing basket is so cute.Have a great day
Hi Andrea, Great post! I don't have a link or a photo but I just got my Grandmother's sewing box a view weeks ago when we were cleaning out their house to sell and it is full of vintage buttons and other sewing notions that I will never part with. I learned a lot from her and Grandpa as they were children of the depression too.
Jackie
What a great sewing basket. I love all those vintage buttons, so cute.
You found some great things. I love rummaging around for things like that.
Yes, it's a beautiful sewing basket - too bad it can't tell us a few of its memories, where it lived, who owned it, was it a gift from a daughter who also wanted to learn to sew?
Oh yes, the quilt! I must start to get a bit more regimented and stop frittering away the day!
Love Stalker Mom
I have a sewing basket similar to your basket, your stalker will love it. She (if she's anything like my mom) will be more busy than she ever was when she worked outside her home. Mom quilts day and night. Dad is away hunting so she stays in her sewing room ALL the time. Great finds!!
What a thoughtful gift!? I want to go treasure hunting!
I made a basket like that to keep the memoires from my kids' birth, like birthtags and stuff like that. Is so beautiful your post!
XOXO
What a great post! My "Nanny" shared so many stories about the depression with me and I am a firm believer in the 3 R's!
I loved reading this post! My mom and Dad were born just as the Depression began, and they also shared many stories with us.
this was lovely. I've just become your newest follower. Kirsty
beautifully written post. thx!
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