Steam, Starch and Time

 This week I rediscovered ironing. 

Yes, yes, I know. No one irons any more. Today’s fabrics frequently don’t need it, or wont even take it. But, yesterday’s fabrics are a different story.

At the last estate sale I found a veritable treasure, 28 absolutely beautiful, vintage, lady’s handkerchiefs.  Now, there were many more, but a search through an entire box yielded only the 28 prettiest, in the best condition.  Some are printed, some are embroidered, a few are monogrammed. Some have never been used, their original tags still attached, some are a little worn but clearly loved. 

So how did this find become a nostalgic afternoon?

After a good washing and careful inspection, they were nothing more than  a large pile of wrinkled squares of clean, fine cotton and linen, and potential.  

In order to make them presentable, they had to be ironed. 

In all fairness, this necessitated buying a new ironing board – apparently they only last about 25 years, and my last one was leaning precariously. On a cold, wet afternoon I found an old movie on TV, set up the ironing board, pulled out the spray starch, and plugged in the iron. Immediately I missed the sprinkle bottle that sat by my grandmother’s ironing board. You may remember such a thing – a Coke bottle with a cork inserted in the top and an aluminum sprinkling head attached.  I may have to find one and order it (if I don’t luck up on one at an estate sale. Also, I know I’ve seen them on Etsy)

As soon as the hot iron slid across the first corner of the first handkerchief, I knew it was going to be a good afternoon.  You see, when a hot iron, steam and Niagra Spray Starch mix on fine, vintage cotton, magic happens.  Press a button and a wonderful cloud of steam and nostalgia wafts up. Time seems to stand still.

Each piece starts out as a wrinkled wad of cloth - fine cloth, but certainly not presentable. As the iron moves over it and the wrinkles disappear, beautiful details emerge. Some of these linens are so fine that they are almost sheer. They are delicate and feminine. They are small works of art. As each piece is carefully pressed I begin to imagine who might have bought such a thing in the past and who its future owner might be. 

One exceptional treasure is very fine cotton lawn, sheer but strong. In one corner a large shadow work S has been monogrammed with elegant but simple detail. As the wrinkles smooth away it’s apparent that the shadow work embroidery might actually be a very pale shell pink. The color is almost indiscernible. This is an exquisite piece for a bride, or a cherished friend or family member.

Another has tiny flowers embroidered along the border. One has a cluster of flowers carefully worked in each corner. Still another has tiny initials GSM

in white embroidery on an opaque white field.

Watching the pile of wrinkled cotton decrease and the stack of pristine linen grow, the realization also grew that for the last hour I was relaxed, lost in memories of watching my mother or grandmother iron. I reveled in the aroma of steam and cotton and starch. While this task requires care, it does not require deep thought. My mind was free to wander. The satisfaction of seeing all of the beautiful work done year and years ago once more glow was incredible.

Now let no one get carried away and suddenly decide that dropping off your linen at my door step will be welcome.

The Major will tell you that his (not my) Sunday morning job when our girls were small, was ironing church dresses. Still, I enjoyed the afternoon. I accomplished a great deal, and Im looking forward to the rest of the ironing needed for the shop.  Tea towels, pillow cases, cloth napkins, tablecloths, aprons and doilies. Ok, the doilies are tedious.  And I have to wonder, why don’t we have these amazing fabrics any more? When did we let the satisfaction of a quiet afternoon’s work become drudgery.  For me that afternoon’s ironing resolved a couple of common dilemmas.  

A chore was accomplished that needed doing. 

Time was found to relax and enjoy an old movie 

(one of my guilty pleasures). 

My heart was touched by the memories of my mother and my grandmothers completing this same task, knowing the same scents and the same sense of accomplishment. 

And it's been confirmed, newer is not always better.

Conscience vs Business

Well, it is official ~ I am not cut out to be a cut throat business woman 

Now, I truly enjoy the hunting, buying, and selling. I delight in the research on each piece and don’t even mind the cleaning and occasional repair. But two sales in the last week have cinched it. My heart is just too soft to be a tycoon.

Today I convinced the Middle One to go forego being the first dealers at a sale’s last day to drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction for the first day of a different sale.  For your information, the difference between the first and last is significant.  First day prices usually stand as is, but last day prices are usually 25 – 50% off.  We knew what we might find at the last day. (We’d been there on the first and had taken note of what might still be around)  But this other sale had an item I knew I could sell. I knew exactly what condition it needed to be in. I knew the photo supported that. I knew exactly how much I could get for it. It’s an item I am very familiar with AND one that the Major is an expert in.  So all that was necessary was to show up early enough to be one of the first people through the door, seek it out quickly and grab it. Sounds simple. Easy Money. 

I didn’t count on my heart getting involved.

We arrived 20 min before the sale, the Middle One jumped out and got our name on the list, #8 and #9.  When the doors opened, they took the first 10 people.  We were in.  Two seconds in the door: and I spotted my prey.  Fifteen seconds in: I have my hands on it. The Middle One was at my shoulder.  We were examining.  The price was a bit higher than I wanted to pay but I KNEW I could still make a good profit on it.   One minute in: a lady appears at the Middle One’s shoulder.  She was interested, too.  Continuing to look, we plug it in….it works.  We sort out the items that don’t go with it. Turning it up on end, I see that it was last serviced March 21, 1975, but it still sounds great. We go through the accessories….more than expected.  It is in fabulous condition. The case is in excellent condition.   The lady says she is going to stay in case we don’t take it. 

I look up… and there it is … 

the look on her face. 

Dear heavens….she wants this piece.  I can see it. I know the look because once upon a time, I wanted one.  After waiting for years, I finally have three of my own. (thank you to the Major for those) Now I’m searching it over just to buy time while my mind races.  I’m weighing what to do. We can sell this, I know we can. We would make good money.  I don’t doubt the lady could afford to buy one at what I would ask, but these are becoming fairly hard to come by especially at this price, in this condition.  A look at the Middle One tells me she knows my quandary. I insisted we come to this sale, for just this purpose. We are 45 minutes from the sale we had intended to visit…just because of this.  There’s not much else at this sale for us. But I see the look on the lady’s face.  

The contest is conscience  vs business & profit

Taking a deep breath and facing the patiently, though anxiously, waiting prospect I heard myself say “I’m going to let you have this one. It’s a good deal. It’s in good shape, has a lot of attachments. You will want to get it serviced. Do you know where the Quilt Haus is? I took mine there and they had someone who does service, check with them.”  The look on her face changed, she was stunned. She said she had used one, her mother in law’s I think, but even though the MIL didn’t use it any longer, she wouldn’t let her have it. She sews.  She quilts.  She had tears in her eyes. She hugged me.  

Conscience wins

I told her to enjoy it. That I loved mine and knew she would. And I walked away.  And I looked at the Middle One, and I said “I’m sorry”. She  told me not to apologize. We discussed it some and she assured me that following my instinct was right. She alluded to us being there for a purpose.

I turned around and walked back in the room where they were packing it up and asked if she needed an owner’s manual. I know the Major has a digital version and possibly an original, he used to deal in these. They gave me their email address so I can send a digital copy.  As they were finishing up and paying and headed out the door I heard her husband say “there’s my Christmas shopping done, Merry Christmas”.

I apologized to the Middle One

 again, and again, and again  

I learned that I will never be a hard-nosed business woman.  Seeing the look on this lady’s face was worth giving it up.

So my friends, that is why there is no vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machine, in excellent condition, with original attachments, additional attachments, with a case in excellent condition, for sale in our shop. 

We are OK with this

More on that second sale later...

The Smell Test....No Really!

There comes a point in preparing to list every item when it’s necessary to determine the value. This is not always an easy chore. The first things to consider are; age, condition, usability, popularity and market availability.  Sounds simple right? Let’s consider the case of:

The Vintage Dominoes.

In the beginning, the Major staked us with a few items he had picked up from various sources. For those that aren’t acquainted with him, the Major is one of those people who makes friends wherever he goes. Needless to say one of his friends is a gentleman who runs an auction house and the Major goes to the auctions weekly.  Among the treasures he gifted to us was a set of dominoes in a leather case. We thought these would be easy…

First, the Middle One tried to find them or a set very close them, online. Often this is a good place to start. If someone else has already done most of the legwork, we use the information as a starting place to do our own verification.  She couldn’t find them. Not. One. Set.  Ok, the name of the company printed on the inside of the leather case. No. Joy.

Hmmmmm….

Coming at the problem from another angle ~ what are they made of? The more information you can list in your search, the more likely you are to find them.  I thought this would be an easy approach. Nope.  I suggested bakelite but the Middle One wasn’t sure. The next thing I know she hands me a domino and says…”rub this with your finger then smell it” 

 

Why?

Seriously would you have done this?  She said that if it gets warm from friction it would smell like formaldehyde. When queried if it did, the Middle One informed me she does not know what formaldehyde smells like.  Ok, next “did we have any 409?”  Sorry 409, Mimi is a Mr Clean kind of girl.  How about rubbing alcohol? Yes, that we have, and the result was positive. But, the Middle One is hard to convince. So on to ~ simichrome ~ seriously, she didn’t expect this one, but I have been around a while.  Picking up the phone I called the Major and verified we should have some in the garage.  

After sixty minutes, (yes, one full hour), and a couple of trips up and down the stairs, and a search under the cabinets, and a couple of Qtips, and both of us working on internet searches, we concluded with reasonable certainty that they are bakelite.  Still, there was no exact match online, even with this piece of information. Now, the Middle One is a bit of a perfectionist and we are both inherently rule followers. The Ladies are not going to post an item without doing as much work as we can and be as sure as possible. This sometimes backfires and we spend hours trying to research and value some incredible little treasure. Still, we’ve set a standard.

In the end, given that they are, with reasonable certainty, bakelite, we can date to mid 1950's or earlier. The condition is very good. A set like this is still definitely usable. While there are quite a few sets online, not all are full sets, not all are in the condition these are and not all have such a nice case. So, she took an average of all that we found online that were close, reduced it a small percentage, haggled with herself for a good 10 minutes more and finally settled on a value.  

All of this for item that needed very little actual cleaning. 

One that we thought would be ‘an easy listing’. 

Who are we kidding?

Testing for Bakelite

1. Friction Test - rub an area of the item with your thumb until it begins to warm up, then smell it. (yes, that's what I said) if it smells like formaldehyde it's most likely bakelite
2. 409 Test - Wet a Qtip or cotton ball with 409, gently rub it on an obscure area of the item, if the Qtip shows a color from pale yellow to nicotine yellow, its bakelite
3. Rubbing Alcohol - Basically the same as the 409 test, but not quite as reliable - test with another method
4. Simichrome Test - Simichrome is a polish used to clean metal and chrome. Put a dab on a small piece of soft cloth and rub a bit on an obscure area of the item, it should turn yellow if the piece is bakelite
** these methods do not necessarily apply if the piece has been lacquered or is  black bakelite

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful.... So sign up early!

Do you have any idea how cold 43F is, at 8:40am, on a Thursday morning, outside, with the wind blowing??

 It’s very cold. 

It’s “why are we standing out here?” cold. 

It’s “do we really want go to an estate sale….ever again?” cold.

 Now remember, the ladies are in Texas ~ South Central Texas at that.

The sale was scheduled for 9:00, and if we had paid any attention, we might have made it in the door near that time. But it was time for the ladies to learn another lesson. 

There really should be an easier way.

Let’s discuss sign up lists.  Many estate sales have them, especially on the first day. If you aren’t sure, here’s what to do: get your lazy self out of your warm car, walk up to the porch and check.  Alternately, you can send your partner. (Work with what you have, I pled age and family position. After all, I am the mother). This simple act would have saved us a lot of discomfort.  But NO ~ We had to learn by signing up at 12 minutes til, and waiting until 9:35 to get in the door. Oh, if you are wondering, the Middle One secured us numbers 41 & 42, each person has to have their own number. People were taken in three to five at a time. And by the way, they police that door. In fact, at this sale they closed it … in the face of the next person in line.  

A few sales have sign up lists online.  That’s quite nice, but if you put your name on the list, a word of advice. Be there when the doors open. Not being present does not entitle you to stroll up to the porch 40 minutes after opening, nod to those you know, and nonchalantly enter ahead of the patiently waiting crowd. That buyer found the door closed, and when the next group was allowed in, he was informed he should sign in... at the bottom of the list.  

The Ladies can learn from the mistakes of others, too!

As to the reason for sign up lists ~ the first day of the sale can be extremely busy. The dealers, especially, are trying to beat each other to the very best items.  Not the things you bargain for, the treasures that are more rare, more valuable, more sellable. Frequently the estate sale management companies have a limited number of attendants. It's their job to assist either in each room or on each floor... sometimes both. Controlling the initial flow in the door keeps them from being overwhelmed. And no, in general you do not want them to bring more people.  'Estate' is a funny word. In this case it does not refer to a large manor-like property, but more often to a small house filled to the brim with nick-nacks and the bric-a-brac of someone's daily life.  There's not enough space for all the shoppers and a hoard of attendants. The fewer attendants = more shoppers = less time standing in the cold (or heat, as the case may be)  Everyone involved should practice patience...let me repeat that;

Everyone involved should practice patience!

We also learned how to dress for the weather. Granted, we should have known this ahead of time. I did raise the girls better.  My cute unstructured cardigan over a long sleeve v-neck shirt was quite stylish, however, it was not warm. Not even with one of my beloved pashmina's around my neck (more on those another time).  The Middle One was much closer to the right idea, but could also have used another layer. 

But at least, when we ventured out at 8:40 on Saturday morning to hit the last day of that sale, and it was only 40F and raining, we were prepared. Not only that, we were successful at the sale. If nothing else, the ladies are teachable!