Seek and Ye Shall Find

*****WARNING: PICTURE HEAVY POST TODAY!!*****

Happy Monday!  I can't believe that we are back at the beginning of the week already.  Time is just flying by so quickly.  I don't know about you, but sometimes I wish it would slow down for an instant or two so that we can enjoy it that much more.  However, I really did enjoy my weekend, even if it flew by.  There wasn't too much in the way of stitching time, but there was plenty of quality time spent doing other things that I liked to do.

I'm going to be a little backwards today and tell you about Sunday first.  (Karen, I'm still being a tease and the piece de resistance is at the end of the post! LOL!)

Sunday was a wonderful day, even if Hubby was raring to go at 7:30am.  (So much for sleeping in!)  But, early to rise means breakfast at our favorite local diner.  As we were eating I started telling Hubby about the
Estate Sale that I had been to the day before (that was still going on) as well as a few Antique stores in the area.  I also told him about another sale that I missed that was right down the street.  I guess I peaked his interest, because he was raring to go.  So, after filling our bellies, we headed out for an Estate Sale/Antique Store Marathon.

First stop was the Estate Sale down the street.  Let me just say that they either had a raging sale on Friday and Saturday, or there wasn't much there to begin with.  However, Hubby was able to dig through the scraps that were left and he came up with a couple of items.  Not a bad haul for $4! After all, the box of blades would be at least that much.

Just look at this level!  It's made out of wood, unlike the aluminium levels of today.  Plus, it says "Sears Roebuck and Co".  Not something you see that much anymore.  As an added bonus, the level still works great.  (Yes, of course we tried it out first.)

Next we headed to some Antique stores as well as the sale that I was at the day before.  At the sale I picked up this great little wooden bench that had caught my eye.  I'm glad that I didn't buy it the day before since it was 50% off on Sunday.  I told Hubby that it was meant for me to have that bench since it was still there.  He just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.  As for the Ball Jar lids, I got those at one of the Antique stores that we rummaged through.  Hubby had to climb over a bunch of junk to reach them.

Here's a close up of the two frogs that I found yesterday.  The one on the left is clear glass and it is self contained.  The middle will hold a candle, but I think I'm going to find a way to make a small pin cushion that will fit in the hole.  The one on the right I found in an Antique Shop.  It is made out of "Vaseline Glass" which contains Uranium.  Apparently, it also glows neon green under a black light.  I just liked it because it was different than all the others that I had.  I have to say, I'm becoming quite the frog collector!

Now, here's where things get interesting.  (Yes, Karen, this is what I was teasing about on FB.)  On Saturday, I went on a ton of errands by myself because Hubby was working a double shift.  I took my wedding rings into the jewelry store for their check up and I had to kill some time while waiting.  So, I went over to an Estate Sale that looked promising.  As I'm walking through the house, it was easy to see that this family had a needlewoman (or man) in their midst.  There were small cross stitched pieces, mostly on aida or evenweave, as well as a few needlepoint pieces.  I felt so horrible about seeing all of that on the wall and knowing that it would not be loved.  I really wanted to buy it all up, but the prices on them were so ridiculously high.  It broke my heart to see them there!

So, I'm walking down the hall with my heart breaking about those lovingly stitched pieces when I see this....................

I couldn't believe my eyes!  Here was this grand piece hanging on the wall in the hallway.  It was almost as if it was sitting there waiting for me.  I kept running my hands over the frame while trying to decide if I should take it off the wall.  I was kind of afraid, because of the cost.  While it was 25% off, it was still more than I would normally spend.  But, it called out so strongly that I decided that I would endure Hubby's wrath for overspending.  I just figured that I could call it an early birthday gift to myself since my birthday is this week!

Here's it is a little closer (I kept the pictures large, but you should still be able to click them to see detail):

I just love the middle portion of the piece with the house nestled in the trees! 

This is a snap of the bottom of the piece.  I think that it was supposed to be a rose or a flower of some kind.

Along the edges you can see dark blue threads.  I'm wondering if this was mad into some kind of a purse or handbag at one point.

I'm just so thrilled with my Estate Sale find!  It really made my day....and my weekend!  I would really love to be able to get in contact with someone who could give me a little insight into this piece.  I wonder if it is really worth anything.  I'd love to find someone who could appraise it.  I checked into a few people, but no one has experience in this arena.  Antiques Roadshow, where are you when I need you?

Happy Stitching!