Sunday, February 1, 2009

Ah, the estate sale. What an interesting concept. A person dies and his relatives go through his things and take what they want and then sell off the rest. It's an odd phenomenon. I don't think the guy whose estate was for sale this Saturday was married. I didn't see anything even remotely feminine in the house. Pk found some bits of rusty tools that appealed to him and an older model GPS which he has had fun playing with. The really interesting part was the property which was selling for over 300,000 dollars because it had a dock and sat on a branch of the Mullica River. Tiny property and small house but, it had a dock!



We got to the sale at about 8:15. It was already crowded. And the crowds were not nice. There were some women shouting "that's mine, that's spoken for, don't touch that!" It was really weird and not at all comfortable. We were probably there for less than half an hour. I could hear some men talking amusedly about how they saw people just come in and take out armloads of stuff.




But, there was breakfast! We stopped at a diner and I had really good pancakes and sausage. And then we went to Woolbearers, my favorite of the yarn stores in the area. They're about 25 miles away from home but worth the trip. It turns out that the town was having an ice sculpting contest. This was their entry. I'll confess here that this photo was taken on Sunday because I was a doofus and forgot to take the camera with me on Saturday. Good thing Kate wanted to go to the store on Sunday. I remembered the camera and since it was in the shade and the temp hadn't gotten too high, it was still in pretty good shape. I bought some laceweight yarn and a pattern for when I finish the lace project I started for Long Lacey Summer. I haven't forgotten it, just put it aside as I worked on holiday and now baby gifts. I tried to pick it up last night but it was too dark and the yarn is too dark. It's definitely a daylight project.


I finished the Morning Surf Scarf. I didn't use up every scrap of the yarn because I wanted to save a bit of it. I'm trying to save a bit of all the yarn I spin so I can compare it. Maybe someday, it'll become a sampler afghan or something. This is what it looks like after a bath and being lightly blocked. It doesn't fit on my table so it's folded in half. The colors are brighter than the photo shows. Blocking does seem to have evened it out somewhat. I can't describe how very cool it is to knit with yarn that I spun. Watching the colors appear one after another gave me a thrill. I like the colors but they're still not me. And I will say that I don't like the pattern. I did it to be part of the group but I wouldn't have chosen it. When this dries (hopefully before dinner), I'm putting it into a package and sending it off.
Most of the sneezing and sniffling has gone away. I am still a little tired but on the whole, better. Pk and I got up early today and hit the grocery store. It's Superbowl Sunday and they'll be mobbed this afternoon as people get ready for the game. We won't be watching (no television). I'm doing the weekly laundry and spinning some. I ripped out half of the baby kimono sweater because I thought it looked too big. I took 10 stitches off the back and I think it'll be better. It's an easy pattern, just plain stockinette. It won't take too long to finish.
I put some stew in the crockpot this morning and the house is smelling good. I love a good stew and even though today is quite moderate and sunny, it'll be tasty with minimum fuss.
I hope you are all having a lovely, peaceful weekend.

6 comments:

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

How cute is that sheep. I'm glad you got a photo to share.

Your scarf is beautiful. I really love the pattern.

Rose Red said...

Yes, estate sales are an odd thing (as are any kinds of clearance sales - people can be very rude, can't they!)

Glad you had success at the LYS though!!

I think it's a great idea to keep some of your handspun - will be very interesting to see how it changes (or not) over the years

Bells said...

I think estate sales must be one of the strangest kinds of experiences but I suppose it's a good way to clear out someone's stuff - but it's their life! All gone! I don't hear of them much here but they must exist. I suppose if I looked I'd find them.

Your handspun is gorgeous. It turned into the loveliest scarf. That thrill must be just delightful.

Bezzie said...

Love the scarf! I too have been saving bits of my handspun. I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with it!

roxie said...

The scarf rocks. The estate sale, not so much. What is wrong with people? If you want something, you pick it up and carry it as you look. Or for furniture, you grab a sales assistant and get them to put a sold tag on it. First come, first served and nothing to fight over.

Estate sales allow the treasures of one person's life to move on and become another person's treasure. I once found a piece of handwoven wool with a history attached telling how the weaver had come to Oregon in 1840 as a child, and when she married, spun the yarn from the wool of her own sheep, and wove the fabric for curtains for her bedroom. And there were no family members who wanted it! I bought it for $5 and donated it to the Oregon Pioneer Museum.

Alwen said...

Yes, I always think of estate sales as a chance to rescue the treasures the family unaccountably didn't want. I've gotten knitting needles and nice tatting shuttles that way.

What a cute little icy lamb!

Now I must link you to a live one:

First spring lamb:
http://shadysidefarm.blogspot.com/2009/02/first-lamb-of-season.html

Happy Sunday!  I am sitting here working on my sweater made with the cashmere yarn my husband gave me for my birthday last year. I’m further...