Urban Legend

Warning: This is a long one, but the payoff's worth it!

For years I've heard the urban legend about a sweet old lady who bestow's happiness & riches of a vintage variety upon a lucky junker. I never believed it, until it happend to me! Last weekend while picking through a table at a garage sale, I stuck up a conversation with one of  the home owners.  I asked if she had any crafting supplies, fabric, lace, buttons. You know, your basic mixed media wish list.  The woman, Roxanne, told me she was moving & had scads of the stuff at home & was I interested? I gave her my phone number, went on with my day & figured  I'd never hear from her. 

Well, Monday evening while nursing my throbbing mouth, the phone rang. It was Roxanne, did I want to come over & see her stash?  Kevin was shocked when I grabbed my keys & headed for the door.  Even root canal surgery wouldn't keep me away from an opportunity to snoop through a sweet old ladies fabric stash! I took along a couple of my tattered collages to give her an idea of what I was looking for. 

Are you still reading???
This is the good part...
Roxanne starts pulling out these boxes filled with the yummiest, creamy, vintage laces. Before she even gets them all out, I asked her how much she wanted for the whole lot?  Nothing, she said. Nothing!
She insisted I take it all.  She liked my work & saw a kindred spirit.

Roxanne is an avid crafter & quilter.

And a long time collector of everything we LOVE!

Some of this amazing lace & trim was her Grandmother's.

Some very old,

yellowed from age,

some a little newer,

To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement.  But she wasn't done.  'Do you like buttons', she asked?

Of course they were sorted by color.

Pearly whites, cool blacks,

Those little bones are glass beads.

'Can you use costume jewelry'?

Lovely lockets,

Some vintage bling,

Old watches.

Then came the sewing notions.

I love this old satin blanket binding.

Some old Wrights, & some cool funky stuff.

These old embroidery skeins are awesome, ohhh the colors, & the labels!

She shared so many wonderful things, muslin, linen this old burlap looking ribbon.

As we poured through boxes, she shared her story.  She is a retired HR person, a lifelong crafter & leaving soon for Minnesota to care for a terminally ill cousin.  She also shared her love of paper crafts.  Look at the sweet cards she makes.

She recycles holiday cards & even paper bags! She shares her passion & her time, teaching seniors card making.

 I believe God puts people in our lives for a reason.  A casual conversation led to such a generous gift, from such a special lady.  Roxanne was as giddy as I was that night. So excited to find someone to pass her treasures onto, someone who'd love them as much as she did, & who would do something creative with it all. 

 My quick trip turned into a 2 hour visit, I left with 2 full boxes of lovelies & a new friend. Someday, (hopefully many years from now), I'll pass it on to a younger grateful artist.

Thank you so much for all of the birthday & get well wishes you left me! Everyday I am reminded of the wonderful friends I've made here in blogland. You are the best!  I'm about halfway through my oral ordeal (OMG, that sounds dirty), 3 days in a row of root canals, etc.  I have a week to rest & then big surgery next Thursday.  I'm just warning you, there may be some drug induced posts coming up!