Treasure Box Wednesday: Thrifting, Stitching and Surprise

I'd caught a glimpse of the images as I'd passed the Red, White and Blue thrift store's hanging decor section. It was amid the art class paintings, the 70s mushroom plaques in plaster, dusty prints and framed posters. I got a sense of color, of intricacy, and, well... a lot of legs.

The section was crowded. I would have needed a cattle prod and more chutzpa than I certainly could ever summon, just to take a peek. I decided to pop back later, when the area was less... leggy.

So I bobbed and weaved around the store, and returned 20 minutes later to the spot, to find it much more managable. And that's when I got to see the first side of the three framed items that had been stacked and taped together.

The mermaid needlework had my attention immediately. Not only for its size, and color, but the fact that I knew how much work went into the thing...
At least a foot-and-a-half square, the design was chock full of mer-people...
...jellyfish, sunken ships and thready kelp.
On the other side was Rapunzel, letting her long hair down for the prince to make his grand entrance....

And this one had all the detail of the first... Castles and flowers and the great effort of the thing was remarkable to me...

I had no idea what the third one was (it was firmly taped inside facing the other two), but given it was in the same sort of frame and size, I expected it might be another Grimm tale. Perhaps Cinderella? Snow White? I looked forward to getting it home and finding out.

When I did, I was in for a big surprise. As it happened to be depicting my very favorite of childhood tales...

Alice in Wonderland.

What luck! And as you can see, the piece is as lush with detail as the other two...

Here's our friend the Hatter...
And even the Cheshire Cat makes an appearance. Albeit how much of him remains there at any time is up to him...
Moving on, at the Ohio River Boulevard antique mall, I found a Victorian luster portrait plate for just $6...
And at the Salvation Army on the South Side, I uncovered a McCoy pinecone patterned creamer (this had been a part of a tea set at one time), for just a few dollars...
It was a fun week of finds and very easy on the pocketbook in total... Perhaps this pocketbook...
Which was a whopping $1.50.

So that's Treasure Box Wednesday for this week. May you find your own delightful surprises, treasures, and perhaps even some Wonder in the days ahead.

13 comments:

padiwack said...

WONDERFUL finds! :-)

Erin said...

Outstanding artwork! Just gobsmacking.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

The needlework pieces are amazing. What wonderful finds. Beautiful work and now in a happy home.

My Vintage Treasures said...

You find the BEST treasures!!!

J. said...

I love the needlework pieces, just adorable!

TexNan said...

Gorgeous! You do find the best treasures. Makes me wish I still lived in Pittsburgh.

Cindy Brick said...

Dare I ask how much the needlepoint pictures were? (I'm cringing already -- and envious.)

Jenn Thorson said...

Thanks, folks, for sharing in my joy!

Cindy- They were $12 for all three of them. I imagine there's at least $12 of thread in them.

Considering I'm wholly untalented with fabric and needles myself, I'm delighted.

featherbed said...

Love, love love the pocketbook!

CC said...

It's been awhile since I've visited and I've so enjoyed seeing all your pretty finds. I specially liked Alice and the creamer...and I loved the stained glass window. You did the window well..I also would have had trouble waiting for it to dry. I'm not a ptient person..

Anonymous said...

there's more than $12 worth of thread on them.. the canvasses alone are worth at least $195 each! worth more now, of course..

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if you knew who put out the Alice in Wonderland. I have been looking for one just like it to do. Is it counted cross stitch or stamped and what year is it from? Sorry about all of the questions but any info. you know would help me out a lot.

Catharine said...

These canvas' are made by Edie and Ginger and just the canvas' are sold for over $300 EACH! What a great find! They are beautiful!!! I'm very jealous!