Estate Sale Treasure Trove of Vintage Country LPs

Found a treasure trove of classic country albums at an estate sale in Beverly, Massachusetts today. Here are three of my favorite finds:

I never see old Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton or George Jones & Tammy Wynette albums in record stores around Boston, so this was quite a score for me. That's to say nothing for a George Jones & Melba Montgomery album. I haven't see those anywhere!

Inside each lp is an index card with notes on the album. I'm wondering if the previous owner was a DJ at some point. Most of the notes say "up country", "slow", etc. Some are quite touching, though, such as the card in a Hank Snow album with notes next to certain songs saying "Annv. Tape."

That's the hard thing about estate sales. Deep down you know that the owners of the house have either passed away or can no longer care for themselves. It's always a bit sad to be rifling through their belongings. At the same time, the previous owner of these records was clearly meticulous with them and, I'm hoping, would be happy to see them going to someone who will take care of, play, and appreciate them. I hope that's the case anyway, as I came home with seventeen of his lps!

What's on the hi fi?

Tonight's post-dinner music was Stan Kenton's, Kenton's West Side Story.

Stan Kenton's arrangements can often be quite bombastic, but I think his version of West Side Story is superb and really swings. Here's a clip of "Cool":

Now it's time for bed...

While I'm on the subject of needlepoint, it was unbelievably exciting for me to find this Erica Wilson book at an antique store recently when I was visiting my family in Wisconsin. I can't imagine they sell many needlepoint books to 30-something males...

Needlepoint

When I was young my grandmother was always doing needlepoint. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I really appreciate the her skill and the intricate work that went into each piece. My grandmother passed away in 1993, but I now have two of her pieces in my house, a stool that she made for me when I was an infant, and a piece that she designed and stitched to copy a Joan Miro painting.

I've always loved the Miro needlepoint and my mom gave it to me a few years ago. Each segment of the piece is made with a different stitch and I think it's absolutely beautiful.

Fast forward to a few months ago and one of my favorite blogs, Retro Renovation, had a feature on Erica Wilson, the 1970s queen of needlepoint. Specifically, they highlighted bargello needlepoint, a quite old florentine style of flame stitch that was popular in the 1970s and looks beautiful on pillows. The designer Jonathan Adler has been producing his own modern twist on bargello, but his pillows are quite expensive. 

So, inspired by my grandmother, I decided to pick up a few vintage books on bargello needlepoint and teach myself how to do it. With Margaret Boyles' Bargello: An Explosion In Color and The Margaret Boyles Bargello Workbook in hand, I decided to set out on my first needlepoint adventure.

Here's my progress so far. I think it looks pretty good. I'll keep you updated as I move along. I'm hoping to make at least four pillows. I need to procure a sewing machine from an estate sale, but that shouldn't take long. Hopefully I can keep up my motivation.

An Introduction.

I'm Chris from Boston and I've decided to start a blog. Mostly just to post things that I think people probably get tired of seeing on Facebook. Content will probably mostly be photos of stuff I find at estate sales, projects I'm working on (I've recently taken up bargello needlepoint), and basically whatever else I feel I want to share with the internet. I guess that's kind of like Pinterest, but I guess I feel too manly for that. :) I love the look and quality of vintage 1950s, '60s, and '70s furniture, decor, and crafts. So there will probably be a lot of that. Also some music I enjoy. Hopefully there will be others out there who find these things enjoyable. Chris