Rescued!

Friday is my day for treasure hunting around the neighbourhood. I live near a wealth of op/charity/thrift shops, and most weeks, during a little window of time I have without my boys, I like to wander through them, looking, imagining, finding inspiration and sometimes buying.

Mostly, I buy clothes. Yesterday, I rescued this:

A still life oil painting. The colours popped out at me and I couldn't leave it there. It's beautifully executed. I can't find out anything more about the artist, a Mr Paul de Steiger (full name and address on the back!) but he's a lovely oil painter and I'm so happy to have his painting brightening my kitchen. It's also fitting in with the general fruitiness going on in my head, (and I'm not the only one, see the lovely things Ellie is coming up with at Petalplum).

I don't usually take pictures of all my thrift finds, but I was particularly happy to rescue these bits and pieces on my travels yesterday too:

some lovely doilies and embroidered cushion covers. I am storing these up for a potential quilt idea that has been brewing away in my head for a little while now... a 2010 project I think;

this sweet little cross-stitched serviette, a bit stained but begging to be attached to a bag or something;

and this embroidered tablecloth for my (long-ago thrifted) chair, nicely hiding some of the grubby tapestry.

I don't know how all of this works in with the copious amounts of bold colour and pattern that I usually gather around me, particularly all the RED. But my aesthetic confusion is a topic for another post altogether...

What treasures have you unearthed lately? What's been catching your eye?