"Soft" Antiques - embroidery, needlework, etc. - marketable?

I have a couple of trunks full of finished pieces that my mother and aunts made, but there are quite a number of unfinished pieces. Does anyone here sell 'soft' antiques? If so, is there a market for unfinished items? I also have a lot of the blank patterns that weren't started, also from the 20s & 30s.

 

Just looking in eBay, I found these Sold listings. My search was pretty broad, just the word "unfinished" in a couple of categories. So not all of them are like yours... but it's fun to look!

1930 to present:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Linens-Text...salic=1&_sop=13&_dmd=1&_ipg=200&LH_Complete=1

Pre-1930:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...unfinished+.TRS2&_nkw=unfinished+&_sacat=2218

 

Well, darn. I never think of looking at Ebay any more.

I have to do something with this stuff. My kids sure don't want it. Watch - three or four generations down the road, some descendant is going to say they wished they had something of great-great-great-great grandma's.

 

I never had the luxury to own anything that belonged to my grandparents. Even though I knew most of them (actually just my grandmothers from both my parent's sides) when they were still alive, but once they passed a few greedy relatives went in and took everything and anything they could in both separate cases.
But it's ok, who knows they might not even have had anything I'd like to keep.

 

Hi Bluemoon,
Sorry for you. When the hospital called me to tell me my Gram had passed. I called my aunt (her daughter) who lived several states away. I then called my two aunts (her daughter in laws) who lived a couple of minutes away. The two of them flew down and went through my Gram's jewelry and stuff. They were fighting over who was going to get what. Luckily I knew where my Gram kept her "good" stuff. By the time her daughter arrived there were two or three pieces of junk left. My aunt was so grateful that I saved the stuff with the most meaning. To this day I have not said a word to the "evil duo". I only got a few things of Gram's but they are treasured items.
greg

 

This is so 'normal' now to make me ill.

 

What do you want to do with these if you aren't going to work them?
~
I know someone whose Mom loves to do such things so...

 

We were at a memorial service yesterday and I inadvertently put my foot in my mouth. I hadn't met the family, only knew the husband and wife. He died a couple of months ago and his wife cleared out his collections. I happened to sit at a table with his son and said something about wishing I'd seen one or two of the items he collected and his son said, "Me, too." I stupidly asked if his mother didn't contact him and he looked over at the other table and said, "She's not my mother." My face must have turned crimson. It was his stepmother and she never invited her husband's family to come look at any of his possessions. How sad.

 

That is horrible of her!!!!
She well deserved hearing that!!!!

 

She wasn't at our table. I was embarrassed because of my wrong assumption and for calling attention to a painful subject. In retrospect, there's no way I'd have known because they were on a couple of committees with me and didn't know them well enough to find out she was a second wife.

 

It can be very sad. I had an aunt that died and after a few years my uncle re-married. The new wife had a yard sale and was selling my deceased aunt's things. My cousin (daughter of the deceased) tried to buy a few of her mother's things back at the yard sale but the new wife was so spiteful that she wouldn't even sell them to her and put them away just so she couldn't have them.

No idea what was going on but a few years later the new wife divorced my uncle and somehow got to keep his farm that he'd owned for years. Some people are really hard to understand.

 

And some aren't worth a second's thought.

 

What a nasty person! There's got to be some kind of "story" to explain such behavior.

I had some of those embroidered things - napkins, tea towels or such - that were probably my grandmother's and appeared never used. I'm pretty sure they went to GW a few years ago because they were taking up space I needed for other things and had no "sentimental value."

I have several other items from that grandmother that I actually remember from her house (we lived next door until I was 12) that I would never part with because they have great memories attached.

 

My aunt, who had no children, was 'befriended' by some neighbors - over the last 20 years of her life, from her '70s to '90s, they managed to get a big chunk of her land, with the proviso that they would build a house to be close by, they sold it instead, took over her car and household, hiring a friend to come in a couple of times a week to 'take care' of her. My cousin, who lived nearby, became very concerned about her failing health and filthy house, called Mom, who flew up to talk to her sister, demanded the useless, thieving helper be fired, then spent days cleaning and making the house safe. My cousin pulled some strings to get her in to a very nice assisted living (where he'd placed his aunt & uncle before they passed) - she was impressed with the facility and seemed happy about it, then her 'adopted' family vetoed it, got full power of attorney, sold everything she had left, and moved her into the house a couple of hours away that they'd bought with the proceeds from selling the property she'd given them. My cousin, who is quite comfortable, with no interest in any inheritance (nothing left other than her pension and SS anyway), continued to try and place her in a safe place, even working through the courts, but she continued to trust them - the only solace is that we believe they wanted to keep her healthy for those incoming checks. They did, three years after she passed, finally send my grandmother's engagement ring (of no great value other than sentimental) - my aunt, who had a different mother, had taken it after Mom's other older sister died, but she put it in her will that it should go to my mother, and Mom kind of dug in her heels on it. She'd pretty much given up though, when they finally sent it...

~Cheryl

 

Boy Cheryl, that's the kind of story that really curls your toes in a bad way and makes you want to rip someone apart!!! Every once in a while you hear of those people....bloodsuckers really, and hopefully there's a special place WAAAAY down below for them!!!! Makes me think about 'early distribution' too!!!! Give it to them while I'm alive....no fighting later!!

 

Not your fault....but reading this has soured my mood !!

 

It was pretty rough on my cousin and Mom, especially Cuz, who'd been taking care of all the older folks who needed it, from both sides, since his Mom passed. He'd retired early, and kind of made it his job to be their advocates - made him crazy to see our sweet, but not terribly bright, aunt taken advantage of. Should also say that Mom was so adamant about the ring because she wanted to pass it on to me, and she did - hopefully I'll be around to see my granddaughter wear it when she's old enough...

~Cheryl