Vintage Hanky Sale Draws Crafters and Collectors to Saline

When Mary Lindquist heard about a collection of over one thousand vintage hankies that were up for grabs, she knew that her customers at The Quilting Season would be interested.

“One of our friends was up north visiting, and the church there had received six bins of handkerchiefs and did not know what to do with them. They were going to throw them away.”

Lindquist consulted Tonia Voss, a regular at the shop, for suggestions on how to use them.

“Toni does a lot of creative things and sells on etsy. She said ‘I think you should have a sale.’”

With the help of Voss and other volunteers, Lindquist was able to arrange the sale, which was held on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15. Customers browsed through the collection and found displays for hanky creations throughout the store. Voss had created samples to inspire future projects.

“Mary had gotten this huge donation. I have an etsy shop, farmstylefinds.etsy.com. I understand hankies and how much everybody loves them. When she opened the bag, I practically screamed because there were so many and they were so beautiful,” Voss said.

“So then it was ‘What do we do with them? How do we distribute these to the public?’ We know there are so many women who love them for so many different reasons. This seemed like the only reasonable approach to let a lot of people share in them. Yesterday, we put them all out, arranged them and oohed and aahed over all of them. It’s just been fun.”

On Saturday, the shop also welcomed visitors who came as part of an Ohio-Michigan Shop Hop. Mary M. Hogan was on hand to sign her quilt pattern books for customers who came to the sale. Hogan, who is a Pittsfield Township resident, has been publishing books since 2016.

“I’ve been coming to the shop for a long time, over ten years, and I’ve taught here a lot as well,” Hogan said.

“This is my home book store, and I come here quite often for open sew. A lot of my patterns were started and built here.”

Lindquist was happy to see so many people who came to the sale, and hopes that they will return to share their repurposed hanky projects. Proceeds from the sale will go to the many local charities and worthy causes that the shop continues to support each month.

“We are a charity, and we do all kinds of things with whatever people bring us. We will find some use.”

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