Turkey, Turkey! I Found a Turkey!

 

...at the flea!

 

Hi guys! Actually I found the ''turkey'' at the thrift shop...I'll get to that in a minute.

First, the flea. Oh the fun of a November flea market. The outdoor market goes on until Christmas but each week that the weather is fine enough for the dealers to appear seems like a special treat to me. This past Sunday was beautiful---light jacket weather, no wind, sun and clouds. People were cheerful. (how bizarre!)

I had my List in mind, and typically when you want something special (pink mercury glass ornaments, vintage Christmas linens, especially tea towels to wrap small gifts in...), nothing I wanted was there. But OMG there's a LOT of super hero action figures lurking in bins in this world. And old VCR tapes. Wrench sets and screwdrivers [oh! stocking stuffers?] Socks, but not the wooly kind I wanted, for this project. via Pinterest

English writing boxes and humidors, like my dad collected.

Many wooden crates. A few years ago when I wanted a crate not a single crate was to be found. But now, they're everywhere. It was such a nice day and I had more time than usual so I was able to poke in every booth, looking at tiny stuff. I found these!
Thimbles...

The dealer was a young-ish guy working with his son who looked about ten. The boy was sweet but he didn't know what a thimble is. Yeesh. And the young dad must have really good eyes!

Yes, three of the four are sterling silver. He swore they were silver and wouldn't take my offer of 5.oo [we agreed on 10.oo]. And yes, at home with my extra strong magnifier I found the hallmarks and sterling silver marks, not much bigger than an eyelash. One thimble is unashamedly aluminum too.

 

 

see the Sterling mark?
Just to the right of the black schmutz/
hallmarks below

Two of them are charmingly well used and bent from wear. I love that.

I thought the two small thimbles were children's thimbles. They only fit on my pinky. But they're marked size 7 and the other two are only one size bigger, my size, 8. So I guess the two littles were for a lady with dainty hands.

What didn't I buy? : a American Historical transferware plate, blue and white. It was a pictorial scene, "Historic Wall Street, New York City" [no Bull though]...which I thought was pretty neat. But not 10.oo neat.
And a beautiful 40s-50s heavy thread/ big stitch cross-stitched Christmas table cloth; the allover design was poinsettias. Unusual but I don't love-love-love poinsettias.
Then there was the cranky quilt lady. For fall instead of her Not For Sale / Don't Even Ask! quilts, she has topped her tables with brilliantly autumn colored granny afghans and other crocheted throws. Two were very interesting: large wool fabric squares: 5", 9" each with a blanket-stitched and crocheted edge; then they were crocheted together, same as granny squares, with colorful wool yarn. The lady is so cranky I didn't dare ask her if I could take a picture, but maybe next week. She has a couple of mother of pearl carvings* I wanted, so they're on my list.

Okay. As you know after the flea I go to the thrift shop. Oh boy, home runs! In a small but fun way. My eyes bugged out when I found the stack of crescent shaped bone dishes. Sepia brown transfer with hand painted details..

They are marked Victoria Pottery with 2 crossed swords , both marks imprinted. The crossed swords mark seems to be Derby[shire] England. Here is something very similar on etsy.
Each little dish as a different Fall wildflower.
Blue and pink asters.

Bittersweet.

Pansies [!].

 

 

Striped coneflowers/ blanket flowers? Cockscomb?

Bachelor buttons?

And wild roses and blackberry brambles.

I like to use these dishes for my small sewing utensils.

If you glue a magnet on the back, your needles and pins will stay in place in the dish.

Or you can make a MOP needle keep for the front, by adding another magnet to an old pearl button [*see above, what I wanted from the cranky dealer]. These needle rests were designed/ invented by Lori of Notforgotten Farm. She gives instructions for you/ me/ us to make our own on her blog. here

The Rosehips crescent is badly chipped. Probably I'll keep it, offer the others in my etsy shop.

Then, next aisle, a much taped together set of fall foliage-looking cups and saucers.

I saw them two weeks ago and passed them up, but yesterday I hemmed and hawed; tried to dislodge the tape [keyless car fobs are so useless!] and finally flipped the stack over to read the base of the bottom most saucer. Huh! "King Tom---An American Tradition.'' I just read about that pattern, and turkey dishes on Nancy's Daily Dish But all I could see was the fruits and leaves. More dithers occurred, then I decided that at 3.99 I could bring them back if I didn't like them.
Got home, tape off and----LOOK!
 

I did not expect this!

Are they not the most adorable turkey cups ever. The turkey King Tom! is inside!

And on the saucer.

I have a platter in this pattern, I think, and another similar called His Majesty.

 

 

The pattern seems to be American transferware ironstone, though I found one source who mentioned his item still has its Made in Japan sticker. More research needed.

Here they are on Replacements. $14.99 each! [scroll down for cups and saucers, on the left.]

Good finds, even if no one wants tea with their cheese cake on Thursday.
I love them.

BTW, remember the china turkeys I got a few weeks ago? The oh so tacky turkeys. I can't find them! They----escaped!!?

The bad news is---the thrift shop is moving. Away. Out east. To visit will be a destination venture not a ''just pop in after the flea or grocery store'' place. I'm so sad. I'll miss it.

My Thanksgiving menu is set, the groceries are crammed into the fridge, but I haven't polished the silver yet. How about you?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach



warm days brings fog!
Noon view...
  

then clearing and windy.
Poor Mo's "Potty Patch" on the deck, blew away.
LOL



"...so I peed in mommy's bed.
ssshhh! Don't tell her."