Flea Market Finds!

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was busy but fun. Of course the big event was the flea. I decided not to make the drive to the new Saturday flea market, but I got up ''early'' and went to the big Sunday market. It was chilly, with sun and clouds,, and a brisk wind. Felt very Autumn-y--- I had this urge to stop off at the flower market to buy a pumpkin or two on the way home.

I concentrated on the market list in my head if not in hand. Thimbles / candle sticks/ linens/ quilts/ mason jars/ old bottles/ lace. So...I'm walking, walking (2 miles, 403 calories!) and...nada. 
I'm thinking, What am I gonna show my friends when they check out my blog tomorrow? Oh no!
A view of my remarkably charmless flea.

I've had my eye on this work tote since autumn before last. So this is its third year unsold. I think it's 30.00.

 I always imagine it would be great for a sewing box, I could put my spools of thread on the spindles. [if they fit]. It just needs a good cleaning, then I'd line it with [removable]  pretty paper.

Prob'ly someday I'll buy it.

I thought this was cool. This was a new vendor; he makes these signs/ collages with old license plates. He was busy so I didn't get to speak to him. I d love it if he made signs with the names of our local beaches like that sign at BBandB last week.

To the left is the booth with nice cotton scarves and fun little wristie bags. I couldn't decide. I keep hoping he'll have the flower purses again, I'm still using mine in bright yellow but I'd love a couple more in other colors.

NO utility thimbles to be had. The only thimbles I saw were china, an I Heart NY souvenir and a Holly Hobbie thimble.  Cute and fun as they are, I don't want porcelain or china decorative thimbles, I want old real thimbles that someone long ago used and cared for because sewing was a necessary part of their life.
So. Darn. One more trip around, I decided. And then---I found the white stoneware mixing bowl that I wanted last week. Yay! The guy had nested three bowls with plastic grocery bags to pad them and ''my'' bowl was hidden at the bottom of the stack. I dug it out.

How much?

The man held up his finger. One dollar.

Oh. Well for a dollar I can't haggle , can I?

When I flea-shop I always have a estimated price I'll pay in mind. For the bowl I thought 10.oo. I expected him to ask 30. Sometime I'll go above my estimate but not often. [I'm a world class haggler, all those years in the garment industry,lol.] But ONE Dollar. Took the wind right outta my sails, he did.

It's a wonderful bowl, American stoneware, c.1895-1940.12" diameter, which is bigger than it sounds. Lovely grey white glaze. Note the faint blue stripe on the inside, accidental, I'm sure.

Here it is with the giant English bowl I use for my lavender.

 So you can see the sizes. Big and bigger.

I continued my final circuit. Since I had good luck with that trash bag pile, I stopped to look in a bunch of kitchen Glad bags full of rather icky old clothes. Like stuff Goodwill would refuse. But ya never know. One bag had older clothes and linens. There was a beautiful Edwardian lace ruffled white petticoat and a pair of bloomers, for example. I pulled out a few bits of fabric, hmmm. Not  sure. But just like with the pricing, I have a way of finding, or looking for?, that one piece that tips me over into buying mode. And there it was. Teeny tiny 19th century doll petticoat! OMG, how adorable.

Look at the button and the smocked shirring and the wonderful aged tea color. Hand made eyelet lace edge. Oh yes.

This doll has been sitting on my dresser all winter, wearing a little plain shift and clutching her tiny quilt and heart. I hadn't decided what she would wear or how I'd do her face and so on. One reason my dolls cost a bit much is because I work on them for a long time, waiting til each detail is just right.

postage stamp quilt remnant.
Unusual block 4 squares x 5 squares.
Whip-stitched. Old. 3/4" stamps.

She loves the petticoat!

Also from the bin bag:

7 yards of striped lightweight linen. I have no idea what it was for, it is only 27" wide. Mel wants me to sew clothes, so if it washes nice I can use it for a top?

 A pretty c. 1930-50 calico. 35" wide. Not feed sack; crisp apron calico. About a yard.

And this beautiful lace and organdy-linen table runner.

The lace is all handmade.

See the age spots and discolorations? The tatters? Just so you see I don't destroy perfect old pieces. This is going to be hard to iron and though it needs to be washed I'd hate to lose the lovey ecru color. So for now I have stored it in a baggy zipped shut tight while I think about it. Everything else except the doll petticoat went right into the wash. I don't trust things stored in musty garbage bags, do you?

I showed my little bundle. The man said 10.oo I said, 5.oo. He countered with 6.oo which I took. His original ten dollars was my pre-bargaining line price but I almost always try. Unless it's a dollar.

The Whirling Wheels quilt is 80.oo. I think it's polyester. My max bid in my mind was 20.oo, though I might have gone 25.oo. Wonder if I'll cave, since its so pretty from afar?

Total spent at the flea: $7.oo. I still haven't spent all of the 40.oo I began the flea season with, so doing good.
How about you guys? Any fun finds or good things this weekend? And what about bargaining / haggling? Do you do it? Is it fun or tiresome and anxiety inducing?


love

lizzy

gone to the beach

Mo's feelings were hurt, he wanted to be in the photos. So he is.