After a long winter, we attended our first flea market of the year on Sunday in Maquoketa, Iowa. The wind had a little chill, but the sun was bright with a little punch of heat to it. Honestly, adrenaline kept me warm. (Maquoketa offers a large indoor flea market, along with an equal in size outdoor venue.) Let me tell you... It was such a nice feeling to be out rummaging again! :)
My first purchase was two enamel storage pans with lids. The vendor wanted $24.00 for both, which was not out of line for the extremely nice shape that they were in. Of course, this is a flea market and haggling is a necessity, so I offered him $20.00... and now they are mine.
As everyone knows, China makes repops of these pieces now... Imagine that? LOL Do you know one sure way to tell you've got an original? Carry these puppies around an outdoor flea market for about an hour. The weight suspended from the bag handles was cutting into my fingers something fierce! Nothing flimsy about these vintage babies. Or should I say endearingly to our knock off providers, the Chinese care a whole lot more about the wear and tear on my arm than my forefathers! LOL
The following purchases were my first finds, but my last purchases from the outdoor venue. (I was absolutely NOT going to entertain a trip back to the vehicle that early. And they were both located at different venders, so I didn't want to start leaving purchases here and there.) The first is a staple of mine... One of my various obsessions... The glorious wooden nail keg. Makes me a little sad for days gone by but very happy that they are still around. This one still had the top with the chunk broken out laying inside. It is a nice larger size and will be great for housing my gourds or baseballs that are awaiting paint. Asking price - $17.00. Haul it away offer and purchase price- $12.00. Score!! Have I ever shown you my collection of these that house my various sized gourds in the basement? I will have to get some pics to show you. ;)
The other item is a Coca Cola wooden bottle crate. My true love is for the dividers. I own a Pepsi one that came with original dividers and a milk flat that Farmerboy made the divisions for. They are absolutely great for hanging on the walls of my studio and holding various art supplies. I spent a little more than usual, but the Coke advertisement was neat looking. (Says the girl who doesn't drink pop except for special occasions!) Asking price - $12.00. Haul it away offer and purchase price $10.00.
As we were leaving the inside section of the flea market, I noticed some ladies that set up in a room off the entry way. They were a happy go lucky team. Don't you just love people like that? What reason does a vital human being have to be grouchy for? I mean REALLY? Unfortunately, their wares were not in the best location. I think, they were overlooked being away from all the action. Mr. Hollow was ready to make tracks, but this shopper made a beeline into their area. Look at these extra heavy feedsacks! Oh, the possibilities... The ladies were such a cool vending team that I didn't even haggle. I purchased the lot of 6 for $18.00, which I must add is a great buy.
After the second trip to the car, Mr. Hollow was contemplating a trip back into the outside area. I told him that I would go inside to finish looking at the feedsack ladies wares. (I felt that Mr. Hollow made me go too fast the first time... And of course, my intuition was right! ;) ) Upon a return trip to my favorite vendors of the day, I found these two vintage feedsacks. They are wonderfully soft and beautifully muted in their colors. The green is just lovely. No haggling on the price... $2.00 for the one on the right and $3.00 for the one on the left.
Okay, this item was super tough to photograph. It is a quilt cover that was made out of old feedsacks. Some of the sacks have printing still showing on them. This baby is huge and the feedsacks are in great condition. PLUS, there are two big panels that make up the front and back... We are talking a lot of useable fabric. It was hanging on a rack with some aprons. I honestly have never seen anything like this before... A treasure trove of feedsack fabric that looks like an open ended duvet. Asking price - $10.00. Haul it away and purchase price - $8.00.
This was my last purchase before I ran off to find Mr. Hollow. It was my shot in the dark purchase. The ladies had a cutter quilt folded up in an old plastic zippered bag. The asking price was $7.50. I really did not feel like taking it out of the bag and decided to take my chances with a $5.00 offer that became the accepted haul it away price. After getting it home and washing it, I decided that it was a worth while purchase. It originally sported a star pattern which has blown out in most places. The blue background pattern and white base is in wonderful shape with hand quilting. I could see appliqueing over the stars for mini quilts to line baskets... Hmmmmmm.
Or since the back is in such nice shape, using that as the backdrop for some handy work... Some quilt angels perhaps or pile of table mats... I will have to do some research and thinking on this one. This worn out quilt is destined to be something great again... I just know it. :)
We had such fun for our first outing. I am thrilled with my finds, as was Mr. Hollow with his. If this is any indication how the year will be, we are going to have a blast!
