flea market finds

i was thinking about how dependent on the location the items in a second hand store are. this bowl, which i saw at one of those flea market places, where individuals rent a shelf and put whatever they want there. it was in herning, which is arguably the middle of denmark. the tag on the bowl claimed it was french and it's true that it didn't look danish. if it hadn't had a big crack in it (not visible in this photo), i would have bought it, as i definitely felt it sparked joy.

i spotted this clarinet in the wonderful antique trove in scottsdale, az. i feel like i see a lot more instruments at antique places in the us. other than old pianos and organs, i just don't see that many musical instruments in the shops in denmark. i don't know if this is because less people play an instrument or because they keep them.

this red tray could easily have been denmark, but it was actually also at the antique trove in scottsdale. i'm kicking myself for not having bought it. it would have been awesome in my red kitchen.

this was definitely in the us. not that people didn't quilt in denmark, but patchwork quilts are also quite rare at the antique places here. you often see knitted and crocheted afghans, but very seldom do you run across any patchwork quilts. and especially not a yoyo quilt like this. that seems like it was very much an american style. i didn't buy this one, but i have one very similar that my great grandmother made. i hope it stays in the family and never finds its way into an antique place.

obviously, that lunchbox was spotted in the us. i ended up taking that tin toy bug home with me, so someday someone will probably find it in an antique place here in denmark and wonder how the heck that happened.

that yellow bowl is at an antique place in my hometown in south dakota. i love it so much, i've actually photographed it a couple of times. but it's $49, which isn't really so bad, but i always think it will take up too much space in my luggage or get broken along the journey, so i leave it behind, even if it definitely sparks joy in me.

this one is obviously very mid-mod danish. it was in the flea market in kolding. i am drawn to these designs, but i didn't buy this one. but it got me thinking about the whole question of the selection of goods available in a particular location. i'm definitely going to see what's in the second hand and antique shops of barcelona next week. i'll bet it's something completely different!

i wonder who made this tiny bicycle

i think about the person who bent and twisted this wire to make this tiny little bicycle. it's just one piece, so it's like one of those line sketches, where you draw the whole thing without the pencil leaving the page. it's slightly wonky, but it's also utterly wonderful in its tinyness and level of detail - the kickstand, the handlebars, the wheels and the chain, just a little wire doodle, but somehow perfect. i wonder if they made other things? i found this in a bowl of tiny things for 10kr. in a strange secondhand shop where we bought a little yellow boat. when i saw it, i knew i had to have it. it's very tiny, about 3cm is all. i keep it up on a high shelf, because i'm afraid the cats will play with it and then it will be lost underneath something or get vacuumed up because i don't see it on the floor. but it makes me smile whenever i see it. and i think about that person who made it, wondering how many attempts they made before making this perfect specimen. dozens? or perhaps they just got very lucky on the first try.

it's a slippery slope

i made the mistake of joining a retro toy group on facebook. two of them, actually. it all started with being on the lookout for vintage lego fabuland characters. because obviously, i hadn't found enough of those on ebay...

and while there was no fabuland in the groups, i did run onto these little teeny tiny people, still in their original package. and i just had to have them.

of course, i didn't really care that they were in their original packaging as they weren't going to stay there. i had to take them out and play with them.

it seems that the lego minifigures were just a gateway drug to wider toy photography...

antiquing for a cause

the scouts sponsor a huge two-day flea market every year during the autumn holiday. this was my haul.  two new stitched mormor (grandmother) pillows, a reference book of handcrafts, a 70s jar and bowl and a funny little deer skull for a touch of murakami - all for 100 kroner. i especially look forward to reading the cookbook for young house mothers. we also scored 7 wine balloons in wooden crates, which i didn't photograph. all of the items are donated and all the money goes to support the local scouts, plus it brings out the entire community. pretty cool.

70 years of luck

i bought a stack of old books at the flea market the other day. among them was a little almanac for northern norway for 1942. i grabbed it because it had quaint handwriting in the back and interesting charts of things like animal prints in the snow and old norwegian measurements and how they compared to the metric system.  i was paging through it today and found this perfect four-leaf clover.  tho' my family helpfully, immediately and most unromantically suggested that it could have been put there anytime since, i choose to believe it was tucked in here in 1942.

that's 70 years of good luck.

i imagine it has such stories to tell and that if i listen very carefully, it will whisper them to me. (possibly in norwegian.)

flea market loot

i've long been looking for one (or 14) of these bread dough troughs. i didn't really want one that was painted, but i was somehow charmed by this folk-art motif and the price was right, so i got this one today. i'd like to actually use it, but who knows what's in that paint, so i'll likely not. i see it as the first of a collection.

i found that most everything that caught my eye today was a bit 70s. cups, the teapot, the pitchers, the bowl and the pillow (oh, that pillow, i love it so much). i think it's because we listened to america's greatest hits on the way to the flea market. humming: i've been through the desert on a horse with no name...

i've been wanting some copper pans for a long time, if only to hang them on the wall, but also to experiment with small batch dyeing. i found these two at a stand where everything was 50% off. the handles are really cool (tho' you can't really see that here) too, so that was an extra bonus.

the small string of rustic bells and beads make a sound like they should be hanging on the door of a shop full of magical things. since i want to have a such a shop one day, i had to have them. i think times have been a bit slow, because all of the dealers were eager to bargain. it was a good day to be a buyer.

these cups are by nissen denmark and the pattern is called rune. these with no handles are actually sugar bowls, but i scoured several stands, looking for them, because we want to use them as cups. one crotchety older lady lectured me about how they were sugar bowls and not cups, but i didn't care. and ultimately neither did she when i said i'd take all she had. it's the best trip i've had to the flea market in years.

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loving anne brodersen's amazing embroidery art. 

name that tractor

if you have a tractor, you really have a farm, right? and if your tractor has a big scoop thingie on the front, that's really good, right? and if you also got two barn kitties, then you're well on your way to living in the country. and if you gave the neighbor down the road permission to put his cows in your pasture this summer, then you can call yourself a farmer, right? can you see i need reassurance here? because it's quite an old tractor - a massey ferguson. it's a bit temperamental - husband had trouble starting it and then getting it in gear and he's normally pretty good at things like that. but now he's learned how (the previous owner had to come over twice this morning) and it's all good. the kitties, on the other hand, might not be so happy about their new digs, but they'll adjust, i'm sure.

now, s/he just needs a name...any suggestions?

husband did manage to get it running and pull it into the carport the other way, so that little chimney thingie wasn't in the way. and he also managed not to hit his head.

oh, and there will be a prize for whoever suggests the name we ultimately choose to call our new old tractor - the best name (as judged entirely subjectively by husband and sabin) will win. i don't yet know what, but undoubtedly something handmade. the cats, they came with names - tiger and woods, so we don't need names for them.  now if i could just remember which one is tiger and which one woods...

things i liked but did not buy

if i could be sure it worked, it would have bought it

fantastic old projector

and another, even more elaborate one

if phones still looked like this, i'd have one.

more goodness from saturday's visit to the flea market. sadly, none of these came home with me, except on my camera's SD card.

playing around with vintage toys

it seemed that everywhere i turned at the flea market, there were lovely old toys. and no, i didn't buy any, i only photographed them. and i only got yelled at about it once, by an extremely thick and repulsive angry old man. such a jerk. but i got so many great pictures (including the 3rd to last one of HIS little cars), that not even that encounter could spoil the day.

playing knights(?) and indians

wait, isn't that a civil war soldier?

battle in full head dress

is he doing a ceremonial dance in the midst of the battle?

and the birds apparently looked on.

adored these little trucks.

here are the overpriced old cars belonging to the nasty old man who didn't like my camera.

such a charming little truck.

a bit blurry, but i still had to share these sweet little bikes.

it's funny, i adore seeing the old toys, especially painted metal ones, in the antique places, but i've never begun to collect them. i guess i only collect photos and enjoy imagining all of the little hands and little imaginations that have touched them over the years. such memories they hold.

flea market fancy (no, not the fabric)

husband and i spent the day at a flea market with like-minded friends. bliss, i tell you, bliss. here's just the first round of what we saw...

stacks of beautiful vintage crochet.
husband rather unnecessarily cracked that it was from the time before everyone spent all of their time in front of the internet.
and by everyone, i suspect he means me.

*sigh*

i saw a guy walking away with this, but i don't know what he paid.

from when silverware mattered.

i had this odd grandma moment looking at this. i wanted the whole set.

happily, the same did not happen with these, but i like how they're displayed.

royal copenhagen

a bit of more modern scandinavian goodness.

more tomorrow....happy saturday!

great grandma's quilts

i shared a few of the quilts i brought home from the states last summer, but i realized i hadn't shared them all. since i'm quilting away myself these days, i thought i'd share some more of the beautiful work done by my grandmother and great-grandmother. gorgeous, handmade, hand sewn quilts and quilt tops. once the house is in a better state, i hope to get a big quilt frame and hand quilt at least one of them myself, but until then, i just enjoy the photos of them and keep them tucked away, safe from moisture and mice.  at least i hope they're safe from mice, i fear i heard a telltale scratching in the wall the other day, but such is life on the farm.

mom's cat - millie - on a crazy quilt mom acquired at an auction.
it's not deemed a family heirloom (from our family at least), hence the status as cat bed.
currently, my cat is sleeping on it at my feet under my desk.

i think the blocks were done my great grandmother on this one.
but i suspect the green and white edging and quilting were done later.

hand quilted and beautiful!

an enormous amount of crochet - my grandmother made this one.
i remember her working on it and how beautiful her bedroom looked.

this one's quite worn and faded - but beautiful that it must have been used!

i remember using this one in my childhood. it could use a new binding.
tho' with my relationship to binding, i'm unlikely to replace it.

the most spectacular quilt top - a spider quilt - completely hand-sewn.
believe it or not, i let my sister have this one.
she can have it hand quilted in kalona by the amish ladies.

detail of the spiderweb quilt.

bright and cheery quilt top.
i believe it's a combination of old and new fabrics.
it's these mom remembers her grandmother making while she was bedridden.

another of the quilt tops - this one's in great shape, no holes anywhere.

detail of the hand sewing! so precise and beautiful

one last quilt top - also in beautiful condition.

i guess these quilts indicate that i come by my love of bright fabric and quilting honestly. i'm just the latest in a long line of quilters. i have mused a little bit about this previously, when my mom sent me one of the tops.