Before you get all excited to hear about Panoply's adventures through the Longest Yard Sale, let me just preface my recount of events by saying we left plenty out there for others to rummage through and score, yet we came home with two trunks full.
It rained on our trip over to KY and OH on Thursday, and our plan B of shopping in our favorite haunts that day was a no-brainer. We ran into several dealers who mentioned AL and TN as great territory for the Route 127 sale, but stories of people getting stuck in muddy, open fields certainly curbed my jealousy for whatever missed opportunities there may have been there.
Some of my finds from our ventures this past weekend included vintage textiles: a hand-stitched star quilt, a couple vintage tablecloths, and set of vintage napkins. Anytime Mr. P. says he likes something, it's likely a keeper. He likes the quilt. I have an idea for the quilt - stay tuned.
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| Vintage textiles |
I also came across this chippy, rusty vintage sled, which will serve its purpose closer to Christmas.
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| Chippy, rusty sled |
On Friday, we did venture out to the open markets during the morning hours, and I came across this delightful gentleman pictured below, a retired factory worker from OH, who created MObots (mechanical object bots). His name was Mike O'Shea, (MO), so he cleverly incorporated his initials into his craft.
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| Mike O'Shea and his MObots |
I purchased the MObot in his right hand you see in the photo above. He was named "Homer" because, as Mike put it, "he just looks like a guy who works hard, and had a long day, and was on his way home from work". :) Homer is made from a cocoa tin, a copper ball head, solid brass cap/cup, along with brass nuts/bolts legs and drawer pull arms. He's embellished with a few odd pieces of jewelry. Homer stopped to have lunch with us at a quaint pizzeria that day (see photo details below).
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| Homer, the MObot |
I also found this super clean set of scales with porcelain trays from an older gentleman and his wife of 51 years (photo below). The scales came with an assortment of boxed scale weights, not pictured.
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| OHAUS scales with porcelain trays |
I placed the scales on a utility cart I found at an estate sale in June for my photo. It's a little different from most because of its petite size, plus it has three shelf surfaces instead of the usual two. I like the scales alone, but I like the way the scales look on the cart. The cart's going to the booth, the scales will be fostered for a while.
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| Utility cart and scales |
After a morning of outdoor efforts along the 127 Longest Yard Sale, we decided again to hit another of our favorite haunts. We felt no shame in our plan, as none of us felt like filtering through lots of clothes and baby paraphernalia in hopes of finding a honey hole for pickin'. There were lots of clothes and baby paraphernalia along the way.
I came across two great, little finds to satisfy a couple of my quirky collections. The first is the photo below, a rare one, of two little girls at the turn of the 20th century (obviously sisters), the oldest carrying a purse! You can read about this facet of my purse collectibles in the post,
Crossover Collectible: Purse Ephemera, here on my blog.
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| Late 19thC, early 20thC photo of children with purse |
The second quirky item I found was a miniature book (3" x 2.5") titled, "Daily Food". It's 192 pages of daily scriptural portions, together with the verse of a hymn, for each day of the year. These miniature books are so hard to find without monitoring eBay, so I was especially excited to find it, and the price was right. It will be a nice addition (and edition) to my
Miniature Books.
There were several other small items found on this trip. One was a vintage hat box (photo below). I will always pick these up when I find them in good vintage condition (if at a good price), as they are more unusual in shape, and they display well. The leather handle is in particularly good condition.
Now here's an item I've never seen before that immediately caught my eye. It is one of three finds I picked on this trip, pictured below. Can you guess which one it is I favor?
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| Dairy Item Finds |
If you guessed the one on the right, you are correct. It is a terra cotta milk cooler, and it fits over a pint size milk bottle. Above, you see the milk bottle (Newark, OH), and below, you don't. It's designed for table use, to keep your milk cold.
The detail on the cooler indicates it is Royal Barum Ware, made in Litchdon Potteries, Devon (England). It reads, "By appointment Pottery Makers to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother". It may not be old or even vintage, but it's a very cool cooler, if you ask me.
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| Detail of milk cooler |
I also had to plan for returning home with the fire chief pedal car that we spotted on our
June Panoply shopping trip. My sister picked that up for me after my phone purchase, and stored it this past month for my son-in-law. After the car was packed, it was full, but still manageable for driving visibility. This was one of two SUV carloads we managed to purchase, organize and wrap.
When vintage shopping, junkin', thrifting, pickin' - whatever you label it - one never knows if the stars will align for the perfect pick: money in hand, lots of unique treasures for personal gathering and/or resale, and the right price. I'd say we fared well enough, and we had our share of fun, but it wasn't a stellar shopping event. My sister, M, came away with a super old desk (it's at the bottom of that SUV pile above), so we'll be setting a new vignette very soon in the store. I'll share those photos as soon as the vignette is set.
I know a couple of blogging buddies also traveled the Route 127 Longest Yard Sale, and it would appear from Facebook and Instagram that they succeeded in the open air hunt. Check out
Linda at Coastal Charm and
Melissa at Melissa's Antiques for their takes on the Longest Yard Sale. Linda started from AL and Melissa started in OH and went north to MI Route 12 for its piggyback version of the longest garage sale.
Where have you been lately in your quest for fun, vintage finds?
As always, thanks for your visit. It's a pleasure to have you here!
Rita C. at Panoply
The detail on the cooler indicates it is Royal Barum Ware, made in Litchdon Potteries, Devon (England). It reads, "By appointment Pottery Makers to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother". It may not be old or even vintage, but it's a very cool cooler, if you ask me.
When vintage shopping, junkin', thrifting, pickin' - whatever you label it - one never knows if the stars will align for the perfect pick: money in hand, lots of unique treasures for personal gathering and/or resale, and the right price. I'd say we fared well enough, and we had our share of fun, but it wasn't a stellar shopping event. My sister, M, came away with a super old desk (it's at the bottom of that SUV pile above), so we'll be setting a new vignette very soon in the store. I'll share those photos as soon as the vignette is set.
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