JUNK BONANZA: PART 2

THIS VENDOR WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES! THEY HAD A LOT OF INDUSTRIAL JUNK THAT THEY MADE INTO HIGH ART. THEIR DISPLAY WAS OUTSTANDING! THEY PUT UP THE "BONES" OF THEIR CANOPY, BUT DRAPED NETTING AND SHEETS OF TIN FOR THEIR CEILING, NOT TOTALLY COVERED, BUT ENOUGH TO PRODUCE THE "FEEL" THAT THEY WANTED. NOT ONLY WERE THEY TALENTED, THEY WERE A VERY SWEET COUPLE.

THESE MOUNTED GEARS AND WHEELS FLEW OUT THE DOOR FOR THEM.

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WONDERFUL HANGING LAMP.

A CLEVER USE OF SPINDLES. ANOTHER GREAT LAMP. I STILL HAVE A LOT MORE PHOTOS OF THE SHOW, BUT SINCE I'M DOING ELKHORN, WISC. THIS WEEK END, I PROBABLY WON'T POST TILL MONDAY. HAVE A GREAT WEEK END!

I JUST GOT BACK FROM "THE" PLACE TO BE

THE JUNK BONANZA, SEPT. 16-18, IN SHAKOPEE, MN. HAD THE MOST TALENTED VENDORS, UNDER ONE ROOF, (well, three roofs really) AS I HAVE EVER SEEN! 120 OF THEM TO BE EXACT, AND MY BUD JANICE K. AND MYSELF WERE PART OF THAT FIGURE! WOW! WE WERE SIMPLY BLOWN AWAY, AWESTRUCK AND SPEECHLESS! (well, almost) A SIMPLY SUPER FANTABULOUS SHOW! OVER TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE SHOPPED THEIR LITTLE HEARTS AWAY AND I AM SO HAPPY THAT I WAS THERE! JANICE AND I LEFT ON TUESDAY, @6.00 am TO MAKE THE 7 HR. TRIP, WITH TIME FOR SHOPPING STOPS ALONG THE WAY, OF COURSE. I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT THERE WAS NO PUSHING AND SHOVING WHILE SHOPPING THIS TIME. WE AGREED THAT WE WERE TO BE ON OUR BEST BEHAVIOR! ON WEDNESDAY, SET UP DAY, WE ARRIVED EARLY, RARING TO GO. DESPITE THE FACT THAT I RAN INTO A METAL ROAD BARRIER WHEN WE ARRIVED ON THE GROUNDS, THINGS WENT FAIRLY SMOOTHLY. AFTER MUCH LAUGHTER AND TEASING FROM JANICE, WE DECIDED THAT IT WAS A GOOD THING THAT MY AIRBAG HAD NOT INFLATED , NO REAL DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE, AND NO ELSE HAD WITNESSED THE INCIDENT. WHEN WE CHECKED IN, HOWEVER, I KNOCKED SOME ONE'S COFFEE CUP OVER AND RUINED A BRAND NEW , CLEAN TABLE COVER. LET ME TELL YOU THAT THE STAFF WAS NOT PLEASED BUT VERY GRACIOUS ABOUT THE INCIDENT. AS I SCURRIED AWAY, I BELIEVE JANICE MUMBLED SOMETHING ABOUT ME NOT GETTING OUT VERY MUCH! THE REST OF THE DAY WAS SPENT SETTING UP OUR TINY 10X12 SPACE AND WAS UNEVENTFUL............................................................BTW, many of you might remember a past blog, labeled "road kill", when i showed what i had found on the side of the road, but hadn't decided what to do with it. Well, at the last minute i made an owl earring holder out of it and it was one of the first things that sold to dealer in Florida.

WE TOOK MANY PHOTOS OF OUR BOOTH, BUT MOST OF THEM CAME OUT TO DARK AS "SOMEONE" HAD NOT HAD THE FLASH ON! I POSTED A FEW OF THEM, AND WILL ADD MORE OF THE WHOLE SHOW IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO.

AREN'T JANICE'S SILK QUILT PUMPKINS ADORABLE!

MORE FEED DOG TALES (no pun intended)

I still have not had my sewing machine's feed dog repaired! I simply can't be without it right now! So, how did you sew these pillows together, one might ask? Well, since I am now in charge of which way the needle goes, how fast and how many stitches per inch, it can still be done. It's not as easy, but still possible. I am truly having fun with these and will have more to show at a later date. For now, I am pulling things together for the Kane Co. Flea this week end and am also trying to create things for the Junk Bonanza Show in Sept. This summer is not only flying by, it has also been super busy!

A LITTLE GARDEN GRUNGE

IN MY SHOP, THERE IS A SIDE PORCH THAT IS GLASSED IN AND THE PERFECT PLACE TO HAVE A GARDEN ROOM. IT'S FULL OF "GARDEN GRUNGE" AND I LOVE IT! IT'S THE PERFECT PLACE FOR ALL OF THE JUNK THAT MARY AND I FIND AND RE PURPOSE. IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY AT THIS PICTURE, YOU WILL SEE LOTS OF YARDSTICKS HANGING VERTICALLY. (not a good pic. i'll have to take a better one.) I HAD LOADS OF OLD YARDSTICKS THAT I WON AT AN AUCTION, SO THEY BECAME OUR "VERTICAL BLINDS" AND THERE WAS ENOUGH TO HANG FROM FOUR OF THE LARGER WINDOWS THAT OVER LOOK A" kind of" GARDEN.AN OLD GRUNGY WINDOW SCREEN FOUND AT AN ABANDONED HOUSE.

AN OLD FUNNEL IS NOW A HANGING LAMPSHADE. ( I HAVE LOTS MORE THAT I AM MAKING FOR THE JUNK BONANZA IN SEPT.)

A BIRD HOUSE MADE FROM AN OLD WOODEN BOX WITH A HINGED LID. PERFECT WHEN THE HOUSES NEED TO BE CLEANED IN THE FALL.

A RESALE FIND! REPAINTED AND A FABRIC AND LACE COLLAGE DONE FOR THE SEATS. ( don't fall in love with these, they sold yesterday!)

WE STORE OUR OLD LAMPSHADES ATOP ONE OF DISPLAY SHELFS. WE OFTEN HAVE TO TELL CUSTOMERS THAT THEY ARE NOT FOR SALE YET!

ALLIE AND ABBY

HERE'S THE NEW LOVE IN MY LIFE, BABY ABBY. WHAT CAN I SAY EXCEPT THAT SHE HAS STOLE MY HEART JUST LIKE HER BIG SISTER ALICE HAS.

BIG SISTER ALICE WAITING TO HOLD HER BABY SISTER, ABBY.

BABY SISTER ABBY ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE!

IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE FEED-DOG

As if life isn't hectic enough, (daughter had her second baby, Abby, the day after I returned from England, (jet lagged Nana gleefully spent 2 days with active 2 year old.) but more on that later.) I'm getting ready to do the Kane flea market this week-end and needed my sewing machine. Just for straight stitching, nothing fancy, and my feed-dog decides to break! Well, not wanting to be totally defeated and wanting to try free motion stitching anyway, I grabbed some linen napkins from my stash and thought, why not! Here's the result. four linen birdie napkins. I like them and they are fun to do. So, until I get my machine into the repair shop, free-motion stitching it will be!

I TRIED........

I'M BACK FROM MY HOLIDAY IN ENGLAND AND FOUND LOTS OF GREAT STUFF. BUT...........NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I MEASURED THESE SHABBY LOVELIES, I COULD NOT GET THEM TO FIT INTO MY SUIT CASES. I HAD TO PASS THEM UP. THERE WERE FOUR OF THEM! NOW, HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU FIND A SET OF FOUR? SHUCKS! OH WELL! GEE WHIZ...................I'M STILL DEALING WITH JET LAG, SO SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT IT WAS ANOTHER GREAT TRIP AND WILL POST MORE ON THAT SOON.

I'VE BEEN SO BAD....

..........ABOUT BLOGGING! IT HAS JUST BEEN CRAZY BUSY! BETWEEN ALL THE SHOWS AND MAKING THINGS, AND KEEPING THE SHOP FULL, AND.....LIFE! WELL, ALL I CAN SAY IS SORRY. AND NOW, IN JUST 29 MINUTES, I LEAVE FOR THE AIRPORT TO BOARD A BIG AIRPLANE THAT IS GOING TO TAKE ME ACROSS THE POND TO HOLIDAY IN ENGLAND FOR THREE WEEKS.IF IT WEREN'T FOR THIS GAL, MARY, I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE IT. SHE IS GREAT, AND WE HAVE VERY SIMILAR TASTES. BTW, THIS IS OUR NEW SHOP SIGN. I BOUGHT AN OLD HEADBOARD AND MARY TRANSFORMED IT INTO THIS WONDERFUL SIGN. SHE WILL ALSO KEEP THINGS RUNNING SMOOTHLY WHILE I'M GONE. THANKS, MARY.

SINCE I HAVE NOT BEEN BLOGGING LATELY, AND WILL PROBABLY NOT BE ABLE TO FOR ANOTHER THREE WEEKS, I DECIDED TO CONTINUE THE GIVE-AWAY UNTIL I GET BACK. SO, ALL YOU LOVELY BLOGGERS, I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO CATCHING UP WITH ALL OF YOU SOON. TOOTLES!

AND NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN.........

THESE SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE PREVIOUS POST! THESE ARE SOME TEENY, DARLING LITTLE QUAIL EGGS THAT WERE GIFTED TO ME BY CHRIS. SHE KNOWS HOW MUCH I LOVE NESTS AND BIRDS AND WAS GENEROUS ENOUGH TO SHARE THESE WITH ME! THANK YOU, CHRIS. I LOVE THESE ADORABLE LITTLE THINGS.

KANE FLEA MARKET...ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!!!!!!

LAST WEEK-END WAS KANE AND IT WAS SUPER FANTABULOUS!!!!! It just keeps on getting better and better! All of my dealer friends were there and some dealers that I've know for a long time but had lost touch with. One of those dealers that was new to Kane this month was JO MARIE. SHE HAD GREAT STUFF AND WAS BLOWN AWAY BY HER SALES. JOE USED TO SELL OUT OF AN OLD BARN AND A LOT OF HER CUSTOMERS FOUND HER AGAIN AT KANE AND WERE OVER JOYED AND SHOWED IT! My sales were like wise amazing and I also get to visit with customers, some new and some that I've known for a long time, and let me tell you, they are all dear people!.....................I bought this great old tin picnic basket from DIANE P. She said when she bought it she thought of me. it is the greatest piece and, for now a keeper! Someone, years ago, embellished this beauty with crochet thin rope. THANK YOU, DIANE.

Shown here is a beautiful bevy of tiny bottles that once contained essential oils. Mostly rose and florals, and they still retain the most wonderful, faint fragrance that makes you feel happy! These were from my friend, JANICE K. She also was delighted with the response that she received at Kane. Way to go, JANICE, you sweet girl! These will probably be made into necklaces somewhere down the road.

And last, but not least, is this wonderful vintage lace that was gifted to me by the sweet Lynn B. Since she makes such fantastic pillows and adornments, her gift was so generous, because she uses lace like this in her designs! You have to see her talent @ www.teacupstitches.blogspot.com. Thank you Lynn! It was so nice to visit with you

A GIVE-AWAY AND A BIG THANK YOU

First of all, I want to thank all of you sweeties out there that helped me to figure out how to delete comments. The trash can was right there, waiting to be used! how easy is that?! So, thank you for being so kind with your advice.....Then i want to give away this wonderful book by Sandra Evertson. With paper flowers being so popular right now, I thought someone might be interested in learning how to make some of the amazing paper flowers in this book. There are 125 pages full of patterns and instructions. All you have to do is leave comments! the drawing is right after Mothers Day. As usual, for every comment, there is a tag made out with your name on it. And for you sweet gals that pointed out to me how to delete comments, you already have 3 slips with your name on it!AREN'T THESE AMAZING!

THEY'RE PAPER FOR GOODNESS SAKES!

KANE CO. FLEA MARKET WAS BUSY AND BUSTLING TODAY! I'M BRINGING A FEW MORE THINGS FOR TOMORROW AND THEN I WILL START WORKING ON ANOTHER GARDEN SHOW THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN OAKBROOK, IL. ON MAY 22nd. (DETAILS IN ANOTHER UPCOMING POST.) ALSO, IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, I JUST HAVE TO SHOW YOU WHAT I BOUGHT FROM 2 OF MY DEALER FRIENDS AND SOMETHING THAT WAS GIFTED TO ME BY A VERY SWEET AND TALENTED LADY! SO, STAYED TUNED AND GET THOSE COMMENTS ROLLIN' IN!