Grayslake II - Great Little Finds

 

First stop was for ribbon & millinery flowers from Georgette

Joan's account of the photos she found recently was fascinating; I had to have a few of them.  Why are those girls painting the fence in their unmentionables?

Key tags and numbers are two of my favorite things. Key tags with numbers...perfect!  Made a stop on the way home and found the old brass watch case.

Vintage price tag's from McCabe's.  Anyone know where McCabe's was/is?

 Chippy sap bucket from Iowa Junk Gypsies in Christmas colors

Transfers from Rhubarb Reign; can't wait to test drive them on a project

Vintage seam binding from Joan in the most delicious colors.

Grayslake Flea Market

Shopping and chatting with vendors was so much fun today that I did a really bad job of getting good photos. After a gloomy week it was nice to have sunshine; I'm sure the outside vendors appreciated it too.

Frederick Klass, Jr brought one of the best things I saw today. 

Alas, it was too big...for my home and for my budget.

Diane Passi had a dreamy booth.

I'd been wanting to meet the Iowa Junk Gypsies, and had fun chatting with Anita.  Their displays are inspiring.

It was great to meet Joan of Anything Goes Here and Joe and Sandy from Rhubarb Reign and see Candy & Jill from Altered Ever After. There were wonderful finds in their booths and sadly, I didn't get any great photos.  Of course I brought home a few things - we'll have show & tell soon!

Kane County - 3 Weeks to Go - Sneak Peek

Gracie's Cottage will be selling at the Kane County Flea Market  for the first time on May 1st and 2nd. For the past fourteen years I've enjoyed seeking out treasures and sharing them with friends like you. Since leaving my day job late in 2008, (thank you Mr. Bad Economy),  it's been a pleasure to expand and try new venues.  My dear friend Kathy will be sharing space with me at Elkhorn and Junk Bonanza but I'll be flying solo this time.

Candy from Altered Ever After shared with me how much she's enjoyed selling at Kane County.  The Iowa Junk Gypsies, (whom I have yet to meet but have worshipped from afar), sell there as well.  I've started gathering things to take; here's a sneak peek:

Some of you know that we love letters and numbers and always try to have a nice selection to offer. The original calligraphy alphabets on waxy linen vellum are 'to die for'; you've got to see them in person to appreciate them.

We have a couple of terrific chippy garden urns, lots of galvanized goodies and these wonderful old fishing floats in unusual colors.

We'll bring dozens of great old feed, flour and sugar sacks, (both shabby & pristine), hardware and ephemera.  Hope to meet you there!

Recipe or Receipt? To Roast A Pig's Head

Warne's Every-Day Cookery, 1900 Receipts, With Coloured Illustrations.
I recently ran across this great old cookbook; it's undated but appears to be from the 1890's. The first paragraph gives you a peek at life for the lady of the house.  "The mistress of a family commands daily a small realm of which she is queen.  Let her rule with justice, meekness, and quietness....we should have fewer bad servants if they were all under the firm and patient training of an employer who understood what their duties really were..."

Further reading takes you to a section covering the "Duties of the Housemaid", "Duties of the Housekeeper" and "Duties of the Footman".  The housemaid "is required to be a nice-mannered, respectable-looking woman. She should be a tolerably good dressmaker..."

The duties of a housekeeper "require early rising, both to get business over well, and as an example to the servants."  As for the footman, he "is required to make himself generally useful, though, of course the number of men kept will diminish or increase his work."


The recipes or "receipts" are most interesting - here's a sampling of the titles:
Baked Eels
To Roast a Pig's Head
Pig's Pettitoes
Pie of Larks or Sparrows
Cottage Soup - A Very Cheap Soup
To Bake A Pig
To Prepare the Brains of a Lamb's Head for Serving Under It
To Fricassee Rabbits Brown
To Collar a Calf's Head

Are you hungry yet? Once we get past the meat section, things look a bit more "normal". Desserts look downright appetizing. I was going to try making the sponge cake until I read the directions:

Take half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, break five eggs over it, and beat for full half an hour with a steel fork..." My arm was tired just thinking about that!

The book concludes with "Useful Receipts for Housekeepers and Servants".  Below are two which might be helpful in dealing with vintage garments.

"To Take Stains Out of Silk or Cloth"
Pound some French chalk fine, and mix it with warm water to the thickness of mustard. Put it on the spots, rub it lightly with your finger or the palm of your hand. Put a sheet of blotting, and of brown paper over the spots and press it with a warm iron.

"To Clean An Old Silk Dress"
Unpick the dress and brush it with a velvet brush. Then grate two large potatoes into a quart of water; let it stand to settle; strain it off quite clear, and sponge the dress with it. Iron it on the wrong side, as the ironed side will be shiny. 

There's no housekeeper, housemaid or footman here, and so I'm very thankful for my freezer, my microwave and the occasional dinner out!

Under the Thunder

7:30 a.m.  It's ominously dark outside and the rain is bouncing off "the" chair.  This old gal followed me home from an estate sale earlier this spring. I thought I'd sell her; but I've become rather attached to her cheery outlook.  On the gloomiest day, she is the lone spot of brightness.

I know that a lot of you love storms, and this one is a doozy. I wish I could post the sound of the thunder for you; The door is open for better listening, although it makes me jump at times.

Gracie is stressed, to put it mildly.  She's not a fan of lightning, thunder, or even plain ol' rain.  I heard her yelping and went to investigate.  It seemed that she was contemplating whether it would be more scary to stay upstairs, or to venture down into the dark basement alone. I turned the light on and  haven't seen her since.

It seems like a perfect day to tackle some indoor projects. Here's hoping that sunshine or rain, your day is bright!

I Heart Farm Sales

Going out buying wasn't on my "to do" list today; I'm in the midst of cleaning my overstuffed storage area and need to finish.  When I woke up early and saw what a beautiful day it was, I couldn't resist the 45 minute drive to a farm sale...those of you who love to go "junking" understand the siren call of a big sale. This one turned out to be worth the drive.

The farmyard was nestled up against an old cemetery.  That proved to be a fitting location, as the farm itself appeared to be the final resting place for dozens of farm implements and hundreds of other old items. 

The owner of the rusty abundance bounced around answering questions since he "didn't have time to get everything priced"...ya think?

Aside from what was out in the yard, there were numerous outbuildings on the property; a peek inside revealed more waiting for future sales.

I had a lot of fun poking around the property and gathering a pile of shabby primitives to bring back. Here are some snapshots of what you may find in the Gracie's Cottage booth at upcoming shows...enjoy the pictures!

Gracie's Cottage (temporary) Weekend Move

We temporarily moved Gracie's Cottage to Rummage-A-Rama last weekend and teamed up with Lilac Lane Boutique to load a large booth with an eclectic mix of great old finds. It's always nice to see our loyal customers and meet some new folks. The busy weekend at R-A-R left us with room for all the new finds that we're unearthing daily. We think that you'll love what we have planned for Elkhorn next month. 

We also met the talented mother/daughter team of Altered Ever After, who were selling at R-A-R for the first time,  Candyce Martens and Jill Kerne.  Candy's imaginative creations are colorful and immediately evoke happiness, (see photo below). Jill's steampunk jewelry is so intricate that a quick glance won't suffice; I loved studying each piece to see what she had incorporated.

We were excited to learn that when we get to Junk Bonanza in September, Altered Ever After will be selling there as well.  Check out their site...we know you'll love their creations as much as we did.