Round Top/Warrenton Texas Antiques Fair

Well, we are back from a wonderful buying trip to the spring Round Top area antiques fair.  This year we had the good fortune to spend the night at a friend's ranch (thanks, Marilyn, and thanks Mom, for hooking us up!) so we were able to spend 2 full days searching the fields for great finds. 

It was an amazing trip.  I didn't find nearly as much lace as I hoped to find, but we found so many other great things that it more than made up for it.  I was so distracted by all the great stuff that I forgot to take pictures!  So, I'm sorry that I don't have more pics for you.  But here are some of the highlights:

We found some AMAZING linens:

 

And one seller had this amazing collection of vintage shakers.  I couldn't believe the colors!  I bought a small pink and a small blue shaker, but I'm already kicking myself for not buying more:

And I was shocked to find a vendor who not only had a huge set of the vintage Spode Mayflower china that I collect, but also a massive set of a coordinating pattern -- Spode Strawberry -- that I had never seen before.  She even had a punch bowl!

 

I was a bit overwhelmed by it all, I admit.  China is a huge weakness of mine.  I did not buy the punch bowl, as it was just too expensive for me, but I did buy the set that she had priced all at one price:

Um..... that's a LOT of china, no?  We packed it into 5 huge boxes (thanks Kari and Mom for the packing help!) and just barely got it all into the van.  I still can't quite believe my luck at finding this wonderful pattern.  Yippee!

But not all of my finds were as high-brow.  Another favorite purchase was the "vintage" 1980 Darth Vader cake pan:

 

There will be a Darth Vader cake, very soon!  I'll be sure to post pics.

We enjoyed lunch at our favorite barbeque spot, where I had a baked potato loaded with brisket:

 

And of course, we saw some really interesting things:

 

Usually, I pick a "weirdest item of the day," but not this year: this year, I'm sharing with you the "weirdest exchange with a rude vendor," instead.

Now, before I tell you this story I want to say, in full disclosure, that I have been a vendor at many shows over the years, and I know that buyers are sometimes rude and as a vendor there is a lot you have to deal with.  That being said, here's the story:

Early Friday morning, Kari and I hit the fields ready for our second day and super excited to find new treasures.  One of the first booths we entered was very cute -- a huge space (at least 3 times the usual size) and packed full of wonderful old finds, mostly in whites and creams.  The vendor was still finishing her set up, but she welcomed us in to look around.  We oohed and aahed over how wonderful her items were, and Kari spied a few things that she wanted to buy.  I did a loop of the space and noticed about 3 pieces of lace -- all nice, but I was looking for more.  So, as I always do, I asked if she had more lace that she hadn't had time to put out yet. 

And the following exchange ensued:

Vendor: "Oh, I have 2 bins just full of lace!"

Me [very excited now]: "Great!  Do you mind if I take a look?"

Vendor: "Oh, I have some ladies who always shop with me on Sunday and they buy a lot of lace from me."

Me: [confused silence and some blinking in surprise]

Vendor: "I just put these other pieces out last night."

Me: [more confused silence]

then I say, "well, I'm here to buy now if you are willing to let me see the lace."

Vendor: "I understand. " Then she turns her back on me and goes back to setting up her booth.

Kari and I exchange incredulous looks, then immediately exit her booth, buying nothing, of course.

So here's the thing -- why tell me you have TWO BINS OF LACE if you have no intention of selling to me?  Why not just say, "No, all that I have is what is out."  Why on Earth would you tell a customer, "Oh, I have tons of what you're looking for, but I'm not going to sell it to you!  In fact, I'm not even going to let you look at it."  I mean, why are you open for business with an attitude like that? 

It's been two days since this happened, and I'm still amazed by it!  Weird, weird, weird.

But in any event, that was a minor hiccup in our trip -- we had the best buying trip ever, and came home with loads of fun stuff!  I will be busy getting new laces and trims into the shop (not to mention trying to find a place for my new china -- I think I'm going to have to part with some of my other china; no room to keep all of it).  When we go back for the fall show, I promise to take more pictures!!

Warrenton/Round Top Antiques Fair, Part 2: The Loot

We found a lot of wonderful treasures on this trip!  Kari found so many cute things for her shop -- especially cute vintage hand towels and hankies, and a couple of antique redwork pillow covers that are to die for. I found a nice amount of antique lace, and I'm getting it into my shop as fast as I can.   But I also found a few things for me, which was fun.  I loved the bright retro graphics on these heavy linen towels shown above -- those strawberries!  Love 'em!  These are already washed and  hanging up in my kitchen.

And this fabric in the pic below -- I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture, but it is FLOCKED!!  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it exactly.... but I love it!

I found a vendor with lots of these little Victorian calling cards that I like so much.  I think I may have gone a wee bit overboard:

I found some pretty laces, though not as many as I hoped for (though I may be unrealistic in that regard -- I can never have too much!).  I also found some vintage flax toweling fabric (the lace is on top of it in the photo), that I'm thinking of stitching on for my next stitching project.

But the most exciting find of the day for me -- by far -- was the Alice in Wonderland fabric!!!  I have one small remnant piece of this fabric, and for about 2 years I've been looking for more, with no luck.  Well, I stumbled onto 3 big pieces of it in this one lady's tent, and I started jumping up and down and shouting, "The Alice in Wonderland fabric! The Alice in Wonderland fabric!"  Let's just say it did not put me in the best bargaining position.  But no matter, that fabric was coming home with me no matter what!!  I may part with some of it -- some small pieces may show up in my shop -- but I think most of it is staying right here to be made into pillows for the window seat/library area I want to make for my girls.

What fun!  We had such a great buying trip, we're thinking about driving back up there this week....

Square 27 and Warrenton/Round Top Antiques Fair, Part 1

Yesterday was our twice-a-year trek to Warrenton, Texas, just outside of Round Top, for Texas Antiques Week. We arrived early at about 8:30, and left at 5. We sat down once for a quick lunch, but otherwise, it was all shopping! We found some fabulous loot -- FABULOUS! -- which I will share more about tomorrow, but for today, here are some pics to give you the flavor of the show, as well as the ever-popular weirdest item of the day.

I loved these little Easter chicks:

This booth was so fun -- bins and bins of charms of all kinds, which you could mix and match into bracelets and necklaces. Sadly, by the time we found this place, we were both out of money. I plan to start there early next time!

A pretty display:

One of my favorite pics from yesterday -- this wonderful group of vintage wedding cake toppers. I wanted to buy one, but Kari talked me out of it. Dang it! Should've bought one (or two....).

Below is a pic of the most clever display idea -- this lady draped vintage lace to create an "umbrella." It was charming!

We saw so many fantastic vintage foofy dresses yesterday. I wish I had taken more pictures of the dresses!

Wish I had a perfect spot for this dreamy couch:

And finally, without further delay, the weirdest item of the day! A stuffed wallaby! (And yes, it had a plaque on it that identified it as a wallaby.) There were a few other odd things, including one item that was so disturbing that we decided not to even photograph it), but truly, the wallaby won the prize yesterday!

Stay tuned: can't wait to show you some of the great treasures that I brought home!