Flea love

Last weekend was the Nashville flea market and I trucked over there determined to find some treasures. Waste not, want not, right?

The day started out threatening to rain, and I was hoping that it might be somewhat non-crowded. What a pie in the sky dream! I ducked into the first building, which turned out to be "new" items like designer knockoff perfumes, cheap jewelry, beef jerky, and made in china tote bags/doggie purses... I fought my way through baby strollers, rolling carts, and clueless shoppers to get to the GOOD stuff!

And did I find good stuff. Lots of eye candy with antique furniture, and beautiful dishes I don't need. I kept myself in check but did manage to score bunches of lovely trims from various sellers:

If I ever get back into my sewing studio you'll see those making an appearance on some bags!

But the pièce de résistance was this gorgeous cathedral window table runner:

Hand quilted. Beautifully done. Lots of lovely patches. A labor of love by someone that was sold to me for $25. Fortunately I know the value of this hard work and wouldn't DREAM of doing something irrational like cut it up into pillows or dolls. (shudder)

The runner is HUGE--100 inches long, and wayyyy to big for my table. I'm thinking of giving it the glory it deserves as a wall hanging. Wouldn't look fab hanging on a blue wall--the one that will soon be in my dining room?

Of course, AFTER my excursion I come across this useful post of the top 5 flea market tips. Cash? Check. Tote? Check. Tape measure? Check. Hmm, I think I'm only lacking a hard core flea market buddy. The boy gets bored just about the time we get to the good stuff (thus turning into my shadow) and mom only comes up a few times a year. I usually shop alone because of the whole "too much talking, not enough shopping" issue but an extra set of eyes would be helpful.... Any takers? :)