Little Dog Dog Goes to Brimfield: May 2013 Edition

Oh, Brimfield, you never disappoint. I thrifted all day Thursday and Friday at the antique show, and now have an entire truck bed full of goodies. Some will be listed in the Etsy shop and the others I am collecting for a Fab.com vintage sale scheduled for this summer.

My haul included:

• 5 lamps
• 5 rugs
• 1 Hudson Bay blanket
• 2 antique brass drawer knobs to complete a box refinishing project
• 1 Saltillo blanket
• 1 patchwork quilt
• 7 wood boxes
• 1 industrial step stool
• 2 metal tool cabinets
• 1 industrial rolling cart
• 1 model boat
• 7 flags from various countries
• 1 vintage sign
• 2 lamp shades

Trends I noticed this year included:

• Lots of brass/copper light fixtures
• Even more industrial pieces than last year (especially lighting & work tables)
• Slightly less mid century and danish modern than I've seen in the past
• A significant reduction in the amount of ornate traditional and Victorial style furniture
• Gass station lights up the wazoo

Here are a few photos snapped with my iPhone during the show of items that caught my eye.

↓ Wall of suitcases

↓ Industrial floor lamps

↓ Awesome work table

↓ Tons of copper

↓ Great file drawers & Eames chairs

↓ General awesomeness in a giant tent

↓ Lamps like these were everywhere

↓ Giant birdhouse

↓ An average booth setup at Brimfield

↓ A typical row looks like this. Multiply this by at least 1,000 and you will start to understand the expanse of the show. It is *amazing* but can be absolutely overwhelming.

Tomorrow I am off to an estate sale outside Boston then a bit of errand running before a family dinner. On Sunday we'll hit up Todd Farm before heading home to Vermont.

Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Weekly Etsy Wishlist: Folds and Facets

Faceted Bottle Stopper, $22	8 Paper Ornaments, $25	Coffee Table, $3828.38
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Pendant Light, $109.27	Geometric Sculpture, $40	Desk Calendar, $20
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Phone Case, $16	Faceted Ring Box, $65	Handmade Quilt, $250

Our Bird Friend

A few days ago I was able to snap this shot of the little bird that is building a nest under our porch eaves. Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? I cruised around birding websites for about five minutes before becoming overwhelmed by the number of birds that look exactly like this one and gave up. If anyone has an expert birding eye and happens to know what species this is, please do share!

I also captured these shots of the nest while the bird was flying about collecting twigs and moss:

Pretty, right? Isn't it amazing that these little structures are built one twig at a time?

This evening the bird appears to be roosting. It generally flies off as soon as anyone enters the porch area, but today I was able to quickly snap this shot before moving away so as not to disturb it. I am assuming it is incubating eggs, though I really have no idea.

In other news, I am headed to Massachusetts tomorrow for two days of antiquing at Brimfield (HOORAY!!!!!), one day of bumming around in Boston, and a trip to Todd Farm on the way home on Sunday. I am perhaps more excited about the next five days than any others this year. BRIMFIELD HERE I COME!!

Navajo Rug Samplers + Wedding Table Runners

Back in April my weaving teacher started me on a small table loom, and over the past few weeks I've completed two pieces. These tiny sample pieces measure just 5" x 7", but each took me about 3 hours to weave. I have a newfound respect for Navajo rugs like this one:

Image Source

Just looking at it boggles my mind. I'm only in the very beginning stages of learning how this type of weaving is done, but I've absorbed enough to know how much patience and skill goes into hand weaving a rug of this type. Similar style rugs sold in the stores these days are not hand done. Most are woven by a machine programmed by a computer. That doesn't make them less beautiful, in fact they are quite perfectly done, but it does mean that no one person spent weeks on end painstakingly warping the loom, weaving the thread through each row, and breaking their back while keeping track of a complicated pattern. But I digress.

Here are a few more shots of my first sampler being woven:

The finished first sampler, along with a second I did on my own.

Definitely no masterpieces, but they were super fun to make, and I am really looking forward to building on what I've already learned on a larger size loom. Eventually I'll need to buy or rent an upright floor loom if I'm going to make full size rugs.

In the meantime I am planning my next project, a set of runners for our dining (and by dining I mean picnic) tables at the wedding. I found an old dish towel at the thrift store with a blue stripe border that is simple and lovely (see below), and I would like to reproduce the design on my runners. I'll use a white cotton yarn for the warp and include three simple stripes bordering each edge in a cornflower blue. The weft thread will also be white. Stay tuned for that project next!

Bathroom Remodel Part 4: Tiling the Floor

In my last bathroom remodel post, we tackled tiling the shower with white subway tile. This week we tiled the shower floor with the Vermont slate tile we picked up at the quarry last month, then continued the tile onto the shower curb and floor.

First we cut our 9"x 12" tiles into smaller 3" x 3" squares, then put down mortar and began placing them.

When the base was covered we moved to the inside walls of the shower curb.

The floor came next, and we used 9" x 12" tiles.

Next we tiled the shower curb.

And here's the view of the other side of the room, as seen from the shower. We also added a tile baseboard instead of using wood, and I really like the way it turned out.

The next step is to grout all of the tile. We'll use white grout for the subway tile and a grey for the Vermont slate. When the grout is dry, we'll use a solution to clean the tile, then add a sealer to protect them from water and wear. The sealer will also bring out the color and texture of the slate, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Our radiator in the bathroom was also a mess, with chipping paint and rusty patches. We used a wire brush bit on a drill to scrape/sand the old chipping paint, then gave the radiator a coat of new glossy grey. Here's what it looked like before:

And here's what it looks like today.

There's still a long way to go in the bathroom, but after this week I have to admit we are pretty proud of ourselves :) No, it's not perfect, but it's a huge improvement over what we had before. The tiling is a huge step, and once the grout and seal are in place we can have the shower glass installed (the one step we are hiring out), then bring the toilet, sink, light fixture, and wall cabinets in. It feels like we are so close, and yet there's still so much to do!

A+ Day

Today may have been my favorite day since moving to Vermont. It rained yesterday, and overnight our hillside turned into a lush forest paradise. I spent a few hours in the morning taking photos of vintage stock and rewiring a few old lamps before joining Josh in the yard to work on the rock wall.

Gathering and stacking rocks has become my new favorite project. It's such hard work, but I want to do it all the time. I see Josh's eyes glaze over every time I suggest we work on the wall (understandable considering he's the one having to lift all the really heavy rocks) but for me there's something so rewarding about actually building something. My knees are bruised and my forearms are scratched from pulling rocks out of thorny patches, but I could do it all day. Maybe I've missed my calling as a stone mason?! Okay, okay, go ahead and roll your eyes :)

Dandelions have also taken over the yard, and while we'll mow them eventually, I am actually really enjoying those little weeds. They're so pretty peppered around the yard, and dandelion greens are actually delicious, with a bitter flavor similar to arugula. Around noon I gathered a bunch from the yard and made a dandelion greens salad with tomato, bell pepper, and avocado for lunch.

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on the rock wall, then cleaned up and drove south to the Weathersfield Inn for dinner. It was our first time there, and we will definitely be back. The inn has a beautiful patio dining area with a fire pit, and the food was delicious.  With only a handful of restaurants within a 30 minute drive from us, every place we discover is a big deal. On our way back from dinner we stopped at the ice cream stand that just opened back up for the summer, and shared a cone on the park benches out front. What a day! 

Weekly Etsy Wish List: Sunny Yellow

Vintage Rotary Phone, $50	Art Print, $38	Vintage Fan, $148
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Industrial Lamp, $125	Vintage Camera & Film, $20	Neon Mini Planter Set, $34
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Vintage Krenit Bowl, $60	Eames Chair, $360	Vintage Coffee Set, $24