A few recent vintage finds

Peter and I have been waking much earlier than normal the past few weekends and heading out to flea markets, estate sales, and vintage shops hunting for things for the house. We haven't actually found any of the items we need, however, we have come across several things that found their way into my shopping bag regardless. Some things are just too pretty to pass up, especially when the price is right.

I got this Mexican folk art owl at a vintage shop. I've seen Mexican Tonalá-style pottery here and there but was never really tempted to buy it before. But this little guy stole my heart.

He is really small, with a light greenish-blue glaze, and black, blue, and yellow markings.

A flower is painted on his back. :)

Here's a book on folk art that I got from an estate sale. It's actually a first edition, though I didn't buy it for that reason. It has the best/weirdest folk art paintings and sculptures inside.

For example, this painting entitled Girl and Cat is one of my favorites. I love the stylized portrait of the cat and the odd, pouty expression on the girl's face. I would love to have this on my wall!
 

This wooded scene entitled The Shepard and His Flock is very stylized and typical of folk art. I love all the animals and trees.

This quilt sample was another estate sale find. The woman who lived in the house was obviously a talented quilter. There were several full-sized quilts I would've loved to have taken home with me, but they were priced higher than what we could spend. The woman doing the checkout was nice enough to knock the price down a bit because she said she loved that we went straight for the handmade stuff, and I was like, "Handmade is my favorite! I would take it all if I could!"

I'm not sure what to call this piece exactly; it's 16" square and a finished piece, so I don't think "block" is the right term. I've just been referring to it as a sample. Any quilters out there know if that's the correct term? Also, I would add that normally I go for more abstract/random quilts that don't seem to follow a traditional pattern, but I really loved this particular design.

Right now, it's sitting on top of the cabinet in our dining room. I've thought about turning it into a pillow--it's already standard pillow size--but I'm not super experienced with my sewing machine, which was passed down from my mom and is really really old and finicky, and I definitely don't want to mess it up. I might try to make it into a pillow in the future after practicing on other things, or I might just frame it and hang it on the wall.

Last, but not least, are these two classic books: Anna Karenina and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Again, we definitely didn't need any more books, but these were only $1 a piece, and I couldn't leave them there, obviously.

Here's a peek inside Twenty Thousand Leagues.

I love when old books have inscriptions. If you can't see this one, it reads, "John H. Austin / From Elinor / July, 1909." One of the art books I got at another sale read, "Merry Christmas Uncle Dave / Love, Barbara Ellen, Eddie, & Kathy." So sweet! I would love it if my niece and nephews got me art books when they're older. Also that reminds me I should share a peek into those art books as well!

I hope everyone's having a good week so far. I had a rough day at the dentist yesterday and am still feeling a bit sore and having trouble eating today...think I might actually need to go back in to have something looked at. Anyway, I'm taking it easy at home today and trying to finish some things for my Etsy shop. I have many things half-finished that desperately need to be completed, photographed, and listed. (Did I mention that my dentist bill was huge? Ugh.) Hopefully, I'll have a shop update later this week! xo, Mary