Spirit of Christmas Past

Earlier this month was the Spirit of Christmas Past Show that Tina hosts in her lovely home. You can read more about my first visit and how I discovered it here.

I was so happy to get to attend again!

She had so many lovely primitive antiques and folk art creations!

I have such a difficult time trying to decide what will go home with me.

So I tend to stay a little longer just to enjoy it all :)

So many sweet vignettes!

Lovely textiles

There is a bed, so maybe I could stay a bit...

How to ever decide...

I loved the sleds that Tina made last year, so I knew that was a must have!

I found the perfect spot for it inside our back entrance. 

It had sweet twinkling lights on it, but there is no outlet in this corner.

Thank goodness for Amazon and one day delivery!

It now has battery operated lights that are even on a timer!

 Although I don't have them on yet in this photo...

And these are the treasures that I bought from Mary. 

Who can resist a red child's shoe with lots of age and character?

Mary used to have a child's shoe Christmas tree.

Can you just imagine how darling that must have been?

An artist's mohair bird. Love!

I wasn't going to pass this up after regretting not getting a little mohair bear last time!

And look at this wonderful box with a little locking latch that still works.

It might have been a sewing box with the faded black puffy velvet lid lining - maybe a pincushion?

Thank you Mary for the sweet little treat!

You know that I absolutely love everything about it!

And thank you Wendy Stys-Van Eimeren of Pineberry Lane

for introducing me to this wonderful show and these lovely women!

Maybe next time we will finally meet...

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

~Galatians 4:4-7

Blessings, Patti

Unexpected treasures

 

On Saturday morning, Wendy Stys-Van Eimeren of Pineberry Lane posted pictures on Facebook about a wonderful primitive antique and handmade home show called Spirit of Christmas Past in Zion, Illinois. It was at the home of her friend, Tina. The pictures were gorgeous and everything that I like :)

 

Well, it was another busy weekend on Winding Vine - Christmas shopping to do, Christmas cards to write, in addition to all the regular chores that need to be squeezed in on the weekend when you work full-time outside the home... I really didn't have the time to drive an hour to Zion for a show. But I kept thinking about it...  Until I finally said, what the heck! I dropped everything, jumped in the car and off I went! Boy, was I ever glad that I did!

 

Tina has a lovely home and the pretty display above greeted you when you walked in...

 

So much lovely pewter!

 

Tina creates beautiful display pieces incorporating both antiques and Christmas decorations.

 

Her sleds were especially gorgeous!

 

Each one was different

*sigh* so sweet!

 

I think this one was my favorite!

 

 

There was a lot to take in

 

And all was displayed so prettily!

 

Why didn't this sweet bear come home with me?

I think I was overwhelmed by all the choices at this point lol.

 

Wouldn't you like to just pick up everything and bring it home?

 

Tina's friend Mary was also there and had some lovely cross stitched pieces in antique frames. I kept going back and looking at these two pieces again.

 

I definitely didn't want to leave, but knew that my chores were all waiting for me...

 

The sweet lantern in the first picture came home with me

 

Along with this fun punched tin star tree-topper.

 

They both quickly found a home in this corner until I have time to decide on their final resting places.

 

 

I also couldn't leave without this great antique stripped wool, some ticking, a treen plate and a few tin ornaments.

 

I'm so glad that I saw Wendy's post and decided to hop in the car and go. It was such a pleasure to meet Tina and Mary and all of the ladies! The best part is that I am on the mailing list for next year ;)

And I was able to go through my chores the rest of the weekend with a smile on my face :)

 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

 

Blessings, Patti

A Bit of Primitive Heaven...

Where does the time go?! I have been back a week and haven't had time to blog about my trip. 

(The 12 hour days at work this week haven't helped ;)

The shows were phenomenal as always. The spring shows are smaller, but I still manage to spend more than my budget lol.  I took a few photos of a few booths to share:

This grouping of needlepoint pictures really caught my eye. The four small pictures represent the four seasons. But alas, none of them went home with me.

I was happy, as always, to see one of my favorite folk artists in Tuscola at "A Rural Life" - Ginny Henson. She has wonderful antiques and most of her creations are made with antique materials. 

I am thrilled to tell you that Ginny has a new website:

ginnyhensonblog.wordpress.com

You can also click here to see some of my past purchases from Ginny.

Although now that I look at it myself, I realize that it isn't pulling up all the blog posts as I didn't label them correctly. You can also click here to see if Ginny has any upcoming shows in your neighborhood.

I get to see Ginny again next month! 

She will be at the Spring Country Folk Art Festival at the Kane County Fairgrounds March 21 - 23, 2014.

I can't wait :)

I also spent a lot of time in the wonderful booth of Jacque Bradford.

Jacque had some truly wonderful antique sewing necessities.

I could have spent my entire budget in this little corner of her booth!

And look at these wonderful silhouettes - be still my heart!

Jacque has a Facebook page and will be at several more shows this year:

Art & Antiques at Osage Farm April 26, 2014 in Charleston, Illinois

Country Antique Market July 12, 2014 in Bishop Hill, Illinois

A Gathering on the Prairie November 8, 2014 in Arthur, Illinois (I will definitely be there!)

So many beautiful treasures and never enough money lol.

Although the photo didn't turn out well due to the glare on the glass, I just had to share :)

Two of my favorite places at once.

I will post again soon with the treasures that I found.

"Listen closely, you who diligently work for justice
and look for the Eternal One, for what is fair and true.
It would be good for you to look back, look to the place from where you came,
the rock out of which you were shaped and the quarry from where you were mined."

~Isaiah 51:1

Blessings, Patti

Primitive Paradise on the Prairie

Twice a year primitive collectors journey to a primitive mecca in central Illinois. Three adjoining towns of Arcola, Arthur and Tuscola, Illinois host primitive antique shows in six separate locations. Lucky for me, my parents live in one of those towns and we have made attending a twice yearly family affair. (My husband and sons are happy that my parents and sister are happy to attend so that they don't have to lol.)

I am always so swept away by all that there is to see, that I never take pictures once I get in the shows.

Luckily Roberta of Cottonwood Lane Primitives does a great job of capturing the shows in photos.

You can see her posts about the shows here, here and here.

It's fun to see what we both admired and what I totally missed (darn!).

Here is what I found at the last show:

This little table top cabinet is made of quartersawn oak and square head nails. It's pretty heavy and quite substantial for a small piece. At one pont it was used to store crayons and art supplies. When you pull the drawers out, underneath them you see little crayon drawings from a small child. I love the stories that it adds... I am still moving it around trying to find the perfect place for it.

When we arrived at the first show, as we were walking in Stacy Nash was walking out :) She had several purchases and I was sure hoping that she left a few things for me to buy lol. It was nice to chat for a moment before heading in. 

Folk artist Steve Shelton had a booth there and I was so happy to purchase this wonderful little painting from him. I also bought this funky faux pumpkin from his booth as well.

I was so looking forward to the next show as a favorite folk artist of mine was there - Maggie Bonanomi!

She had a lovely booth, of course, and I was delighted to purchase this great handmade penny rug of hers featuring old worn velvet pennies. I also bought two great antique quilt squares and two tiny antique document boxes to add to my collection. 

On to the other shows...

My final purchase of the trip:

This wonderful hand painted wooden bowl. the quality of the painting and the details draw my eye to it again and again. I love the patch of blue sky and the skaters on the river. It appears that when the paint was wet, they lightly sprinkled it with mica flakes adding a light shimmer here and there.

This photo doesn't do it justice, but I love the little old man with hiking stick walking up to the house while a woman runs towards him. Someone else waits in the doorway for him to arrive.

The best news? At the end of next month I get to go back for the spring shows! Who knows what I will find this time!

"In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; 

snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago. 

Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain; 

heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign. 

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there, cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; 

but his mother only, in her maiden bliss, worshiped the beloved with a kiss. 

What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; 

 if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; yet what I can I give him: give my heart."

~Christina G. Rossetti, 1830-1894

~Blessings, Patti

A Winner & more treasures

Thank you so much to the 43 people who responded to my giveaway and question as to a fair price for my original milk painted trunk! The answers ranged from $45 to $425 with an average of $200. It's rare to find a trunk like this in the Chicago area, but if/when you do I think they are going for about $300. So now would you like to know how much I spent???

Well, when I looked at the price tag I almost hyperventilated when I saw it was $35! I was trying to keep my cool, when the owner approached. She said that she really needed to find a new home for it, so she would let me have it for $10! It was all I could do not to faint on the spot!!! And my husband still thinks that I spent too much! LOL! He really doesn't get it... he loves antiques, but says it just looks like someone took some old wood in the garage and hammered it together to create a box to hold tools. And I say, Exactly! A make do!

Well, the winner of this month's give away is...

Penny of the blog, Little Pen Pen. I just love the dachshund in her blog banner :)

Be sure and check back early next month for my Christmas Give Away! I have plans for it already :)

Recently I picked up another treasure at a local Estate Sale:

Isn't this old wool tongue rug just awesome? I love the four rosebuds on either end - each stitched in a different technique. I wonder if the wools are from men's suits? And the red trim is in wonderful shape. I treasure it knowing all the hours that someone put into it. It was the last day of the estate sale, so instead of the $45 on the price tag, I purchased it for $20 :) Oh how I love a good deal!

And I'll leave you with a picture of my Thanksgiving mantle:

I made a little maple leaf garland and more candle rings. They are about a week old and starting to curl and dry... The best part is they don't need to be packed away, just mulched and recreated next year. The beautiful paper cutting on the left is by Beth Twist of Heartstring Samplery. She mentioned on her blog that she is papercutting again and I just can't wait to see!

If you will be in the Bartlett, Illinois area this weekend, my sister-in-law is having her annual craft show and bake sale. (I'm baking my mom's famous melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies as we speak.) Just drop me a note at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com and I will send you the address and directions. The show will be on Saturday, November 19th from 12 - 3, but come early ~ she usually sells out!

"I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving."

~Psalm 69:30

Blessings, Patti