Saturday, April 15, 2023

My New Finds

Back in late March I went on an antique trip.
Its been awhile since I actually visited stores,
but I decided to take a jaunt to two of my favorite ones.
Since they are close to my mom's,
I spent the evening with her.
We went to dinner and breakfast before I headed back home.
These are my new finds.
 

First up us this flax roving braid.


Most linen was made from flax in early years.


Next is this courting candle.
Courting candles were used in the 15th & 16th century.
A father would set the candle at a certain height,
for when a suitor came to call on their daughters.
Once the candle burned to the metal,
the suitor went home.
The candle in here is too big for the peen to work.
I will need to hunt for a repro candle that will.
This is only the second one I have seen.
The first one I thought was priced at $12 back 
about 15 years ago at a flea market.
When I handed the man $12 he told me it was 
$1200.00
 I apologized profusely and came home without it.
I have never seem another one since then.
Until now...and I did not pay that much.


This is the peen that lowers and raises the candle itself.
A peen is another word for a wedge.
I love how this one was shaped into a curl.
The white spot is not an orb...just my
overhead light reflecting down.


This is the bottom where the blacksmith
pounded the wrought iron down into the wood
to hold in place.



I was also drawn to this repo picture
of this colonial lady.
My house can go from primitive to
primitive colonial on just the way I decorate.
Lately I have been leaning more to the colonial side.


Finally once I saw this sampler,
I was hoping the price would be what I could also afford.
This sampler was priced at $175. 
Since I knew the owner of the store,
I asked her if she could do better.
She sold it to me for $125.


I was drawn to the colors of this piece.


The reverse letter "P" were stitched on this one.
Which means the earliest this piece could have
been stitched was 1820.


Usually the motifs can tell where a sampler was stitched.
With this one there are many crowns,
swans, birds and dogs.


Unfortunately there is no date, just initials.
Could this be an English one,
or one depicting colonial America?
I am unsure.


This is the back.


Framed in a brown calico with leather
straps nailed to each corner.
Any hoot, I was pleased to bring this home.

Well Bob agreed to repainting our bedroom.
It has been 7 years since we remodeled this room.
I have always loved a blue bedroom for some reason.
Well after my teen years that is.
Then my bedroom was orange, with an orange,
yellow and green shag rug.
Yes my parents allowed it. LOL
Currently our room is colonial blue and white.
New color will be more of a prim blue and beige.
Stay tuned for that.

In other news,
we have been having some Summerlike weather.
We broke a record yesterday with the temp being 82.

Thunderstorms predicted on Sunday,
with the possibility of snow on Monday, UGH

 
Forgot to thank the Blue Eyed Sheep.
I did get in contact with Kris.
She is an hour and a half away from me.
When I have a vacation day, will see if I can visit her.
I could not find any store or info for the one in Romeo.
Maybe it has closed...that one would have been closer.

Have a marvelous weekend my friends!

New Find Blessings To All!
Janice





12 comments:

  1. Very interesting to learn about the Courting Candle and amazed at your knowledge of such antiques. Thanks for telling me that wasn't an orb, lol. Yet I wonder that since you have so many antiques in your home do you ever see shadows moving, softly spoken words, things moving or orbs? Inquiring mind wants to know.

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  2. Nice finds. I haven't been in an antique store in some time
    I am more in the cleanup mode. But we do need painting done
    Cathy

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  3. The sampler is wonderful. Love the antique fabric on the back. In your post can you be referring to Town Hall Antiques in Romeo? If so, they are open 7 days a week.

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  4. Are you talking about visiting Kris Miller? I just had a two day class with her (my 3rd class with her) and she is just the sweetest hooker ever. And her wools are to die for. Better plan on having lots of $$ in your checkbook ;-)

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  5. Interesting finds! I like the portrait of the colonial lady, and the sampler. Good Luck with the repainting of the bedroom!

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  6. You had a great day Antiquing !!! The courting candle and the sampler are beautiful !
    We broke records for hitting 90 on Saturday ....too hot for me this early !!!

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  7. Oh my, I learned something new today. I had no idea about courting candles. I cannot wait to tell my friend Lori about them. She will enjoy this history and you have a piece of it.
    The sampler is a treasure as well. :-)

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  8. You are very welcome, always happy to support local shops run by great folks. Lynne in Romeo may or may not still be teaching and vending. Her # is 586-752-9153, please tell her Kathleen said hello and I am still hooking! She taught me to hook MANY years ago...more years than either of us will admit to! You will not be disappointed in your visit to Kris Miller's studio, she is just the nicest lady! Have fun!

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  9. I didn't know about the courting candles. Interesting. No need to tell the young suitor , it's time to go home, lol...
    I love that sampler. At the price you paid you got a bargain. I paid $125 just to have a cross stitch framed. It would probably cost more now.

    Hope spring has found you.
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  10. I had the courting candle in something called a "curfew" and Dad wasn't kidding about the time to be home! Ha! Very nice finds. I also love the colors in your sampler. I always think about the person who put the time into a piece of work like that and would they be surprised to see it still around in the 2000's! Have a good week. Your weather mirrored ours with warm temps and sunshine all last week. Today the rain came and temps dropped! But no fear, I know it will rebound. Have a good week Janice!

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  11. That sampler is in great shape. If it weren't for how it's framed, I'd think it was from the 1970s when such things came back for a while due to the US Bicentennial.
    I was not allowed to pick paint colors for my room, but I was allowed to make the daring choice of a bright orange fake fur bedspread. I still have it, but it's been demoted to being used for protecting things that need moved.

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  12. Great finds - I love the courting candle and the sampler. I have a courting candle too, but I think yours is much nicer - love the little scroll work. Did you know that the height at which the candle was set was indicative of what the father thought of the young man's prospects? If it was someone the parents thought well of, it was set high given the couple plenty of time....if the candle was set low, well, the young man had better make a good impression quickly. Love the sampler too of course. We had a beautiful weather week last week - way above normal temps....today, we woke up to another 11" of snow. So not fair. ~Robin~

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