It was a beautiful drive from home in North Carolina up through Virginia, across a tiny corner of Maryland and West Virginia into Pennsylvania.
Do you see that perfectly blue sky with gorgeous clouds?
Roanoke, Virginia, you are a special place! And only a 2 hour drive from home.
I had one stop on my mind, and I only get to hit it once a year if I’m lucky.
It’s a 7 hour drive to Bedford, PA – and if I hit it just right, I can pull over in Verona and hit the world’s largest antique mall AND get lunch and a rest stop at the same time.
This is NEVER a quickie stop, though!
I was here for 2 hours and only made it half way through. A person could get lost for days in here – happily so! And I have made a mental note to stop on my way home and catch the other half. A girl has got to do what a girl has got to do!
There were some beautiful machines, but not too many. And prices on machines are sky rocketing.
I’ve never seen this one before!
It’s missing both slide plates and et they want $145.00 for it. Is it worth that? I don’t know. I don’t know the history of this machine, if it is really are or not, I just took the photo – catch and release – and moved on!
**NOTE** You would be very proud of me this trip. I found no machines trapped and hiding from within cabinets, so there was no “Free the Machines!” going on!
There were some really interesting quilts –some that made me wonder, and some downright giggle, and some BOTH.
What shape is this??
I guess at some point you say “That’s all the pieces I have and I’m just going to quilt it and bind it this way!”. The interesting thing is that all of the hexagons have signatures, cities and states and they are from ALL over.
Isn’t this interesting?
I wondered if the maker knew all of these women, or if it was some kind of collecting signatures thing so that you would have one person from each state. The big clue for me is the one hexie that says Virginia 1940. There was so much going on in the country at that time. Americans were just pulling out of the depression. War was on the horizon, but we didn’t know it yet. And still, women made quilts and hoped for a better future, collecting signature blocks and stitching them together in remembrance.
Whatever shape the edges might take!
I found the irons really interesting.
Heavy and heavily rusted. Whose hands employed these every day items in their every day work of keeping house? At this moment in time I’m thinking “Thank you for electricity and the fact that this is not my job!”
And the weirdest?
Booths of tupperware crack me up. And really? Who buys and keeps ham this way? Tell me why I need a ham shaped tupper thing? Besides, the only hams I know that are really this shape come from a can.
The 1970s and 1980s must have been "BIG HAM" decades, right along with "BIG HAIR."
It gave me a good chuckle!
You can find all of the other things I loved in the slide show below:
I finally made it to Mary's Quilt Shop just about closing time!
Hooray! I’m here!
The ladies who are staying at Mary’s retreat were already upstairs settling in. More are arriving and staying in nearby hotels. We’ve got folks from as far as Michigan and I’m so excited for this event to begin.
We kick it off today with 50 quilters in a Garden Party workshop ---let’s get those scraps flying!
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
Vintage nine patch quilt top found in Virginia.
Which direction are you going?
Have a great Saturday, everyone!
Love the blue and white quilt near the end, and that GREEN Singer!! Thanks for sharing your shopping trip! Enjoy you time at Mary's Quilt Shop. Hope the cabin in Virginia is your destination after you leave PA! Mary - www.stitchinggrandma.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteI own one of those ham containers! I use it about once a year, maybe twice, but not for ham. It's great for turkey and yes it does fit.
ReplyDeleteOMG my mom had one of those ham Tupperware containers too! She loves your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteMy gram had that Tupperware, my mom kept it after she passed. it also holds half a watermelon, which is in turn filled with fruit salad for a 4th of July picnic. And yes, those were big ham decades!
ReplyDeleteThat shape on the signature quilt is called 'jewel'.
ReplyDeleteMy mum had one of those tuperware containers. It had an insert for easy removing the meat. In Australia we kept the cooked chicken in it. Great to look at old treasures. Have fun
ReplyDeleteI have one of those Tupperware containers and use it to save all kinds of roasts in it! Could use a new one! My grandmother used the old irons on end for door stoppers on doors that the breeze al.ways wanted to shut. They work great! Love some of those quilts! I wish they could tell me their stories. I am so sad that their owners did not want them 😢Have a good time!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid my mom only served canned ham. She could have used that Tupperware. :-)
ReplyDeleteAl much as I love those bubble gum pink quilts...that light purple/lavender one is my favorite!! Also that tiny green machine...I think I might have scooped that up! Great times in the antique market. So jealous we don't have more around where I live!!
ReplyDeleteThank you sooooo much Bonnie. I'm a super busy person with my longarm business but I ALWAYS make reading your posts a top priority.. I love seeing your pictures and videos.. I truly think we are soul sisters... can't say enough good things about you.. Safe travels wherever you go������... and come back to Arkansas!!!
ReplyDeleteI too have one of those ham-shaped Tupperware containers. I use it for huge leftovers, be it ham, turkey.... whatever. So handy at holiday time!
ReplyDeleteI think the Tupperware container was actually made for Turkeys. We had one, but it was all white.
ReplyDeleteBonnie, thanks for the post! I'm having a rather crummy day and your Tupperware ham thing made me giggle out loud! I needed that! I used to sell Tupperware in the late 70's. I remember all the hype when a new wierd piece like that came out! Enjoy your time in PA.
ReplyDeleteCarol Grant
There's a good reason they called those "sad irons"...
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your posts so much thank you Bonnie!
I never saw that ham container, but I have a couple of Tupperware drink containers about soda can size. I probably got them in the 70s. No longer available. Just right for filling 4/5 full of water and freezing to stand in an insulated lunch bag. I used Insulbrite to make double layer "socks." Non shiny sides facing. Stays cold in the car for these desert days of 115 degrees. I would buy more if they still made them. Wish I could see that antique store. Looking for a very small hibachi, also from the 70s. Worked so well with just a few briquets for 4 burgers or a steak. Also no longer available. ...sigh
ReplyDelete...
I find it hard to think of stuff from the 79's as "antiques", but then, the 70's are 40+ years ago!
ReplyDeleteBonnie, the 3rd picture of the hexi/star quilt caught my eye. Laura Deering from Harmony Maine. I did a little quick research and found that she was 55 in 1940, Married to an auto mechanic named Morrill, with 3 teenagers in the house.
ReplyDeleteinteresting stuff
Oh, Bonnie, I have to tell you, I have one of those Tupperware ham containers, and I love it. Back in the 70's, we purchased a lot of bone-in picnic hams, and they always fit so nicely in those, and the insert has handles so you can easily lift the ham out for leftovers, right down to the bone for soup! I still use mine,. I'm sure if I saw another one setting somewhere, I'd buy it too, just to be sure I had one for a spare, ha ha!
ReplyDeleteWow never seen those Tupperware containers before cracked me up. I do have a brown sewing Tupperware container from my mother in law. I love it. I also like the block at 1:51 can some one be able to tell me the name of it I think it looks cool.
ReplyDeleteI have one of those Tupperware ham containers too!! And I also use it for leftover turkey too!!
ReplyDeleteGive Nancy Russell a hug and tell her it's from me (Jeanne Lex). She'll be so surprised. Have fun in Bedford and be sure to have a meal at the Bird's Nest.
ReplyDeleteTake a peek at the pretty hanging red and white quilt. Hi to Mary K too !!!!