The sign of a good time.

I know this sign well. I learned last year that if you follow that arrow, good times await. The ladies of St. Paul work hard to make your shopping experience a pleasurable one. I know, I know...I'm starting to talk about shopping for junque like it's a stay at the Ritz Carlton. But I was greeted with a glass of ice water (!), and they stage everything at the sale so beautifully. Much better than these photos show. Perhaps my camera was melting from the heat (it was about 100 degrees Kelvin in the church basement, unfortunately). Look how organized:


I'm used to just seeing piles of stuff everywhere.

I went home with a little bag of treasures. Here are my china pretties:

I overpaid for the dish rimmed with purple flowers ($3) but consoled myself with the equally as lovely green dish marked down to 50 cents. Both are Austrian and will be used to make dessert stands. For Austrian pastries? Seems only right.

The Johnson Brothers bowls are for me, and were a budget busting $12. But that's really only $2 a bowl, and I really like them...so in the bag they went. Won't they be great for serving autumn soups?

Three vintage ornaments, a dollar each and the perfect gift for a friend:

Since I started sewing, I can't pass linen tables. And now, mismatched napkins = fat quarters. This one is already in the midst of becoming a pillow back (I used it to practice installing zippers with my zipper foot attachment. And by "practice" I really mean "I'm never doing zippers again."):

I think I also overpaid for this sampler remnant at $3, but it will make a fabulous pillow! I have some scraps I can use for the back, so I guess a $3 investment for (what I hope will be) a great little vintage pillow isn't so bad.

This damask tablecloth was only $3, but it's in great condition (complete with dry cleaning tag still on!). I'm already feeling bad about potentially sacrificing it to the Singer:

On my way home from the bazaar, I spotted this:

Are those tents and umbrellas covering flea market tables? Three blocks from my house? I really need to read the local paper. Anyway, I got there pretty late so nothing much struck my fancy except for this bag of buttons:

Hello, disco LP. I can not wait to use you on a tote bag!

And this sugar sack for $5, which I think I can squeeze two pillows out of.

The vendor said she had "tons more" vintage sacks and fabric pieces but didn't think to bring them because no one makes their own things anymore (she was primarily selling quilts). So she and I have planned a rendezvous in the early hours of September 12 at the giant Ocean Grove Flea Market so I can take a look at her wares.

Hopefully I'm a better sewer by then. No pressure.

And...it's now officially Thursday. Which means the lovely Leigh will be sharing a whole heap of Thrifty Thursday finds with the rest of the blogosphere. I'm gotten a sneak peek and I happen know she picked up a few bowls that were even a better deal than mine. So click here to head on over to her place...