Friday afternoon Leah and I stopped at a yard sale in a nearby town.

Nothing really caught my eye other than than a huge, clear Rubbermaid tub filled with fabric. The contents looked nice enough, but mostly I was interested in the container. I asked the newspaper reading, 60-something couple how much. They said five bucks. Fair enough and that’s still way cheaper than buying a new one at Target. Plus maybe I could use the 1980s country floral fabric for something or other.

That evening I was sorting the light and dark fabrics from the bin so they could be washed. Hidden at the very bottom of the container was a jewelery box drawer!

As you can see it was loaded with costume jewelry from yesteryear. All of it was pretty junky in nature, lots of plastic pearls, cheap shell necklaces and a few marginally acceptable, yet tarnished pins. Just as I was about to throw it all out I spotted a gold ring underneath some of the rubble.

It was a woman’s high school class ring from 1966! The ring was stamped 14k and there were three initials engraved on the inside. It was also a really, really small ring that clearly belonged to someone with teeny, tiny fingers. Suddenly I remembered how slight the lady at the yard sale was, and how she was about the right age to have graduated from high school that year. Perhaps it was hers? It probably was. Since their sale was continuing into Saturday, I decided to bring it back. Maybe she would be super excited to see it again, especially since it’s something that she hasn’t thought about in years and doesn’t even realize is missing. I was giddy about returning it to the rightful owner, and hopeful that it did belong to her and that she’d be happy with the reunion.

Fast forward to Saturday morning.

I pulled into their driveway and greeted the couple. Incredibly they are still reading newspapers. I wonder if they ever went inside last night. Even their cat seems glued to the same spot on the lawn it was in yesterday. After explaining how I found the drawer amongst the fabric, and let them know that I wanted to bring it back because perhaps the ring was something sentimental, the husband started gushing about how nice it was of me to do, that there are still good people in this world, blah blah etc. I’m touched by his warmth and kindness, but mostly I’m curious to see her reaction. After all, it is in fact her ring. She quietly muttered “thanks” and gave a little smile but did not seem profoundly enthralled to see her long lost jewelery.

Hmm.

Oh well.

I bid them farewell and slid along on my merry way, eager to continue my quest for yard sale treasures.

Stop number one is a tag sale at a farm. I found a 1972 embroidery sampler of A to Z flowers for $1. There are a few very minor stains that I think will come out in the wash.

And some cloisonne beads for a quarter.

After that I toddled on over to an estate sale across town. It was in a really ritzy neighborhood and there was a crazy long driveway leading to the enormous, well groomed and beautifully landscaped house. And to my surprise and amazement, there were actually three men directing traffic into the sale and showing people were to park. They even had those bright orange, hand-held lights that those folks who wave in airplanes use! What the heck? This was a first!

The entire sale was held outdoors, the contents sprawled across the large front lawn.

Closer inspection revealed that everything was craft supplies, craft books, and fabric.

Did I mention the fabric?

Piles and piles of brand new fabric yardage, vintage fabric, vintage aprons, fabric lots and die cut fabric. Did I mention how reasonable the prices were? How huge the sale was? How neat, well organized and clearly marked all of the items were? It was my fantastically nerdy, personal vision of yard sale and crafting nirvana. Was this really happening? Was I truly on some strangers front lawn ogling the calicoes and glue guns with reckless abandon?

*Swoon!*

I started off at the $1 table, where bags of assorted new and vintage fabric lots were being sold in Ziploc bags. Scomped up quite a few. Some of the goodies-in-a-bag.

There was also a table where you could fill a Ziploc bag with whatever fabric scraps you wanted for a quarter. Clearly my favorite part of the day, and there were so many amazing old patterns. Like this uber cute daschund fabric from yesteryear.

I filled several bags before moseying on down to the higher priced spreads where I found a pack of 80 pastel die cut bears. Here is a sampling of the teddies.

And an 80 pack of die cut hearts made from 1930s reproduction fabrics. A wee sampling.

Some hand sewn flower petals for applique projects, most of which were made from actual 1930s and 40s fabrics.

I even obtained some nice feedsack fabric.

And several strips.

As well as blocks of never completed quilts.

Pink fabric.

Blue.

And more blue.

Brown.

Yellow.

Black and white.

Various fabrics in assorted colors.

More…

More!

Amazingly enough, this is only a small sampling of my finds! I went home with almost nine pounds worth of vintage and vintage reproduction fabrics. I spent $30 at the sale, which is on the higher end for my tag sale adventures, and let me tell you, it was some of the best money I’ve ever spent.

And as irony would have it, I emptied out the Rubbermaid bin from the first sale and it’s just the right size to hold all the amazing fabric from the estate sale.

Inspired by all of the thrifting scores from Friday, I decided to hit up a handful of sales along the coastline this weekend. The scenery was beautiful and the cottages were darling but the yard sale pickins, well, let’s just say that they were mighty slim.

However, I did manage to find a really cute vintage Christmas play book.

All of the pages in the book pop out and you can build a cardstock house, complete with a happy family.

And of course, reindeer for the roof.

The only other thing I snapped up were these two pans for making baked donuts. They were still in their original packaging and I’m particularly excited about the mini donut pan since it’ll be perfect for making wee round ring shaped cookies.

August is nearly half over, and frankly I’m already starting to get a little bit ansy about the yard sale season winding down. Logically I know that this is ridiculous, that as long as the weather is halfway decent, people will continue to throw their unwanted crap and once-loved belongings on their front lawns for strangers to pick through. At least for the next month or two when sweater weather rolls in.

As irony would have it, I drove past a bunch of neon pink signs advertising a multi-family tag sale *just* as I was having these thoughts. And bonus, it was starting today and lasting all weekend. Did I mention that the sign said that there were many vintage and antique items? Sign me up.

Leah and I pulled into the driveway and rolled up to the first sale. It was only 10 am on a weekday but there were already tons of shoppers. The seller was telling everyone to ignore any prices they found marked on items, that everything was actually much less expensive, to just ask. Groovy.

Everything was in a series of large boxes, kind of jumbled together. Then some items were strewn across three tables. Not so easy to navigate with a baby stroller, but it was manageable. The first thing that I spotted were three huge boxes loaded with vintage Christmas items. I wasn’t interested in the glass orbs, tree skirts, tangled lights or the reindeer with the blinking nose, but I did find a bunch of super cute ornaments. They were in a big plastic bag, sold as a lot for just $1. Look how cute!

Adorable.

Mixed in with the lot was this darling little shelf sitter gnome. Seriously, I think I love him.

I also found a super cute albeit tacky turtle planter for a dime.

Slightly hokey yet totally endearing mottled swan wall pockets. I really like them for some reason. Also ten cents. For both. I may paint them, but probably not. They’ll be great for holding pencils and paintbrushes in my crafting area.

An old Monet leaf pin, perfect for fall.

Look, it’s Poppie Fresh, also known as the Pillsbury dough girl! How 1970s. And a butterfly gold pattern butter dish.

I almost stopped in my tracks when I saw this “thistle” pattern Stangl plate for just a quarter. There was a Stangl factory outlet near my Grandparents house that we used to go to when we visited them. Stangl made all kinds of lovely, hand painted pottery, dishes, housewares and collectibles and almost everyone I knew had at least a few pieces. They’ve been out of business for quite some time now, and I don’t come across their stuff all that often, so when I do it’s super exciting and nostalgic. Insert warm fuzzies here.

When I saw this, I knew I had to have it. After all, who doesn’t want a ceramic denture cup, marked “Her Chopper Hopper?” Scarily enough, somewhere out there is a coordinating “his” chopper hopper cup for the mister. Someday maybe I’ll find it.

Tiny glass chipmunks, a wee monkey marked “hear no evil” on the back and a tiny plastic dog to go into my mini curio boxes.

That was it for the first sale. The second one had even more fun goodies.

Like this charming piggy bank, marked “Hand Made in Japan by Viking.” He’s missing a bit of red paint on his bowtie and shoes but is still quite a dashing little chap.

Swanky little chef salt and pepper shakers. It’s official. I collect vintage shakers now, but only if they’re interesting and under $2 per pair.

Jaunty woodland creatures in straw hats.

Bright Chalkware Florida salt and pepper shakers.

Ducks!

I also bought a pair of tiny glass salt and pepper shakers with bright red lids as part of a lot. In the box were a bunch of small plastic containers with removable lids, as shown. I have no idea what they are. For sugar cubes perhaps? Anyone know? They’re quite fetching and mysterious.

If you can believe it, more Stangl dishes! This pattern is “Orchard Harvest.” Three tea cups, two salad plates, seven dishes.