Won't you join us?

The Baltimore Big Flea will be taking place

this weekend and Truffle Pigs will be there!

Dates: October 24th and 25th

Saturday 9-6    Sunday 11-5

Admission $8 good for both days

Free Parking

The Mid-Atlantics Largest Antique Flea Market

Comes to Maryland with over 800 Booths

State Fairgrounds, Timonimum MD

We are in Booths 599-600 in the Cow Palace and

are located in the right side of the building on a corner.

See you soon!

Chatelaine Bits

Chatelaine is French for "mistress of the castle". Whether it's an Equipage(waist hung item with long chains that held keys to storage areas of the home: spices, teas, documents and food stuffs) OR a Chatelaine ( a popular term during the Regency period to describe a waist hung adornment used to organize household tools and as a fashion accessory) I know that they are beautiful, rare and a coveted category in sewing collectibles.

circa 1883, source: NY Public Library

Pinchbeck (alloy of copper/zinc) Chatelaine c. 1730-1735

collection VMA

Sterling Chatelaine c. 1895 Collection Grant-Kohrs Historic Site

Ribbon Chatelaine, Godey's

Tools may include: scissors, perfume, pomader, pincushion, pinkeep, thimble holder, button hook, tablet, waxer, pencil holder, wax seal, tape measure, mirror, knife, spectacle case, purse, dog whistle.

Materials: silver, steel, brass, gold, leather, ribbon and bone, tortoise, gutta percha.

source: John Leech Archives

This may be the most practical chatelaine of all!

Feeling Creative-Yeah!!

I have been so darn busy lately---my part-time job (started working for the local symphony in January), gardening, daughter's activities, organizing the studio and inventory etc...I haven't had any time to do anything creative since July! For someone who used to spend 40+ hours a week making art this is a huge change. So a few days ago I decided to make myself sit down and create---an idea that had percolating in my brain for awhile. I am in LOVE with these cuff bracelets(even came home from work one day and resumed creating instead of making dinner!). They combine all my loves-textiles, lace, buttons and various bits and bobbles.

I'll be taking them with me to the Maryland Flea in a few weeks, but I will have to keep a few for daughter and myself.

We Return Triumphant!

Two or three times a year The Truffle Pigs (myself, Deb Hartwick and Kim Stout) get together for a buying trip. We spent last weekend doing just that at Extravaganza Weekend in Adamstown, PA--and we were joined by two good friends!  Nicole Bowen of Necessary Excess and Kitty Babendreier of Calico and Buttons. It was a whirlwind of shopping and the weather was great--we even took time for some show and tell in the hotel on Friday night.

If you know us very well you could probably guess whose loot belongs to which one of us. Most of this is for resale or to use in our art work but some will be for gifts (and a few just to keep).

Thisis a darling toy that features wooden acrobats, Debbie collects things like this as well as Push Puppets.

A sweet quilt scrap with early novelty fabric of a whippet dog.

A common scene--we search every bag, box and tin for good buttons--unfortunately this one held no treasures.

Charming perfume that Kim found.

Here we are (I am the photographer) left to right: Nicole Bowen, Deb Hartwick, Kitty Babendreier and Kim Stout.

Lastly, this was the find of the weekend--it looks like just your regular run of the mill stockinette doll but lift the apron and she is anatomically correct! With some strategically placed fur and a bit of beautifully crocheted lady parts. I would love to show you the picture but in these politcally correct times some may take offense. She is really quite charming and proud of her femininity. We plan to give her a name and make her the Truffle Pig mascot!

Sweet Emeries

Emeries are one of the most sought after collectibles in the world of sewing collectibles. The most common shapes are strawberries but they can also be found as other fruits, animals and acorns. True emeries are stuffed with--Emery!--tiny steel filings of a sand like texture.

Sterling capped emeries are particularly desirable like the acorn above which is constructed of chamois.

The fabrics can be wool, silk, velvet and man made materials with silk being more desirable-it is often found in poor shredded condition. Strawberries often are embellished with beads or tiny threads to represent seeds. In picture three is shown a wax strawberry-not a true emery but a waxer for making thread extra strong.

The last three pictures (carrots, ladybugs, mice) are contemporary emeries made by Deborah Hartwick http://www.heartwellsdesigns.com/, so sweet!

(pictures 3 and 4 from Green Valley and Bonhams Auction Houses)

Treasure Box

As long as I can remember I have collected stuff. My first real collection when I was about 13 was specimen shells. I started out as everyone does picking up pretty shells on the beach and soon graduated to purchasing rare varieties at specialty shops during summer vacation with my hoarded  allowance.

Antique buttons hold the same fascination: they appeal to my sense of visual excitement with a myriad of colors, textures, materials, and themes. This box is a jumble of my favorites waiting to be organized onto  button cards. As with all my collecting it is not always the most valuable ones that I am drawn too (although that is sometimes appealing in itself) more often it is just that they are just so dang awesome!

Pretty Pictures

South Central PA has been experiencing some particularly stormy weather this summer so I thought I would post these atmospheric pictures of a storm that I took ---for some reason they remind me of the Civil War photos taken by Matthew Brady. When I look out the back towards the farm lane and the Bald Hills I sometimes daydream about what it was like here at our 1812 home during that time. Gettysburg is only 20 miles from us. I wonder if they could hear the sound of the cannons?

Collectors Corner: Victorian Beaded Baskets

From time to time I am going to post about a favorite collectible that myself, Debbie or Kim are quite passionate about.

I am starting off with one of mine: late 19th c early 20th c beaded baskets and other miniature items. There is not much information out there about these items but they are indicative of the kind of handwork that was popular at the time. I have found some limited history suggesting that they may have been made by Native Americans as well as at schools for the blind. They are constructed of tiny glass seed beads strung on wire.

Besides baskets I have found them in other forms such as: cups, pitchers, chairs, tables, watch pockets and mats. The sizes range from a tiny chair that is 1 inch high to a fancy basket with dangling flowers all around that is 8 inches in diameter. Ornately beaded items have been around since medieval times and the French are well known for their intricate beaded flowers and Immortels---beaded wire wreaths placed on the graves in cemeteries. Instruction and patterns for these beaded items could be found in the ladies magazines of the day such as Godey's. They are an early pre-curser to the safetypin bead baskets popular in the 50's and 60's but are much more delicate and intricate.

I have paid anywhere from 99 cents to $50 for them and on one occasion I was in an Ebay bidding war for a tiny beaded chair that soared to $90! Fortunately I came to my senses and bowed out before the end of the auction and less then a month later I found a similar tiny chair in even better condition for 99 cents. It just goes to show that sometimes it's wise to be prudent when the collecting fever starts to take over!