Saturday's Shopping

The weather was miserable on Saturday too. I looked out, and asked myself, "do I really want to go out in that?" As it turned out, I did indeed go out... and it's lucky I did! I won a prize at Ram Wools' open house!!! (I'm not sure what yet... they called while I was out, and I have to wait for the store to open before I call back.)

My first stop was on my way to Ram Wools... a fun little antique shop on Main Street. Previously I had seen a cute little Wade hedgehog figurine, but hadn't bought it. Recently I've been wanting to try my hand at a terrarium, and I thought that hedgehog would look adorable in one. I've decided that I can only create the terrarium *after* I finish my desk and have it in my office (I plan on placing the terrarium(s) along the back of the desk... an antique hobby for an antique desk), and buying the hedgehog would be a reminder of my incentive to get the desk done. However, they were out of hedgehogs. *sigh*. However, they *weren't* out of cute little Wade figurines. I ended up with four:

A leprechaun "tailor" (he's actually darning his own sock, but he's referred to as the tailor), the Queen of Hearts, the house that Jack built, and a giraffe. Here they are from the other side:

I have yet to give the tailor a name.

Looking at other Wade Whimsy figurines online, I'd still like a hedgehog, I love the frog, and I'd love a "cat and the fiddle"... that nursery rhyme is special to me, because of a quilt my great-grandmother made. However, I plan to be good and not buy any more... at least, not until these are in terrariums. ;) (The giraffe might not end up in one... an African savanna creature would be rather out of place in a tropical terrarium.)

I think it would also be fun to make some of those mushrooms with the red caps and white spots to go with the hedgehog, and perhaps the tailor too. But, no Fimo/Sculpey buying until the desk is done!

After the antique shop, I went to Ram Wools where I entered the contest (and won! Yay!!!!), bought some sock yarn for heels and toes to make another ball stretch, and sold some stitch markers, cards, and magnets to a friend. (Yay! I earned more than I spent at the previous stop... but not as much as I spent at the first two stops combined. *sigh*)

Then I went on to the next antique shop to check out that chest of drawers (not as enthralling in person, but still nice... and $110), and wandered around the store to see what else was new (to me, at least... antique shops are so cluttered that you can't possibly notice everything). Ironically, I saw the same little tailor, but for $5 instead of $8. (He was the most expensive of the ones I bought at the first shop, the rest were $3 or $4 each.) Oh well... I had gotten a deal on the Queen of Hearts and the house that Jack built, since the clerk told me $4, and the other nursery rhyme figurines with stickers all said $5. (I did point it out, but she said she'd stick by what she quoted me.) I made it out of this shop without spending a dime. (Yay! Willpower!)

Then I continued south to the thrift shop with the 50% off sale... only to discover that I was too late, and it had already closed. (It was 5:30 by then... I hadn't been sure if they closed at 5 or 6... although, I suppose they could have closed even earlier.) Instead of getting off the bus (I saw that the "open" sign was off before I rang the bell), I continued on to the other thrift shop which didn't have a sale, and charges more in the first place. I figured I might as well make use of the trip, and see if they had anything I needed.

Not only did they have the Visions pot I've been looking for (yay!), but they also had a small muffin tin I wanted (for when I have just over a dozen muffins in a recipe... I can't fit two full sized tins in my oven), a really cool fish/whale sponge holder, and some really awesome glass jars for pretty decent prices... perfect for terrariums! Since you can never be sure what will be in stock at a thrift shop, I snapped them up while they were there. For $32, I came home with the following:

Oh... right, there was the giraffe bookend too. I've been needing more bookends. I was disappointed that the ears were broken off... but I liked it better, and it was cheaper than others I've seen lately. Since you can't see the whale's fins in the above photo, here's a better shot:

Isn't he cute? I think he wants to be called Thesselonius... don't ask me where that came from. (Even with the crazing, I suspect Thesselonius is relatively modern, rather than vintage. I love him anyway, even if he might be made in China.)

Any suggestions on a name for the tailor? I might go with Bartholomew, but I'm not quite sure.