Discoveries, discoveries, discoveries!

So, I was given a few boxes of 'stuff' from an estate auction here in TN, but had no idea what the heck was in them. There were a few piece of obvious 'junk' (not the good kind of junk!), but there were also some kinda interesting things as well. The thing I'm loving right now is this bag (?) from the Markle Lead Works that used to be in St. Louis. 

It's been beat up a bit over the years, & has reddish stains on the side that has what looks like a drawing of the factory, but overall it's kinda interesting. I found a quote about the history of the company & such, but other than that most info about what I've found & how old it probably is just isn't jumping out & hitting me. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this, but it's just too cool to throw away.

"The Markle Lead Works, National Lead Company, and the Hoyt Metal Company were consolidated into the United Lead Company in 1905. This plant covered 30 acres of land and employed 500 men who made lead bullets and pellets for shotgun shells. A wooden "shot" tower 90 feet high was used for making the pellets. At the top of the tower, molten lead was poured through a sieve device which allowed lead particles to splash into a water-filled tank at the bottom of the tower."--Quote from the book Granite City : a pictorial history.

Random Find In DC

While on my way to a salvage store in DC yesterday, I passed a home that was being taken apart. I saw they were just throwing everything away, & I couldn't leave without at least asking if I could save anything from the dump. 

This window was original to the house, which was apparently built in 1921. I'm loving it!

I couldn't help myself and went back this morning, just in case. I looked inside the rowhouse & it'd be taken apart all the way to just the foundation & support beams. I nearly cried when they told me they sent everything to the dump around 6am this morning. 

Yes, I have a weird love of trying to 'save' old things. It breaks my heart for some reason to see things that are still useful just being thrown away!

So much fun at the World's Longest Yard Sale yesterday!

Had so much fun at the World's Longest Yard Sale yesterday. If it weren't raining, I'd have probably ended up with a few truck loads of new treasures. 90% of the vendors had either packed up or had to cover up all their goods to keep them from the pouring rain, but the vendors that did stay were so friendly & willing to make deals that it was worth the drive.

I went from Albany, KY to around Crossville, TN, & I can't even try to imagine how busy it must have been before the bad weather moved in. Hundreds upon hundreds of places to treasure hunt, & I think I've fallen in love with this little stretch of 127.

Now I have so much to look forward to next year...

Did you go to the 127 sale? What section did you go through? Find anything totally amazing? Let's share our found treasures!

Sorry For Not Updating The Past Couple Weeks!

This summer is killin' me! Add in the heat waves that have been following me everywhere I go, & the travel that I do for my non-crafty/DIY jobs.....and we've got a slightly non-getting things done Ginger. After I do my trip to the Chicago area next week, it'll hopefully mean I can actually do things with the kick butt stuff that is simply screaming at me to get to work on it!

While I'm posting, though, I'd like to do my usual 'does anybody know of cool places to treasure hunt' question. I'm going to be in the general Chicago area, & anything from junk stores to Goodwill to places with architectural salvage are fair game in my little world. Hey, a girl can't help but ask.

Stay cool out there, y'all!

Hittin' the road for a couple days....

Gotta hit the road this evening to head to Knoxville & then on to Asheville, NC for work. Any cool places I can get new things to work on that I should check out along the way?