The Best-Laid Plans

On Sunday morning, we were all set to go to Clover Market in Ardmore, Pa., but our plans changed at the last minute because one of the friends we planned to go with was sick. Since Clover Market happens six times a year, we decided to wait and see if they can go with us next time.

So we needed a new plan for Sunday.  For the past several weeks, we had been talking about going up to Adamstown, Pa., which is pegged as the "Antiques Capital of the USA," having 1,000 vendors within 7 miles. Our main destinations were Shupps Grove and Renningers. We had been waiting until spring to go up because Shupps Grove is outdoors only and not open in the winter.  This seemed like the perfect day for it.

We got to Adamstown with no problem. The 53-mile trip takes about 90 minutes because the route is just twisty back roads, but the countryside is beautiful. Finding the exact locations was a little harder, but with some help from Siri on my iPhone, we found Shupps Grove.

There was just one problem.  We were a week early--it doesn't open until April 21st.

OK, so we regrouped, consulted Siri again and went on to Renningers, which is a mix of indoor antique booths and outdoor fleamarket style tables.

Renningers has everything from guns and lanterns to coins and Elvis memorabilia. One stall has more salvaged hardware than I have ever seen in one place--doorknobs of every style, door stoppers, bolts, locks, skeleton keys, faucet handles....

Some of the stalls were just a mish-mash of thrown-together junk, while others were artfully arranged. One young woman who had a nice collection of vintage Pyrex and kitchenware had painted the walls and pegboard in her shop a wonderful shade of 1960s aqua. (No, I didn't take a picture but I should have.)

Despite the number of vendors at Renningers, I didn't see anything I couldn't live without, but Doug bought three 78s for his Victrola and an ice cream scoop. Yes, it was a mechanism he had never seen before so he just had to have it.

So, it was only noon, and we were done at Renningers.

On the way into town, we had seen what looked like an old mill turned into an antiques mall called the Mad Hatter.  We decided to stop there, and it turned out to be a great decision.

It's not a pickers' heaven--it's retail--but the building is clean, well lit, and staffed with friendly people. It's a great place just to walk around and sight-see. One large booth is like a 1960s museum--the shelves are loaded with things from the "mod" era, all in color-coordinated sets.

Doug of course managed to find a camera that was essential to his collection. Last week, he bought the Pioneer model on the left in Strasburg, and at the Mad Hatter he came across the junior model on the right, which mimicked the Pioneer and was marketed to children for the 1949-50 Christmas season:

I started the day with three things on my mental list and managed to find them all.

I had been looking for a white chenille bedspread that I could cut up and sew into a cover for the large pillow that spans the entire headboard on our bed. What I found was even better--a crib-size spread that is already the perfect size to be stitched into a pillowcase with no cutting:

My wish list always includes picnic tins in styles and plaids that I don't already have. Doug found this cute little tartan one with wooden handles:

And as much as I hate to admit it, this past week I had identified just one more place in our house where a stained glass window would be perfect. Doug found a whole stack of them on the floor in one booth at the Mad Hatter, and we chose this one, which was a bargain at $45:

I think it looks great hanging over our kitchen sink:

This really is the last one. I promise.