Auctions

I've had people ask me how auctions work as they've never been to one. I'm going to try to explain how auctions work around this area. Now, each auctioneer has their different styles, so this can vary.

Pretty much any auction, you get a bidder's number.
Auctioneer will start chattering his song and you bid. Some auctioneers are harder to understand than others, don't try to listen to everything......listen for the dollar amount, they will normally say one now two, only this is done fast.......just listen for the number. Once you are around an auctioneer a little bit, you will figure out what he's saying easily.

Here's where things can vary. You have the standard way of auctioning an item, they hold up an item and you bid on it. You may get a bargain, you may have to pay a lot for it. This allllllllllll depends on how many people at the auction want it and how much they are willing to pay for it.

Sometimes they will say choice on this table. I personally don't like this. Say there are 20 items on the table. They could range in value from $2 to $100. Ok.......you like the item that is worth about $40. They will bid.......and whoever the high bidder is, picks the item they want. sometimes they are allowed to take a second item for that same amount if they want. Then some auctioneers will allow the next highest bidder to pick an item for that high bid. Then, they bid again, next highest bidder gets to pick what they want.

One thing you have to pay attention to. If a ringman holds up 3 items, pay attention, if they say 3 times the money and you bid $5, then you just bought all 3 items for $15.00. If they say all for one money, then you get it all for the $5.

It's really not at all hard. Go to an auction and watch, you pick it up fast.

Something I am always shocked by is people that are really struggling for money and they are setting up a new apartment. They don't mind buying used, so they go to a yard sale and pay $150 for a couch. That couch new may be $800 or over $1000. I've been to many auctions where I could buy a couch television, bed for less than $200. You never know, it's worth going to some. You can get every dish you need to set up a basic kitchen (not matching) for less than $10.

If you live in Rolla Missouri or around this area, lots of great auctions. We have Flett auction company http://www.flettauctioncompany.com Huffman auction, Sellers auction company Lortz and many more. Pick up an adtracker go to rollanet.com and you can normally find some good auctions to go to. You don't have to spend a dime, just go and have some fun.

Fall Tablerunner and more St. James Market

We had a great day at farmer's market today. Got to visit with some other vendors that sell fresh corn and wow, it was delicious. I don't think fresh produce (from the garden to your belly) can be beat.
I finished a table runner around 10pm Thursday evening and was at market with it Friday morning around 6am. My mom kept hiding it as she wants it for herself!

I try to show off other vendor's things as we have some unique crafters. We of course have awesome farmer's that work hard bringing produce. I used to buy green beans all of the time at market, then figured I'd save money by planting my own. Have you ever picked several pounds of beans? This is back breaking work for someone in their 30s adn most of our produce people are in their 40s and up to their 70s. They pick this stuff by the bushel. Hard, hard workers that take a lot of pride in what they do.

Onto Rodney this week. Rodney is a very talented man that makes glass ornaments, suncatchers, not sure what you want to call them, but they are beautiful. Rodney likes to visit with people, so sometimes he doesn't get to do a lot of work. He will sit there and make these beautiful hummingbirds, pendants, right in front of you and will even explain it all and teach you. Another heart of gold here!


I will try to get some close up pictures of these glass birds and pendants he makes as they are breathtaking. When the sun hits them, the colors are fascinating.

Table Runner Three Bars pattern

I did this table runner using mostly scraps and then some other fabrics.

Busy busy Drusy quartz

We have been listing lots of our drusy quartz on ebay and it's been selling okay. We are doing flat rate box fulls. They are getting awesome deals on this drusy, so be sure to check out ebay id mo3fan and sometimes rocknutt459. Copy and past the following link for drusy quartz
http://myworld.ebay.com/mo3fan/



Some pictures of the things I've been making.











The pink/green flower quilt was sold at last week's market and is on it's way to Costa Rica. Most of the tote bags have sold and I really need to make some more. We have added wine gift bags, dish soap aprons and some "boxy" style zip close bags to the mix now as well. I also have 2 table runners waiting to be completed to add to everything.

We have some unique crafters at the St. James Farmer's Market as well. This gentle makes some neat things if you are a car buff or a Route 66 buff.

Candle sales have been up so running low on the selection. We will be adding more here very soon. Every little bit helps to pay the bills!

Before Pictures of Drusy Quartz

Just some pictures of the drusy before it's pretty.

Here's the red clay that comes off of the drusy.

In the tub before they get the pressure washer. Some pieces need a good soak and scrubbing, but normally all they need is the pressure washer. The really nice pieces that have pieces that could be broke get just a soaking, light scrub and sprayed.


And here's the one piece after cleaning.



I'm not catching the sparkle I normally get with the sun.

Getting Ready for Rock Show

We are getting ready for the Missouri Mines Rock Show coming up this weekend. We've got to rock hunt a little bit, but not near as much as we got to last year. We haven't found the nice cabinet pieces like we did last year, but still some nice pieces.

A friend's video