Some Birthday Antiquing!

I was supposed to be home Sunday night.

But when storms rage and driving isn’t safe, a flip-flop of plans becomes necessary and then other options come to the surface.

Such as – If I am driving home at night, NOTHING is open.  But if I am driving home during the day, the sky’s the limit!

Instead of clicking my heels 3 times and setting my GPS to “There’s No Place Like Home” a made a bee-line to Sleepy Poet Antique Mall in Charlotte, arriving just after they opened at 10am.

I don’t think I’ve EVER been on a doorstep waiting for an antique mall to open before, the excitement and anticipation building as I realized that I was not going to get home before lunch at all.  Oh no, this was a birthday built for wandering and wander I did!

Two HUGE antique malls AND a stop at IKEA had me arriving home much later than the noon time I had anticipated.  I got home after 4pm.  With a huge smile on my face.

And you know what?  I did not buy a single thing!  NOT A ONE!  And not for lack of looking either.

Poor shredded Delectable Mountains Quilt.

If you look close you can see a variety of solid reds, not all the same.

Life lessons come to the surface when I am wandering and pondering.  You can physically see that some of these reds are not like the others, and some shredded to bits while the neighboring ones have held fast.  Could it be a wear pattern?  Possibly.  The life lesson?  Living may leave some of us a little bit rough around the edges, but we’ve been loved to shreds in the process!

So has this one!

Was it worn out by kicking feet?  Or hands pulling up toward necks and shoulders?  Or perhaps rough whiskers have worn the fabric away in places.  I still love the optical illusion of this one.

It was a great day for Quiltville Quote backgrounds!

This simple quilt felt like fabric spring time.

I love how some of the 9 patch centers have light corners.

And some have dark.

And fabric choices make some elements appear wonky, like the plaid at bottom left.

And oops, ran out of that one background, so threw in the gold floral.

These are the quilts that make me smile and capture my heart.

UGLY CHAIR! LOL!

I am always in search of the “why would anyone want this” weird item.  To each their own, but as I think of furniture that I am looking for when it comes to Quilt Villa VA, THIS does not fit the bill.  I am particularly wanting an antique corner cupboard, a dining table and chairs, and some bedroom dressers.  Most of the furniture at our current cabin is being sold WITH the cabin.  The only exception is anything sewing/quilting related and the antiques.  But this chair?  Nope.  It can stay!

Sssshhhh….I let this machine out!

It was a beautiful 27, but they wanted $650.00 for it.  For THAT price, the machine BETTER be left out to attract folks with big wallets. 

I think I need to have some cards printed that say something like “Quiltville was here, Free the Machines!”

Spool cabinet desk!

These can be really pricey, and this one was attached to the table underneath.  The tag said “farm desk”  It didn’t come home with me because it has a slanted top and I’m not sure what I would do with it other than just display, and I don’t know how much space or how anything is going to fit in the new cabin yet.  

I have a few spool cabinets, but they are all flat topped so I can use the surface.  Slant top means you can’t put anything on top, because stuff goes UNDER the lid…but if you are looking for one and in the Charlotte area, this is there for about $200.00.

Sunshine yellow and happy pastels!

Someone put a lot of hand quilting into this pretty quilt.

And this one is from the same era.  LOVE the scallops!

This one had AMAZING quilting on it.  It was a huge quilt, too.

ELECTRIC SEX!! LOL!!

We aren’t that far past Christmas, and every time we watch The Christmas Story, I die laughing at the whole scene where the crate is opened up and a leg lamp is found inside.  "It’s an AWARD!  A PRESTIGIOUS  AWARD!"  Hysterical.  No, this didn’t come home either, but I had the thought of getting it and gifting it to my dad NEXT Christmas.  The first time I saw that movie, I was with my dad –and it is such a classic, he would get a hoot out of it.

And this is just the first antique mall.  And the second one was even better, so I’m going to save that for another post.  I’m just going to let you digest the ugly chair and the leg lamp and ponder these beautiful quilts and enjoy them.

Garlic Knots is bound!

Just the stitching of the hanging sleeve is left. I’ll likely get that stitched down this weekend.  We will be up at the cabin (I am making a list of things that can start to be packed up, and things that can be moved back home to here) and I may even get some Mona sewing time.

Garlic Knots will be a digital download, and I hope to have it ready at the same time that En Provence also is retired and becomes a digital download.  February 1st is right around the corner, so be sure you have saved all of your parts and know where to find them.  I will be unable to provide you any parts after Jan 31st!

A birthday gift to me by me for me!

I have been friends with Tim Latimer for a number of years now, and when he started quilting by treadle machine, I was (and still am!) his biggest cheerleader.  If you haven’t seen his work, both by hand and by machine, it is spectacular.

When he started making denim handbags for purchase, I put in my order right after Christmas with the intent of this being my personal gift to myself.  It was here waiting for me when I returned from South Carolina.  I LOVE IT!  

Denim is my uniform of choice, and I know this will get more beautiful as it is used.  The inside is lined with pockets, and I have to stop and pet the beautiful freehand feather stitching every time I walk by it.  Thank you, Tim!

Last night’s play time.

I started these back in March…LAST MARCH.

They languished and were rediscovered while doing my 1 hour a day studio re-org.  I’m now excited about them.  I’ve been saving crumbs and pieces for as long as I’ve been quilting, each one a little gem. It’s time to tame these scraps, and this makes an easy take-along project.

This maybe?

The possibilities are endless!

Any of the layouts from our Split Nine Patch Leader & Ender Challenge from a couple years ago would work with these.  They are basically a shaded 1/2 square triangle unit.  Make them any size you want. Oh, my brain is in hyper drive.

And this post is getting really long, but before I go, just a couple more things:

Quilt-Cam happens tonight at 8pm Eastern on Facebook!

Every time I see this vintage photo I die laughing! However, this woman's treadle machine must have been amongst her most prized possessions.

Yes, I remembered to charge the tablet! 

If you have liked and are following my Quiltville page, you will get an announcement when Quilt-Cam starts if you are in your news feed at that time. You will also find it if you go directly to my Quiltville Facebook page, and you may need to refresh the page until the feed starts and you see it.

Bring a project! Let's sew together! Don't forget to wear your pearls! #tiarasoptional

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Why is it that we appreciate things more as they are ending, than we do when just beginning? All of the happiness should not only be focused on looking back. The real value is in the now.

See you tonight, everyone!

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