Friday, January 13, 2012

Quilty, Quirky Things















My shopping trip with my girlfriends last Saturday yielded a few little treasures for my sewing room.  Do you like to have your "little things" around you when you sew?  The antique store had lots of potential, but the prices seemed ridiculous ($12 for a plastic bag of old spools with rotting thread....and blunt scissors?)  No thanks.  But I did spot one item that caught my eye:  a doll panel for a sweet little stuffed doll dressed in calico with a bonnet.  And her "name" is Virginia...well, that seemed fortuitous....$6.00.  My seamstress skills have always been a little suspect, so this little dress and hat should be just my size.

We headed to the indoor Flea Market north of New Market, and the first booth I looked at yielded this find:
A quilt rack!  It's not the most elegant of quilt racks, but since I have never HAD a free-standing quilt rack, it seemed just perfect.  And it fits perfectly in my bedroom next to my dresser.  I still need to clean it up a bit, but for $12, I am extremely happy.

I am always on the lookout for thimbles when I shop; they are a cheap and fun way to "collect."  I've brought a lot back from our travels, but I found two boxes of little Taiwanese thimbles in a booth....$3 for each box; one had 4 thimbles and one had 6.  And, to put them in, I found this little wall cabinet:

It needs some sanding and a fresh coat of varnish, but it will look great on my wall next to the thimble rack I brought home from my Mom's last January.  It cost me $4.  My last "find" was not a quilting item, but it put me in mind of one.  I collect miniature Nativities, and I have been wanting to buy one of Jim Shore's miniature sets (the one's where they all have quilted garments), but somehow have never gotten around to actually shelling out for one.  However, I'm always on the lookout for little nativities, especially around Christmas time in the thrift shops and flea markets.  I stumbled across this:


Isn't it sweet?  It's painted wood, and the detail in the garments is just lovely.  The faces are beautifully expressive, and look at all the little scrollwork around the hems of Mary and Joseph's robes.  This set me back $4.  Even the cashier said she had her eye on it from the time it was brought in.  Does anyone have an idea who might have made this?  There's not a single marking on it.  Oh well, it lives here now.

Just a fun way to share some of my little "things" with you; my quilt room is my hideaway, and it's fun to "outfit" it with things that make me happy.  What makes your quilt room special?

It's Friday the 13th, and I'm avoiding trouble....going to hang out at home, sew some, do some cooking, and watch a movie tonight with my honey.  Stay warm......Kathy

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