Out and About ~ Our Exciting Trip to Walmart

Good evening! It's been a perfect July day. 78* and sunny.

Today, to kill time while my car was serviced, my friend and I went out and discovered Walmart! We'd never been to a Walmart before. In fact we didn't know there was a Walmart hiding behind the big Target we go to all the time. LOL.

Interesting! It seems Walmart is HUGE, busy, cheap and dirty.

It makes Target look like Saks Fifth Avenue.

But fun to explore anyway. Who could pass up tee shirts for less than 6.00.

I ''collect'' white tee shirts for housework, because I am the Queen of Clorox and this way I don't ruin my  nice brightly colored or black tees.

And then polka dots, aaawww.

Little square bowl, for ? Just because--salad, ice cream, prep bowl, Mo dish. Love plain white porcelain.

And then! Imagine this--Walmart sells fabric, even in NY. Who knew?

Yes, Mel has gotten me great fabric from her KS Walmart but I was surprised.

Picked up a couple cute souvenir fat quarters.

Oh and aisles of pickling supplies. All kinds of jars and spices and salts, at okay prices. I hope I get to make some pickles this summer.

Walmart---maybe 2 stars, for the pickling supplies and fabric? Also the cashiers were fast but pleasant and the very mixed ethnicity customers were good humored, even friendly. [in NY!! hahaha, home of surly shoppers and rude checkout persons.] I wouldn't ever go there instead of Target. It's a huge space, but that is not an good excuse for being quite  [very] dirty, is it? The cafe was so unclean we didn't want to sit down for a drink.
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We still had to use up another oil change hour so we went on to Joann's. Looking for blues for Bitty.

Can't start a project without a trip to the fabric store, can I?

I picked up a yard of this adorable dot, reminds me of Cotton & Steel's blueberry print that I didn't get a few years ago.

And I never have a good selection of blue threads, so I just chose an assortment.

Most are silk thread, I always like to try new things and I had read somewhere that silk thread is good for needleturn applique?

And I fell in love with this oh so soft squishy pale shell pink ''alpaca'' bulky yarn.

It's lovely and will make a sweet warm scarf or cowl, my purple cowl is almost done and I may soon be able to sit and watch TV and knit, maybe this fall.

BUT the label really is misleading.

The very fine print on the back---which I couldn't see without my reading glasses---admits to 80% acrylic, only 20% aplaca, at 9.98 a skein. (I'm a bit of a yarn snob.). The price should have clued me in, but the label...?

We drove home by the back route, the ocean looks so lovely!

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PS I promised Kel I'd show off the fishing floats in the new from Target granite-ware bowl.

I don't love it, the glass doesn't show off like it does in the wire basket.

An aha moment---the floaties and wire basket were fine, but they were too big for my table. Off to the pine bench instead.
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When I got home Mo had ice cream and then we worked on sewing the four million yoyo rosettes onto Summertime. Cute, though, aren't they?

Have a good rest of the week. Tell me--are you a fan of Walmart? Target? Neither  or maybe both?

''black'' old fashioned hollyhocks

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

"You were gone All. Day, mommy.
Ice cream won't fix that."

A Flea Market Box

Hi! It's a sort of stormy night here at the beach, but the storm seems to be staying out to sea and far away. Mo is oblivious. He's having fun burrowing in the sofa cushions with his Gator. He likes to hide Gator then attack and pounce!

Here he is earlier, our walk on the hottest day so far, around 88*.

Mo usually waits for me to hold his ice water cup for him but yesterday he ran over and stood there  gulping like a little kid at the school drinking fountain!

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You may have noticed I haven't shared any flea market treasures for long long time. That's because I have not been able to cope with the flea/ walking for over a year. How sad. Right now I think I could walk around the market, if someone dropped me off; that long hot walk from the parking lot is too much still. L says maybe, in October...

But anyway. I come from a family of avid flea marketers and collectors. My brother and sister in law have more collections than anyone I've ever known, even my more than my parents. And during a recent move, my SIL sorted out a box of treasures to share with me!

What a thrill! Not only do they collect more but they go to better fleas all over the USA, so there were treasures indeed. SIL collects sewing things like I do. She had filled this vintage c 1950 sewing box.

It's so cute, very 50s and plastic, yet dainty, even elegant?  It must have been so loved.

If you look closely there are spaces for bobbins, spindles for threads, a square for buttons, etc.

Then it was packed with special things like seam ribbon:

lace:

fabric:

pearl cotton...These will be used on my next sewing strawberry emeries!

The hem ribbon was wrapped around heavy very collectible lead flower frogs. [I always have wanted some, never see to buy. Wondered what happened to my mom's frogs---hers were the scary prong type, a bit newer than these.]

Buttons! Including a large collectible hand carved mother of pearl.

A tiny shot glass sized beer mug, presumably for an itty bitty pin cushion?

A vintage leather small scissors sheath, stamped Gingher.

The other theme of the flea box was Christmas. 

A bag of wooden beads for primitive feather tree garlands.

Little Christmas cards and tags, so cute on my etsy packages that I tie with bakers twine at Christmas.

Little berries for repairing feather tree tips.

And maybe the BEST--four Dala horses from Sweden.

This is a white one whose shellac has yellowed with age.

Coincidentally I had just begun a Dala horse Pinterest board, and was thinking that if I don't do a big Christmas tree again this year, I might dig out my Horses for my Christmas display. These are certainly inspiring, all four vintage and so cute.

 Then at the bottom of the shipping box was a wonderful book!

I don't buy books so any gifted book is special to me. This is a really great book of Civil War Inspired small quilts. Great inspiration for Lori/ Humble Quilts next little quilt swap.

This is first on my To Make list:

 I love how each quilt has its own story:

...

Okay, I haven't been to the flea but I do always check out the curbside freebies [aka dumpster diving] when folks move in or out or do rehab. One evening I found this cool wire basket! I love the rustiness.

I had to keep it outside until I could clean it then varnish the rusty painted wire.

I wanted it for my glass fishing float collection.

Not sure if I love the result, but it's fun for now and it can go live on the deck later to collect seashells and driftwood too.

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On a quilting note: I goofed off from binding sewing and finished my personal little quilt [not quilted though] that I call Sand Pails and Starfish.

I love the colors.
It was fast and fun and a good preliminary to Bitty, helping me get into the soft blue colors and gentle style.

Look closely [on the chair] for my Target find of a duck egg blue big graniteware bowl. [better for the floaties?].

Have a fun weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

More about Dala horses HERE  and here

My Pinterest board has pictures of some very early horses too, so charming! And a Dala horse quilt or two!  here