Out and About ` Part 2 Shopping

Happy Friday! When the days are dreary and we yearn for spring , my friend L and  like to wander through the stores in search of happy inspiration. Sometimes it's a challenge to be budget-y, to balance wants vs needs, isn't it. First we went to Michael's for some seed beads for etsy sewing projects. [ More strawberry emeries! First batch almost all sold---Thank you.].
Michael's had only one box of seed beads, very marked down and few other beads, also marked down. They seem to be fazing out their jewelry makings department. I resisted stocking up on sale beads though.
Most intriguing were the summer at the beach items! L got darling fairy garden beach gnomes etc for her terrarium. P\And I smitten with Pineapples!

AKA Dustcatchers...

Many storage boxes, where were these when I was hunting for them last fall???

We both wanted the beach bags. I had a hard time deciding, I loved these chic chalky painted bags...

We both were seduced by pompoms and put these into our carts. BUT they are 45.oo each! Crappy quality straw bags, nice lining, darling poms. No online coupons found on our phones, so we put them back for now. [Which would you choose? The white is growing on me.]

****

Next stop Big Target. OMG, what a mess of construction, I found almost nothing on my list: Triscuits, hot cereal with flax, socks, XL laundry bag to wash Mo's beds, ironing board cover. I'm such a wild spender, color me extrav'].
I found some fun things in their entry way cheapie bins instead---cute small plates for summer deck snacks, trying to not use paper plates.

Pretty cardigan, again a price increase from 16.oo to 22.oo. So I don't look like a slob when Mo and I have evening summer walks.White shorts, navy or rose and white stripe tank top?

See this jar on the top?

 It is a quite large jar of Neutragena gel moisturizer that I bought instead of my usual Clinique "moisture surge". I think it was 15.00 instead of 29.oo online for Clinique's smallest size. BUT when opened the jar from Neutragena has a much tinier inner jar, I'd say less than half the visible outer capacity. Isn't that pretty crummy? False presentation? Works okay though not as nice or as lasting as the Clinique . Clinique Moisture Surge

Cute Neoprene bags for the beach, ostensibly for wet swimsuits, but good for sewing and to protect phones and tablets from the sand and wind. Like, 1.oo? each

And this precious mermaid coloring book, for a child I thought would be visiting last week. I'll save it for her birthday.

These are so great! Markers attached! Big sheet of stickers.

And besides the regular coloring pages

there are pages with voice bubbles for us to add words:

then also full pages of lined layout for, with adult help, a place to make a story or diary, a place to sketch or paste in beach finds like feathers and seaweed.

I though this was so exceptional for $3.oo. Very inspiring, I may have to get one for myself.

*****

Out in Kansas, Mel went to Hobby Lobby's big yarn sale. And she got  yarns to make a beachy but cozy throw/ afghan for me! It will be palest beach colored big stripes and have giant pompoms on the ends. [excited!]

Inspiration throw, ours will be a bit larger and different. here

Mel's work is so beautiful and she is so generous with sharing her talents. This is her most recent  project for me, a spring scarf in cotton: Mango and Fuchsia ruffles.

Wear with a white denim jacket and my saved from last fall [I planned ahead finally!] ''new'' bright pink cashmere cardi and new pale pink Allbirds sneakers from my kids for my birthday. Allbirds

Cute. Happy!

****

From the Hunt for Red Tulips:

Have a good weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

another April

Out and About ~ Part One: Emerging

As April draws to an end I am thinking back on how excited I was, looking at my calendar notes in late March and planning ahead to April. The weather is pretty awful but the world is stirring, fun things to do and see after winter's hibernation. The big flea opened! Sadly it poured rain, but I am still hopeful for a visit or two this spring.  Instead I have been back to the church flea which has proved interesting.
I've gone on Friday and also on Monday:  is it worth getting there early on Friday?;  do they restock on Mondays?, and so on. (No they don't restock or mark down on Mondays, too bad; it's okay to be early on Friday but not necessary, the ladies unpack all afternoon.)
I am limiting myself to $10.oo budget. Prices are high and they do not allow haggling. Looking for materials for etsy  items mostly. I got the green glass candlestick, for a velvet tomato pin keep.

Very pretty delicate etched glass, 1910-1930s?

And this damaged doily with perfect pansies, for a set of white linen, lavender-filled hearts.

This past week there were no inspiration bitsies. I did get treasures, though. Beautiful blue rustic jug or pitcher, probably Uhl.

The embossed motif is a little obscure or blurry. I think it is an open rose, with buds and leaves?

I have wanted a pitcher like this for many years. Usually they run about $ 75.oo, [though this is unmarked]; this was only 5.oo! I just knew it had to be filled with red tulips!

Off I went hunting for red tulips, found these amazing red parrot tulips, wow!

How fun.

Another find, an overpriced but lovely collectible seashell. A spiny whelk. For me or for the shop, not sure.

And a wonderful papier mache German Easter egg.

Too bad thechurch ladies taped it shut and the tape has damaged the surface, so stupid.

It is a classic style, unusual for its deep shiny chocolate brown color. Darling bunny and classic German storybook red toadstool.

The inside, once pried open, shows that this is a modern, new egg.

Not exactly a repro as it is made in/ by the German holiday resource of Erzgeburge that has made these eggs for over a hundred years.

I have a big collection but have not displayed them in recent years. I still buy though, I love these---full of dear childhood memories.

*****

Another much awaited event was the Quilters Guild biannual show. They discouraged photos so I only got a couple of shots of the display room, not any quilt photos.

The venue was very cool for me, at a rec center in my village! There is no parking there though. I had a friend drop me off. When we got there we found out that the marina had lent its big parking lot and opened a fence to allow access to the rec center. It was expensive to see the show, $10.oo each day, so I only went once. The quilts were very lovely, but very slick and professional looking. Such perfection, oh my! The guild seems small and the ladies older. There were only about 5 small scale vendors and not a single one with Civil War/ 1800s repro fabrics or even much to offer in fun fat quarters. Disappointing because I love to actually get to shop in person, in search of fabric and also small sewing gifts for stocking stuffers for friends. But no. Lots of big buck sewing machines though.

The only display quilt I liked [though not to make!] was this dainty  30s inspired embroidered doll quilt.

The embroidered designs were very cute and much smaller than  original embroideries of that era. The vendor gave me permission to take to photos, she was quite pleasant.

As mentioned it was a small show. I imagine the guild will fade away, and especially this show will; it is not a thing young people do here, make or buy quilts. Both my kids know how to sew,
but they have no interest in my hobby or collections.

******

Off topic: here are some close ups of the purple toile I'm using for Hideous. The toile is by Laura Ashley. I have two remnants, purchased at different times; both could be as much as 20 years old?

The boys look Up to No Good, in my opinion. Look at that slacker on the right. So funny. I guess hthey will be the fussy cut on next month's SG block. It will be published on Wednesday, tomorrow. Yay.

"Thief, thief!"
 purse snatcher on the far right.

Part two of Out and About on Friday, be sure to stop back.

love

lizzy 

gone to the beach...

[other springs, later, with roses, below...]

PS
At the quilt show, there was a set of challenge quilts called By the Sea, which oddly---and to me, offensively, seemed to be promoting the idea of wind farms off our beaches, in our ocean. Shocking to think the natural beauty here may  SOON be ruined by the need for electric power. There is a lot of empty interior space that could be used instead, though the windmills are a huge hazard to migrating birds, killing thousands [millions?]* of birds each year and we are a coastal flight path.
Imagine this view filled with hundreds of enormous wind towers. Disgusting. Makes me cry.

baby piping plovers

*Edit: Lori is correct: many more birds are killed by cell towers than by windmills. Approx 30,000 migratory birds are killed annually by wind turbines; the figure in total for cell and antennas is about 6 million. One of the main recommendations though is not to place the turbines in major flight paths.

Someone else mentioned that we would not even see the turbines. However they would be placed 5 miles from the coast. The ships you so often see in my photos are more than ten miles away, so the towers would be relatively close and very visible.