New Thrift Shops!

Good evening, everyone!

Monday morning I was surprised to get a text from my non-thrifting friend L, ''Do you want to go find that thrift shop I saw a few weeks ago?''
She had been stuck in traffic and as she slowly crawled along she noticed a new-looking  shop, texted me the name and town. I saved the info but sort of figured I d be finding it with thrift-pal B, but it seems my friend L has a project and a mission.

Here is what she plans to make. Garden art!  So adorable. [this is her inspiration photo.]

I did some googling for info, she used her car's GPS. Good thing, because the shop was not at all in the town she said it was in, or I pictured it wrong. Here we are, we found it. Parking in the rear, too!

Not such a nice neighborhood. Urban ugly.

But a stylish awning ...

and tempting window displays.

LOL I was expecting "Glory Bee" to be a young hip rocker chick, maybe with neon pink hair? Instead a very tall white-bearded man was in charge.

I loved this idea of their free library, outside on the sidewalk for passersby.

Interesting things inside the small store:

You could do a really cute summer Boho/ daisy dukes outfit, with the cutoff shorts, sweet peasant tops, and bright beads. (if you were 19 and into boho, or that Coachella hippy look?) Coachella

Good selection of shirts, 5.99 each.

A few interesting items. I especially  loved this Stangl lookalike pitcher with the seed pod decoration incised, but I didn't like the swirly, mid century modern shape much.

L was looking for teapots so we ventured down to "housewares." Kind of ick, in the basement. This is not a good place to store  fabrics and bed linens, ick again, even tho there  were a few very sweet small cuts of chintz.

Back upstairs we tracked down Glory Bee and got him to reach into the window for the three old red tomato pincushions. $5.oo.

Yep, they came home with me.

The medium sized tomato has the most adorable tiny strawberry, like the size of your pinky  fingertip.

I do hope this guy's black speckles are pin holes/ rust, not mildew. He is in quarantine til I decide.

I could have poked around this shop longer! I am sure there is a Susan Branch book there somewhere, and the beads alone deserved a longer look.
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While I was googling Glory Beeezz I noticed another store with 5-star reviews, ''only 1/3 of a mile away''!  Still, even driving just two  blocks and a dogleg, we got lost.  We ended in a cul de sac with lovely renovated Victorian houses. Lucky for us, this is near where the old Thursday picker's flea used to be, on the lawn of an abandoned mansion built by the Kellogg family. [Cornflakes, Rice Krispies?], HERE  so I knew where we were and where we should go. We found the second shop in a sad aged strip mall.

Inside:

Spacious and clean-ish.

Lots to look at and choose from.

Vintage bar soap tin, too $$ a4 4.oo. Wonderful for a prtable sewing kit. Those are my kind of flowers! Love.

Modern ironstone set, Sheraton style, Enflish. Originals would be c. late 1700s, or early 1900 repros. These look very new.

Repro English medical ware. Lettering on white ironstone. Originals are from 18th and 19th century, this is just an ''inspired by'' modern item.

More shirts, for future quilts. Good labels, Ralph Lauren etc.

Very unappealing linens.

Even furniture.

L  found wonderful teapots, I was very jealous of the lavender sprigged one.

And this rosebud smaller pot.

She did not find any teacups she liked or chandelier drops to form ''water'', so when I got home I shopped my own cupboards for her.

So far she wants to keep looking, none of my cups were of use. You know how it is, when a person [or L] has one's one artistic vision.

Here is a tutorial found online, a how to: Here

I think copper pipe is a good idea for the stakes, though copper maybe too $$$, in which case wood dowels would work fine. I can't wait to see how L's versions turn out.

Little Mo is still recuperating from his annual check up and vaccines. He is quite sad and not eating since Friday! (Though this am he did nibble a scrambled egg.) The vet came to us so Mo wouldn't be stressed in a hot car, plus nowhere to park. Vet says Mo has developed a knee problem, his kneecap dislocates. He now has a supplement. Doctor G says Mo is not in pain, but this is perhaps why sometimes Mo won't climb stairs or sits during walks. Sad but glad to understand that Mo is just not poorly trained and bratty.No surgery etc needed.

Have a great first week of summer!

love

lizzy


gone to  the beach...

Mo loves the  foot shower at the beach entry

foggy morning, rain

Quilt ~ A Day in the Country (is wet and dreary)

Hi! More rain and grayness here all week. It's as if Summer peeks out and whispers, Is it my turn yet? and big bully Winter-Spring kicks Summer's butt and send her scurrying away. Or let's just say, it's cool and rainy here.

On the few days that summer has shown her face, I have been working on my quilt project that I call A Year in the Country but the real title is A Day in the Country is like a Month [week? year?] in Town. By Sarah Sporrer, pattern shared by blog friend Penny.

I am sort of caught up--my June block is half done and June is half over. Here are the first five finished blocks.

I have been treating each block as its own design, not trying to make each block ''go'' with its neighbors. I have the notion that the colors will evolve in trite but true seasonal color ways, from frosty January to lighter spring blocks, then bright summer, then fall-y fall to winter again.

You can see that may not work so wonderfully but everything stays, it is what it is! Each 10'' block gets a scrappy log cabin sashing of four different prints that , to me, are representing that month, so, say, Hearts in February etc, Despite embracing random choices here, I plan to repeat reds and maybe browns throughout.

I choose the fabrics randomly. Sometimes it doesn't work! Two very darks here.

Better the red rotated to the left instead.

Oddly despite my huge effort to have everything finish exactly, Crow is too big, so I'll fix the sashing when I resize. When finishing, I plan to add another log cabin round, maybe not as bright as the fabric shown, which is intended for the backing instead, maybe.


As I have endlessly complained I do not like to embroider, but once I got going with the stitching, I could see that the writing/ lettering and numbers/ dates add a prim graphic appeal much needed in the very simplified Country designs. [so, okay. fine, she sighed.]

Here are the finished blocks so far: The Warm Mittens/ January title doesn't show up enough, grrr. It's actually a dark mustard, but fades away in photos.

Crow in Snow/ February: I used metallic thread here to give a cold frosty effect.

First Robin/ March - Velvet tummy!

Hare/ April This block commemorates a rare visit to the beach by my parents. My mom liked to walk after dinner and as we walked over the dune walk at dusk, there was a crescent moon and large glittery Jupiter in the pink and blue sky...and across the sand and grass of the dunes, we  saw a beautiful tawny brown rabbit who stopped and studied us then carried on his way, much to our delight. I never see animals on the dunes, just tracks, so a rare sighting and special to me moment.

The antique pink pinafore scrap that is the April sunset sky, kept shredding as I sewed, but the glory of primitive is how the little fix-it patches work just fine for me.

Herbs/ May - I really labored over my bee skep and herbs block! So far it is my favorite, much to my surprise.
I had a rare redo on the herb pot, the first pot looked so blah.

Here is Rooster, June. No way was I gonna applique a fence! Mr Rooster got a mud puddle and morning glories instead.

Morning glories, blue wool dots.

A fun chicken feather-look print for his body. One red print choice for his comb, but all those points! I chose red wool instead.

All set up, glued, fused, ready for the beach this weekend. Chickens have yellow legs, right?

Two interesting notes from the quite good pattern directions---one, Sarah Sporrer says each block can be made, including quilting and binding [she did a quilt as you go potholder method] in ONE DAY. Either I am very slow or her days are very looooong?

And, two, to fix the lack of cohesiveness in each design's relationship to its neighbors, she suggests primitive tea/ coffee dying. I wonder if I'll have the nerve?

Very retro pattern, from I think 1997, since the years on the blocks are 1897. Fun and frivolous project, thank you, Penny! It's a charming break from the Blue Basket put together.

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Here is what baby Mo thinks about rainy Mondays, rainy Tuesdays etc etc.

This is his own down pillow, he keeps it on the sofa back where he has a view of the entrance door and deck both.

Have a good week, everyone!

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love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

August waves