So far, the day is starting off with a bang.
A (mostly) sleepless night.
On arising and opening my email: an alert from the bank. My checking account balance was much lower than I thought, due to a miscalculation on my part. All is well, but the higher balance I thought I had would have been preferable on this Thursday morning.
The constant sound of a truck backing up – beep, beep, beep – from the distillery that is down the road from us. I might add that it wasn’t in existence when we moved here. Yes, I’ve complained, to no avail.
I do very little seasonal decorating, but I was inspired to pull out the fabric Easter eggs I made several years ago. They’re now sitting on the coffee table in the den.
I had been working away from home for a long stretch of time – in San Diego. My friend Ingrid, who is a costumer, let me use her Singer Featherweight while I was in town. Obviously, this was before I bought Mabel but I ended up buying Mabel because I fell in love with Ingrid’s Featherweight. I filled a lot of time with that machine and ended up making two quilt tops and these eggs. The fabric egg tutorial is from Retro Mama.
I figure we need some sort of Easter eggs around here.
I wish there was a good quilt fabric store around here. There used to be one in Woodstock, but they moved even further upstate. There was also one just over the border in Connecticut, but the owner just retired and closed the shop. Online is fine and I’ve certainly ordered fabric that way. But there’s nothing better than being in a room full of bolts of fabric, looking at it in the daylight, pulling this bolt and that bolt….you know what I mean? Just like buying a book in an actual bookstore is preferable to ordering online from a mega-retailer. You get to see the book and hold it in your hands.
I miss looking at fabric. And Joann’s? No. Doesn’t work for me.
When I was living in San Diego, I went to Rosie’s Calico Cupboard constantly. It wasn’t far from where I lived. It’s a huge quilt shop, with so much fabric that it’s almost overwhelming. Oh, Rosie’s, I miss you. (I took my first quilting class there.)
Okay. I’m getting whiney. Off to make more coffee.
(The aqua bowl is Orange Tree, a vintage pattern that was made by Homer Laughlin.)
Happy Thursday.
My local quilt shop closed too. I miss it. You’re right, Joanne’s is not the same. Cute fabric eggs…one-of-a-kind. I would love a “Mabel”…maybe someday. For now, am content with the two sewing machines I own, one a gift from my Dad upon my engagement decades ago, and one from my husband for the birth of our second child.
I’ve got Mabel and my Elna – would love a fancy Bernina someday, but it’s not an absolute essential. Mabel is great for traveling.
I get such a “high” out of walking into a real fabric shop and just oohing and ahhing over all of the fantastic choices.
Love your patchwork eggs.
Have a great day!
Judy
I’d love to go fabric shopping with you, Judy!
My Mom almost had a quilt shop worth of fabric in her sewing room. We donated lots to a quilt club but we still have boxes of gorgeous fabric. I wish she felt like quilting again but as long as she wants to keep some fabric I’m OK with that. It makes her happy! Love the little eggs, so cute! The bowl is gorgeous. The pattern and color are so pretty!
hugs,
Linda
I got it at an auction many years ago. I have two of them – they are part of a set of nesting bowls. Wish I had the whole set!
Love the sweet little doggy egg, and all of the others, too! Love the bowl! Bummer on the checkbook error. I think we have all been there. Usually to the bad, and seldom to the good. Why IS that??
Have a great day. Hope you are enjoying some warmer temps.
This little error was a few hundred dollars worth. Not at all good!
Cute fabric eggs! There’s a quilt store, quite a nice one, about 7 miles from our house…if you want to take a road trip! You can stay at our place! ;)
You lucky duck! I may take you up on that someday!
Well…you are always welcome! Too bad I don’t quilt…maybe I should take it up? ;)
There used to be a wonderful quilt shop in the huge Victorian house down the road from us.
The shop took up the whole lower floor with fabrics I’ve not seen since. The shop closed when the owner retired – I miss it.
I love your fabric eggs. This will sound silly, but now I want to make one filled with catnip for the cat we look after when our neighbour is away. I think it will cement our friendship. (With the cat, I mean.)
I dare say it would, Barbara! What a good idea!
I love the fabric Easter eggs Claudia. I haven’t taken any of our Easter décor out this year. So much going on I just don’t have the desire to make room for it and then put it away in a few days. No kids for me this week as it’s Spring Break in our area. Keeping busy though helping with my aunt and getting some household chores done. It’s a beautiful day here but I’ve had a sinus headache since 3 a.m. The orange blossoms are blooming and it messes me up.
Oh, I’m so sorry Janie! I know you’ll feel better very soon! xo
Oh just love those little eggs, so cute! I checked out Retro Mama’s website, lots of cute things. I grew up learning to sew on my grandmothers old Singer. I’m with you, I rather have the real thing in my hands. You just can’t beat that. Life use to be so much more simpler and less stressful. I think I just might have to make some of those eggs myself. Have a great day!
Hugs
Go for it, Nancy. They’re lots of fun to make.
I have out my alabaster eggs ( a dozen now) on my table. I love the eggs, they are all in colors like your pottery. I picked up a pale pink one this past month, so I have a dozen now. They are in a pressed glass compote (it has a stem, is that the right name for that?) and I put them up on top of my corner china cabinet when it isn’t Easter season so that I can still see some of the colors from underneath. I just adore the pastel colors from old planters or china, I know that you do too.
Speaking of vintage pottery colors, have you ever seen a vintage planter in purple? I have not. I wonder why?
I don’t believe I have, Laura. There must be some vintage planters in purple….?
The nearest quilt shop for me is about an hour away. Last fall they had a two day bus trip to quilt shops in eastern Illinois & Indiana. What fun we had seeing new fabric collections and patterns. I came home with fabric & lots of creative ideas. I never seem to find what I want at Joann’s.
Me either, Debbie. Joann’s is too limited. A small section of quilting cottons – not enough!
I live in a small town. Independent retailers, also on the small scale, come and go. Most everybody goes to towns a half hour away for the bigger box stores, so the small guys have a hard time ‘making it.’ (The death of Main Street USA.) We had a fabric store for awhile and I would swoon over her embroidery supplies, although my arthritic hands can no longer work a needle very well. I would love to look at her fabric bolts; reminded me of the thrill I had when shopping fabrics and patterns with my mom in school days…that anticipation of a new dress or jumper or skirt. A new shop has opened in a little hole-in-the-wall place here and she is carrying yarn; offering quilting, knitting and crocheting classes. It makes me hope that young women in town will be attracted to this, and want to keep the home arts alive. Looks like she has a nice selection of ribbons and remnants. I’m gonna go give it a gander. I like to support the small-business owner, brave independent storekeeper. Might I say that my grandmother’s sewing box, which morphed into my mom’s, is one of my favorite possessions/keepsakes…little bits of this and that…and I have my other grandma’s old Singer from the 1930s, where her empty wooden spools of thread still sit, stashed at the rear of one of its quaint drawers.
I hope the shop takes off and gets a lot of business. We always used to go to Sears (when Sears had fabric) and Mom and I would look through all the pattern books, choose a pattern or two and buy the fabric, zipper, thread, etc. Lots of A-line dresses in those days!
The eggs are lovely. I may need to make some, at least for next year. I, too, love going to a fabric store. The colours and textures of the fabric are somehow calming.
Hope you, Don and Dame Scout have a marvelous Easter!
Hugs,
Deb
Thank you, Deb. You too!
I live in a town that abounds with quilt shops….lucky me! I live in northern Indiana in the middle of Amish country. I am not sure one can survive without fabric stores?
You are so lucky, Lynn Marie! I’m jealous!
As always, I love your fabric eggs. BUT you need to go read my blog for the latest. I think you’ll understand.
xoxo always,
Connie
I’ll head on over, my friend. xo
Claudia,
the little eggs are adorable. They look perfect sitting in your little aqua dish… I don’t ever recall seeing anything from Homer Laughlin…in such a pretty color and pattern. I’m used to seeing transfer ware I suppose. I do have some little odd and end dishes I’ve picked up over time…similar color- not stamped. I wonder if they are McCoy ?
anyway… I do look forward to going to Dallas with my daughter, she shops Joann’s. They aren’t as quaint as a local owned fabric store…but we just don’t have any of those around here.
We have a Mennonite bakery in town. Small shop. Toward the back there are bolts of fabric, notions, and some lace– all very modest in color and pattern. Occasionally, they have some pretty pieces– but nothing bright and showy. I’ve bought sewing machine needles there and zippers.
…and of course Carrot- Pecan Muffins! Ha!
As to your “Mabel” … and I read in comments you have an Elna. I have my Viking (oh yes, the other reason I go to Joann’s, they have a Viking Rep. there!) and I also have an Elna!
Birds of a feather, huh?
have a wonderful weekend, and a blessed Easter.
Well, HL made Fiesta, as well and that color of aqua showed up there. The bowl is part of a set of nesting bowls. I only have two of them, which I got at an auction. The other is the base for Riley’s Dish Planter. (I’d love to find more of the bowls and have the whole set!)
Yay for Elnas, Pat! xo
I forgot about Fiestaware!
You’re so knowledgable!
A little color never hurts when you need some cheering up..
Indeed! The day turned out to be sunny and warm (who’d have thought it?) so that made a huge difference for me.
Those eggs are so cute, I want some now. I agree JF is not the place to shop for good quilting fabric. I have a hard time around here to and normally end up settling for things that aren’t my favorite.
Sigh. We need a good fabric shop around here and you need one in your neck of the woods. If I had more energy and money, I’d open my own little shop! But I’ll leave that to someone else.
Hi Claudia, I love your bowl and I just saw the very same one, but in yellow, on Susan Branch’s blog today! It was holding the makings for a delicious rhubarb crisp! Linda