beauty that moves

it's official

Thrifting season has begun. Our local flea market opened this weekend, despite it being 30 degrees. Emily and I, along with our granny cart were there first thing and scored pretty nicely considering we hustled our way through. Something about toes being so cold they were going to fall off at any moment. There may have been a few tears as well. They may have been  mine. It was really cold. A few pictures of the days haul.

Did you gasp when you saw that bin of embroidery floss all tidy? I did! I will use it, but I probably shouldn't be allowed to. History has revealed that I am completely incapable of keeping such a shipshape arrangement. No guarantees, but I do promise to try...

The red floral is a tablecloth... the zippers... there were probably 100 in the box, but I was unsure of how they would "perform" so just came home with a sampling.

The bottom photo is all linen. One of my favorite things to scout for is linen tablecloths, I find it to be a very affordable way to stock up on linen. These had just come out of the wash in this photo... they were never used before.  The bottom lime green piece is a linen/rayon blend but still will be great for lining some projects. The rest is all super soft, the top three stacks are napkins and will remain so. The butter yellow and dusty rose? I'm thinking cute skirts for summer.

I feel like I just took inventory here, what a riveting blog post. Hopefully you understand.
Happy Monday!

inspiration ala meg rooks

A few months ago I tried my hand at the art of revamping tired old suitcases. First let me say, Meg has the patience of a saint. I'm not too sure how many of these I have in me. This one was hard to cover because the case was so lovely on its own - but I kept telling myself I paid my $1.00 at the church bazaar for the sole purpose of this project. It would be okay, it didn't make me a bad person. And yes, I did find it stuffed under the table. I'm telling you, it's pure gold under there.

Look at the inside... the ruffle... the key!

This one was easy to deface. You can't tell from this angle but it is faux snake skin... blue. Actually the blue is the best part. No moral dilemma involved when there is faux snake skin to hide from the world.

I'm not even going to pretend it would be a good idea to cover the sides of these suitcases. Way beyond my ability level. I could see things going very wrong if I went there.

I realized I hadn't shown these cases to you when I thought of them yesterday... as I watched far more than I care to admit episodes of LOST. I had no idea about this show until I read this. Then I went to this site where you can watch the first three seasons, or so they say. I was easily able to watch the first three... okay maybe it was four episodes... and then they shut me off! Now nothing happens when I try to watch - the screen says "loading" forever! So as I sat here recalling the episodes I had seen, aside from thinking about how much I totally loved it... I also thought about how they have got to be about the prettiest group of plane crash survivors in history, and they had some of the sassiest suitcases I've ever seen. Did anyone else happen to notice the hardtop cases that were everywhere? The red one they kept the water in? So yes, as I sat watching a group of fictional, plane wrecked beauties attacking wild boars and rationing water... I thought of crafting, and blogging, and here we are.

pay it forward

Meredith posted a few days back about paying it forward... now it's my turn. If you'd like me to send you a little gift in the mail, something handmade within the next three months... just be one of the first three people to comment on this post. Easy as that! Then, please extend the same offering in your corner of the web, or in real life if blogging is not your thing. No hard rules here, just promise to send something handmade to three other folks... before the year is up.

Care to play along?
Also... new goodies are in the shop.
Happy Monday morning!

family

Hey there. Just some photos today of Easter Sunday at my Aunt and Uncles house. As I was going through these tonight, trying to find the words to capture the day... I realized it wasn't necessary.  The day was beautiful and joyful, these pictures say that better than I can.

Jim and Janice, you rock for hosting this motley crew... we are many!

Thank you Sandy and Dan for being with us, you both make every day brighter.

hello spring

Hello Spring. Each year I grow more and more grateful for your arrival.  You inspire me... you make me want to move and breathe deeply and let go of the clutter in my mind. When you are around I feel productive and creative, and I really needed a burst of that right now, so thank you. My little craft room hasn't seen a whole lot of me the last few months... I simply lost the crafting mojo. But yesterday... yesterday it rained all day and was cold and cranky outside. I stayed in, puttering around in the kitchen... thinking about you and how in my guest bedroom turned craft studio I am lucky enough to have four windows. How it is a dream of a space for several months of the year, curtain-less windows opened wide for months on end. Then winter comes and this old drafty house has a hard time sending heat to all corners, especially those filled with windows. Yesterday I felt hopeful though, as miserable as it was outside, it wasn't too bad in the studio. I actually felt like spending time in there, thinking of you, getting lost in the neatly stacked piles of fabric, opting for simplicity in a project choice as I decided to give the old sewing machine a whirl... or two... or three.

Together we just kept sewing. And I wasn't bothered by the damp, cold day. I felt safe knowing that you were right around the corner, and here you are. Look at all you helped me do. I haven't sewn this much in months and the day before your arrival... I blissfully lost track of time, listened as each fabric asked to join in the spring sewing love fest. Okay, that might be a little much.

Anyway, it was really nice and something I was in great need of so again, thank you. If I could be there in the same way for you just let me know, I'm here.

And just so you know I'm looking out for you, I checked each one of these calendars to be sure they each say that yes, indeed, today is your day. And they do! But I wonder, do you think it's too late to be making calendars? Maybe not, this is usually the time of year for me where I realize I need a little help in the organizational department.

We've probably seen enough photos for now, I just wanted to show my appreciation, because really, this is all you. Trust me, this would not have happened eight weeks ago. So welcome, and thanks for helping my crafty mojo return.

Wait, what's this? As my time at the sewing machine came to an end, I moved right over to the beading table for a little more play. All of these things will make it to the shop tomorrow, no time today... besides, I'm totally happy to just stare at a pile of completed goods for a bit. Very satisfying.

updated to add...

... taken just a few moments ago. perched right on the peak there... you can't see his golden red belly from this angle, but it's him. the first  sighting is pure magic every single time. and look at him, on the rooftop, letting our corner of the world know... spring has officially arrived.