Stash Update - week 13

We are home from our road trip and catching up! This post should have been done on Sunday, but better late than never!

What a great week of fabric shopping!
First, I got 5yards of the Ikea "numbers" fabric. I love it that you can find the same fabrics at Ikea months or years later sometimes, if it is a good one. I have not used this one before, but I have seen other folks use it to make great quilt backs, so I bought 5 yards. It is wider than 44", maybe 56 or 60, I think.

From Philly, I went to NYC and shopped at Purl Soho and Brooklyn General! At Purl, I got one yard of Shelburne Falls Dress Floral for a Denyse Schmidt charm swap. And, I bought a mini rainbow stack of 20 Liberty Lawn prints. A total of a yard and a quarter.

At Brooklyn General, I bought one yard of vintage cotton - off the bolt! (I thought I had a photo, bit I can't find it. I will share after I am unpacked!) They had about a half dozen vintage light weight cottons on bolts and 3 or 4 bolts of bark cloth. It was new old stock from a store on Long Island. Early 60's I would say, judging by the original marked price of 28cents a yard.

The total is 8.25 yards added. I have to say, though, there were many more yards that I was tempted to get, so I feel pretty good about it



Fabric added this week - 8.25 yards
Fabric added YTD - 40.58 yards
Fabric used this week - 0 yards
Fabric used YTD - 37.18 yards
Net Stash change - +3.4 yards

Rainbow of Liberty!

Ikea numbers classic!

The monthly installment...

...or so it seems, these days!

I would love to show you some photos of the beautiful setting for the wedding in Mexico. But I don't have very many.

I took this one upon arrival at the resort. This was the view a few yards off our little 'porch'. And the ocean was that color!

That is about the last photo I took that was worth saving. It seems that my camera is a desert camera. In the tropics it fogs up just like my glasses did, every time I went outside! The glasses cleared up after a few minutes outside. The camera did not, so the photos turned out foggy and out of focus.

Everyone that took little point and shoot cameras got some great photos. Ms A took about 700 on her iphone. I have been promised copies of all the photos that everyone else took, but lives have to return to routine before all the photos can be compiled and shared.

In other news:

I have been working on my Kona Solids Challenge quilt for the unveil at the July meeting of the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild. I have had a couple of false starts, but I think I have something underway.

And, it is officially summer but we had a rainy weekend over the holiday that gave us a respite from the 113 degree days.

Its all good.

Just a catch up -

My camera is on vacation without me, so just a note to fill in the latest gap.

June has been quite the whirlwind! After enjoying the family reunion/birthday celebration for my Dear Aunt, The Mister and I headed down the road with Ms A to Kansas City. Ms A and I visited with her Grandmother and her dad and the three of us ate our way around the area, visiting our favorite restaurants.

After Ms A left to return to her life in the big apple, The Mister and I headed North for the Great Lakes Navel Training Center. Number one Granddaughter was on track to graduate from Basic Training there, the following week. (Her graduation was postponed, after she developed shin splints from over training.) The original date would have allowed me to attend, but as it was pushed back, I had to return to my life in the desert.

The Mister hung out on the shores of Lake Michigan for a few days in Illinois and I was home alone! I took my sewing machine with me on vacation to finish the gift for Dear Aunt, so I found myself with a weekend to sew with no machine. And, I have a project that I need to take on my next vacation - the wedding in Mexico, which is now 6 days away. (I leave in four days - the hectic continues!)

I am making a camera bag insert for my purse. I was coveting one of these, but I decided to try to make one myself, after seeing some great bags at Nordstrom's Rack on screaming deal clearance. I searched for a tutorial and came up with this one but I made it smaller to accommodate my purse dimensions. I don't have extra lenses or other camera stuff, so the smaller one will work for my camera, I think.

I looked on Craigslist to see if I could find a used sewing machine, but I didn't find any that I thought were worth fooling with, so I ended up buying an old used Singer that had been a trade in at a sewing machine shop. It is not as old as my other old Singers. This one is vintage 1975, and I have added zigzag to my stitch capabilities! It may go to charity after the featherweight returns, but, if I can find a corner to store it in, I may hold onto it. You just never know when you might need to zigzag...

I am almost finished with the main part of the camera insert, I just have to make the adjustable dividers which won't take long.

Since the Las Vegas Modern Quilt Guild meeting will be the week after I return, I also want to get my 'inspiration block' for our bee finished this weekend. I was hoping to follow Cola's inspiration to make a swell passport sleeve (she used this tutorial). I am thinking that will have to be given up on in the interest of time.

The Mister is on his way home - he stopped in Henderson (Nebraska, dang it!) last night, so I still have two days of leaving my sewing things strewn about the place without being in anyone's way.

We will only have a couple of days to catch up with each other before I leave again. I hope July holds a bit less activity!

Taking the Tiny Car on the Road

This past weekend the 31st Annual "Southwest Unique Little Car Show" was hosted in Upland, California. The Mister and I loaded up the tiny car on Friday and headed out of town.

So shiny with a fresh wax and polish!

We stayed at the 'event headquarters', and there was lots to see in the parking lot!

This is a Zundapp Janus - it looks the same coming and going, with a door that opens in the front and in the back. The yellow car behind it is a Nash Metropolitan.

On Friday night, after check-in, about 80 participants "cruised" about 2 miles to the home of the couple that organized the event. I was not comfortable driving in Friday rush hour traffic on a busy street, so we drove the pick up and I took some photos as folks were arriving.

The driver of this tiny little Peel Trident had no reservations about driving in So Cal traffic. I guess he was sure that other drivers would see the smoke from his engine and get out of his way!

Doesn't it look like George Jetson's car? Only not flying through the air...

This was the scene on the street in front of the hosts' house on Friday night! (Please ignore the shadow of the photog!)

The flowers on this Subaru van looked like they had been on it since the 70's!

At the show on Saturday, there were about 125 micro cars and mini-cars. The 'rule' is that the engine must be less than 1000cc to enter. And most were from the 50's and 60's, but there were some interesting ones that were newer. No Smart-4-2's this year, though.

One marque that I had not seen before was this Singer! I will have to do a bit of research to see if it is related to my featherweight!

Here we are, parked at one of the main entrances to the show, so we had a lot of folks stop and look. I am not sure what model the blue and white car is. It was in 'survivor' condition and was missing all of the badges.

It was nice that the show was in a commercial setting. There were lots of shops and places to eat. I visited a few antique shops but my souvenirs came from the Upland Sewing and Vacuum Store:

I have been reading about 'that quilt' for a few years. I am not sure I will try to do the whole thing, but if I do, it will be red and white. I am guessing it will take me a long time to finish and red and white never looks old fashioned (well, not to me, anyway...)

We left before the awards ceremony, since it was getting late and we wanted to head home early today. I am pretty sure that we didn't win any trophies, this year. There were about 7 or 8 other Isettas there. Since it was not participant judging, I am pretty sure that others with more original restorations would carry the day.

The weather was nice and we had a great time, though. People who like funny little cars are an interesting bunch!

Convergence of Interests

A micro car at a flower show! The planets have aligned to combined two of my favorites -tiny cars and spring flowers!

An NSU Prinz surrounded by spring blooms at the Philadelphia International Flower Show.

What a great day!

Not So Fussy Cutting

Like any interest, I suppose, the more I know about something, the more refined my taste becomes as to what appeals to me.

When I travel, I love finding vintage quilts in flea markets or antique malls. My budget does not allow for the $500 or $600 mint condition treasure, so I look for beautiful things that may have a flaw that makes them within my budget.

On a trip to Ohio a few years ago, I found this quilt top in an antique mall.

I love the bold orange and green combination!

I always had a thought that someday, I would learn how to quilt, practice on 'lesser' projects and finish this top into an heirloom worthy project! I knew that I would have to learn how to deal with scalloped borders first, though!

I decided, after coming across it while sorting, to take a closer look. To admire the vintage fabrics and color combinations.

After looking at it with a more 'schooled' eye, I decided that I will never make a quilt from this top.

Why?

After taking a series of classes and reading lots of books and magazines, I have come away with the fundamental rule that quilts should be flat.

This one is not.

Notice the white crosses with the orange squares in the center? Notice how they look like graceful foothills surrounding the round 'plate'? No amount of pressing will render this quilt top flat!

After a futile turn with a steam iron, an alternate plan began to form. I could take it apart and remake it!

As I began to look closely at the individual fabrics, I noticed something odd.

Deer legs!

And some other parts, as well!

There are three blocks made with this fabric, and I am guessing not a bit went to waste. Maybe the original quilter was focused more on the color than the print. I wish we could see a bit more of the faces of the herd, though!

(so cute!)
The entire top is hand pieced and the fabrics are in really nice condition. I think I will wait awhile to decide exactly how to use it. My skills are still very basic, and I want to be sure they are up to the project that would do these fabrics justice!

It is kind of freeing, though, knowing that I don't have to live up to a priceless work of stitching!

Feedsack Fabric Souvenirs!

Last month, when we were in Kansas City, one of the things that was on my list to do was to visit one of the Kansas City Star stores and buy a book on feedsacks that I had seen on their website, Pickledishstore.com.

Another item on the list was a quilt display at the National Archives that Barbara Brackman had mentioned in a blog post about summer quilt exhibitions in and around Kansas City.

One afternoon, during our visit, we had a few hours unscheduled, so I mentioned to The Mister that I would like to go to the National Archives to see some quilts. I told him that there was a quilt exhibition there and his eyes began to glaze over a bit. He was envisioning something similar to the quilt show that he spent an hour at, last March (before I took him home and went back to really look!) I assured him that there would not be hundreds of quilts, just 12 that are of historical significance. Reluctantly, he agreed to go, even though I just had a vague idea that the Archives were 'close to Union Station'.

Well, we drove straight there (it seems the Archives are somewhat of a tourist destination, so there was good directional signage from the interstate) and parked by the front door and things were going swimmingly, until I walked up to the information desk and saw a poster about the quilt exhibition - that would start in two weeks! As we turned to go, the lady tried to interest us in the current exhibition about what it was like to be a prisoner at Leavenworth from the 1890's through the 1930's. Probably interesting, but not really a substitute for quilts, in my mind.

But! I saw another sign that indicated they also had a KC Star store, albeit a smallish one, so all was not lost!

The store did not have the feedsack book, but I did get a fabric souvenir!

Actually, two!

I had seen this 'Quilt in a Jar' in the online store, but had forgotten about it, since it seemed a bit pricey at $25. As a souvenir, though, I had no such thrifty thoughts! Because - no shipping!

These jars each had 36, six inch squares of feedsack fabric, all different, (although the assortment in each jar was the same with a couple of exceptions). The jar advertises that the fabric is equivalent to a 100 pound feedsack although I think most 100# sacks are a bit longer than 36". Still, 36 different prints is worth a premium, I suppose.

A couple of the prints are ones that I have, but there were also some very lovely florals and some geometrics that were very fun. A couple of them were the looser weave which are a bit less useful and one or two seemed like they may have been salvaged from a former project, but I was pleased with them, overall.

And The Mister and I can use the jars to drink iced tea when we sit on our front porch at the RV park!

Catching up...

It has been almost two weeks since I have posted, and I am not sure that I have anything to say today, but I am going to try to get back into the routine.

This past week, The Mister and I drove East to take some of our stuff to storage for the 'duration'. (30 months to retirement. Have I mentioned that, already?) Along the way, we visited with family and enjoyed the rainy weather. Most everyone there was tired of the rain, but we enjoyed the change from the heat.

We celebrated my birthday, midweek, with a morning of fun garage sales. I had lunch with Sister G at our favorite special occasion (or any excuse for an occasion) lunch spot.

I went to a church sale in the afternoon. The '$3 to get in preview' started at 4 and I got there about a half hour early. I had never been one of the early birds at a church sale. It was totally worth the wait and the $3! I haven't gotten organized enough to take any photos of my treasures, but suffice to say that my overloaded carrying capacity only cost me $20 - until I bought a sewing machine - a Singer 403 Slant-o-matic! The Mister thought I was kidding when I told him I bought the machine - until he saw the cabinet that came with it in the back of the pick up... I bought it with someone else in mind, though. It will not be added to the stable!

That evening, we planned to go to dinner at our favorite fried chicken restaurant and The Mister surprised me by inviting eight of our nearest and dearest to join us.

So, all in all, it was a very fun birthday and a very successful trip!

And, I found out there will be a new baby in the family, before next spring! I guess that answers the question of 'what project shall I start next?'

Weekend in California

This weekend, The Mister and I went to California. A car club that we are affiliated with, "So-Cal Galaxies", hosts a car show on Saturday before Mother's Day every year. It is an "All Ford" show and it benefits the Anaheim Police Department.

(Where else would you see so many Edsels in a row?)

We entered our Fairlane and won second in our class ("Fairlane and Torino - all years"). It was participant voting, so nothing scientific, but it is fun to get an award!

It was a long day at the show, but we were 'helpers' so I didn't get any stitching done.

We arrived in California early in the afternoon on Friday, so I convinced The Mister that we should go to IKEA. I wanted to show him some bookcases that I am forming a plan around, but my ulterior motive was to buy 'souvenir' fabric!

I bought one yard of the white with birds and a half of the grey with leaves. Both are quilt weight cotton. No plan for them yet, but lots of potential!

Then, I got a yard of this one:

It is a huge print in heavy home decorator weight. I really don't have any idea of what I will use it for, but it was just so fun, I had to have some! On the drive home, I decided that perhaps a little back pack or a tote bag might be just the ticket!

When it was all said and done, we both brought home something fun from the trip. The Mister got another plaque to add to the 'wall of fame' and I got fabric!

Unique Little Cars in Arizona

This past weekend, The Mister and I attended the Southwest Unique Little Car Show, in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the 30th anniversary of the show, which alternates mostly between Arizona and California each year. The show does not have strict rules about what qualifies, but generally they hope to attract cars with smaller than 750cc engines, that are, well, unique. They don't have to be vintage. Modern cars that are unique are welcome and there are usually some modern Mini's or Smart cars.

It was a lovely setting! We were in a courtyard of an Embassy Suites, on the grass with lots of big shade trees, just next to the gigantic swimming pool.

My cutie-wootie little car was between a bug-eyed Sprite and a Velorex, across from a Goggomobil!

This is a Goggomobil Dart. About 700 Darts were built in Australia in '59 and '60. It looks like a cartoon car and has a cartoon name!

This is the front of the Goggo. What a goofy face!

This is a Czech car called a Velorex. It has a tubular steel frame, with canvas stretched over it. (No side curtain air bags...) This car is in mid-restoration. It is from 1971, I believe.

This is the interior. (No cup holders, either...)

This is not a vintage car. It is a future car - "The George Jetson Astro Cruiser", or Bug-E. It was built in 2009 and is all electric, built from a kit. Looks fun, don't you think?

This is an unrestored 1956 Fiat. It was so original, you wonder if it has the original air in the tires! Amazing that a car can look that good after 54 years!

We were in a class with about eight other BMW's, seven other Isettas and a BMW 600. The 600 is larger than the Isetta , with a back seat and a side door. (It's referred to as 'the limousine'.)We took third place in the class, much to our delight and surprise!

Surprise, because there are many micro-car enthusiasts who are purists, when it comes to paint colors and interiors. It was participant voting, though, so apparently, lots of folks prefer pure fun, over pure restoration!

It was a lovely day to sit outside and I made progress on some stitcheries.

More on that topic later!

Easter Bunnies and Chicks - Sort of...

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter!

The Mister and I went 'away' for the weekend. Not very far away, just camping at Lake Mohave, about 90 minutes from home. We went to Cottonwood Cove, which is about 30 miles below Hoover Dam. We had a very nice time, although The Mister didn't get to fish, as they do not allow fishing in the cove and it was too windy to hike out to the point.

So, we did a little exploring, played some dominoes and just hung out.

And I stitched up some of my favorite characters from the 1948 Simplicity "Storybook Trims"!

Thank you again, Martha! I have really enjoyed these designs!)

This time, I followed the photo as a guide to the colors, and I am loving the blue flower! I put a penny in the photo for scale.



I had not done this motif, before, due to the color changes. Since I was not putting this on a onesie, I decided that multiple knots would not be an issue.



I finished six designs, with six more still to complete. I couldn't wait until all the embroidery was complete to see how they would look in a little quilt.

I went back and forth, trying to decide what fabric to use. I finally settled on this piece of blue and white. I only had a 'fat eighth', so I wasn't sure that would be enough, but I even have a 2" x 9" strip left over!

I think the finished size of the quilt will be about 12" x 15". I plan to use white for the backing, probably a flour sack, since that is what I used for the stitcheries. I hope I can find something perfect for the binding, but I have some time, since I think that I will hand quilt this little project. Since it is small, I think it will be manageable, and certainly a portable project. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Vintage Fabric - Fresh off the bolt!

One of the destinations on our recent trip to New York City, was the Brooklyn General Store. Dear Sis found reference to it somewhere and did the research and it turned out that it was not too far (or too many subway stops, at least) from where we were staying, so that was on the agenda for day one.

Luckily, because day two was kind of washed out due to a combination of colds, fatigue and parking challenges.

Brooklyn General is a very old storefront, with old fashioned fixtures and furnishings, but also very modern selections of all things yarn-ery, embroidery and fabric. They also have some lovely (but VERY high-end) wool blankets - nothing that I would dream of cutting up to make a coat! They also had some wonderful wool socks, that came in different sizes (because feet are not all one size!)

DS carried her camera that day, so I didn't take mine. She has posted a photo

here, of us with Mary, a 'previously unmet' friend from Snitnknit, who took some photos of the inside of the store (and posted them here

).

In my opinion, Brooklyn General Store provided the ultimate souvenir of New York City!

Fat quarter bundles of 'new old stock' vintage fabric.

I had a terrible dilemma! Should I buy the fat quarter assortments (five fq's for $20) or yardage straight off the bolt!?!

Yes, they had bolts of vintage fabric!

Really beautiful vintage cotton!

They were originally from a store on Long Island. The original price was less than 25 cents a yard, if I recall. These days, the price is $20 a yard. At first, I thought that I would buy three or four half yard cuts of a few of my favorites, but I couldn't narrow it down to just three or four...

This was one of the faves, though. It is not a large print, the photo is a section about 8" across. I didn't even notice the people and the houses until I took the photos!

This was another favorite. The photo shows about 6" of the print.

I love the combination of grey with the other colors.

So then I noticed the blue and grey fabric and the grey 'animal print' spots with the yellow flowers and I decided to get an assortment of fq bundles. The price 'per yard' was a bit less with the bundles, anyway, and you know how I am about a bargain!

I bought three bundles and two pair of the fabulous wool knee high socks.

Between the three bundles, I ended up with multiples of the prints in the top row of the photo and just one each of the others.

Even though $16 a yard is not a crazy price for vintage fabric, calling it a souvenir made it a lot easier to splurge.

But now, I am thinking that I might ask Ms A if she planned to be in that neighborhood again, any time soon...

Home again...

...but under the weather.

The wedding was nice and the reception party a success.

We had smooth travel to Philadelphia and New York and a great time seeing the 'sights'.

I think I took a few photos of interesting things, but I haven't gotten them out of the camera, yet.

I am having VERY lazy day, so that I can store up enough energy to get me through a back to work day, tomorrow.

I will try not to be such a slacker for very long!

We take a break...

...from our regularly scheduled programming...

...to visit V and the little bean.

...And to pick up a new project for The Mister. A Ford Falcon, in Rangoon Red, with no engine, but everything else (in the trunk and in assorted boxes!) It looks like it will keep him busy for quite awhile.

(I didn't drive 450 miles to the snowy North just to make Dearest Sister jealous, but....)

Blogtober 8 - Fabric Souvenirs ('cause you can never have too much fabric!)

Besides my vintage 'souvenirs', I also bought some fabric while we were in California last weekend. Bishop has a Ben Franklin and I love the vintage-y displays and the different colors and varieties of goods. They carry Sublime Stitching embroidery transfers and their floss is displayed on a big round freestanding rack that spins. I love shopping in stores that do not have a 'corporate' feel!

Upstairs at Ben Franklin, they have a warren of about 5 small rooms with quilting supplies and fabric. My plan was to buy a small stack of fat quarters, or a charm pack. Well, there were a few quarter yard remnants (why do quilt shops get to sell remnants at full price?), but no fat quarter assortments.

So, I had to make my own assortment.

I decided on these bright prints. I think these are the base prints and the main design prints involved roosters, which I am not so crazy about. I decided on half yard cuts, so I had to stop at four, so as not to get carried away and spend more than I should!

After we got home, I had some errands to run and stopped in at a Goodwill store for a quick look-see.
I found these in the kitchen linens section.

They are brand new and 17" square, so close to the equivalent of a yard of 36" fabric for 99 cents! A few weeks ago, I read a post (don't remember where - sorry!) about sources of 'free' fabric. The idea is to look around and find fabric to re-purpose from clothes, linens etc. I have often bought blank cloth napkins for embellishing, but I never really thought about napkins as fabric. And, of course, they weren't free, but pretty close to free!

I am sure, by now, someone is saying to themselves, but does she do anything with all that fabric? The answer, sadly, is no. But she will -someday!

Or as Ms A says, it will be one hell of an estate sale when I am gone!

P.S. Dearest Sister, perhaps I will make some clothes for your Barbie! I think she needs something lighter for summer!

Wildfires in the West

Almost every time that I have driven through Utah, it has been on fire.


We were a few miles away. It was startling to see a mountain on fire!

This was taken on the last trip a couple of weeks ago. It was taken from the gas station where we got fuel. We had seen the smoke from many miles back, but it was coming from behind the ridge. When we pulled of at the station, we saw several people taking photos, so we looked back and this is what we saw!

The difference in the Utah fires that I have seen and the California fires that I see on the news, is that Utah doesn't seem to need to fight all their fires. The first time we drove through Utah, the fire was burning right up next to the Interstate! We saw a helicopter a few miles away dropping water, so we assumed there was a farmhouse that they were trying to save. Otherwise, it seems that they just let nature take care of things, as long as there are no people in danger.

Not dramatic enough to make the news perhaps, but pretty impressive in person!

I used to buy t-shirts...

...as souvenirs. Eventually I realized that t-shirts are not flattering to anyone (thank you, "What Not to Wear") and should only be worn to the gym (where I never go). I do allow myself to wear them when I am working in the garden, but I really don't have a garden, so mostly they sit on the shelf in the closet, waiting for the day that I might have a garden once again.

So, this is my latest souvenir!

Yarn, fat quarter fabric assortment and embroidery transfers.

I love exploring fabric and craft shops when we travel. Whenever I find an independent fabric and/or craft store, I always look for things outside the usual inventory that I find at Michael's and Jo-An.

This time, I found Beverly's Fabric & Crafts in Santa Maria, CA. Next door was Betty's Fabrics and next door to that was Betty's Yarn Shop! I got the fabric at Betty's (She had really lovely quilt fabrics as well as other specialty fabrics) and the yarn and embroidery transfers at Beverly's (which was more of a crafting store, but they did have some nice quilt fabrics, too.)

I always admire the fat quarter assortments that I see at quilt shops, but the price per yard, always keeps me from indulging. I am such a bargain hunter, it is hard for me to pay full price for things, and it seems like they are never really 'on sale'. But, as a souvenir, it was easier!

You can't really tell where I have been by looking at them, but they will remind me when I use them!

Where we have been, the past few days, is on a road trip -The Mister and The Mister's youngest Miss - C, and me. When she comes to visit, we always try to go see something that we haven't seen before. It gives us an excuse to get out of town for a few days and helps to make her visit more interesting (we hope...)

This week, we headed to the ocean!

We took a 'three hour tour' around the Channel Islands National Park. We were hoping to see some whales, but they are apparently unreliable this time of year. We did see lots of sea lions, sea otters, and lots of birds.

This is Anacapa Island, the smallest of the chain and the closest to the harbor. Some of the folks on our boat got off to spend the day. It looked pretty desolate to us....

'Naked Ladies' or 'Surprise Lilies'

We also went to Hearst Castle at San Simeon. We took a tour and saw lots of fabulous things. It was the second time there for the Mister and I. There are four different tours and we have taken the first and second. I hope we get the opportunity to go back and see more. I did take lots of photos, but they impress on everyone that they are NOT TO BE PUBLISHED!! Mine really don't show the full splendor of the place, anyway. These surprise lilies were blooming in a field at the old village of San Simeon. I love surprise lilies!

The Mister and me at the W.R. Hearst State Beach

It was nice to get out of the furnace and spend some time near the ocean!

Travel & Souvenir Quilts

We are finally home again! I feel like I have been silent for such a long time that it is hard to know where to start to catch up! We have traveled so much the first half of this year, the trips are beginning to run together. This trip was again to the Kansas City area and it had a two-fold purpose.

First, we delivered the Galaxie to its new owner. The Galaxie was the first car that The Mister restored. As with any project, he learned much in the process and always saw the things that he would do differently, if he were doing it again. So, he decided to let someone else enjoy it for what it is and change the 'flaws' if they were inclined to. It was a sad moment when we drove away, though. The new owners are people we are acquainted with through one of our car clubs and we know they will give it a good home. They already had it registered for the county fair parade next month!

The second purpose of the trip was to complete the purchase of a house that will someday be our retirement home.

When I was in KC last month after my brother-in-law passed away, I spent a day or so with a realtor. The Mister and I had been looking at real estate on-line and had identified a couple of bank owned properties that we thought might fill the bill for us down the road. We decided to think about buying now, while the interest rates are low and it is a bit of a 'buyer's market'. With only a tiny amount of last minute uncertainty, we closed on the house last Wednesday. Wisest Sister is going to live in it until I retire (most likely in three or four years). One of the features that was a priority for us was living area on one floor. That also appeals to WS, so it will be a good fit for her in the meantime and us down the road a bit!

While we were there, I went to three estate sales!! One was a very large 60's ranch home in a very upscale area. Not a lot of vintage treasure, but I did get a large zip-lock bag full of embroidery floss and some lovely wool gabardine fabric.

The next sale was a small sale, family run in a very modest neighborhood. The mother had passed away several years earlier and the father recently. I got the idea that the two sisters had cleaned out 'the good stuff' when their mother passed. But I found this:

The quilt, not the cat...

It is hand pieced and hand quilted. It has a few age spots, but no damage to the fabric.

It was not marked, so I asked the price. When she said 'five dollars', I tucked it under my arm! I also picked up some flour sacks and vintage greeting cards and The Mister bought two oil filters for the Fairlane. I think perhaps this one will be my 'trial' quilt before I try to get the spots out of the tragic quilt.

I found this at the third sale!

It is also hand pieced and hand quilted! It is in very good condition. The fabric seems very sturdy and most of the colors are very bright.

It was not a 'steal' like the purple quilt, but I thought it was a very good buy at $75!

The last leg of our trip included a stop at Dearest Sister's house for an evening and overnight.

We also had the pleasure of visiting with the Grandbebe girl and her mama! Her mama has a new hair cut which makes her look very chic and modern. Here, she shows it off with her wonderful smile!

DS and Grandbebe Girl's mama

One of the last highlights of the trip was going to one of the last places that sell a chocolate and vanilla twist cone - accompanied by a two year old for entertainment!

Home again - 3500 miles later!

We are home and unpacked, but it will be another day or two before we return to routine!

Here are a few highlights from the trip -

First destination was Colorado and we had a beautiful sunset on Sister's birthday! I love a pink and blue sky!

This is me on a Jack-a-lope at Wall Drugs in South Dakota. Honestly, I was disappointed in Wall Drug. I was hoping for an oldtime-y general mercantile, but it was just a tourist stop. With many, many tourists... I couldn't resist the photo opportunity, though!

The next step was for Lovely C's graduation. It was a very different ceremony than what we were accustomed to. When we first saw her footwear (!) we were surprised, but it turned out that she was almost over dressed compared to some of her classmates!

Next stop was a visit to Dear Aunt. She was embarrassed that her bed was not made when Sister and I stopped to visit. We were thrilled though, because her quilt is a friendship quilt with an embroidered block by my grandmother and my great grandmother and many other relatives long departed. The fabrics were bright and vivid and the embroidery was intact. We had never seen it and Cousin told us later that it was a recent gift, a keepsake of a great aunt who passed away in the last 10 years or so. We also had a very fun visit!
We went to Greensburg for the Memorial Day Alumni Celebration. There was much re-building to celebrate and I fulfilled my goal of helping the effort by spending money on souvenirs!

Some of the esteemed members of the class of '59!

And from the class of '64

(A "Simpson's sky")

The weather was warm and for once the wind was fairly quiet!

We put the Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska stickers on our camper. We had to "camp" in front of Sister's house in Colorado to be able to add that one! Some would say that doesn't count, but we are counting it!

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!