Fabric Shopping!

Nothing makes a quilter's heart beat faster than being surrounded by beautiful fabric! I unexpectedly had the chance to go to my favorite local quilt shop today. Local as in an hour away, but soooo worth it! I took the family on a surprise date for the day - up to Maine for lunch at Bob's Clam Hut (featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) for some yummy clams and fish'n'chips... We then went to Portsmouth NH to visit a decommissioned submarine, which was actually fascinating!

Check out the sleeping quarters...

So tiny! We were going to head home when my lovely hubby said, "Why don't you go to the quilt shop?" I hadn't even considered it - I hate making my family wait around for me, and it's not exactly the kind of place you spend 5 minutes in, but hubby insisted so how could I say no?! The quilt shop is called Portsmouth Fabric Company and they carry every single Kaffe Fassett fabric made. That won't mean a thing to some of you, but to others, you will know why I was in heaven! I was a naughty girl and bought some of the new Kaffe Fassett Spring 2012 collective fabrics, the reprinted Flea Market fancy and a few others.

I also bought some Kaffe Fassett laminated fabric to make myself a makeup bag. While handy, the ziplock bag I've been using for the last year just isn't cutting it anymore! Here is the laminated fabric next to the same regular cotton.

Aren't they lovely?! If you're a Kaffe Fassett fan then you'll like these scenes from the store...

I took just two of the kids in with me while the other stayed in the car with hubby. They were both fantastic in the store, though you can see how happy my boy was about being there...

I love that photo! The classic pose of the son of a quilter who's been to one too many quilt shops in his short 8 years!

The Bookshelf

A couple of weeks ago my lovely little green bookcase in the hallway which you can read about HERE went from this...

to this...

UUGGGHHHH!! Yes folks, it completely collapsed! What was a girl to do? I needed that storage for my cookbooks and church books. My little house just doesn't have anywhere else to put them! Soooo I got myself down to the thrift store quick smart, and found this beauty...

Best of all was the price!

Yes, I know it doesn't look like much with its nasty beat-up brown paint job, but it was the perfect size, and heavy duty. This thing isn't collapsing any time soon like the predecessor! A couple of coats of white glossy spray paint, and it now looks like this...

So lovely! I finally have a place to put my books, extra dishes, and my little collection of green 'stuff'! Also, the fruit and vege quilt is the perfect size to go right above it.

Just for a size comparison, here's a photo of both the old bookshelf and the new one together...

Now I need to do some serious rearranging of the rest of the kitchen so my framed pavlova tea towel has a home too. Stay tuned!

Quilt Room Neglect

Since I haven't blogged or quilted very much so far this year (going to change, I promise!), my quilt room has become very neglected. In fact I've avoided going into it at all expense, but today was the day. My daughter was home sick from school...(having a nap on the couch with her vomit bowl!)

which meant I needed to stay home from work, and well, what better day to clean my quilt room up?! I had no idea where to start, so I did the same thing I tell my kids...just bend over and pick up the first thing you touch. Whaddya know, it actually worked! It went from this...ugh...

to this...

Yay! Sofia hasn't been using her little sewing are too much lately, so she kindly said I could set up my laptop and drawing tablet on her desk.

I filled up 3 large bags full of trash...

And filled a large box with fabric to get rid of... (if anyone local wants it, come and get it - sorry I'm not mailing it anywhere - it's too big! There's nothing fancy in it - mostly older chain store calico type fabrics)

I also put my bobbins into the handy dandy bobbin holder I bought in my last post.

At last, I feel like quilting again!