Trader Joe's and New Treasures

 The first Trader Joe's in the area recently opened up so we decided to check it out. We always stop in when we are in California--it's a good place to pick up snack food, and hey, we just like hanging out in grocery stores!

In addition to a couple of wine purchases I found plenty of goodies. The trail mixes are always good and there is a huge selection. The Rasin Rosemary crackers are really good, but the standout were  the Kettle Corn Cookies. Who would have thought? I selected them because they sounded so different, but have to say they are really good and will be on the re-buy list.  There were a couple of frozen desserts that looked good, but we weren't going straight home, so those will have  to wait for another visit. Can you tell where my focus is? I go for the fun stuff, but in my defense, there were some tomatoes and ravioli in the shopping cart (my husband added the tomatoes, I won't take credit).

 We've been to a couple of auctions recently and I've found some wonderful treasures. Not so sure where I'm going to put them, but I'll juggle things around a bit till they fit.

 This is a sewing box. The wood and finish are in great shape and the fringe on the inside is even intact. It may be the nicest one I've seen lately.

 I've had a hard time winning the bid on old crockery, but I did get these. They aren't as old as some I've had my eye on, but I like them and plan to fill them will stitchery pillows or rag balls and stuff like that.

The Beatrix Potter figurines were just cute!  I don't have a collection of them but these 3 caught my eye.

This little guy called to me and kept giving me the eye from the table while they auctioned stuff from all around him. He's a cast iron bank and will be happy hanging out with my cast iron doorstops. Who could say no to that face? I was afraid I was going to end up in a bidding war for him, but fortunately it wasn't a metal dog crowd.

I have a "thing" for old suitcases. They don't come up that often and I'm never the only one interested, but I got these. They are in really good condition and don't smell bad (that's an issue and another story). The large trunk we are going to use as a coffee table, replacing the old sled we were using. It is even a shade of red that looks good with the furniture, something I didn't even think of when we spotted them.

Did you notice there weren't any little benches? There were several, a couple I liked, and my husband kept pointing them out to me--but, I'm not sure how many little stools I really need, plus the one I liked best was bundled with a wash tub I didn't want (probably because I think I have one in the garage already), and it went higher than I wanted.

Well, I think we are done here for now. It's time to sew the binding down on a  fall pumpkin wall hanging and start something new. Maybe some pillows for those bowls.

See you soon!

A little bit of Wool

I finally finished a couple of things! I suppose projects would get finished faster if I didn't have so many going at one time, but what fun would that be?

This is half of a penny mat from Penny Lane Primitives. It's a bit on the "cute" side, but looks good on my old sewing box, and fits in for summer and the Fourth of July.

Next is a tote from the Renee Plains' book "A Bird in Hand". You probably can't tell, but the black fabric at the top has small birds and birdie feet on it! I added the pocket to the back. It will be fun to carry projects around in, and you can't stray far from home without taking something along to work on--just in case! I liked her handle technique. You make a tube and pull that web handle stuff you get at the fabric store through it. It makes a sturdy handle but isn't as bulky as using layers of batting.

And finally, I finished a shawl! The pattern is "Pettine" and what I like about it most is that it has an edging on the top as well as the pointed edge.

I'll wear it like this with the point in front. I like that look, plus I look odd when I try to wear shawls with the point hanging down the back.

I've decided to start on some things for fall. If I start now they should be ready to hang for this fall (yea!)  The pile of pumpkin  projects is pretty high, I just love fall decorating and if its got a pumpkin on it, I'm there--and if the pumpkin has a crow on it, I'm really there, and if you throw in an acorn, well sign me up!

So...I guess I'd better go start one of those new projects. See you soon!

Talented Friends

I belong to two bees. One a primitive bee, the other a contemporary one. I aspire to be a contemporary quilter, but I'm not so sure it will ever happen. I think to make contemporary/art quilts you have to be able to think out side the box a bit farther than I can. I pretty much stay within the lines--gray is my favorite color!

Last week when the contemporary group got together there was lots of fun show and tell.

 Noreen has been really busy. The colors are great, it has spectacular quilting, and she even added red piping all the way around!

 Another of Noreen's quilts. She does fun things with curved edges.

 Judie always has a new technique she has tried! These have bits of fabric, paint, hand made stamps and quilting on  them. Then a paint medium is brushed on, resulting in a stiff piece of fabric art.(Sorry Judie, I know you didn't want to be in the picture,but I haven't figured out how to edit the photos yet)!

 Debbie has found some wonderful classes on Groupon. The mask is a mold of her face!

This a hand quilted tie quilt by Lynn.

Judi made this quilt top to donate to a church quilting group some of our members are involved in. Pretty colors.
It's always inspiring to be with these ladies. I come home, pull out my batiks, ponder on them and put them back in the bin. One of these days something will click and I will make something bright and beautiful. Until then I'm happy to be part of their group.

My Garden

I had jury duty today--but by some fluke, all the trials were settled and the whole group got to go home by 10:30, making for a  bunch of happy people (at least I think everyone wanted to somewhere other than the courthouse).  So now I have time to write a bit about my garden!

I'm from Colorado, and no matter how long I live here, and like it, I will always consider Colorado my true home. But it is hard to grow things in Colorado. It's the dirt, the altitude, the weather...so when we moved south I was amazed at how much stuff grows here with little effort. Plants that were houseplants in Colorado, grow easily outside down here. My biggest problem is pulling up anything that is green and thriving-hence I have a somewhat overgrown yard!
When we first moved in I began planting roses. The heirloom, "found" variety, and I love them. They are relatively easy to care for and are beautiful. Of course I hate to prune them for fear that they won't grow back--they do. They bloom pretty much all year and attract the butterflies.

I also got into vines and have found that once you stick a vine in the ground it is pretty hard to get rid of it, they just keep popping up around the yard. I thought the passion vine was gone since the bamboo was providing so much shade, but it is growing  up the bamboo to the light, full of beautiful purple flowers for the Gulf Fritillary butterflies.

A few years we planted a Meyer Lemon tree. Every year we have gotten 6-8 lemons. I don't know what happened this year, but the thing is loaded with lemons! I'm actually going to have to cook with them this year. I'm seeing lemon souffles and lemon bars in my future.

This is my tin goat. He is probably as close to a herd of goats as I'm going to get (I love goat cheese)!

And this is one of the many critters living in our yard. This little one is so cute! 

So that is a brief rundown of my garden. We put a  couple of tomato plants in, and although they have blooms, I haven't seen any tomatoes yet. The basil, parsley and thyme are doing well,  and I must say, I can REALLY grow oregano!

Auctions!

Going to an auction is like opening up a treasure chest--you never know what wonderful things you might find! And even when I think I've looked at everything, there are always items that I missed during the preview.

I like a lot of the primitive stuff--the slightly wonky, distressed stuff that they keep putting to the side in favor of better looking stuff, so it is usually toward the end of the auction before the things I have my eye on come up for sale. My current query is, "why did they paint all this stuff green?" Recently, two different auctions have provided me with two pieces of furniture painted a light green--not my favorite color, but it didn't stop me from buying them!

Cute, huh?

The pie safe we're using for wine storage. I've been displaying seasonal little stitchery pillows on top of it. The  blue and white enamel bowl also came from an auction. Got 5 bowls and a chamber pot for a great price. Don't know how many enamel bowl displays I need around the house, but...

I can see a snowman sitting on this little chair for winter, but for now, think this little mat sets it off. The mat is from an Anni Downs book, "The World as it Should Be".

Bye for now!