It was a fairly successful day yesterday. I did find a birthday present for my mom, and a bunch of other cute things:

Yarn Again had some new sockyarn that someone handpaints:



This one is called Springtime in Paris which meant I had to buy it. I think I'm going to use some kind of slipped-stitch pattern for this one to break up the (probably inevitable) pooling.

Both the quilt shops were wonderful; Quilt Asylum had a bunch of the Westminster/Rowan fabrics on a decent sale because they were closing out last year's patterns.



I bought what was left on the bolt of this one. I'm thinking of using it to make a set of pillowcases because it's so pretty I think it needs to be used in big chunks. (Or, I might use some of it as the center on a medallion quilt).

I also got some more pieces of 1930s reproduction fabric. And some other odds and ends, including a couple fat quarters of extremely cute fabric with cartoonish bunnies and teddy bears on it that were in fact reminiscent of the Aranzi Aranzo critters (and when I was putting it in to pre-shrink it, I noticed it said "Made in Japan." Of course.)

And I got one piece that I will need for my third - final - Pay it Forward gift, which I should start sometime. (I might just send out the two completed ones to beat the postal increase May 12).

I also stopped at Michael's because there's one there. And it's the nearest one to me. I didn't get a whole lot of things but did buy a new soapstone pencil and some silver quilting pencils because using the old graphite #2s on the darker colored fabrics was getting me down. I also picked up some more size 3 crochet cotton after realizing it's the size I like to work with and one that works with the patterns in that "Lacy Crochet" book I talked about.

I've said it before but Michael's beats Hobby Lobby, in my opinion. They don't carry fabric (and HL does) but they have a far more "useful" selection of knitting and crocheting supplies, and they seem to do better with embroidery as well.

One thing about McKinney that I've learned is that the businesses in the little old downtown tend to move a lot. I think the city owns some of the buildings and when they want to renovate, the businesses have to close or move. One of my favorite little shops - 120 - was gone from its past location; there was just a big open hole where it used to be. (There were several other places closed - the others weren't favorites of mine - and I walked around sadly thinking, "Well, maybe the economic 'downturn' is hitting here too." Though McKinney strikes me as the kind of place where people who tend to be more insulated from those kinds of things shop).

Well, I found 120. She had moved to a new location. (I'm glad I persisted - I was thinking about leaving but then decided, "well, maybe I'll just walk down a few of the side streets and see what's there"). I saw a chartreuse storefront and realized it was the shop I was missing.

She had some new stuff. Like these:



Little ceramic balls that have letters on them. I bought the ones that spell out my surname. Yes, you don't NEED them for anything but they are kind of clever and interesting. And that's part of the point of "cute" - it's not something necessary but it's something that makes you happy. If I were more talented with woodworking tools I'd make up a little board with seven little depressions in it so I could line up the letters on it.

I also bought some fancy soaps, and a few books - an inexpensive but older book-club edition of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," which I have never read but want to and two books set in the British Isles - Experiences of an Irish R.M. and The Vicar of Morwenstow (that last is set in Cornwall). Those two were nice older "Everyman's Library" type editions - the smallish hardbacks that used to be very common. They were not expensive - $3 each for books in very good condition. (The place I bought them - Morningstar Treasures - is one of my favorite antique shops. I always find good books there; one of the owners says she can't pass up buying books at estate sales and the like so she often has some really interesting things).

Probably the cutest thing I found was this:



It's a "sample" of upholstery fabric (it's probably 2 feet by 2 feet in size). One of the shops in McKinney ("The Antique Collection," my other favorite antique shop there) has bunches of these - some vintage (and apparently the antimacassars or armrest covers from old furniture) and some not. This one wasn't marked "vintage" and it was only $2 so I assume it's fairly recent but it has kind of a vintage feel. I think what I'm going to do with this - as it's fabric unsuitable for quilting - is make a big throw pillow, maybe 18" by 18" if I can find a pillow form that large, and back it with some kind of pretty quilt-fabric. And maybe do piping on it.

One last thing. This is a project I did a long time ago and never managed to photograph. I think perhaps because it turned out a little differently than I anticipated.



This is Spike. Spike is a cactus. I used this pattern to make her. (Yes, Spike is a girl. Girls can be named Spike. There is an author who used to write for the Dallas Morning News named Spike Gillespie). One thing that Spike still lacks, that I want to do, is a big flower worn like a hat or hair ribbon. (Because, as I said, Spike is a girl.)

I used what I had on hand for this - some Homespun in a greenish color and a mixed-color tannish Fun Fur. Which may be why I wasn't 100% satisfied - the "spike" colors - the Fun Fur - is a little off for a cactus, it should be more of a yellow.