Also, just being out and being....alive. I probably way over-reacted to the medical concern I had two weeks ago (my doctor was v. nonchalant about it, like "yeah, that's pretty much what I expected it was") but I seriously was - last week even - thinking about "and who all do I need to share out my yarn and fabric stashes with if I'm not gonna be here much longer?" (Lynn, if you're reading this, rest assured, you'd be close to the top of the list for who gets to pick through my fabric....and all the bee-themed fabrics and anything I have orange would have gone to Anj....) Anyway, I'm glad I don't have to think about that now, and the Eternal Footman that I thought I could hear shaking my coat and snickering has receded a good bit away into the shadows for now.
The first stop was the quilt shop in Denison. I got my quilt, am very very happy with it, need to dig out the scraps of the focus fabrics and piece a binding (I just like pieced bindings and they have kind of become my "thing" on quilts - where there are several fabrics, usually a bit of the backing, sometimes pieces of the focus fabric).
She also convinced me, when I said "I need to get more of my tops in" to get my name in the rota and if I can get one in by March, she will get it done sooner this time. (I am already planning to do either "weekend before birthday" or "Friday after my birthday" or maybe "Saturday after my birthday" trip out - there's another reason I'll mention later.
It's a little hard to see the quilting, but trust me, it's there.
I really cannot stress enough how much I love that backing fabric.
Anyway: I am now on the rota for another quilt, so I am re-washing (to make SURE I prewashed it, and anyway, to get the storage wrinkles out) the backing fabric for that Japanese Lanterns quilt that I made ages ago (six years now, which does feel like a very long time). I think it will be the next best one to get done and I'm hoping she has a design that looks maybe like either cherry blossoms or fireworks....
I'm also washing some of the fabric I bought today (I got a couple pieces even at the JoAnn's on the way home; they were having a sale). I feel quilt-inspired again and after this I might go and work more on the (endless seeming) Vigniere Cipher top. I want to get that one done, too. So then I can "play" and do a charm pack quilt.
And, oh hey, speaking of charm packs:
Different fabric lines but the colors all coordinate and that same odd bubblegum pink (which I LIKE, I like colors that are slightly "off true" like that) and the same slightly-greyed-down greens. I have a bunch of charm-pack patterns calling for three charm pack's worth (and not all of them need repeating fabrics) so I am sure I can figure something out for these.
She did say, when I mentioned going to Whitesboro, "Oh, did you know the woman who runs Kaleidoscope Quilts is retiring? I think today is the last day of her closeout sale" but she did also note someone else had bought the store and the name, and would be reopening later with new fabrics.
So, kind of a bad-news good-news thing. Though for me, the good fortune was getting 12 yards of fabric for about $5 a yard on average. It helps at sales like this (the shelves were getting bare) if you have a slightly "weird" taste in fabrics. I wound up taking "all left on the bolt" (the biggest piece was the butter yellow, at just over 3 yards) of a couple pieces (I will use them for sashings, though that pink might go to be part of the binding on the big quilt that I got back recently from Lulu and Hazel's)
That green one on top has unicorns in it (I have the same fabric in another colorway.....and have a pattern calling for 2 1/2 yards of two different fabrics plus sashing, so I might just decide to use both of them in that)
And yes, the owner is retiring (I was able to wish her a happy retirement; she was working the cash register) but the shop will re-open in the near future (today was the last day, it turns out) with new owners and new stock. (Here's hoping it will be soon, so maybe I can visit on my birthday trip)
And then to the yarn shop. I wanted to get some new size 7 circulars; one of mine broke and anyway I prefer wood needles to metal, and most of my older circulars are metal. I want to start a couple sweaters soon - a very simple pullover using a color-shifting yarn from Universal Yarns (the pattern was bought at the $1 pattern sale KnitPicks had a while back) and the other one is Castile from the new Interweave knits, and I had yarn that had been hanging out in my stash for at least five years, and it's the right weight, right quantity, and I think the color will be nice:
This is a representative skein; I have seven of them, a total of just over 1400 yards, and the pattern in my size claims to take about 1350 (IIRC), so I should be good. And hey, "free" sweater, because it's stash yarn, right? (This was yarn I got on a deep discount at the now-defunct yarn and quilt shop in my town. I *think* it was bought with loyalty points, at least partly). At any rate: always good to move something FROM stash TO active project.
But I also bought some yarn:
Socks, socks, and probably the "one and done" shawl that was a free-pattern premium from Simply Sockyarn a while back. That yarn (the yellow and pink one) has sparklies in it, and I don't have a shawlette with sparklies in it yet.
I also got some already-made socks:
Always be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn, and then always be a unicorn. I debated them but wound up getting them for those days when I need a little extra boost.
There's also a pair I did NOT get, but that remind me of a few of my friends who are moms:
Heh.
I spent enough to earn a $20 gift card from them, which doesn't expire, BUT which I definitely would like to spend close to my birthday, so I tucked it in my card case and told the owner I'd probably be back around the end of the month.
I wound up going to Lovejoy's for lunch. They have a reduced menu on Saturdays (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are their real lunch days) but you can still get sandwiches and sometimes quiche, and they had their desserts, and that's what I really wanted. (I said, back a week or so ago, "If this turns out to be nothing big, I am going somewhere that serves good desserts and getting one).
Well, German Chocolate Bread Pudding counts:
Sometimes something like bread pudding is even better than cake; sometimes commercial cakes have a slightly dry or "overbeaten" or something texture - I'm not sure what but I blame it on commercial production or mixes. But this bread pudding was very good, it had a very soft dense texture approaching that of a good flourless chocolate cake (another favorite of mine).
And I bought a candle there. They had "author inspired" candles (I had to laugh because the Mark Twain one, yes, smelled like cigar smoke). I got "Louisa May Alcott," the scent is mostly Tuberose, and I think it's strong enough that I won't even need to burn the candle:
From there, a quick jaunt to JoAnn's (and I bought more fabric, and a skein of ridiculously colored Red Heart to be the mane on the Ranibow Sprimkle pony I plan to make some time soon) and the bookstore (for the new Simply Knitting, though I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to get that; they're contracting down their magazine section to make more room for (sigh) workbooks for kids, not sure if it's for homeschooling or anxious parents who think their kids aren't learning enough in school. I suspect workbooks carry a higher profit margin than magazines these days....)
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