Lancaster County, PA

On Saturday, we--and everyone else in southeastern Pennsylvania--headed out on Route 30 to visit the Amish. We went to Intercourse (you just have to) and visited the People's Museum to see the quilts. Then we looked around the gift shop. There was a lovely piece (squares of wool felt--half inch piled on one inch--and topped with a button) framed, on sale for (hold on to your hats) $895. All it is is squares stitched to a ground fabric through the button--no piecing, no quilting, just a one inch squares topped with a half inch square topped with a button and sewn to a ground fabric. Ten across and ten down, or so. Slapped in a shadow box frame. Eight hundred ninety five dollars.

So I went downstairs to the fabric store and bought $22 worth of hand dyed wool felt that you see here. Someone's gonna have one helluva piece of art on the walls!

What Have I Become?

So, my mom has me stitching a Mirabilia mermaid (Emerald Mermaid). And all of a sudden, I have the urge to use a hand-dyed or handpainted fabric. This is so not like me. Perhaps I should go have a lie-down. I just don't like the grey fabric that it's stitched on.

In the meantime, what are your feelings about some of my ideas for fabric? I warn you--don't suggest anything too crazy. No sparkles. (I have to drawn the line somewhere!)

Silkweaver
Blue dynasty linen
or (keep scrolling) ocean fantasy

Sugar Maple Leaf
Enchantress
Murkey [sic] Depths

Picture This Plus
Glacier

R&R
Neptune Blue

I can hardly believe I'm stitching a Mirabilia let alone contemplating doing it on ostentatious fabric. That's all okay for you! But I'm not you.

If You Don't Buy it, They'll Stop Making It

I've been reading how everyone is cutting back on acquiring new stash until they complete their 10/25/50 project challenge. This is crazy! Do you want your favorite stores to go out of business? Well let me tell you how lucky you are that I am still buying things!

I fell in love with Liberty Street's new design, In the Tall Flowers Sampler. I had a hard time finding the fabric that it calls for, so I contacted the maker. I noticed also that she did the fabric called for in Mermaids Singing. It is not the bright yellow that shows up in the picture on the Workbasket chart. (Has no one heard of color correction out there?) It's actually a lovely green. So I had to get some of that. And then while I was ordering, I figured I should also get the fabric for Rose Bunnie [sic] by Liberty Street. La Fern is a beautiful color, perfect for the bunny.

My mom also asked me to do a Mirabilia mermaid for her for her 65th birthday (2009). I figured I'd better get started. I chose Emerald Mermaid. I can't believe I'm doing one of these. I can't beleive my mother was so enamored of them.

Edited: When I added the picture, I realized I forgot about the celtic pumpkin by Sunflower Seed. I did need to replace those two pumpkin patterns that I stitched.