Retail Therapy on Vacation

Hello! Took time yesterday to do a little retail therapy- I hit the local quilt store in Springfield, MO and the bead shop.  I did find some cool books, plus a delightful purse pattern seen here:

The purse pattern is unusual in that it has an interesting braided handle and way of attaching.  When I eventually make this, I’ll share more.

Today, I’m headed back in town to visit the local fiber store, plus the fabric store.  My dad has some furniture cushions that are sliding around so I will fix that for him before I fly home this weekend.

I also have been busy beading- so far I’ve made 4 new pieces to share when I get back home to my laptop.  I also can’t wait to get back to my quilting machine- I have withdrawals if I don’t use it.  LOL!

Note to all the kind blog readers/friends who have emailed me about my father.  He is doing much better now and his last surgery earlier this week went very well!  Unfortunately, there is a glitch on my iphone, so my email replies are not sending.  When I arrive home, I will also post a list of inchies received in my inchie swap while I was gone.

Last, but not least, a quick shout out to Michele Foster, over at the Quilting Bloggers (see link on my side bar).  She has posted 3 Feathered Fibers cartoons I drew last year in her Quilting Gallery.  Go check out her site, Michele has done a great job of compiling quilting blogs and other quilting resources in one terrific location.  If you have a blog, you might also want to add your site, too.

Miss you all!!  Hugs, Carla

Retail Therapy and ThriftStore finds

Hello, I thought I would share some of my recent retail therapy and thrift store finds.  There is nothing like a little retail therapy to put me in a good mood!

First up, I couldn’t help myself when I saw this fabric at my local quilt store.  Perhaps it is the theme that reeled me in… after all, chocolate is my second favorite thing in the world.  LOL!

Another delightful shopping completed this week was at my favorite bead store- you know the one where I can dig for special beads in a large bin?  When I introduced Lynn to my favorite bead bin, she was instantly hooked, too! (click on the images for a close up look)

Next up is my thrift store finds.  I visited two thrift stores this week and found lots to share with you:

Some colorful dresses to recycle/reuse by converting them into purses:

See the pretty fabrics??

For the denim side of me:

And while I was there, I couldn’t help but buy these to display in my studio:

I’ve been working on my crochet purse using thrift store dresses tutorial, so keep watching for it.  Enjoy your day!!

Retail Therapy!

Couldn’t resist a little retail therapy yesterday, after all, I deserved to visit the quilt store- a reward for driving my son to his doctor an hour away…each way…up hills both ways.  Think of it as a “tip.”  Here’s the yummy colors I spotted as soon as I entered the store:

This followed another reward the day before- my daughter needed a driver to an doctor appointment.  So as a reward for that I took a side trip to a local shop and found some terrific artsy looking shoes (normally $85) for only $25!  These just scream to be worn for AFF:

   The bottom of the shoes are way cool!  I might even be able to use them in an art project!  Now all I need are some shirts to match my new shoes… and some accessories.

In case you are curious, the shoes are made by a company called “J-41.” My style is a trail casual called  Sideline-Mesh.  It comes in a wide variety of colors shown here.

Anyone else love shoes like this??  LOL!   Hugs, Carla