TREASURES IN THE CITY

With work deadlines rapidly encroaching, this week was a whirlwind of editing and writing. One day, I literally sat down at my computer at 7:00 a.m. and didn't get up again until 2:00 when I realized I was a little hungry! We're in the final stages of readying the summer issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine and Victoria magazine special interest publication for the printer. Before the weekend, I wanted to share some more photos from my recent Kansas City trip. Since the focus of this trip was the photo shoot for the Kansas City Star quilt book that I'm editing, I didn't have a lot of time to shop this time, but I did manage to squeeze in a few antiques shops. This embroidered owl block in a vintage quilt made me smile. It was in rough shape, so I didn't get it, but it was priced according to its condition.

These adorable vintage owl salt and pepper shakers also made me smile, but they didn't come home with me.

I love the earthy palette of primitive quilts. They just make you feel warm and cozy!

And speaking of warm and cozy, what captures that feeling better than hand-dyed wool? I always love seeing this wall of wool!

I usually spend a small fortune among its offerings, and as usual, I found just what I needed—or should I say, wanted? I was particularly on the lookout for more greens this time.

Don't you love those antique wooden thread cabinets with that wonderful patina of time? My budget doesn't match the prices of most of these, but I was able to find a charming Willimantic one for a good price several years ago. It's not perfect—it has its bumps here and there—but it's been a fun addition to my sewing room. 

I've long been enamored with these antique toy sewing machines but I don't know enough about them to know what to pay for them, so I've only purchased a few cheap ones.

I was tempted by this handmade prim bunny but decided there are enough prim bunnies hopping around my house for now! My wool Parsley bunny design has been proliferating around here at an alarming rate.

This charming cupboard of old food tins brought back memories of my paternal grandparents' vintage home. In their pantry pass-through that connected their kitchen and dining room, they had a cupboard very similar to this one and I always remember it being filled with lots of tabletop treasures.

I was amazed by the large size of these antique spools that came from an 1840 weaving mill in Lyon, France—the silk capitol of France at the time. Their price tag of $75 was too steep for me but what a delight it was to see them. The photo can't accurately show their 20-inch-tall height.

On our way out of town, we stopped by Fabric Recycles, a resale store that sells discounted fabric, notions, trims, and sewing machines from personal stashes and estate reductions. My visit yielded four yards of 1800s repro fabric for $20 and two yards of pink corduroy for $6 for a pincushion project.

As you can see in the pics, their fabric is very neatly displayed in these cubbies.

They had a terrific array of vintage buttons but they were a bit pricey, so I resisted the temptation to buy any.

Looking for vintage trims? This store has a ton of them!

Didn't see what I would call any vintage sewing machines in the shop this time, but I did recently find a colorful one to add to my collection. Will have to share that in a future post!

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