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Last Month

May was a semi-productive month for me, and also a time of finding out just how much I can screw up a project (a lot, if you're wondering.) I also had to give up and shut down my social media account because of an issue that remains toxic to me, and I really loved interacting with other creative folks via that account, so that hurt quite a bit. I'd blame that issue for all the things I messed up, but honestly, it was just my fault. I made this cute lemon yellow amigurumi bear while trying out Hobbii's Honey Bunny Shine yarn for the first time, ran out of the yarn and had to improvise to finish the toy. I crocheted this throw, which was too small because I misread the pattern. I patched a hole in one of my thrifted Vera Bradley purses. This I did not mess up. :) I crocheted an amigurumi giraffe for my grand niece, who collects them. Actually I crocheted two giraffes, but the first one passed away from either bubonic plague, or my own ineptitude. :) I cr...
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Two Pretties

The two quilts I thrifted at the online auction just arrived, so let's see if they're worth what I paid for them. I can already tell I got a steal -- they're both vibrant, look unused and are nicely made. Here's the smaller quilt, very nicely pieced and machine quilted. Love the colors and the message. The larger quilt has very nice colors. This looks like something someone put together to try a technique. I love it for summer. The backs of both quilts. They're unsigned, but I will treasure them all the same. Do you think they're worth the $9.99 I paid for them? Yep, me too.
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Less Than Ten Again

After not winning any lots I've had some luck turn around at the online auction, and landed this lot of two small quilts for $9.99 with no competition. I also landed a lot of yarn that I think is worth at least $100.00 for $9.99. We shall soon see if I'm right. Finally, I thrifted this lot of cookbooks for $9.99, some of which I plan to give to my guy for Father's Day as he loves to grill. Stay tuned to the blog to see if my less than ten buck finds turn out to be worth it. Image credit: all the pics in this post came from the original auction listings at ShopGoodwill.com.
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Unhappy Results

I decided to try a little beading and embroidery on the May tote for my calendar project, but while I did get some beads sewn on, the embroidery did not work out at all, so I removed what little I did. The problem is the age of the crazy quilt fragments, which are actively shattering. Every time I manipulate these patches they split and shred. Each bead I sewed on made the fabric fray, too, as you can see here. I was trying to preserve the fragments by incorporating them into the tote, but that was a mistake (I now understand why so many collectors simply frame them.) I'll only destroy the fragments even more by removing them, so I think I'm done with this tote. Once I sew it back together and line it I'll call it a day. Not the results I was hoping for, but now I know not to try and sew, embroider or bead century-old quilt pieces. :(
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Office Refresh

Although I'm finished with spring cleaning for the year, I decided to redo the walls in my home office, and hang up some new pieces. This is fun, and since I haven't changed the art on the walls in a couple of years I had a lot of new pieces to display. My art quilts and totes look nice, and although they're a bit unconventional, they make me happy -- and isn't that the point with a creative space?
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The Cost of Cooking

The other day I was making ziti for my nephew (it's his most requested dinner) and prepping garlic toast and cucumbers on the side and in general cooking as usual when I turned on the oven to preheat while I was walking the dogs. Yes, I still multitask. Only when I got home from walking the first dog the oven was still preheating. I slid the ziti in the oven and walked the other dog, but when I got home the oven was still preheating. It wasn't coming up to temperature; in fact it barely got above 250F (we have a temp measuring gun that my guy used to confirm this.) I cook every day, and I use my stove every single day, so this was mildly distressing to me. I also take good care of the appliances and regularly clean them, so it wasn't from neglect. I finished dinner in the microwave (ziti turned out fine) and air fryer (ditto on the garlic toast) and let the oven cool enough for my guy to check the heating elements. The broiler was fine, but the baking element brok...
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Issues

With much careful and strategic sewing I've applied all the crazy quilted fragments on the black canvas foundation for May's tote. I had to go very slowly because the pieces are literally shredding, shedding and splitting apart from being hand sewn to the backings. Not unusual for 126 year old quilt bits, but a bit hair raising. I intended to add some beading and trims to the pieces, but now I'm rethinking that. These fragments won't take much more handling without self-destructing, and the whole point of using them on a tote was preservation. I might do a bit of beading on one piece and see how it goes. Anyway, stay tuned to the blog to see how it works out.
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