The Accidentally Thrifted Art Quilt Part Two

When I unpacked the third and final quilt from the $9.99 lot of three I thrifted, I knew immediately that someone had put a lot of love and work into it. I've seen art quilts like this at shows, but never at a thrift store. Talented makers like the one who designed and stitched at this level sell the work for big bucks. Since it didn't have a label, however, the name of the maker will remain a mystery.

There's a theme here, too, although I'm too dense to guess what it is. Maybe something Darwinian. Anyway, each element like big game hunter Sunbonnet Sue here is utterly charming.

The Picasssoesque cow and pig made me laugh out loud.

All the beads attached to the quilt are high quality glass, and the piecing is expert. The hand embroidery, while simple, adds so much to the piece, too.

The applique work is also expert level. I should feel guilty for what I paid for it, and I do (just a little. This quilt is worth twenty times what I paid for the lot) but that is part of the fun of thrifting. You never know what you're going to find.

I hung the quilt in my office where I can see it when I'm working, so it can inspire me. I'll treasure it forever, too.

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Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.

Stuff

After finding this Caron one pound skein of lovely peach yarn in my thrifted lot I raided my stash for two cakes of Mandala in Pegasus, which matches it perfectly. For practice and hand therapy I'm going to make another Worth Street Afghan with this free pattern , but this time I'll use the yarn that was recommended for it plus the one pound skein. I'm not quite ready to do the vintage/recycled linen quilt I had planned (still a bit too nervous about the idea), so I'm going to use some color therapy and make a quilt from these thrifted green fat quarters. I considered doing another Yellow Brick road patchwork pattern, but I might go with a split rail fence like this one.

The Mercantile

If you don't mind walking 33K square feet in retail space, The Mercantile may be the vintage/arts store you'd enjoy visiting if you're ever in Orlando. I certainly did. Because it was busy I didn't take any photos in the store, but it's absolutely amazing and chock full of antiques and artisan creations, most of which were pretty reasonably priced. For $21.00 I invested in a picture of sailboats for the guest bathroom I'm redoing, and a fairy mystery jar of cool stuff. The jaw was hand-painted and decorated, and utterly charming. I think I wanted the jar more than the contents. As you can see the contents were both generous and pretty cool, too. I finally have some vintage gloves to use for my art quilter bingo challenge!

Rayen

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