Today is first quiet day we've had in a while. I took the kids with me for a quick visit to our accountant's office, which meant a stop on the way home at the really large Goodwill nearby. My kids zero'd in on an electronic Battleship game, then found a treasure trove of 79 cent paperback books. I, myself was browsing through the other shelves and hit the jackpot on a back wall.
I have been looking for a full set of The Family Creative Workshop forever, and it seems my patience has finally paid off. For those of you who haven't discovered these, published in the 70's each volume (I believe there are 23 or 24) is full of craft ideas, covering everything from glassblowing to wire sculpture to quilting to macrame (of course) for kids and adults. I am going to have so much fun looking through these. I talked the manager into letting me have them for $1.99 each (usually $2.99 each). I actually didn't bring home every one of the volumes in the set (because, as an example, although I craft a lot, I don't plan on glassblowing any time soon). Only problem is they smell pretty bad, I don't think they have been opened and aired since the 70's! Does anyone have tips on getting rid of that musty book smell?
On a less-smelly subject, yesterday I got the assortment of sunny yellows and orange fabrics I ordered from Pink Chalk Fabrics. Its been a while since I bought a lot of fabric (other than the owls) and when I did the patchwork pillows I realized that my fabric purchases tend towards the greens and blues (a lot of the warmer fabrics in those pillows were actually teeny tiny swatches that just barely made a strip, its a travesty, I know). It was easy on Kathy's site to just click on the yellows and the oranges, and now I feel like I've filled out my assortment. These will probably be going into the Value Quilt that I've started (completely Katie's fault), even though I have one quilt started and another one I was going to start. But I have to admit, if you're looking for a quilt to make and enjoy, and have a stash of pretty fabric (or need an excuse to buy some), make this Value quilt. It comes together so quickly and easily, and it gives people like me a chance to use all those fancy, pretty florals that stand no chance around here on their own. It really does make a terrific light/dark pattern to use lots of different, random patterns and colors. I think this quilt will become a family room quilt, the one we use in there is actually a quilt I made pre-blog and its really embarrassing! Let's just say I had huge issues with quilt binding back in 2004.
If you drive by my house, this is what you will hear us playing right now. Off to make afternoon coffee. Happy Wednesday!
