{Post 1,702} New Projects and Answers to Burning Questions

I know most of American society has gone to very short social interactions like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. But I love reading blogs. I love all the details. I love all the pictures. I love all the ideas that are sparked as a result of all of that. So here I am again, posting about my everyday life.

There were some questions about my booth. It is in an antique mall. The owners divided up most of the space into 8’ wide by 6’10” deep booths. The rent is $75 a month. Most people sell antiques in them. The mall also advertises that they have “craft artisans”. I guess that is where I fit in, although I do have a few antiques that I have picked up at thrift stores. I try to make nearly everything in my store for sale. Props that are not for sale upset the customers. In pictures, the booth look much larger than it is. I am aiming for a lot of selection, but not stuff crammed on every surface.

Every Friday I get allergy shots. They have been helping my allergies tremendously. Since that is halfway to the antique mall, I usually scoot up there and take new items as well as straighten it up. Saturday is the busiest day, and I want it to look sharp. Here are some pictures after my visit yesterday. I finished another antique quilt (the 9-patch on the bottom rung of our quilt ladder). I also added some new signs.

Notice the “QUILTS” sign on the front edge of my booth near the top? I spent a great deal of time painting that this week. It took many coats for the aqua-ish color on the outer ring. It is two-sided so people coming from either direction will notice it.

In the top picture, you can see some of my wood quilt block signs on top of the hutch leaning against a pegboard. There is also one on the second shelf. I moved the largest one over by the quilt ladder in the second picture. The hutch has been perfect for displaying these small items.

In the second picture there are baby quilts on the hooks on the left. I found an Amish baby doll in our attic and added that on the ironing board in the back. Not much else new there. 

The antique 9-patch on the bottom rung is new to the booth. It is made so well in that the maker subbed “color” fabric in such a subtle manner that they aren’t noticable unless you are searching for one. I was so impressed. I think it’s from 1914; I can’t really remember.

{Post 1,701} Booth Happenings

I am loving working on items for my booth at the antique mall. My husband, Wes, and I made 3 display pieces, and I bought four more items very inexpensively.

We built a folding screen with chicken wire in the center. This is great for runners and table mats. Then we made a ladder with 36” wide rungs. It is attached with a wood piece at the top of the ladder. We always have to think of safety. Then I took a junky piece of scrap wood in our garage and sanded, routed, and stained it. We added four hooks, and that’s where I hang the baby/kids’ quilts.

I was fortunate to get an antique hutch at a thrift store where I often get real steals. I paid $30 for it. It is not a first-class piece of furniture, but makes a great display piece. The side doors in the bottom have issues. I don’t know what they are, but I am not using it for storage. I asked Wes to permanently seal them closed, and he did. I painted the back of the hutch “birdsong blue”. It is lovely.

At the same thrift store, I secured a children’s-sized wooden ironing board. I bought a basket for a dollar to add some height and interest. I also got two wooden quilt racks from the same store. I hope to sell them. There is only room for one of them in the booth. It is 8’ wide by 6’10” from front to back.

Here are some pictures from a few days ago. This was after I added a few Valentine items.

My goal is simple. I want to keep the ladder and the hooks full. I have one baby quilt that is a top right now. I hope to finish that tomorrow and take it over this coming week. I want to have a few seasonal items around major holidays, too.

Tonight I cut out and painted a wooden quilt block. It has as many decisions to make as a regular quilt. I could literally make any quilt pattern, any size, any color...it can be paralyzing. This one turned out cute, but it is larger than I would like (about 18” across). I painted it pink, grey, and white because the booths are painted grey inside, and I wanted a touch of pink for Valentine’s Day. My future ones will be smaller. I also want to make some that are glued to a background piece of square wood, then framed. So. Many. Decisions.

I am going to add some picture ledge shelves to the white display piece on the left side of the booth. I bought that from another vendor who closed their booth. I want to make some more wood quilt pictures and wooden signs like the Valentine ones in the hutch. Two of them say “bless your” and have a corrugated metal heart at the bottom.

{Post 1,700} Wow!! #1,700

I am shocked that I have posted to my blog 1,700 times. That seems monumental.

I started renting a bookshelf at an antique/craft mall a couple weeks ago. I just gathered up quilted runners and some small quilts to put in it. Many ornaments were made. I have enjoyed it all. The owners asked me to consider having a booth instead of a bookshelf. I think that is a good decision because the bookshelf is poorly lighted. There is not room to display the runners or quilts very well. It is something I think about pretty much every waking moment. Mostly how to develop the look I want. I bought two wooden floor quilt racks at a thrift store last week. I also have a changing table that I have stored quilts on in my home that I plan to use for baby quilts. With Christmas so near, much of my otherwise spare time will be spent on preparing for that. My youngest daughter, her husband, and son (5 months old—whoo-hoo) will be staying with us for five days and nights (I can hardly wait), so I will have extra cooking and cleaning. All booth-related work will come to a standstill, and I’m fine with that!!

When I haven’t posted for a while, I always look back though my photos to see what I’ve been up to.

Here is a wood slice I hand painted for my selling space:

Next are two 12” square quilts I made from the same pattern, but with different fabrics. These are also at my bookshelf. They were still there today.

This happened before I got the bookshelf space to rent. This is my MIL’s first Christmas tree of her very own. My husband and I helped put it up, and I made her many ornaments.

The sign I made for the top of my shelf. Thinking about signage for the booth...

I love all the “Jesus” things about Christmas. I love the extra visiting with family. I love the cookies (I just had to make that clear). But when I stop to think that Christ left heaven to humbly dwell among men, it takes my breath away. Don’t ignore Him on His birthday. Trust Him as Saviour, and He will be the best Friend you have ever had.

{Post 1,699} Vacation, Part Three

If you missed parts 1 and 2, go back and read those first so you get the whole experience chronologically.

This is our last day at our rented cabin. When my husband gets up, we are going to have breakfast, pack up, and head towards home. We have a couple stops we want to make. We are going on a sky taxi up the mountain in Gatlinburg. Then we are going to drive through Cade’s Cove. We have never done that.

A couple other highlights from last night. I did something that, to my knowledge, I’ve never done. I actually did it twice. Any guesses as to what it was? I’ll post it at the end so you have time to think about it.

We played pool in the cabin last night. I won the first two games, and my husband won the last one. I actually am a poor player, He scratched (sunk the cue ball) on the first two games. So I only won because he lost, but I’ll take it. I think my pitiful game did improve as we played. It’s all math. That’s what I get for marrying a math ed major.

At the ornament store, I was tempted (but did not succumb) to get an ornament depicting my new favorite fruit (I just ate my first one last week). It is a pomegranate. We eat the arils on yogurt. I add a little granola to mine. The color of the seeds (arils) is glorious. I learned how to remove the seeds in less than a minute per pomegranate. Exciting stuff.

Yesterday also included the Ripley’s Aquarium. I enjoy aquariums a lot. Haven’t been to many, but they fascinate me...especially the jellyfish. They look ethereal to me. I did not take a pic. Again. We took a glass-bottom boat ride over the large aquarium. It was daunting to step onto the glasss portion of the boat right as a shark swam under. Played with my mind a little.

So, what was my new adventure? I bought a purse. Actually, two of them. Did you guess? I only started carrying a purse when I started carrying a cell phone (and that’s only because it kept falling out of my pocket). I used a Longaberger-type basket as a purse for years (I just made a liner). Then I sewed my own purses until yesterday. I guess I’m growing up. 

{Post 1,698} Vacation, Part Two

I think I last mentioned going to the Dixie Stampede. It was the Christmas show. I always get teary when the show starts. The audio and the overwhelming impact of the visual just overwhelm me. I have always loved horses. They are so powerful and majestic. Here is a pic from the live nativity scene. The wise men arrived a little earlier than the actual two-year mark.

We came back to the cabin and did something very mundane, but necessary. We cut out the preschool paperwork for a couple hours. There are so. Many. Papers. Crafts, stickers, and take home papers. We watched a couple movies from the kitchen table and snipped away. Well, it had to be done!

Yesterday we did a little shopping (we are looking for a particular ornament that we did not find in spite of looking in 3 Christmas stores). We bought one ornament for ourselves to commemorate our trip and one for my MIL. She is having her first personal Christmas tree at a log cabin she just moved into recently. A nine-foot tree and a smackerel of ornaments. I am going to help her with that. I am making her lots of my paint stick ornaments seen here https://shelbystitcher.blogspot.com/2019/11/post-1696-catching-up-again.html. Black background—no glitter. I also brought paper (and used it all up) to make 9 of these folded German stars.  They are almost 3” across. I made some to sell with extra-fine glitter on them. My MIL is not a glitter person.

Another movie last night during my origami session. Now that I’ve memorized the steps to make them, I’m making a bunch. I got the metallic gold paper at Hobby Lobby. It looks best if the paper is the same on both sides as both sides are seen once the star is made.

Now for my new favorite attraction in Pigeon Forge. I did not take any pictures. I guess I was overwhelmed with the most scrumptious meal I have ever had along with an eye-popping show that had gymnasts, divers, trampoliners (is that even a word), a juggler, seals, and more. It was called the Pirate Voyage. The Christmas version. Included a live nativity (after Mary rode in on a donkey). Just amazing. The meal was phenomenal. Best I’ve ever had out. Started with a biscuit and creamy veggie soup. A lightly breaded fried chicken breast (very KFC-ish in taste—yum), mac and cheese (best I’ve ever had), a ham slice, and then the piece d’resistance...sweet potato casserole. It was finished up with a peach turnover. My lands. As I kept reading in the Paula Deen store, “Put some South in your mouth!” Ha ha.

{Post 1,697} Vacation

This whole trip happened rather spontaneously. My husband and I have been in Pigeon Forge, TN since Thursday afternoon. We rented a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains. It has been lovely. The first evening was just packing out into the cabin and getting our belongings settled there. We went into town to eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant. It. Was. Fabulous. We looked through the gift shop a little after an amazing meal. The meal was served family style. We got 3 meats and 4 veggies. Small portions of each. If you desired more, you just asked your waiter. Then we each got a small dessert. My husband got the Pumpkin Ooey Gooey Cake, and I got the apple cobbler. Both good choices.

My hubby was showing me this sign he liked. I said, “But we don’t have cows!” He implied, “Well, then it will take them a while to get home.”

Of course I brought crafts to work on during the drive here and for those empty moments during the time we were in the cabin. I crocheted this coaster out of one-inch fabric strips then edged it in jute on the way up. I made several colors.

Yesterday we went to the Dixie Stampede. I thought that was my favorite thing to do here, but I have a new favorite that I will get to later. 

{Post 1,696} Catching Up Again

Life is going full-tilt. So much going on that I forget to blog about it. I have to look back at pictures to see what has been happening. I am not one of those that pull out their camera every moment, so even that is sketchy.

There have been several big things going on. I have been doing machine quilting for customer quilts so much more often than usual. Just finished six of them this past couple of weeks. I have one more customer quilt, but I am sure others will come.

Here are a few pictures of some of the ones I just finished.

Another thing that has been a blessing but takes lots of time is some medical treatments I’ve beeen having. Three days a week I go to a chiropractic clinic for adjustments and 3-4 other treatments. Found out that from the top of my neck to my toes, I have issues in every part of my spine, hips, and knees. That is slowly improving. I feel better than I have in years. I love the office, and especially my doctor. Trust him completely.

I am about to undertake something new for me. I am renting some space in an antique mall/craft emporium about 20 minutes from my house. I will go there a couple days a week to replenish my supply, change the display, and straighten it up. I should say I will be going. They expected me to be able to start that last week, but there has been a little delay. So it could be any day now. I’ve been feverishly making things for it, working on display ideas, etc. I have enough in my house to fill the space without making much. One thing I’m clearing out of my house is the left-overs handmade ornaments I’ve done through the years. I make my children and grandchildren an ornament every year, but for some reason I have a couple extras every year. Here are some of the ones I’ve made to sell.