And then there was the shopping...

Remember I said I tell you about my purchases at Maine Quilts this weekend? Stay tuned.

First, I must apologize for my last post. Did I sound crabby? I didn't mean to. And it's not that I don't think criticism has it's place, but I would just hate to think anyone would be hurt by my less than enthusiastic comments about our show. I must say the show is outstanding. Perfectly organized. Beautifully decorated. Wonderfully welcoming. Creatively developing new ideas and formats. Simply straight forward in it's purpose. I had a great day!

Overall, I'll just say I was more inspired by the vendors than by the quilts.

Speaking of vendors...

I bought three pieces of Kaffe Fasset from Alewives Fabric, Gifts and Gallery. Apparently, they are right here in Nobleboro, Maine. But I haven't explored up that way. Maybe now I will. The mother/daughter team were so helpful. We gushed about the wonderful fruit and vegetable prints and what I might do with them. (??? no idea ???) I will say this is about as close as I prefer to get to vegetables.



I also bought two bag patterns from them. I debated which to choose and told myself that I didn't really need a pattern, I could wing it, but in the end I decided to buy both. Bags are so hot right now.

And then I went back to Elin Noble's booth. I was stunned the first time I walked through. I mean lots of folks are selling hand dyed stuff, but not like this. Holy Moly. Get out your credit card. We'd had a lovely conversation about how dying might not be the best project to take up while 6 and 3 year olds are running underfoot. And then when I went back we discussed bobbin drawing and the whole "lefty loosey, righty tighty" details of the bobbin cage. And I bought a piece of her clamp dyed fabric. It's on the left in the above picture. Stunning. I adore it! I don't think I can cut it up. I may make fancy beaded clutch. (For all those formal events I attend.) Or maybe a really wonderful cover for a large size sketch book. For now it's pinned on the wall in my studio.

The best thing about Elin's fabric is that when I showed it to my friend, Caragh, she said it totally looked like me! And Jeff liked it too. Clearly a good purchase.

Please notice that I also threw in my new Liz Berg postcard when I snapped this picture. Of course, this is the one I received with my donation to the American Cancer Society via Virginia Speigle's fundraiser. I love it. It has way more texture and dimension than it had on the monitor and I'm thrilled to hang it in my studio. (Mine is signed, dated and numbered on the back. DebR mentioned the one she received from Liz was unsigned.)

Ok, here's the funny kicker about my purchases. While I was chatting with the vendors and pulling out my credit card, I was horrified and embarrassed by my old, frayed, worn, flowery, red wallet. It is so no longer me! I went out the next day and bought a new wallet. Both are pictured below. I'm sure you'll agreed it is an improvement. Because, you know, orange is the new yellow.