The Antique Show

   By far my favorite shopping falls into the category of "antiquing". This has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. Although in all honesty, when I was young, I would hold my breath hoping that my parents wouldn't see the giant "Antiques" sign by the side of the road. Since, that never happened, I grew up wandering through shops full of very old things and usually managed to find something that interested me.

   It wasn't until my husband and I set up our own home that I really went all out for antiques. Over the years we (mainly I) have managed to plan trips around places with good antiquing or museums with great collections of early Americana.

Over the weekend, we attended one of my favorite antique shows of the year. It comes at just the right time as the holidays are over and winter has set in. By this time I need to get out and look an amazing collection of dealers and their wonderful antiques.

   Somehow I usually manage to find something that speaks to me although I can't always pay the price tag on that fabulous Penna-German decorated dower chest. What I did bring home however was a wonderful leather-bound hymnal of the diminutive size printed in 1839.

     I also, managed to bring home some great textiles. With these pieces, I will find lots of inspiration for future projects.

The best thing though about this show is the reunions. It seems around every corner of the show is another a friend. It was wonderful catching up, exchanging stories of the past year, and seeing what purchases had been made. Here we speak the same language: original surface, early construction, paint decoration, and so on.

So, in this new year, happy antiquing and maybe I'll see you browsing the isles of old things somewhere!

What's In A Name?

A small fraction of the old books in our house.

  That is a great question and coming up with clever & smart names for things is just not my strength. If you have ever bought any of my work you may have noted the titles of the pieces. Such gems as "Cat with a Tulip", "House with Trees", or the ever-catchy "Flower in a Pot" are some of my better titles.

It's just a fact that I have had to come to terms with. When it comes to naming things I seem to have a block. We have three daughters and when we got to the last one you'd have thought we used every name in the book.

  So, how do you describe your work in the title of a book? Where do you even begin?

   I guess you begin with the obvious such as "Applied Wool: The Application of Wool to Wool", or "In Stitches: Laughing Your Way Through Wool Applique", also "Stitch It Don't Pitch It: My Life with Re-purposed Wool". Obviously, these didn't make the grade.

Great leather tomes.

     My next thought was to draw on my regard for certain classical literature. These titles I found particularly inspiring: "A Stitcher in the Dye", "Wool-thering Heights", "To Stitch a Wooly Bird", "A Tale of Two Threads",

"Great Wool-specations", or my favorite 

"The Call of the Wool".

   

     Alas, these too hit the "cutting room floor" with a thud. So, I deferred to those who do it best (mainly my editors) and we came up with "Wool Applique Folk Art" and they added what I think says it best, "Traditional Projects Inspired by 19th~Century American Life".

There is something about stacks of well-used books.

            So in the end, maybe my obvious titles are not so bad. It certainly leaves nothing to guess.

Coming June 15,2015.
Can be pre-ordered at ctpub.com.