Valerean

I've been noticing a lot of crazy quilts being offered lately over at the online thrift auction. This is probably because 1) it's summer and a lot of quilts are usually donated during warmer times of year, 2) people have no idea what vintage quilts are worth, and 3) crazy quilts cannot be laundered easily. But are they worth acquiring, even for cheap? The high bid on this 86" X60" beauty current stands at $55.00, and I expect it will go for twice or even three times that in the end. It's hard to say from the condition in the photos if it's worth even that. Some of the patchwork is shattered, and the center motif embroidery looks incongruous with the rest of the stitching on the quilt. I'd pass. Bidding on this velvety stunner sits at just $21.00 for the high bid currently. It's the right colors, the stitching is quite nice, and we have a patch embroidered with 1915 on it to assure us it's vintage. Here's the thing about vintage q...

My guy and I took a day trip to the Barberville Pioneer Settlement , which is the best open air museums about early Florida that I've ever visited. To go along the tour with us, check out my album of pics here .

I found the perfect case for my super rare green and rose gold metal dice! I know, not exciting to you, but I'm delighted. :) It fits my dice and will protect them, and the dragon on the case is perfection for other reasons, lol. I also got one more pack of mystery dice. The dice are white, rose and gold, and came with three stickers and a dungeon master pin. Some trivia you don't know about me: Way back when I was in the military I was a D&D dungeon master. I have been casually playing an online D&D game to learn how it's done virtually, but that's just for fun. I'm too busy to join a live group, but I really love reminiscing about the D&D days of my youth.

The thrifted fabrics I chose for my August tote were all in new condition: clean, odorless, as if they'd come straight from a fabric store. So why did I wash them first? Two words: dye shedding. Dye shedding is always a hazard with unwashed fabrics. Most quilters would also agree that red is the worst. I handwashed each fabric individually in cold water and a little detergent. The red linen shed plenty of dye. So did the chili novelty print. When a fabric is multiple colors along with the red like this one, it's best to add a color grabber sheet to the wash to soak up the dye, or areas like the white background of this print and lighter colors in the print will turn pinkish. The bug print shed red, blue and yellow dyes, turning the wash water a greenish orange. You should always wash any fabric you thrift if possible before you use it; that will remove any dirt or debris you don't notice along with storage or age odor. If the fabrics do stin...

Since I've turned making my August tote for my calendar project into a challenge I have a lot more enthusiasm for it now. I went through the bundle of thrifted fabric, which is all I'm allowing myself to use for the tote, and pulled these three prints as possibilities for the inner and outer fabrics. I do love this coffee print, but it doesn't quite work with the other two, so I eliminated it right away. That left me with one yard each of the chili pepper print and the juvenile bug print. The chili pepper print worked better as the outer fabric when I paired it with the solid red linen from the bundle that I'm going to use as a band at the tote's top. So I have my fabrics for the tote. Stop by tomorrow and I'll show you why they got a bath first.

The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong is a debut mystery novel I spotted on a bargain books table at B. Dalton in Oviedo last month. Since I'm not a fan of first books I tend to pass these by and wait for the author to get some experience before I try them. First books are usually over-written or chock full of too many ideas, rest somewhere around the borderline of professional writing, and are often so terribly earnest that they're painful for me to read. Please understand, I am not a conceited snob -- my own first published novel was just as bad, and to this day I can't reread my own debut. Yet I love a good curse story, so on impulse I decided to give it a try (the discounted price definitely factored in, too.) I had no reason to regret the purchase, turns out, as the book is very well-written for a debut novel. The deft text, interesting protagonist and somewhat brooding/paganish/haunted storyline were excellent, and I remained completely absorbed to...