Monday, February 14, 2011

Super Saturday

As if Thursday and Friday weren't filled with enough excitement!
I was out the door again with my pal Anne to Rising Meadow Farm for 
their annual Shearing Day.

 Rising Meadow is a beautiful sheep farm nestled in the middle of North Carolina.
Some of these sheep have already been sheared. The rest are waiting their turn.

 Not a great pic - sorry.
This guy is a Master at shearing. He uses clippers and his left hand even though he is right handed.
We were amazed at his speed!

 
 This is Emily. She has been hand clipper shearing for 2 years and is as fast as her mentor!


This is the fleece once clipped. Natural wool is so very luxurious! The natural lanolins remain and coat one's hands as you card, spin and use the yarn.

 This is a llama 
(or an Alpaca - I can't tell the difference.)
They serve as guards for the sheep. I've been told the coyotes are more scared of them than of the dogs. 

5 years ago when on a Field Trip to this farm we got to meet the animals up close and the llamas were very kissy face with us.
No, they do not spit in your eyes and blind you!
Unless you attack one.

 Anne and I were windblown and a bit chilly so we left the farm and headed for lunch and thrift shopping!

We ventured into Asheboro, NC where there are a couple of amazing antique/junque shops in their Downtown. But we opted for the Salvation Army store, Goodwill and Christians United Outreach Center.

Here are the books I found.

Here are the crafty kits I bought.

And my Fave find of the day -

For those surprises I mentioned yesterday.
Jordan received a turn table for Christmas and has been amassing quite an impressive collection of vinyl. I found this gem in Raleigh and can't wait to see his face when he sees it. He LOVES "Safety Dance."
The Wake Forest mugs are for Kat and me.

And for my sweet BillHubby who loves to photograph interesting buildings and southern history in decay - a bank.  This is from the late 60's and small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand.



Sunday, February 13, 2011

What a Great Weekend!

Thursday night my daughter, Katharine, and I met the fabulous Drucilla Pettibone, of petit bones and Hotel Hadley Studios, for dinner at local restaurant, Virlie's. Then Dru and I checked out the Pittsboro Needlecrafter's Group. There we were treated to a lesson on quilt history and met Kathy Nichols who we hope can teach us proper quilting. 
 
Friday, I was off to Raleigh to thrift Shop with the very talented jewelry designer and graphic artist, Amanda Irvin, of Sprockets and Lockets. We called a few antique/junque/thrifty shops and found 1 on my list was still in business so 
 Picked up some cute little .25 (homemade Elvis pin) to $1 items (Rita and a lipstick holder with mirror) and THIS!!!!
 $6
Framed
Beautifully stitched.

(I also found a surprises for BillHubby and JordanSon.)

Picked up Bill from work, dropped Amanda at her work 
and to Goodwill where I snagged a Talbot's shirt and an Urban Wool sweater.

The NC FairGrounds Flea Market folks were setting up for the weekly sales so we stopped there to browse. 
I fell in love.
I had to have him.

May I introduce you to Ethel's new beau, Herman.
He's a bit shorter than Ethel but is excited to be the manly model for my guy aprons.
Now Ethel has a friend to hang out with at Craft Fairs.
Herman will be mod podged soon with vintage ads.

As if that wasn't enough, Bill and I went to Borders where all the calendars are just $1. Had to have the vintage Wake Forest football program covers. Bill got the UNC version. 
We both got "old school" date books - no fancy cell phone calendars for us old fogeys. 
AND can you believe that just a couple of days before Valentine's Day that LOVE stamp kit was $1.

Dinner at Gypsy's Shiny Diner in Cary and then home.
Stuffed and happy.

I'll show and tell Bill and Jordan's surprises and my Saturday escapades tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Aubree's Quilt