Vintage Finds

When I posted about the hot weather we were having and that I was going into Santa Cruz where it was cool I ended up spending the day perusing the antique shops.  It was 101 degrees when I left my house and drove down the hill about 16 miles to Santa Cruz where it was 73 degrees.  That much difference being close to the ocean where the fog and sea breezes keep the climate temperate.

I visited shops in the town of Soquel - Center Street, Traders Emporium, the best little shop next to Traders I forget the name of (duh, I've been in there a lot and met one of the dealers named Marsha who I took to immediately.  She is a wealth of information and talented too!).  I next visited Soquel Village Antiques and saw a woman behind the counter going through a box of vintage ribbons.  She was measuring the yardage and pricing them.  It was a big box of millinery supplies from the 1940's.  She had just begun rifling through the items and only had a few priced and displayed.  I immediately purchased some ribbon rolls and then she brought out small boxes of shiny, beautiful embroidery floss.  I was anxious to see more but she needed to go through it all in a timely manner so I said I would return in a few days.  Here's what I purchased that day.  These will be perfect to use in my upcycled clothing and accessories.

When I returned a few days later there were a few more items displayed and I was able to meet with her again and look at a few more items.  I had to have a sweet ribbon of vintage flowers and some lovely metallic laced trims.

I may have overindulged but it's not often I find vintage items of this quality for reasonable prices.  

Natural Dye Prints

The subtle shades of nature show in these dye printed fabrics and ribbons.  Leaves, flowers, onion skins, iron, and copper were used to imprint color and shapes on the silk fabrics.  I've put together some packets of fabrics and ribbons created with this technique and have listed some in my lasfibers Etsy shop.  I hope you have a chance to take a look and leave a comment of your thoughts.

100 Degrees in the Shade

100 degrees, really?  That's what my thermometer says and it's in the shade on our front porch.  The few occasional days we get these triple digits doesn't warranted investing in AC but I'm melting and tempted to purchase at least a window unit.  Yes, I'm going to wimp out and drive to Santa Cruz where it will be at least 20 degrees cooler.

Here are some more pics Joanne (guilt tripped) sent me of my AU trip taken on vendor day.  Shots of my booth, wares, and friends!

Hannah Hayes who visits my booth every year.  Wish she lived closer to model for me on photo shoots!

Home from Arizona

I was on a wonderful little journey but it's great to be home.  Art Unraveled was fantastic as usual.  I had wonderful classes (even though one was unusually small) and vendor day was a whirlwind.  I am so grateful to everyone who wants to take classes from me and purchases from me.  It's an affirmation that what I do is liked and shared by others.

I want to thank everyone from the Blog Hop Party who has stopped by and left comments.  I have been  too busy to respond and probably won't find time to go back and reply to all.  So please know I am so happy to have had you visit!

I did not take one single picture while I was gone.  I did not feel like a photographer I guess.  The pics you see here are ones I pirated from FaceBook.  I had my friend Joanne take some for me but I know she is very busy right now and I'll get them sometime later to post.

Event night artist challenge

Joanne's dyed fabric

Joanna, Me, Deryn on vendor day.

I was in Phoenix for a week, in Sedona visiting my dear friend Jan and her husband Dave for a couple of days, then the long drive back home.  It was hot, really hot.  Thank goodness for AC!  But then I got home and it was hot here too and we don't have AC.

I'm off to the studio to unpack (ugh) so I can work on some new pieces and workshop samples that I'm very excited about.

Hope your summer is full of wonderful times.