Falling for it

It feels like fall around here. Mom and I (Hannah) take a deep sigh of relief when this change of seasons happens. It's safe to say that fall is Mom's favorite season and one where she becomes even more creatively inspired than she normally is (how is that even possible, really?). Some of my fondest memories of childhood take place in the fall, and now that I'm an adult it's no wonder why. When the nights arrived earlier and chilled the air, and the leaves began to drift from their branches, I distinctly remember spending evenings in the garden harvesting the summer's veggies, and the building excitement for one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. Halloween was a big deal when I was a kid. Mom would enlist us to help her wood burn/decoupage/sew/construct/paint decorations and costumes that were almost always based on vintage ideas or patterns. Cheesecloth ghosts crept their way onto the front porch, hay bales appeared with our homegrown pumpkins atop them, and one of our creepier handmade family members, Wanda the witch, stood amidst it all, broomstick and cauldron in hand.   How lucky were we? 

Now her love of the fall and Halloween is translated through the shop. Today she worked on the window display and brought in some of my favorite decorations. She duplicated these cardboard honeys with originals from the 1930's that she borrowed from a friend. 

Mom painted this adorable canvas scene after being inspired by a children's story. I asked her "Why is the witch in a basket?" and she replied in an almost wounded tone "Because she needs it to fly up and clean the cobwebs". Oh, naturally. 

This is Penelope. Isn't she creepy and gross and awesome? Mom constructed her with pantyhose, stuffing, a chicken wire frame, and a 100% wool yarn (as her lovely hair). Stop by and say hello to her and her potions book in front of the shop. 

Paper mache candy bowl that Mom also made. Their expressions make me giggle every time I look at it.

Private Collection and Pre-Holiday Sale

We've been airing out the closets and opening those bottom drawers over here at The Little Thimble That Could!  You may remember that the purging process started a while back, HERE.  Well, we're about to have the culminating event folks.

And, the organizing has bled into our own personal textile collections and we've all decided to let go of a few things.  So, not only will there be major sale prices on things from the shop and the back room, there will be vintage quilts, vintage quilt tops, gorgeous curtain panels, linens galore, vintage bed spreads, flour sacks and much, much more price to sell and only available October 1st - 6th.  Then, it's back to the closets with them (if you haven't all snatched them up!)

In this pile and pile behind are fabulous bedspreads, 1930s quilt tops, a crazy quilted pig.

Hand painted curtain panels from the 1940's from Emma's collection

Lace bedspread, classic early 20th century peach bedding, and darling simple picnic quilts

SO MANY EMBROIDERY TRANSFERS!!

Martha Stewart Living anyone?

GORGEOUS Work Baskets from the 1930s - 1960s.  SO MUCH INSPIRATION!

Pamphlets, pamphlets and more pamphlets!  Dating from the 1930s - 1980s.  Covering everything from tatting, crochet, doilies, hot pads, afghans, sweaters - the list goes on and on!

Flour Sacks!

This picture does not do this basket justice!  Those bags have ADORABLE quilt pieces dating from the 1930s (Dresden Plates People!) to the 1960s.

A few stragglers.  Untreated raffia just in time for the holidays!

This is just day one of setting up so I'm excited to see what day two brings about!

So Much Fun!

Marie and I met up again a few weeks ago and spent ANOTHER whole day photographing our inventory and, this time, some shots of the shop (we'll show you those in another post)!  Above is just a sampling of what we did - you'll see more and more show up on the website as I get 'em uploaded.  I showed up the day of this shoot thinking we were just going to be doing vessels, sculptures and the shop but as we looked around we realized that we had missed a TON of scarves last time, so once again, I ended up in front of the camera.  No makeup.  No hair do.  Thank goodness for photoshop! I asked Marie if she could just photoshop me every morning.... she smirked at me.  My unpreparedness aside, I really do enjoy working with Marie.  She makes me feel at ease and encourages me to be myself but also gives great directions on body positioning to produce the best image for what we are trying to convey.  Lots of talents that girl has.....and she always makes me laugh!  

I really can't thank Marie enough for taking such beautiful photos!  My family's things that they make are so beautiful it's SO NICE to have beautiful photographs of it all!  The next shoot is going to be Mom's, Hannah's and my handmade wardrobe - excited!  :-)

Woven

Hello everyone! It's Hannah writing to you today. Mom's been a busy little bee (as usual!), and has been creating new felted pieces for classes. She's been particularly enjoying woven wet felt techniques.

We call this one the "Prairie Wrap". I love the plaid look, it's so cozy!

In the process of making it.

These are woven table mats. I think they'd be perfect for Christmas time. 

Mom also whipped up this adorable vessel. Lisa thinks it looks like a sea anemone, I just love the purple, magenta and green color combo. 

As always, visit our classes page for upcoming class dates and details! We will have classes on the vessel, table mat and Prairie Wrap coming up!

Frilly Things

Hello, everyone! It's Hannah writing to you today. We're making a conscience effort to gear up for the holiday season this year and that involves making gifts ASAP. Emma and I went a little wild with our "Farmington" line of fabrics last week and whipped out a bunch of our favorite aprons. 

Ruffles and pink! So girly!

Hannah made this apron with two of our chevron stripe fabrics and "Type" by Julia Rothman. It's pretty hip. 

These fun little items are on display and for sale in the shop now. They're 100% cotton, machine washable, and fit a variety of sizes. As always, we encourage our readers, fans and customers to think local when it comes to their holiday shopping!

A Photoshoot and the New Website!

Hello!  Emma here today.  A while back we had the pleasure of working with my dear friend Marie, of Permanent Glimpse Photography, and our beautiful models, Dylann and Kimberlee.  The day with the Marie was the first of many scheduled days to try and document all of the work of the mass producing artists I find myself surrounded by (I say with a grin).  Below are just a few samplings of the day.  If you want to see the ENTIRE shoot you will have to check out the NEW WEBSITE (WWWWWWOOOOOHHHHHHHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!) that has been a long time coming!  Here's the link to see those photo galleries:  LINK.