A Peek Behind the Curtain

Hello to all QuiltBee fans! Marie has graciously invited me to do a post on some of the items in my craft room at the cottage. There's not a lot of quilting but it is a peek at different things that inspire me. I'm happy that the photos focus on the items and not on the entire room, because that might scare you off.

I have various items displayed on the shelves in my room. Sometimes they are by theme, but more often they are just a jumble of things that end up together - like this wedding cake topper and Virgin Mary statue. I think the bride is getting some advice form Mary while that sad-eyed Scottie dog with the chipped ear looks on.










Those Bailey’s cups are just too cute to resist. I have plans for them, just like I have plans for every item in the room. I love old game pieces, wooden pegs and checkers, dice of all sizes, and wooden dominoes. They just don’t make them like that anymore. Now everything is made of plastic. I’m on a circus kick lately, and I love to use the game pieces in mixed-media assemblages.

More game pieces, Monopoly houses and such in the jar. Two vintage tin toys and a little Scottie dog with a thermometer that still works. The clown noisemaker has been at the cottage since I was a child. These things remind me of Mary Engelbreit - she always has the cutest things.

Wow, there’s a lot going on in this one! Where do I start? I’ve got a few Virgin Mary statues laying around because I have wanted to make a shrine for some time now. I just found a little metal Eiffel Tower on the street the other day, so it will go well with the Arc de Triomphe. Those pencils in the cup all have my name on them - I got them as a gift when I was 17 (you do the math!). I made those teeny fabric strawberries in the little blue cup from scraps my sister was throwing away from a quilt she was making. They look good enough to eat.

I love little wooden shoes and have plans to make them into pin cushions. That old metal shoe was once a pin cushion too, I’m sure of it. I can’t resist wooden spools and clothespins. They come in handy for winding bits of ribbon and lace around. Those beads in the background are from vintage glass Christmas garlands. I was thrilled to bits when I found those in a rummage sale. Now that I have quite a few, I use them on all sorts of Christmas projects.

I have lots of buttons. These coloured ones are vintage from the 50s that I bought from my friend who is a button collector and seller.

I often buy spools of thread just to get the wooden spools, but if the thread is still good I will use it. I find the old colours so beautiful and muted. This wee basket filled with threads was part of my Easter display.

The porcelain doll heads and doll parts were bought at a flea market in Brimfield, MA by the same friend who is the button collector. I couldn’t find any here in Canada so she picked them up for me. Someday I hope to go to that flea market with her.

Well, like I said, not a lot of quilting inspiration but it is a good snapshot of the different elements that influence all of my crafting, including quilting....J