And the weekend went...where????

In the midst of taking down the drapes and painting the living room, I washed the curtains which, I know for a fact, haven't been removed the entire time we've been here (Yeah, that decade slipped by REALLY quick!)

So, after washing the drapes, I tried to iron the pleats back in. Since I paid all of a buck-o-five for my ironing board, my iron is an inherited P.O.S, and I have all of the ironing capabilities of an epileptic octopus, I developed a new way to iron drapes. When my daugter asked if people could iron their hair that way, I started to laugh. Yes, I informed her, they could. Just ask your aunt about that...I was a little too young to be in on the hair ironing fad.















So, after prepping the living room with new paint and clean curtains, today was the day of dragging everything out.

My living room:















My sewing area:















So, in the midst of chaos, I took my daughter down to MCAD for her last day of class yesterday. I sort of kidnapped my friend along the way and we dropped the child off and went to the Textile Center's annual garage sale.



There were



way too




many people









But we did find some things, I got a few quilting books and fabric and my friend got some UFO knitting objects, mainly for the yarn that was there. She also witnessed an older gal swapping out yarn from a bag marked $10 and putting it into a bag marked $2. She got away with it as well. Too bad I wasn't there with my camera because I would have made a little movie of it for personal amusement. I think I would have titled it "Now, which generation is going to hell???"

I employed the swoop and grab method of shopping for fabric. There were the people that stood at the tables and dug through every last piece and I don't think a bomb would have moved them (so I took the fuse out of the explosive I was carrying and packed it in my wallet for garage sales later this year). I just sort of surfed the periphery and waited to see something I liked and then made sure I wasn't ripping it out of people's hands when I grabbed it. I sincerely hate the mob mentality that some people employ and even when I have twenty-seven strangers all rubbing up against me at once in public, I really try to be civil. There was one instance when a cute young guy was handling some funny cow fabric and saying "I love it but what could I do with it???" and I waited like a black widow for that kid to unhand it. He put it down and still had one hand on it, rather wistfully thinking if the $2 price tag for 2 yards was too much and I put my hand on top of his and gave him my most winsome smile. "I'm just waiting for the final decision.." I told him. He grinned and handed it to me. I like to think that I am always there to provide intervention for the hesitant shopper.


After going to the garage sale, we hit Crafty Planet where I found this















And then, we were off to Depth of Field.















My friend reveled in the high fiber goodness














And I love the lofty design of the store. I think it's one of my favorite spaces for a yarn store in the cities.















I always have to chuckle that my friend is definately out of her comfort zone when we go to Depth of Field. It's in a neighborhood that has mostly immigrants from Somolia and frankly, I love being around people speaking other languages, seeing native dress, and peering into shop windows with new and different merchandise. I spent time up in Toronto between graduating high school and entering college and it's the thing that I loved the most about the city. For every block you walked, you'd hear at least three different languages being spoken.


We then picked up the child and headed over to Hell's Kitchen for lunch. Across the street was a rather large piece of, er, sheet music?














We nearly resorted to cannibalism while waiting for our food, but frankly, I think severed limbs would just add to the decor. They are coming to Duluth in June and I am totally pumped! It sounds so stupid to swoon over something as mundane as porridge, but try the Mahnomin porridge when they get here and you just might have a revelation...I don't know, it was either God or the lighting was just screwing with my eyes...but it was very yummy. I also had the Huevos Rancharos and that was also De-Lish.
















And then, we headed home. But wait!!! There's a quilt shop in Rush City!
















Not everyone joined in on the fun...

And I learned that my friend likes to throttle teddy bears. (I do believe she's a little unbalanced. Don't tell her!)

















Tomorrow? New carpet and a new job. Sigh...