We took a break and headed over to the Sam and Harry's restaurant in the nearby hotel. It was a lovely day. Not too hot (which is really weird to type given that it's still March!).
My buddies.
The restaurant ceiling. Metallic branch shapes are suspended midair. Pretty cool effect.
Waiting for the food to arrive. We took notes on where we'd been and where we wanted to head after lunch. It was good to get totally away and into a quiet atmosphere.
Back in the land of shopping, we toured the quilt exhibit (no photography) and the Hoffmann Challenge Dolls (some were amazing). I got this bargain quilt fabric pack to make table runners to sell at the Homewood Embroiderer's Guild show next October. It should make six runners.
Earlier in the day we'd seen a demo of fabric marbling and dyeing using inks on shaving cream at TSC Designs. This has long fascinated me and the inks in the kit were Tsukineko and I've been wanting to get them after trying them a couple of years ago. So I splurged. I got the set, including a book, ink, tools and fun stuff plus the two stencils below.
This was the hardest thing I did all day--choose two from the multitude of stencils the booth had on display. I aimed for versatility--designs where I could pull out elements and parts for smaller projects.
Many thanks to my sister for her help. (I may still have been there otherwise!)
I'm planinng a play date for us on my sister's deck this summer.
My last extravagance of the day (sadly, my buddies didn't want to play, too), was to take a drop-in workshop with Diane Erickson to make this "Steam Punk Wrist Wrap." I've been following her career and Revisions pattern line since, oh, way back when. I love her design sense. And I'm kicking myself I didn't get a picture of her with her bird on a twig brooch.
This was a bit out of the box, even for me. Random, unfinished edges, a bit chaotic. I think my pink yarn, added last night, helps pull it together. I may add more stitching. Maybe some beads. Diane is right, though. It looks better worn than when shown flat. And it's surprisingly soft comfortable.
So, that was the spring fling! I'm feeling rather flung!
