Honest, Honey…

It’s all Diane’s fault!  (Insert the biggest *wink* here that you ever did see!)

Allow me to explain.

Diane is a new friend who I met at our Tuesday hook-in and as it turns out, she and I share a lot of the same interests.  To make a long story short, guess what we did yesterday?

We went S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G and A-N-T-I-Q-U-I-N-G…two of my most favorite pastimes!

Diane picked me up at 9 a.m. and we set out up the Valley to the New Minas/Wolfville area of Nova Scotia.  After fortifying ourselves with a delicious latté from ‘Just Us’ in Wolfville, we headed for our next stop a short distance up the road…and here’s where the trouble fun started.

It didn’t look like your typical quilt shop from the outside but let me tell you, N-E-V-E-R judge a book by it’s cover…or a shop from it’s exterior!  Trust me, this shop is every quilter’s dream!

Thousands of bolts of quilt shop quality and brand name fabric greet you as you walk through the door, as well as every other thing a quilter might want or need…and all under one roof.  A one-stop shopping paradise!

Aisles and aisles of fabric to tempt every style and taste…

And a notions wall that runs the full length of the store.

Now here’s the kicker…the average price per meter…remember, this is Canada and ‘yardage’ is sold by the meter (1 meter = 39”) is $5.99.  Can you believe it?  I certainly couldn’t!  Both Diane and I love Civil War fabric and we both found lots of brand names in the $3 per meter bin…yes, $3 per meter…and that’s not a typo!

Here’s Diane checking out…

And here’s what I stole bought.

At $3 per meter, who could stop there?  Certainly not me!

Honest, Honey…it’s all Diane’s fault!  *wink*

And although my old one still works, I doubt that it’ll survive one more tumble from my ironing board so I purchased a back up for my mini Rowenta iron…just in case.  And the price?  Cheaper than what I paid for my other one that I bought in the US at Joann’s...and when they were on sale too!

Honest, Honey…Diane talked me into it!  *wink*

Diane has one of these little lights that she uses when she sews with her Featherweight, so of course, I just had to have one too for when I sew with mine.

And of course I had to buy an additional bracket to attach to my Bernina…just in case I ever need to transfer it there.

And last but not least, some quilt basting spray because I was getting low.  I’ve used this brand before and it works just as well as the 505 brand…and at half the price!  Works for me.

Honest,Honey…Diane made me buy it.  *wink*

Needless to say, I was elated with my purchases. 

When I was checking out, I asked the gal how they could sell their fabric as cheaply as they do.  Her answer was that because they own the building and live right next door, their overhead is very low.  Also, because they have been in business for 25 years, the wholesalers call them whenever they want to ‘unload’ their surplus stock and because they buy 200+ blots at a time, they can pass on the savings to their customers.  The fabric that is offered at these prices is last year’s…but who cares?  Certainly not me…and obviously the customers who have enjoyed these savings for the past 25 years don’t either!

After lunch, we headed out for ‘Antiques at Home’.  Unfortunately, they don’t have a website but they are located at 9728 Highway #1 in Greenwich, NS, telephone 902-542-1273.  If you like primitive Canadiana antiques and you’re in the area, it’s worth checking out.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

The story I’m about to tell you is not only unbelievable, it’s bizarre at the same time.

Diane…who just in case you forgot is at fault for all of this…is an avid antiques and antique quilt collector and has been to this shop several times. (BTW, her house is to absolutely die for!)  She spotted a quilt hanging on the wall that she was interested in buying the last time she was there but for whatever reason, did not purchase it at the time.  She pointed it out to me and asked what I thought of it. 

I loved it!  The hand appliqué and hand quilting was stunning.  She looked for a price tag but couldn’t find one and neither could the shop owner.  However, when they were looking for the price tag, they came across this label…

Vankleek Hill is over 1000+ miles away and is where Mr. Painted Quilt and I lived before we moved to Nova Scotia in December!  (Insert weird music here). 

This seemed to be beyond coincidental and when I think about it now, the more I know that this quilt was meant to come home with me.

The quilt was in the shop on consignment so the shop owner called the owner of the quilt while we were there to ask the price.  It was less than what we would have agreed to pay so needless to say, that sealed the deal.

And yes, Honey…Diane did insist that this quilt come home with me and that if I wasn’t going to buy it then she would.  (No *wink* needed here).

Here’s a close up of the center medallion.  The quilting is perfection and apart from a few stains, it is in mint condition.

It’s unfortunate that Mrs. Anderson did not add a date to her label but let this be a reminder to all of us how important it is to sign and date our quilts. 

And my final purchase of the day was this framed motto sampler, something that I’ve always wanted...and the price for it was right too!

Now I just have to find the perfect place to hang it.

And yes, Honey, it was indeed Diane’s fault that we had a wonderful day filled with fun, laughter and GREAT purchases too!  (No *wink* needed here either).

I can’t wait until we do it again!

   

I need your advice.  I would like to wash this quilt but I’m a little apprehensive about doing so for fear that the red fabric might either bleed or transfer.  It would appear to me that this quilt has never been washed but I have no way of telling whether Mrs. Anderson pre-washed her fabric before constructing her quilt.

What do you suggest?  I welcome your comments.