By the Ocean, and Snafu at the Fair

This bird greeted us as we set up camp.

A week away from all work, that includes Job #1 and Job #2. It has been many years since we have been able to vacation on the coast. We will be trailer camping so we can cook all of our own meals, even take a shower. 

I brought some sunflowers from home. I promise I won't turn this into a travelog. I will share the most impressive boat of the U.S. Coast Guard. 

Reporting on my thrift shop finds, after visiting four around the marina area. The first find was a $1.50 bag full of remnant fabric. I ended up throwing away 90% of this purchase. 

The keepers from that bag were worth at least $1.50. I can turn those bright remnants into crazy quilt cornerstones. Who knows what fabric will iron out in those batch of sewn squares?

The biggest score was a $20 large zippered plastic bag of crocheted squares. Found at Grannie's Attic, a thrift shop adjacent to a senior center in Fort Bragg, California. I love the handiwork of this mystery crocheter, I may keep some of the squares and learn how to connect them together. 

Even though I am on vacation, I am still sourcing. That is the most enjoyable part of being a reseller. In addition to the found squares, there were sewing patterns, some fabric, and 10 CDs for 25 cents a piece. Two of them turned out to be 25 dolla+ CDs. I chose CDs that have odd artwork, or parental advisories. Part of our driving trip back home means we lose radio reception for quite awhile, that is when the new CDs come into play. 

All sorts of oddness happened with the crafts competition at the California State Fair. First, I got an email that my art quilt was accepted for in-person judging. Then, I got another email of the accepted participants, and my name wasn't on the list. I chalk it up as a failed attempt. Not every idea is a good one. Where I had envisioned my quilt hanging in the exhibition hall at the fair, it will eventually be displayed in my barn-to-be.