Back from my roadtrip with the Gals!

We returned late Sunday from Ohio where Rhonda, Cat and I attended the From Their Hands show near Dayton. We had a great time, met some new artsy gals and did one whole hell of a lot of shopping! We hit Ohio’s largest antique mall in Springfield on the way home and I scored a very vintagey antique dress form! I’m so thrilled. She’s a beauty with her wire form ‘skirt’ and her pressed cardboard bodice. I immediately plunked down a sizeable amount of $$ to get her, because you just don’t see these items very often in antique shops. I also found two very perfect baby slips which I plan on using for a few new folk angels I want to create sometime in the near future.

We had a fun weekend and got along perfectly. Things went on without a hitch! We skipped the show on Friday night since we were tired from travelling. We just wanted to get some warm food in our stomachs and go back to the hotel and stretch out on one of the deliciously comfortable beds complete with piles of comfy pillows and white, plush down comforters.

On Saturday we got to the show early, just after it opened. Shortly after arriving I was browsing in a booth and a woman came up behind me and I heard a voice say, “Are you Emily?” I said, “yes, but how do you know me?” The stranger lady said, “I know you from your photo…you’re Emily from Hootin Annies, aren’t you?” I have to admit, I was a bit tickled. It was June from Ruby June’s Folkart, and I have ‘talked’ to her several times on the Primitive & Rustic Delphi Board. June was sweet and friendly and we all posed for a photo together. It was really neat to meet someone new and put a face to a name. Thanks for the thrill June!

We spent several hours at the show, shopping and meeting different artists. We met the two ladies from Kindred Spirits and Elaine from Alphabet Studio. How fun it was! At the Kindred Spirits booth, I scored a bag of colorful wool roving and my plan is to mold myself some tightly felted wool balls to display in a bowl. I was given some verbal instructions and a demonstration on how to wind the balls so they turn out as round as possible. I also picked up a needle felting instruction booklet and some needle felting needles.

I oogled the amazing collage art by Irene Gates, and after about 1/2 hour of gawking, I felt compelled to purchase a little painting to add to the little Tascha collection I have hanging in my downstairs powder room. The one I chose is a little mysterious with a black cat at the bottom, but it matches perfectly with the purple walls and the others it will share wall space with.

I picked up some wool pieces and a purchased a handmade primitive doll from the gal on the right in the photo of all of us together. The doll was irresistable and I just had to adopt her and give her a home with me.

After the show, we had an early dinner then headed north back to our hotel. We wanted to hit a primitive shop which was a bit farther north past our hotel, and on the way we stopped at an antiques sale in someone’s barn just off the highway. We pulled in and as I got out of the car I was greeted by this very plump and friendly black cat. Yes, the cat immediately sought me out, the Crazy Cat Lady as my friends affectionately call me. She came right up to me and followed me around as I browsed the barn for bargains. I snapped some photos of her so I could remember her very nice welcome.

I picked up a straw hat with red accents and a vintage porcelain frog for Ed, my father in law. He loves frogs and honestly, knowing this, I have implemented a ”no frog left behind” policy, so he got another one for his collection which is already bursting at the seams. I paid for my stuff, popped the hat on my head and we all piled in the van once again to continue on our journey to The Good Wives. I called from a gas station and the shop owner told me she had already closed at 3pm, but, out of the kindness of their hearts, they decided to let us come late ( like 2 hours!) and they reopened the shop for us to browse. How nice is that! When we arrived in Marion, Ohio, we were greeted by the 3 owners all dressed in colonial period costumes fwhich they had worn for their open house which was hours earlier. The women all looked so fabulous dressing the part of the good wives! One woman even had the big buckled shoes which looked so authentic.

We spent a good hour there and took home lots of fabrics and other treasures. I picked up 4 yards of fabric and a Prairie Girls book which, so far, is a very interesting read.

We had a fantastic time and I’m so glad I went! By the time I got home Sunday night,all I could think of doing was climbing into bed and going to sleep. I was exhausted from a full day of shopping and travelling!