I’m finally catching up on blogging about our weekend, Tuesday and Wednesday. We went shopping!
Tuesday we had to go down to Sturgeon Bay because my glasses were bent and everything looked kind of kattywampus. It had been that way for a few days, so when the woman at the optometrist’s office straightened them for me, all was right with the world again!
Then I took Mark into the Barn Door Quilt Shop across the street. This time I wasn’t there to buy fabric. (Shocking, I know, but true!) The owner of the shop had told me about a month ago to try to find a fabric designer in Ephraim. She couldn’t remember her name but she said if I asked around Ephraim, maybe someone could tell me. She thought maybe this woman could help me figure out how to really get started in fabric design.
Sunday Katherine and I had gone to a quilt show in Egg Harbor and while I was talking with one of the women in charge of the quilt show she also mentioned this woman. I asked if she knew her name and where I might find her. She and the other quilter at the table discussed it and between them they were able to come up with the name Carol Gresko Lyons. They told us that she runs an art shop in a red barn area in Ephraim and Katherine knew where that was so we went looking for her.
We walked into the wrong red barn shop first, but they directed us to the one next door. We walked in and were greeted by a white haired but very young looking woman. I showed her the name on the piece of paper the women at the quilt show had given me and she affirmed that she was the woman I’ve been seeking. From things I’d heard in my search, I had thought she’d be a doddering old widow so I was surprised to see her so hale and hardy.
I started out telling her I’ve been looking for her for about a month and that I’m trying to sell fabric designs under the name of Door County Fabrics and she immediately shook her head and said, “You can’t do that. I have the rights to that name.” I asked if I should then change my name and she said I need to change everything, including using pictures from Door County for fabric designs. Although her fabric designs are hand drawn and taken from landmarks all around Door County, she said if I want to use photos for fabric design I need to use photos from other parts of the country. I told her I’d send her pictures of the fabric designs I’ve already put out and when she got them she said they were okay because they weren’t of anything that she lays claim to. She gave me a few tips, but she was very imposing and every time since that I’ve thought of her, I’ve had a mild panic attack.
At any rate, I went into Barn Door Quilts on Tuesday with Carol’s contact information and gave it to the shop owner. She used to carry Carol’s fabrics but she said Carol started putting her designs on duck fabric (a very heavy texture, not suitable for quilting) and so she stopped ordering from her. I assured her that Carol had shown me a sample of her fabric and it seemed lighter weight to me so she thanked me for the information and said she’d look into ordering her fabrics again. I showed the store owner a swatch of fabric I’d had made up of the Welcome to Door County sign and said Carol told me I can’t make it because she has the corner on Door County labeled fabric. The store owner was disappointed because she has a lot of customers looking for fabric that says Door County and she liked my design. Oh well…*SIGH* For any of you who told friends about my fabrics on Spoonflower, I’ve changed my name to Workamper Fabrics.
After that we went to a Hallmark store and an antique store next to the optometrist’s and then we had lunch at the little coffee shop across the street that serves quiche and we had lunch. So that was Tuesday.
On Wednesday Judy (president of the Wisconsin branch of the denisefuller.com fan club) took Mark and me thrift shopping. The first shop was operated by a church in Sister Bay and funds raised there go to support an old folks home right next door. It’s nice to see where one’s money is going. Then she took us to an upscale consignment store and finally she took us to a thrift store I’ve seen every time we pass it but I’ve never been in.
Oh, we had so much fun! Mark found a camera bag that he thinks cost around $100 new and he got it for $6. I am super excited about my finds: I found a stand that will hold the quilting hoop Katheryn gave me, and I found a gallon sized storage bag where someone had done all the cutting for a quilted wall hanging, they had pinned instructions as to what different batches of cuttings were for and had included the pattern out of a magazine. They left the piecing and quilting to me, and the design includes applique which I am eager to try since I saw the appliqued quilt at the quilt show a few weeks ago. I sat down last night and got started sewing it together!
The magazine picture of what the wall hanging is supposed to look like when it’s done. We’ll see how close I can come to this!
After we finished shopping, Judy and Mark and I went for lunch at JJ’s. I took another picture in there:
The two people sitting at the bar are manikins! (You can just barely make out the second person on the far end of the bar.) They have interesting stools, too!