One Fish, Two Fish... Green Fish!

I was on a mission today. I was out looking for a vintage hat. I collect hats but this one is going to be for my sister. (A peace offering/I'm a middle child). She rides horses and when she does the horse/carriage competitions she wears vintage hats. I was thinking this would be pretty easy... the town I live in use to have a plethora of antique shops. The town use to hold a huge antique fair twice a year... the whole town was closed down for this event. It still has thrift shops, ( not any antique shops anymore) but evidently things are still priced for that "earlier" period.

Anyway, I wasn't able to find a nice hat but I did find this hat box that I thought I could put one of my hats into for her. It's from an old millinery shop located in Fresno... and that's where she lives! I also found a good little deal on this old barkcloth purse... isn't it cute?

I got a little package in the mail the other day and wanted to show you the goodies I received. It isn't a good picture but it will assist the story.
Beverly has been coming to my annual quilt retreat at Bass Lake. Last year we had a special evening, we called it Pincushion Diaries. Everybody brought a pincushion and told a story about how they started sewing, who influenced them etc. It was a great evening and everybody got to know each other better. There was a special voting for the best pincushion, which Beverly won. We all loved her pincushion, which was 3 green fish on a stringer. It was so cute... and now she wrote me a pattern and even sent the fabric and string so that I can make one of my own. That was so sweet of her! I can't wait to make it and show you the finished product.
I still remember how she ended her story of how she began to quilt... "and that was it, it got me- hook-line and sinker"! It was great! I can't wait to see her and her buddies again!
And speaking of pincushions... Jaybird is having a giveaway but even better than that... she just posted a tutorial on Moda Bake Shop for these pincushions she made! They are adorable and she has 2 different options on how to make them. You have to go see if you haven't already and then go to Julie's blog and enter her giveaway. Have fun!