lost blogging: the September edition

the highlight of September was a visit from my mom.

we started our day at Quilt-a-fair, a large quilt show and fabric sale at the local fairgrounds.  they have booths from local shops as well as several vintage fabric vendors, and as with previous visits, I stocked up on lots of vintage tidbits.

here's the collection:


and some of the highlights:










in the afternoon, we hit the road for Santa Fe.  it was fun to walk around and shop for jewelry with my mom.



beyond that, the trip had two standouts - excellent Mexican food and the surprisingly awesome Museum of International Folk Art.  prior to the visit, I had no interest in folk art, but the tourist books suggested it was worth a trip, so we checked it out.

and I was dazzled.  there is a whole wing from midcentury designer Alexander Girard.  he and his wife collected thousands of folk art objects in their travels and donated them to the museum, where they are arranged in delightful and colorful vignettes.

what counts as folk art?  not just rustic pottery, but things like this little piece which seems to have rolled right out of a Richard Scarry book.


other vignettes featured wood carvings....


and ceramic pieces...


and I love how pieces from many parts of the world are merged together in the same little setting to create a whimsical scene.  there were just gobs and gobs of displays like this, and it was pretty magical.  I had a new appreciation of Girard after visiting the museum.  not only did it open my eyes to a more interesting take on folk art, but I was also impressed by the design of the museum - the way things were arranged, and often against colorful backgrounds, was surprising treat for the eyes that showcased the objects in a different way than the traditional all-white museum norm.

here's part of his collection of brass tokens:


and a display from another section of the museum on shell jewelry made in Japanese internment camps.