Anna Maria Horner | Storts Market

May 31, 2023
by Lesley Storts 2 Comments

A Loft, A Bentwood Chair & Anna Maria Horner Fabric

In March, my husband and I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Exciting! Well, yes, but it was our second move in 10 months – pass a pillow, I need a nap. We made a quick trip to Charlotte in February and were able to secure a loft to rent. Loft living is challenging and exciting. I started researching, which means looking at A LOT of pictures on the internet as well as reading tips for decorating. We had basics such as a sofa, chairs, table & chairs, bed, etc., which work well, but this space requires thought and patience. There are numerous consignment, antique, and thrift stores in Charlotte. On a recent trip to the Sleepy Poet Antique Mall, I found a bentwood cane back chair. The chair had some scratches, but the caning was intact. Additionally, the chair felt very study while being light and easy to handle. The thought of being able to recover the seat and personalize the chair for our space turned out to be my true motivator for the purchase.

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November 17, 2020
by Lesley Storts 4 Comments

Anna Maria Horner + Amber Lace Indiana Glass

A few months ago I made a quick stop after work at the Volunteers of America Thrift Store in Pickerington, Ohio. I found many pieces of glass that day including this one…

It can be challenging to make deep dish pincushions so I left this piece at the store. Fast forward one week later at a different thrift store and I found…

In my years of glass hunting, this is the first time I remember finding this Indiana lace glass and then finding it twice in a short period of time! The red one was half the price so I figured I would take a chance on it and see if I could make a pincushion out of it. Upon closer inspection of the glass, I noticed that the red coloring was peeling off in various places and I remembered the other one I found was amber. I decided to see if I could clean off the red film.

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July 9, 2020
by Lesley Storts 2 Comments

»Collecting Buttons«

Buttons. A necessary sewing and clothing accessory but probably not something most people think about. As a quilter, I rarely made anything with buttons prior to making pincushions. Once Lucy and I started making pincushions, we became very interested in buttons. We have built our button stash buying at big box craft and sewing stores, antiquing, thrifting, garage sales, and eBay.

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September 25, 2019
by Lesley Storts 5 Comments

»Anna Maria Horner Fabric and Pincushions«

This batch of pincushions was created using beautiful fabric designed by Anna Maria Horner.

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March 29, 2016
by Lesley Storts 2 Comments

»A Study In Focus«

Saltcellar Pincushion made with Carolyn Friedlander’s Dentals in Green.

It has been almost a year since I began hunting for saltcellars and making pincushions. Lucy, one of my daughters, has been instrumental in helping perfect this little pieces of art. And as we have learned and grown in making these, an interesting thing has happened- I have come to appreciate fabric and the patterns in a different way. There is a need to focus on small areas and what they have to offer in a saltcellar. The diameter of most saltcellars we use is about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 inches. Some of the dishes are a little bigger, but generally they are small. This means that we have to maximize where we cut.

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I love the color green and adore this fabric by Anna Maria Horner called Minutes in Glen. I was excited to use it in a pincushion and took special care to cut it so that I was able show an interesting part of the fabric.

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Another beautiful and interesting fabric we’ve used is Tula Pink’s Bats in the Belfry in Plum. Depending on what you wanted to highlight with this fabric would depend on where you cut for the pincushion. This fabric offers many choices that would work well. Lucy made this pincushion and wanted to make sure to include blue so that it stood out.

I love quilt making and will continue making quilts. I do appreciate though, the opportunity to look at fabric in a different way and that has come through making pincushions.