Rayen

Finding a Moda charm pack for just $4.95 (they retail for twice that) let me get a little newish fabric at the junk shop marketplace. I love giraffes, so finding this little fabric bundle was a joy (I've also since used it to make a baby quilt, as you'll see in the look back post.) I have been looking for a non-glasss cake stand for some time, as my hands are becoming unsteadier and I'm worried I'll drop the two I have (one is glass, the other is pottery.) This wooden food-safe stand is perfect. On our way home we stopped to walk through town, and I found an unbreakable aluminum cake cover in an antique shop. Perfect end to my day of neat finds. :)

My favorite junk shop had a weekend marketplace event last month, so we went to show our support and I ended up investing in quite a few bargains, like this gorgeous printed linen curtain (the tag said tablecloth, but nope, it's a curtain.) This is the kind of fabric I love to use as a foundation for an art quilt. I invested in a small inexpensive runner from a quilter's booth. These are lovely to put on the coffee tables. This vintage cloth is hand-embroidered with the sweetest design. This hand-apppliqued wall hanging quilt is 34 years old, and was beautifully made, so I had to rescue it. It was also labelled, hooray!

By now you all know how I like mystery items. Last month I saw this collection of stuff up for auction, listed as "12 LB Box of Craft Supplies Paint, Thread, Canvas, Ribbon Mesh, Knitting Needles" and saw a sewing box in the photo, so I thought I'd bid on it. I was the only one who did and won the box. Was it worth what I paid? The box arrived, so let's find out. Here's everything in the box, which was a lot more than the pics showed. There are five unused paint-by-number kits (typically $10 to $20) and a brand new pack of paint brushes. That bag of what looks like pom poms is actually a big bunch of felted balls. These mesh ribbon rolls run about $5 each and make neat wreaths and tree wall hangings. There's a jelly roll of Christmas prints, some extra strips from another, a fat quarter and a roll of newish heat and bond sheet fusing. Add to that the sewing basket, a brand new bottle of fray check and some extra big knitting need...

I went looking for more bargain bags of yarn at our local Goodwill, and scored three this time that were packed with wonderful skeins, most brand-new and all unsoiled and odor-free. First bag had some interesting novelty yarns, a super saver and a ball of Sugar N' Cream cotton yarn. I don't have much cotton yarn and I really liked the colors of this ball. Second bag had Uber Luxe grays, blacks, a glitzy cream hygge charm from Red Heartand a really neat variegated skein. The glitzy one stole my heart. Third bag had all new skeins: three of Wool Ease Thick and Thin, two new balls of no-wool sock yarn, a yarn bee skein and what I believe is another super saver. The beachy colors really appealed to me, and will make up for all the brown yarn I used to make my Ocean Tranquility throw. Because many of the skeins didn't come with labels I can only guess what some of them are, but I know the Wool Ease is $5.99 a skein, the super savers retail for $4.49, the Su...

I've been rewatching She Would Never Know , a k-drama I've previously seen but didn't review here on the blog (not sure why; I liked it enough to rewatch it.) It's one of the more dramatic, slightly over-the-top Korean office older woman/younger man romance series -- a popular trope in Asian countries -- and it's quite well-written. I think the first time I watched it I wasn't convinced that people would do these things in a setting where they'd almost certainly get caught right away. Then again, at one of my workplaces two of my married (not to each other) co-workers got, ah, busy every day in the office and I'm pretty sure no one but me knew. Also, if you're planning to do that at work, please lock the door so someone like me doesn't walk in on you. Anyway, the premise sounds a bit messy: the series follows a brother and two sisters, the brother's crush at work, the crush's secret office romance with her senior, the senior...

Weirdly I don't have a lot of scrap yarn, as I always try to use up every bit of the skeins I pull for my projects. So I invested in a nice box of scrap yarn to work on some experiments, and got a lovely selection from the seller. I'm trying to write some of my own crochet patterns, and came up with two versions of a cup sleeve (the white is scrap yarn from my last crochet throw.) The next night I tried a few more ideas. The scrunchies and the coaster are my patterns; the hanging basket is a scaled-down variation on Jayda in Stitches' big beautiful basket. It took me five days in all to use up every scrap of yarn, but I did -- and the final tally was two small baskets, a ponytail tie, three hair scrunchies, a braided keychain, an embroidered book cover, a coaster, a trinket dish, a bookmark, two cup sleeves and about a yard of ribbon for gift wrapping. The only thing I used a variation of a pattern for is the round basket; everything else is improvised.

As I mentioned earlier I bid on three listings this week that I wish I could own but that are likely going to be grabbed up by others. I loved this quilt the moment I saw it, so I bid with my maximum upfront in hopes that I might win it. Alas, I didn't. The bidders swarmed and the quilt ended up selling for $119.88 This gorgeous chest of Madeira thread that I already knew I wouldn't win finally went for a whopping $182.31. In the end I was glad I didn't win it because the thread is actually rayon and not silk like I thought. Finally, did I win this immaculate-looking sewing machine? I sure did! I had only one challenger, and they dropped out right away, so I got it under my max bid amount. I'll tell you more when it arrives, but one wish out of three is great! Image Credit: all the images is this post came from the original auction listings at ShopGoodwill.com.

This was the scene in my sewing room last month while I was making my second mini-quilt of March. I got out my boxes of vintage laces, bits and bobs to get some inspiration, which oddly took a while. I'd struggled a bit the week before with the one I made as a visual poem, so I wanted straightforward and uncomplicated. Which for me, of course, it never is. My inspiration for this mini-quilt came from some of the very vintage colors 14carrot used to make these three quilt tags. I love sepia and cream and gold. I wanted to put my own spin on it, however, so I went for the lace (I have lots and most of it is too old to use on anything but art pieces that won't be washed.) It's often difficult to work with antique lace, however, and I really wrestled to get it to stay down where I wanted it. Here's the mini-quilt as of the writing of this post. I'm not finished with it, but I'm mostly happy with my progress. As I've mentioned I've ha...

I'm bidding on three things this week, but they're not wannbuts -- they're things I wish I could own but that are likely going to be grabbed up by others. I still bid on them anyway because you never know. For example, I loved this quilt the moment I saw it, so I bid with my maximum upfront in hopes that I might win it. Since it is such a pretty quilt, I probably won't. This sewing machine looks brand new in the listing. Because I don't know if it needs repair, I only bid a small amount. If I win this one, and it works, it will become my light duty sewing machine. I also plan to lend it out to a neighbor who doesn't own one. New-looking machines generally get fought over quite a bit at the auction site. I confess, by the time I wrote this post I'd already been outbid on this gorgeous chest of Madeira thread. I'm not going to continue to bid on it, but I do want to see what it sells for. Stay tuned to the blog to find out if I get l...

Last month we went wandering and ended up in Dade City, a historic little town near Tampa that we've never visited. They have lots of interesting antique and book shops, and in one craft place I found some very neat things, like these vintage embroidered placemats. I also invested in another mystery bag. I know, I'm like a kid, but I love surprises. Got a lot for my money with this one -- and I adore the bunny kitchen towel. I don't often invest in decor, but I couldn't resist up this carrot-shaped basket filled with a variety of Easter eggs, handsewn fabric carrots and a cool mixed media bunny. We had a good time in Dade City. The owner of the craft place recommended Kafe Kokopelli for dinner, and while it's not a cheap place we both enjoyed our meals. A word of warning, the chef's shrimp scampi (which I loved) is pretty spicy!

Last month I went looking for a sturdy table for my sewing machines, which have been precariously stored on a rickety plant stand. I finally settled on this wood veneer end table from a local thrift shop that was $14.99. Both machines fit perfectly on top. I'll find or make a basket for the bottom shelf so I can store my iron and sewing stuff there. There was some minor damage to the veneer, which didn't bother me. I did think it was a good opportunity to try the old indelivble marker trick to make the damage less noticeable. Worked like a charm.

I saw this smaller lot of yarn up for a thrift auction. It included some colors and weights I've been wanting to add to my stash. While the photos weren't very good, and the weight suggested I wouldn't get much, the labels I could see told me it would be well worth a minimum bid. I won it with no challengers. It arrived in a big box that told me "You were right again!" Ha. I ended up with fifteen skeins of clean, odorless, nice quality yarn that, as I'd suspected, retailed for quite a bit more than I paid. I did a search and came up with a value of $87.17 for the lot. I paid $9.99. Savings: $77.18. As long as there are thrift stores I am never paying retail for yarn again. :) Image credit: the first pic in thos post was copied from the original auction listing on ShopGoodwill.com.

During the holidays I had this scrumptious little box of sugarfree coconut and white chocolate truffles to nibble on while everyone else was eating their sugary treats. After I finished the candy I saved the plastic box for an upcycle. There are four parts to the box, and the inside liners that held the truffles will make excellent little watercolor painting palettes. To rehab the box, I removed the stickers and the adhesive they left behind (GooGone works best) and then hand washed the container. It came out looking perfect, as if it were made of glass instead of plastic. Now I can store some of my prettiest embroidery threads in it. The next time you have a plastic container like this, upcycle yours into something pretty and useful. The planet will thank you. :)