Thrift Shop Commando

I am passing through the book eBay listing phase of the death pile. I hold out hope that someday I will find some 💰🤑 dolla dolla bills in a secondhand book, but have found none so far.  I found this note in an origami book. We shared souls We stayed up late laughing and loving and each moment we shared was an eternity of perfect happiness, forever encased in my mind and heart. A few images from a monthly flea market held up country Amador County.  And a random share of a Seattle World's Fair pin from 1962 found at thrift. I am recollecting memorabilia from that event I attended when I was 2 years old.  These Voodoo dolls were one of my favorite finds from last year. And a few more images from another flea market held in El Dorado County. Pattern of the Day is this 2007 Women with Wings costume.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/185248943493 Until we meet again.

This X Factor quilt project finally prompted me to quilting. I take long breaks from that activity, either from no devotion of time or from lack of interest. But when completed blocks come my way, they bump all other projects when it comes to one of my favorite activities - sewing together a quilt top.  These quilts blocks came in a mystery bag of fabric. It was the first time I had seen blocks sewn together that were not trimmed. They were also sewn together in red and green thread on a machine with erratic stitching. The seam allowance ranged from 1/8" to 3/4" and the blue borders were uneven. The joining work could only be described as a Hot Mess. The blocks themselves were in pretty good shape though.  The 26 blocks were freed from their blue-bordered prison. Each was ironed and then trimmed to 7".  I am grateful to mystery quilter for her effort that I can now enjoy. I place the fabrics as 1980s vintage.  Some work in progress images that show the detail on the bloc

The New Year begins with COVID uncertainty. One thing most certain is that I will be thrift shopping all throughout 2022, as long as the secondhand shops stay open.  This quilt was a long time in the making, first finding the fly-fishing border fabric, and finally the fish binding fabric. Other posts on this quilt  the-not-so-western-quilt  and  here . I thought I was doing great sending my Christmas fabric remnants wrapped in eBay orders, then ... I discovered another tub of holiday fabric. 😕 I did an ugly fabric destash. Three bags of yardage was thrifted back. I consolidated nearly all of my remnant pieces in the dresser drawers devoted to fabric.  The Edwin Dorris series of paintings continue to drop at a Sutter Creek thrift shop. These three went up for sale, but didn't join my collection.   Reseller update: Even though I had listed over 200 Christmas CDs for sale on eBay, I did a major culling. Even the slightest scratch meant the CD was thrifted back. My focus will be on th

I do love year end reviews. My top 5 blog posts are YEARS old, I am not going to highlight those here.  Most searched term for 2021 was Ugly Christmas Sweater .  Running my 12 month stats, I just discovered that Sweden was my number One audience, surpassing the USA. Russia, Canada, Germany, and Indonesia round out my largest following. The last few were France, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria (+others).   One of the top referring URLs was Ann at  polyester-princess.blogspot.com . I have linked back to her. Another top URL was from a blog, the last post dated the summer of 2020.  Glad I kept my Pinterest account open, it was also a top referring site.  www.pinterest.com/thriftshpcomndo And on to Reseller update. My latest gaffe - just when I thought I was nearing the end of my mountain of sewing patterns, I discovered MORE in a shopping bag. Ugh.  Total eBay listings are hovering around 1,600. Total annual sales were over $9,000.  Soon, I will be caught up on all of the miscellaneous

A 1994 image of my mom and dad in Leavenworth, Washington.  The Tami 2015 version 2016 2018 - Queen of the Christmas CD The 2021 version Recipe of the Day from the Antique American Cookbooks  Home Cookery Ladies' Indispensable Companion : Curried Lobster Cut up your meat, and add pepper, salt, vinegar, and a quarter of a pound of butter to a large lobster. Shake in a little flour. Add some curry powder mixed with water, and thin the lobster with water. Scald well together, and it is done. To be eaten with rice.  Christmas trivia: In White Christmas , what was everybody hoping for? Snow! What I am listening to: Wishing all good tidings of great joy and a Happy New Year! And to all a Good Night!

A few holiday stitchery images. I could not pass up this beautifully stitched table runner, found just a few days ago 99 cents at thrift almost made it criminal! The close-up of this piece is in the lead-off image. This sort of linen joins my personal collection. I know the work that goes into a completed cross-stitch.  Recipe of the Day from the Antique American Cookbooks  Home Cookery Ladies' Indispensable Companion : Tipsy Cake Cut a pan of sponge cake in halves, and place it in two glass dishes; stick it over full of blanched and quartered almonds. Wet the cake with wine. Drop raspberry jam about it, and then make a nice soft custard and pour over and around it.  Christmas trivia: How do you say "Merry Christmas" in Italy? Bono Natale. What I am listening to: