Becoming Rapunzel and Being on Camera

Sometimes there is no sourcing, I don't mind when it is all for me. This cross-stitched rooster came with the lot at a community yard sale. I also spent $10 on a bag of clothes. One garment was a custom-made black print with strawberries State Fair dress. I bought it from a young mother who had special ordered it, wore it once, and now it is mine. I hope to model it in an upcoming post. I even bought a red pinafore on eBay to wear with it. 

Last year, I completed a quilt named Quilter in Quarantine for the fair. I was devastated, I am sure like all fair competitors, when it was canceled. Not only was I competitor, but had obtained a Media Pass for the past two years, and had covered the delightful creations in the crafts pavilion. The Fair will be held in July 2022. calexpostatefair Press-Release

Right now Redwork quilt is in progress. I bought some supplemental fabric at retail. I want this one to be more than a wall hanging. I envision it in an upstairs bedroom in my cabin away from home (still in dream phase). 

Sequeing to my post title on becoming Rapunzel. Have you noticed a trend of women wearing their hair longer, not just long, but extra long hair? Course, there was a time in the not-so-distant past they we didn't even have hair dressers available (unless you were uber rich and could sneak into hair salons). But now, so many of my peers are choosing to wear their hair long. 

Some thoughts on being on camera for remote work meetings, a requirement in my Department.  

Don't fidget or draw attention to yourself. Best to sit stock still, without expression. Maybe an occasional grin is ok. 

The more dramatic the print on your shirt, the better. Same for jewelry, big and bold. This is just in general, not for interviews, blah blah blah. Makeup is a must have, I put on mascara and lipstick. I try to keep the hair under control but am not always successful. 

The search for an in-office or hybrid remote job continues. There are lots of interesting sounding jobs with lots of diverse departments that I have applied for. I had a couple of interviews in September, and here's hoping I will have a few more interviews in October. It is amazingly easy to interview online, most seem to be trending to that type of format. 

Gearing up for the weekend outdoor sales

I forgot to share this little wind-up cowboy Snoopy. He was part of the estate sale haul earlier in the month. 

I have pulled this cookbook I had up for sale - Disney's Family Cookbook. I wanted to check a recipe from it, so it has come back into my collection.

Since we are on the subject of Disney, this is one of the cutest patterns in the lot of costumes I recently listed on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185061705529

I started a new process with listing Christmas CDs. I look up the title first in Terapeak product research in the eBay Seller hub. If the CD is only selling for a couple of dollars, I will just thrift it back. My first batch of 20 total approx. $300 in listed amounts, the lowest valued at $6 (iffy, but still sellable), to the highest valued at $35. Downstairs is the death pile of Christmas CDs, some 125+ waiting to be listed. If I average $300 per 25 listed, I can earn $1,500! 

I seriously have to winnow down my personal collection of Christmas CDs. It must hover around 250-300 or so. I also have to put my Top 20 in a marked container so I can grab them as a must-have in case of fire. 

I've got this weekend estate and yard sales mapped out. I use the Facebook postings of my local paper's listings of sales. Ready and raring to go!

Stacks of books and Mounds of Fabric

That is how tall the stack is of books I have recently listed on eBay. Only one more round of books to go before the September push to list Christmas CDs. Found a wood CD rack at thrift for $15.99, with the ones populating the rack already listed. Before I started listing, I began deleting the non-starters, Big Band and Perry Como type stuff. 

September is my prompt to start preparing my Countdown to Christmas posts. I have photographed my new round of 25 CDs I have found at thrift for my daily "What I am listening to," sections. Also, I have added to my Christmas tree pin forest, and completed a Mary Engelbreit-bordered Christmas quilt. 

On the thrifting front: It never hurts to ask if price can be negotiated. The sewing patterns were priced widely at hospice thrift from 49 cents to $2.99. I asked if I could purchase them all at one price and the cashier said, "How about $10 for the lot?" I said, "Yes!" It turned out to be 40 of them. 

Made the rounds in another city of its thrift shops and found my regular stuff, a couple of cookbooks, and lots of sewing patterns. Goodwill has raised its prices again. It will be harder to source from there if the profit margins keep shrinking. 

CD fun find of the Day - David Cassidy & The Partridge Family. He was quite a heart throb in his prime. 

October is just on the horizon, I cannot wait to be back in Seattle at the end of that month.

My fav hospice thrift produced two large bags of fabric $6.99 for one and $8.99 for the other. I kept half, some of the fabric was not quilting cotton but there were many fat quarters and a few pieces of yardage. 

I removed from listing some bright-colored quilt blocks and Sunbonnet Sues. I continue to winnow down my categories to my major 4 of sewing patterns, needlework kits, books and CDs. I am inching my way to 1,500 active listings!

Welcome to the Ranch

With a focus on things not entirely but very nearly Western. 

My take on the wearing of the coral squash blossom necklace (a recent retail splurge) is it pairs nicely with the Mr. Bill Ohhhh Nooo graphic T-shirt. The Harley Davidson Western hat is one of my fav second-hand finds. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185006359062

My return to office is scheduled for Mondays and Tuesdays beginning January 1. What I want to see most on my return are the new murals recently painted for the Wide Open Walls event during September. The Sacramento Mural Festival began in 2019 to enliven alleyways and buildings throughout the city. At my previous department, we had a building-long view of Johnny Cash.

We finally had rain, not what was needed but enough to revel in it. A overcast day meant cooler temperatures and I was able to bake the longed-for traditional New York cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust. 

Reseller update: Sewing patterns continue to be solid sellers. I have found that buyers prefer the newer uncut ones rather than the older patterns. I have given the older patterns enough time listed, I will start pulling them from the inventory. 

Two of my fav cookbooks also sold recently, The Joy of Cooking and the New York Times Cookbook. The Red Plaid cookbooks have not been moving like they were a few months ago. 

I pretty much stay away from reselling crocheted items, with the exception of black crochet squares. Seems they have retained the popularity, and these black/grey/pink/white ones I am sure will find a home. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185045492292

Tub of goodness from a couple of thrift shops included an upgrade in costume might be a Red Riding Hood one but mine will be Oktoberfest girl. The dog print pajama I will wear in the morning when we pull cool air into the house with a whole house fan. 

The Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook looks to be a keeper.

And a book find from earlier in the week - Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints.

The problem with dealing in books, or any of my product for that matter, is I tend to keep WAY too much in my collections. 

The $2.99 bag of fabric surprised me with 12 small blue blocks, perfect to supplement any project.

How could I leave you without an actual image from the Ranch? 

Here it is - the henhouse in disrepair. That was back when things were green. It is all things brown now. I keep praying for rain. 

Day 2 of Estate Sale Sourcing, and Garnering the Gown

I don't worry too much about getting to the first day of an estate sale. By Day 3, they are ready to give items away by the bagful. This was the third day of this sale, family had told the Mrs. to "downsize." This staging was only from the outdoor shed, next month would be the contents of the house and garage. 

It was hands down the biggest sale I had ever attended. It took nearly two hours to go through most everything. It was a hot morning, the temps headed to the 100s. Talk about sweat equity, hard work ~ I was even too tired to make the thrift shop rounds after that. There were a lot of clothes and it has been my experience that the best ones are at the bottom of the piles. 

I filled 3 bags at $10 each so $30 "sourcing." I put that in quotes because I did grab more clothes than usual. The blue gingham one is a German girl Halloween costume -Think Viking/Nordic. There is a red cashmere sweater in perfect condition. The jacket to the left has Picasso prints all over it - very cute. It is a keeper. 

 

What in the world am I going to do with a purple beaded formal gown? IDK. It may appear in the AtoZ Blog Challenge 2022 theme reveal. That introductory post always requires a gown, link to this year's theme-reveal.

I picked up my usual fare of books, most resellers pass on the vintage cookbooks. The Buck Rogers book is in bad shape so I may send it back to the Great Thrift Shop Beyond. 

And then I grabbed vintage toys, for whatever reason. I think I get caught up in the event, kind of like at an auction. Add in a red Christmas hat with pins, a beaded handbag, and leopard print readers. The nesting doll soldiers have seen better days. They could always be repainted to revitalize them. 

This sale was more for me than for reselling. Sometimes that is OK. For years, my thrifting was all for myself. I will recoup my $30 investment on those vintage cookbooks. 

Traveling to Estate Sales are Well Worth the Effort

I had some extra time on my hands on Saturday morning and traveled to an estate sale. It wasn't a huge distance but it was a jaunt into the country. I will first show the things I didn't buy, and then the $20 lot I did buy. 

Beneath the plastic sailing ship was this sleepy-eyed composition doll. It was second day of the sale and no one had even looked at the dolls in the plastic tub. I laundered her clothes in a lingerie bag and hand mended them. When my mom moved to assisted living we gave away a doll that was similar to this one, only bigger. I figured if I could buy the lot for $20, I would bring this one home with me. 

At the very least, I will recoup my $20 investment with the Monsters, Inc. costume. The books are mainly for me, I may sell a couple of them. 

Boy Scout items were hidden in the bottom of a plastic bag, I snagged the belt with metal awards and the scarf. The belt a sure-fire seller on eBay. 

The Round Up - Let 'er Buck Silk scarf and hat, yep, Tami keepers. The hat has some missing beads, an easy rehabilitation to restore. 

A Western-themed photo shoot is coming up. I bought a statement piece necklace that has been on my Tami wish list for some time. 

And the final find of the day - the embroidered linens, Dutch girls and chicks. The linens have yellowed but my intent for those pieces are quilt blocks or appliques. The chicks are adorable! 

It was a good day. The smoke from the surrounding fires have polluted the area again so another stay inside weekend. 

Getting a System Down, and Beginning the Redwork Quilt

I seem to move faster through listing product on eBay now that I have a system down. After a listing goes live, I move that product's images into an eBay listings folder. I then re-name my images for the next draft. I bring up the template and examine the product to compose the description. Since most of the information is prefilled on the template, I just fill out specific details. 

I nearly made it through the year without any returns but have had 3 cut sewing patterns returned recently. One of my tasks will be to cull all of my cut sewing patterns from my listings. They are a pain to list and sometimes I don't catch it if a piece is missing. I just give full refunds with no reason to return the pattern back to me. 

In answer to my question on an earlier post, "Does anyone knit anymore?" It really was tongue in cheek, I know there are some amazingly talented knitters out there. My question was more are there people learning to knit, because my books for sale on knitting didn't move at all. Quilting books are another story, those are popular, which leads me to believe quilting is more popular than knitting. Discuss? 

Heading into September means #secondhandseptember that encourages everyone to shop secondhand. Course, I don't need any encouragement since that is my shopping method all year long. Annnnd it is National Sewing Month! 

September has always been a kind month for me regarding employment. I have two important much-wanted interviews next week for two very different positions - one in management, and one in a different area of law albeit litigation. This happened to me before when I interviewed for a legal analyst position. Two offers came at nearly the same time, and that is where my path diverged from criminal appeals, writs and trials, into the health care industry. 

Moving on to best of the sewing pattern sessions - this Barbarella-esque cosplay one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185025892885

Pattern that trumped Barbarella was this 1968 Simplicity that went into my keeper collection.

I went into my project bags and pulled this redwork quilt one. Mystery crafter had embroidered all 7 of the redwork embroideries. I've pulled my red fabric remnants, showing the cutest of the bunch in the image below. Not sure if I will do the pinwheels, maybe 4 patches between the blocks. 

More items pulled from my eBay listings - ties. While cute, they were not selling. Moving closer to my goal of 1,500 active listings by the end of September. I have 1,400 active listings now. Woohoo!