Scrap Savin Maven and The Tiki Room

While I can give myself all the titles I want, I can claim Scrap Savin Maven for this post. I began my quilting journey 8 years ago by reusing material from men's Hawaiian shirts. My first attempts at patchwork piecing were nothing short of disastrous. 

It is a good thing I saved remnants from my original projects. I also utilized border pieces from a commissioned quilt I recently sent off for quilting. This type of quilt can be completed from start to finish in a weekend. It measures 29" x 29".

A close-up shot. 

The backing reveals the straight-line quilting or stitch in the ditch.

It is also news-appropriate with the fire-related disaster in Maui. I have never been to the Hawaiian islands but hope to visit some day. The conditions at that island echoed a similar disaster in Paradise, California in 2018. 

But back to fun stuff, the images below are the tiki painting and quilt in my cubicle.

There is no work-related stuff to write on my white board (so few people are actually in office), so it has become The Tiki Room.

Because I made reference to my patchwork piecing progress over the years, I have included a link to my 5-year retrospective of quilt projects.

https://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com/2020/01/5-year-retrospective.html

Moving on to seller update: This time two years ago I reported 1,500 active eBay listings. Two years later, I have increased my listings to 2,500. Course that averages out to posting 500 listings per year, or approx. 40 per month.  

Yarn and books were the items in my latest eBay listing sessions. High quality yarn is a rare find out in the thrift shop wild. This is the best of the bunch. This shot has an artsy quality to it. Just one skein of Lion Brand acrylic yarn Homespun Pueblo. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186042795253

Until next time,

Tami

Original art find

I am obsessed with nearly all things tiki. I haven't scored a thrift shop painting in quite awhile so I was overdue. Can't complain at the $6.99 price. The matting is jacked up, nothing a bit of glue won't fix. I painted the mat brown because the light green one was stained. It landed in my tiki-themed work cubicle. 

Sometimes I biff on thrift shop purchases. I bought a bag of remnant fabric at thrift for $10 that turned out to be all unusable scraps. Outside the store was a bin of freebies, and there was the button doll. She was worth the $10 spent at that location. 

Back to listing sewing patterns for now. This slightly-risque pattern is from 1982.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186036643869

I am kicking around the idea of lotting up sewing patterns, especially the older ones. I may even move out of the sewing pattern category. Sales have come to a skreeching halt. I try to analyze trends maybe people are less interested in sewing and more interested in doing and going. 

I found some packets of Barbie clothes I had squirreled away. Anything Barbie bumps any other listing session. 

Turns out the No. 1 collectible dolls are Madame Alexanders, next are Ginny dolls, then OG Shirley Temples. I was watching an episode of the Incurable Collector, and that was their list. I bought this fall attired Madame Alexander and silk flower foliage for a few dollars at thrift. 

My grocery store was already decked out in Halloween decorations. That means Christmas is sure to follow. Next month, I will queue up my Countdown to Christmas posts. The weeks fly by.

It Almost Feels Like Autumn

The kids must be back in school because things have bounced back to normal in eBay sales. It is still warm in Northern California. I must be wishing and hoping for cooler fall weather. 

This rag doll is the latest to go up for sale. Her only fix was to add a missing button to one shoe. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186026329626

Here she is acting as iPhone laptop charging station in my remote office dining room table. 

Quilting update: I sewed together a quilt top with fish print fabric I had been saving over the years. I utilized mystery quilter's premade quilt blocks for both the top and bottom borders. It measures 80"x96" and is destined to become the camping trailer quilt. 

This was the first layout before I added more borders. The piece of fabric of koi pond was a remnant printed in and found in Seattle some years ago on a visit to mom. 

The completed quilt blocks came through thrift a couple of months ago. I will update once it is quilted and bound. 

I have turned my attention to the mini-quilt of men's Hawaiian shirts. The commissioned quilt is at the longarmer for quilting. For that project, I am making scrappy 4-1/2" squares with the same neutral border fabric shown below. 

Seller's update - 2 of the 4 sets of Barbie clothes have sold. Tarot and fortune telling games are also quick selling items. 

This set of two patterns are some of the oldest I have put up for sale both from the San Francisco Pattern Company. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186021102128

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186021107148

I am heading back to the ocean for the weekend. Here is hoping I spot some whales and catch some fish! 🐟

Keep On Truckin'

My post title was a popular phrase in the 1970s. It is hard not to get discouraged as a seller during the summer months. I try to keep my eye on the prize. My sales prior to summer averaged $500 a month.  

Trying to clear up the backlog of items to list for sale. My latest listing session was needlekits. I cannot remember where I picked up this nearly-finished cross-stitch kit. I don't even remember buying it. So sad. I know I "zone out" when I am at estate sales. Especially if there is a large amount of items in my categories. Like a kid in a candy store. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186020799732

I don't pass up the partially completed kits. Santa also needs a home. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186020786578

Sneaking in some images from the Amador County Fair. This is one of my favorites - the court in the craft exhibition wearing their tiaras, sashes, and cowboy boots. 

We arrived early and left early to avoid the crowd. We gobbled down some hamburgers, fries, cotton candy, and a waffle ice cream maple syrup carmel concoction that was indescribably delicious.  

The fair theme was Zinfandel and Zinnias.  

The rooster who was such a show-off. 

On to other things: Sally Stand-In models this apron I found while rummaging through my fabric. 

The Mr. mentioned he would like a "fish" quilt. I have been saving remnants of fish print fabric so now is the time to make it into some useful. I will detail the process in an upcoming post.