September Weird and Wacky

I don't know who to credit for the lead-off image but I am all for it!

Weird and wacky items continue to show up at thrift and in other places. 

Camo capybara

Gingerbread ceramic?

Ceramic strawberry cake.

A unique use of men's ties. This model is a permanent fixture at TRUE Totally Recycled Urban Exchange in Sacramento, California. 

My newest YouTube discovery is the series Hot Ones on the First We Feast channel. Celebrities eat increasingly hot chicken wings while answering increasingly probing questions.  Here is Mashable's link to those 19 best videos mashable.com/article/best-hot-ones-episodes. 

Pattern of the Day qualifies as wacky, in a cute kind of way. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186101087205

See you round Halloween for next month's edition of Weird and Wacky.

Moving Into Macrame

This flowering spider plant was the cause of my movement into macrame. 

I finally tended to it, trimming off the dead ends, pulling out the dead leaves, and giving it a soaking watering. 

Joann's was having a clearance on macrame items. The clerk said she didn't know why they were phasing it out as it was a popular craft. 

The instructions are provided inside the cord band. A simple plant hanger for less than $10 and a bit of time invested. 

Holy Page Views Batman!

Thought I was kicking a** with 2,000 page views in one day. Another milestone passed with nearly 4,000 page views in one day. I am not sure where or how I am trending. What fun! 💞

I took some time to organize the playlists in media player on my laptop. Classical was my first playlist. Jazz next, Folk and so on.  

Seller update: Getting all of the miscellany items listed. I don't know why I procrastinate on these types of things. Here is one of the listings of beautiful blue chinchilla yarn. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186098033313

Now that the littles are listed, I can turn my attention back to the sewing pattern sessions. Here are the best of the bunch recently listed. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186098236275

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186098308943

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186098314605

Finally, for fun I pulled this Simplicity 9873 pattern, a 1980s skirt, for my own collection. It was cut at size 10 so it will be an easy alteration.  

Next up on my listing sessions are books and CDs. I am thinking of pulling some of the non-sellers in both of those categories to make room for newer listed stock. 

The September Weird and Wacky post will be going live at the month's end. 

Until next time,

Tami

Little Crocheted Critter and the Cat Quilt

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186089768386

This crocheted critter came in a pieces in a $5 bag of crocheted items from the Attic Thrift Store in Fort Bragg, California. I sewed on the legs and muzzle which were pieces in the bag.   

I knew I could find a button nose for him since I have a good-sized collection.

Rag doll was also a recent thrift shop find. Toys were priced half off at thrift. She was spruced up by a lingerie bag washing in Woolite. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186089777907

I began work on a cat-themed quilt for a relative. Going through my stash, I stumbled on this pieced cat fabric backing. I can't remember when I made it. All the better because it just moves this project along even quicker. I began the quilt top listening to the Cal Tjader's Latin Kick album.

The brightly-colored side of the cat print fabric is called the Catsville line, with a skosh of purple Moda grunge. 

I hope to get the cat quilt in to the longarmer before month's end. That will make three quilts in for completion. 

There are a couple of big garage sale events coming up at the end of the month. One sale scheduled is a church rummage sale. Those sales are the absolute best because they usually don't know the potential value of what they are selling. Books usually go for a song, and fabric-related items they nearly give away. 

Our weather is finally cooling from the intense heat of summer. Phew!

First day of estate sale

I finally made it to the first day of an estate sale. Since most open on Friday, I work that day albeit remote. This sale was on my way to the post office with my eBay deliveries. I have since branched out on my categories for sale. Added to my list are vintage games and Bibles. This estate sale produced a new Bible in its box, and an older Monopoly game. Next year, I will be free to visit all of the estate sales on Day 1. 

1966 Barbie was $1.50 at half off day at thrift. Since she had her clothes, she was a bargain. The individually priced outfits were $3.00 each. I gave her an upgrade in her outfit to this one. I am on the lookout for Barbie shoes. 

Barbie fans know that Barbie faces have changed over the years. The first Barbie looked like a world-wise older woman. 

And on to other things:

Finally getting my own estate in order. The safe deposit box now opened, I have a phone appointment with an estate planning attorney. When my mom passed, everything was in order. I had simply to follow the instructions she had left, down to the last detail in her celebration of life event. 

Promo here for my upcoming Countdown to Christmas beginning December 1st. This is an annual event. I have gathered my usual 25 holiday-themed Christmas CDs - all thrift shop rescues. Image gathering of Christmasy items continues all year long. 

These are the fabrics I have pulled to wrap my eBay orders in. When December rolls around, I will wrap orders in holiday-themed fabric. 

My department had its first all staff in person meeting a week ago. Out of approximately 200 people, 6 so far have contracted COVID. I am down with something so it is either a mild form of the ick, or is the seasonal flu. 

Lastly, I garnered over 2,000 views in one day on this blog. That is a first! Hello to all of my regular readers and those who have recently joined me. 

Visible Patching and Vacation Sourcing

These Rolling Stone overalls came in a bag of giveaways from my daughter. Since I am not a fan of the ripped-jean look, I thought I would try visible patching to see how these would come out. I chose an automotive print fabric in a similar red color scheme. 

Here is the setup of the first patch. 

Here are the completed patches. I chose a thread that blended in with the jean material. I also left the frays intact. I did sew the patches on using the sewing machine. A bit challenging but done. 

My daughter tried the overalls on and they are now back in her possession. 

Segueing to my vacation sourcing - it hit on all cylinders finding books, CDs, a crocheted item, and Barbie clothes. 

There was a Friends of the Library book sale in Fort Bragg, California. While I didn't find the high dollar books, I did find a few I could sell. 

I am concentrating on listing for sale all of those miscellaneous items that never make it into a regular listing session. I removed a couple of items that will never sell - a boy's baseball mitt, and a big ole stuffed cow I got at an estate sale. 

I have come to my senses and realized I will never be making tote bags. It doesn't interest me. I had pulled the sewing patterns, and collected a bit of upholstery-weight fabric. I have cleansed my craft cabinet of all that. That and seed bead projects - those items go to my hairdresser. She is having her first craft show of her hand beaded earrings.

I will stick with what I do best and that is turning patchwork pieced blocks into bed-sized quilts. At least three quilts are promised to close family members. I may even attempt another art quilt. We'll see.

Labor Day weekend Weird and Wacky

 This plate was for sale at one of my favorite hospice thrift shops. 

As with all things oddly wonderful, it eventually found its home. Everything sells at thrift. 

Let's delve into the weird and wacky offerings I see for sale at secondhand shops. 

Chinese take-out purse

Floating eyes

Lemon pitcher for lemonade

Baby shoes - but not the actual shoes some kind of die-cast collectible. I am sure very sellable, but I didn't purchase them. 

Yet another pair of abandoned shoes discovered on my downtown walk. Usually it is just one shoe or sock or dirty pieces of clothing. 

I found the iconic Red Stapler at thrift. At first I thought, I could get some good money for this $2 investment but decided it is a forever keeper.  

If you've never seen the movie Office Space, it is high time you did.