Swooping into thrift shops searching for quality and collectible items. Selling on eBay as tam_gonza. Focusing on Sewing/Quilting, Crafting, and Upcycling fabric-related items. Doing Grandfluencer stuff.
Holy guacamole Batman, page views the other day neared 6,000! Who is discovering me and where are you located? Course, I have been here all the time - for a number of years.
From my needlepoint/kit listing session earlier this month, I kept one - Grouse Country (1987) Eleven others were listed for sale on eBay.
Celebrating 14 years of blogging. One of my interests? Needlepoint. I enjoy the craft and I will rescue pieces I see at thrift and online.
This needlepoint kit was listed this month for sale on eBay, Christmas sells year around!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187481631056
Popping in a bit about my blog stats. My audience for the past year has been mainly United States, but Singapore has leapt into the lead as the second. Hideeho to them peeps. A few years ago Russia was my second audience to the U.S., but not since the disruption over there ....
My audience in other countries are in order of active users at the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Ireland. [Info re Google Analytics as of 8/5/2025]
My goal is to become a Grandfluencer! 😏That is defined as someone over 50 with pro-aging content. I have also applied to be an eBay live seller. Seems they want sellers with live selling experience from other platforms. I don't have any of that but I hope they give me a chance with the Beta testing.
I discovered another YouTuber worth a mention, actually YouTube put Texas Gal Treasures in my feed. Her style is straight to the point, and she highlights items I would never think to look for.
Below is Belle, our German wirehaired pointer, now 4 months old. Just beyond her is the outdoor Christmas tree for 2025. I found some of those gigantor plastic bulbs at thrift that will adorn it for my Countdown to Christmas posts in December. I also have a glorious gown for the Simply Delightful Thrifted Ball Gown post.
And a college update - it is sad news that I did not make it in to the art class where I had been waitlisted for months. Having changed my major from Art History to Art and Art being such a popular subject meant I moved way down in registration priority. The Design Fundamentals class was the one required to move on to the other specialty art classes such as oil painting. I will have to try again in the spring. Maybe I can take Figure Drawing II.
Ending the post with oil painted pieces of thrifted artwork I did not buy.
I couldn't buy Einstein if I wanted to - is an inmate at the dump. They don't sell recovered items.
Sometimes the thrift shops come through for you. Usually the Sutter Creek shop overcharges but today was my day. $1 for EVERYTHING in the shop. I had never seen that kind of thrift shop sale.
Of the 6 bags of fabric, this was the usable stack. Nearly all of it will be used for wrapping my eBay orders. Or maybe incorporated into the child's dress image shown below.
Included in the haul was a pair of black mid-length cotton gloves, a precut quilt kit Look What I See !!!, a Mary Maxim plastic needlepoint kit, and an entire wooden train set!
Getting things listed on eBay that have languished in my stash for some time. The GS vests were pressed and badges reinforced for the listing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187517586916
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187517574389
What doesn't languish are sewing patterns. I listed around 75 of them this past week. I admit I pulled this one since Little Baby Malcom is on her way. My first grandbaby. It looks easy enough for me to tackle. I like how the dress has a rose fabric print in the bodice. I could create something like that - I have enough fabric to choose from.😀
Bridesmaid Haley will be the recipient of the National Park quilt. When you have to put together quick projects, preprinted fabric panels are the way to go. I had this panel in my stash for 5 years.
An image of the Riley Blake 2020 selvage. The binding was a fly fishing lure print.
The quilting pattern courtesy of a longarmer in Kansas.
National Parks quilt backing. Another fabric from my stash.
Bridesmaid quilt for Meghan began as Country Fair quilt then morphed into Camper Quilt.
Camper quilt backing.
Striped fabric binding are one of my favorites. I keep all striped fabric I find at thrift.
I bordered it with a camper print fabric then had it quilted in a yellow camper design.
Meghan is also expecting a girl so the fairy print and camper fabric will be really cute!
Since Boy Scouts have been the focus of a couple of posts this month, it had to be time for an eBay listing session.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187508035833
The kerchief slides sell eventually. I don't list them as vintage but pretty sure they are.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187508011232
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187508030534
I still have 2 Girl Scout vests with badges to list. I just need to reinforce the sewing on the vest badges.
Blogger stats are a funny thing. A day ago it showed around 50 views for the day. Looked at the stats this a.m. and views for the day are nearing 2,000!
Stuck inside all day. We are suffering through the dual problems of summer with heat and smoke. There is a fire nearby in Fiddletown, California. Temps are expected to reach 105 degrees.
And this, my friends, is what I call a Yarnalicious haul from a Boy Scouts rummage sale.
For a grand total of $12, I gained these two bags of yarn, a 1950s Bible, and a kit shown below, all to sell on eBay.
Will you look at that vista of items? It is enough to make a seller tear up. 😿There was an entire circular table filled with yarn. I snagged all of the banded ones, even if they were singles.
The piece de resistance is this kit. You know I have a penchant for completing another crafter's unfinished work. Only problem with this kit, I do not know how to crochet.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187476520622
For some reason, I like to list yarn. Of all the items I list for sale, yarn is the first to be listed. Easy to photograph, easy to describe. The quickest category to sell items. At this last listing session, I bought the yarn at hospice thrift in the morning, listed it that afternoon, and the lot of 3 skeins New England Shetland wool sold the next day.
For my investment, these recent yarn listings total $360 on eBay. This will help fund the last of the wedding expenses. 💒
Seller update: Boy Scout stuff has been selling again. Must be the upcoming fall season and the troops forming.
I haven't been listing. I have two sewing pattern listing sessions queued up. There is also books, needle kits, and Barbie clothes lotted by color.
Quilting update: I was going to enter into a plaid series of quilts. Gonna take a quilty break. In the past 30 days, I have created 4 quilt tops and backings. One was quilted by me so that was extra work. The Catsville quilt is most likely a keeper I may quilt that myself.
Molly quilt Camper quilt Catsville quilt National Park quilt
One quilt on my sewing bucket list is the Storm at Sea pieced patchwork. I have more than enough plaid for the project. I also have the templates still in package from thrift.
The concept comes from this quilt from the 2017 Diablo Valley Quilters' Guild in Walnut Creek, California. Modern Plaid by Sally Socolich.
That example is more stars but shows the use of different plaids. This block seems pretty involved. When my quilting mojo kicks in, I might give this a go.
I am on my way to completing gift quilts for the bridesmaids. One has been gifted to the maid of honor, one is at the longarm quilter in Kansas, and one will be on its way.
For this project, I utilized a full Riley Blake National Parks panel. This fabric grouping has been in my stash for a few years. Why reinvent the wheel? This also fits into bridesmaid Haley's outdoorsy interests of camping and dirt biking.
I trimmed and sashed up the X blocks. Then I hated it. ASR (angry seam ripping) ensued. I knew better than to try and sew the blocks in sections rather than singly. Another project abandoned. Gonna thrift them back. This is the second attempt to spin something wonderful from these blocks.
Two months to go until the wedding day, and there is time to make the plaid quilts. Here is my tub-full of plaid fabric from my offsite storage.
Gonna call these quick and dirty quilts, I will match up the plaids in the same colorway and cut squares to either 6 or 8 inches.
After all of the bridal party gift quilts are completed, I will post the entire collection.
