Vacation Sourcing

If I had my way, I would be thrift shopping every day during vacation. As it was, I was able to visit Fort Bragg secondhand sites on each successive Friday. 

The best of the bunch was the Paul Bunyan thrift shop which featured cookbooks buy 1 get 1 free. Mastering the Art of French Cooking is an automatic $20+ sale. 

There were sewing patterns, and fabric, two finds found most frequently in the wild. This $5 bag of scraps included orphan blocks and pieces. 

Gramma's Attic at the Redwood Coast Seniors Center produced a bag of completed crochet squares. I routinely find this type of handcrafted item there, and they always sell. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185982168462

This thrifted patriotic panel may finally spur me to complete a patriotic quilt. I keep tubs of fabric for certain themed quilts such as plaid wovens, Christmas prints, animal-themed fabric, and batiks. 

Fishing was largely unsuccessful as the Mr. caught one, and I caught none. We were circled by a few dolphins but I was unable to capture a good video. 

Finally, these Angelic Messenger Cards priced $2 at thrift were hidden in the books for sale. Yet another $20 bill waiting to be picked up by me. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185982143253

Rehabilitating the Blocks for a Patriotic Quilt

Starting off with some quilting stuff. I had the good fortune of buying this set of 20 hand-pieced quilt blocks. Even though it isn't overtly patriotic, I think of them that way. Each block had to be rehabilitated. I had in my stash a piece of companion fabric. I employed the same method with another group of star blocks I adopted from the same thrift shop in Sutter Creek, California. I added fabric to the uneven ends and then squared them up to 14". I have five blocks of 4. 

This Mystery Quilter's handiwork deserved to be brought to fruition. This is my absolute favorite thing to do now - bring together another piecer's vision of a quilt. I get it, abandoning projects. Sometimes they need to be sent to the Great Thrift Shop Beyond. 

In my thrift shop wanderings I found these Watchover Voodoo dolls Princess Jasmine and Ballerina. They have joined my home office toy collection. 

My most favorite activity, thrift shopping, produced the usual suspects - CDs, sewing patterns and books. And books I have been listing! I am determined to move them out of my home office bedroom. Now that my eBay listings are 75 above 1,000, I am shooting for 2,000 listings by year's end. 

Sometimes a book will surprise me. Before I launch a listing, I check my competitor's pricing. This one listed out over $100, so I priced it at $85. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184909105549

At first I thought these Lefton ceramic fish were intact but when I got them home, I realized they had been glued numerous times. Ah well, I will find a place for them. 

Another PBN has joined my collection, this one scored for $5. 

Even though I haven't really had a true vacation, it has been a delight not to work at my state job this past week. 

Patriotic quilt finished

I had hoped to finish this patriotic quilt prior to Labor Day and I am right on schedule. This project began in January putting-together-preassembled. What delights me about this one is the top and binding are entirely of thrifted fabric from one lot, the backing purchased retail. I suspect mystery quilter made the strips for this quilt in a jelly roll race.

Son's quilt is finishing up to be a close second. It is a king-sized quilt. I've got two sides left to bind.

Caregiver's Day was 1/2 off at hospice thrift with enough batting to finish a cubicle cover fall project. I will highlight it when I'm done.

an entire bag of extra loft batting and *sings the word* Vintage fabric.

This lump of loveliness is all usable fabric. The "gingham" labeled in the picture with tag is yardage cut in 1964.

I qualified as a caregiver because the Mr. had a medical procedure and I was home for the day. Uninterrupted hours of hand stitching result in getting things done!

An upside to taking sewing projects to a waiting room surgical center opens conversations with others where you might not have found a common interest.

The doctors and nurses also loved looking at my work in progress. One doctor commented, "Way to make great use of time!"

Do you take hand sewing projects along with you?

Linking up with Kelly at myquiltinfatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday.

Doing my patriotic best

I am hanging with the mamacita up in the Pacific Northwest during this holiday. I decided it was little Ginny's time to shine for this post. She was a thrift shop find last month.

A fabric find from E Street Thrift was blocks, border and more for $1. I have been shying away from buying preassembled blocks because they just don't "feel right" to me - like I should be making them myself. But this packet 'o quilt goodness will turn into an amazing quilt top.

Other sewing-related finds included this $2 basket chock full of Aunt Martha's embroidery transfers, I'll highlight the contents in an upcoming post. 

I am also participating as tamaschen in the Instagram 14 Day of Summer mini summer photo challenge hosted by Our Pretty Little Girls & Wife Mommy Me, #14DaysofSummer17. Today's prompt is "America."

I am circling back around to finish up my patriotic lap quilt that I started in January of this year, on this post.

I so love my country and am proud to be an American!

Putting together the preassembled

On Superbowl Sunday weekend I had the good fortune of stumbling onto a mystery bag of fabric at the thrift shop that contained all of the precut and partially sewn fabric for a patriotic quilt. At first I thought I had a completed binding but when it turned out to be 70+ inches for a fabric strip quilt, I quickly went to work. My daughter helped me measure the strips while we sort of watched/listened to the football game.

The strips for the borders and binding were also precut. The Mr. really likes this flimsy, it does seem to be more masculine than feminine. What is nice it is outside of what I would normally pick in fabric - colorful, floral and girly. 

I had never had so much fun putting a quilt top together, more than half the work had already been done. I can see why quilters buy kits.

One of the ladies here at work is expecting a baby - that gives me an excuse to do another crib quilt. I might try a different pattern this time. I already know I am going to use the Tigger strips from my newly-found fabric of this past weekend. Since she and her husband do not want to know the sex of the baby, I need to keep it neutral (no Hello Kitty for this one).

I also splurged and bought my first jelly roll from a retailer. Around the first of the month, I visit all of the retailers that participate in the fabshophop, fabric retailers that offer prizes when you find the hop shop "bunny." It is a good way to see new fabric offerings and hopefully win prizes (not a sponsored post). I spotted a jelly roll that will provide a perfect finish for my vintage fabric quilt I have in the pre-basting stage.  

Blog challenge news - It remains to be seen whether I will participate in the AtoZ Challenge this April. The rules have changed, it appears the Team want to rely more on social media posts, rather than a master list on the website. I understand their reticence about the master list which topped over 2,000 participants last year but it is my main source of finding new blogs AND how others find me long after the challenge ends.

Linking up with Lorna at sewfreshquilts