One last look and retro quilt done

I took one hard last look at the sewing patterns I wanted to store for awhile. Culling this time was more brutal, 25 more patterns from just one container. I am never going to sew clothing. It is cheaper to buy clothing thrift and alter it than to make clothing from patterns. BTW Vogue patterns sell the best.

I also purchased two bags of sewing patterns from Goodwill. This packet of transfers dates from 1965 and will join my keeper crew. 

Nearly 25 CDs are waiting to be listed also. I would like to hover around 500 listings. I also want to cull listings I figure will never sell, mainly old publications (other than vintage cookbooks). 

A favorite YouTuber of mine is Jason Thrifts, an online reseller. I like his format and love his momster JPeg. His segments on Thrifty Over 50 are an enjoyable watch for me. Since I am starved from human contact, it is one of the few touchstones I have now with people albeit online. 

Quilting update: Retro quilt is finally done. Each of the 15" quilt blocks had to be rehabilitated to bring them to square to be fashioned into this quilt. I chose the bold tattoo border fabric because it seemed to bring all of the blocks together. I purchased the wide quilt backing on sale. It was professionally quilted in an Ansley Park pattern. It, like all of my 2020 quilts, has been bound in a scrappy solid border. 

Previous post on retro quilt here and here. Linking with Kelly for Needle & Thread Thursday at myquiltinfatuation.com

I hate to admit that I get a kick out of winning lots at online auctions. Sometimes they are a hit, sometimes they are a miss. The last lot I bought turned out to be the one needlepoint I wanted to keep and spent about what I would have in a retail store. Live and learn. 

Fun find of the day - A 1997 compilation of Funk Classics, Vol. 2. I sprang for the $4 CD Goodwill price tag for this fun romp. The songs are long-playing versions with a couple I had never heard before.

My staycation begins at the end of the day. I took a week off between jobs. I will have the delight of the usual hunkering down and trying to stay cool in the 100+ degree heat wave. I will make progress on my projects for sure!

Striking A Pose

I am trying to find that delicate balance between buying too much product and selling it. The majority of what I list for sale is from thrifting, now online auctions are fast overtaking that activity for finding product. I've got a bag full of Girl Scout I need to process.

At what point do you decide, this is never going to sell? After I have well surpassed the 500 listing mark, I think I will cancel those listings with low views and no movement. Many are books and they take up a lot of space. I actually live next to a well-known rare bookseller. I haven't seen their setup for storing books. 

Specialty books have been a boon for me. I just sold a vintage Complete Course in Magic and then found this Calvin & Hobbs Collection. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184375502264

The first stop of the day included all pictured below. I am tempted to model the graphic T shirt and jeans. I really need to list more clothing. The clothing exchanges have shut down again so nothing new is coming in or being accepted. 

I committed to listening to another round of 6 used cassettes. Bought a few more sewing patterns, and a 1960 60 songs with chords for guitar book (keeper). I have delusions of someday learning to play the guitar. Other keepers? This Ty mint green dragon (50 cents) and a Girl Scout tin (too cute!) and Folk Years CD. 

Fun find of the day: Cookbook from 1965, fun illustrations from that time period. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184375505990

I have also altered how I post images on listings. I color scan them onto a jump drive and then supplement with photos I have taken by camera. An example would be the front and back of a CD scanned, then the interior with the back of the CD displayed then photographed. 

Quilting update: I am in the binding phase of two projects. I am even bumping one because I want my Retro quilt done first. The other is Minimalist Plaid, one to be gifted. 

I have a Zoom interview on Monday and a Webex interview on Thursday. I am curious how they will go. Luckily, I have a hair appointment on schedule Saturday and our county is still open (unlike neighboring counties). 

Seems Americans can look forward to another stimulus check. Mine will go 100% to debt reduction. 

Best of trail cam in July, this doe and fawn series. Fawn looks like she is striking a pose. More likely she discovered the camera. 

You can see how much the fawn had grown in 2 weeks. 

After I bought those cassettes from thrift, I found 20 more in the house. Yippee!

KaPow! Round 9 - Selling Your Own Product

The Mr. and I came up with a goofy product to sell online. Our first batch went up on eBay, sort of a Mother's Day gift to me. I love business and I love selling. I present the Hard Times 2020 Solid Oak Commemorative Lid Knocker. We use one to loosen the metal lids on glass jars, or plastic drinks with plastic screw top lids. 

Hard-Times-2020-Commemorative-Lid-Knocker/184287486357

On my recent freebie clothes find I ended up keeping half of the clothing for myself. I know, not much of a way to make money, but I am a clothes horse after all. 

I think my technique of photographing clothing once outside on a dress form and then inside under florescent light gives a buyer a better sense of the garment. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184288396585

Digging deeper into my patterns, I decide which ones to group together and which ones I will part with. These are the last of the items I can possibly home source. I need to take a trip to my off site storage. 

Gardening update: I continue to revise my greenhouse gardening methods. The sun screens were added to see if it would bring down the temperature. 

Quilting update: Retro quilt is being sent to the longarmer. I went easy on the backing, combining two wide back panels. 

I, among many others, am weary of this pandemic. I am sure there will be lots of finger pointing when we have moved beyond the worldwide social experiment of 2020. 

Ringy Ding Ding Round 5 of Reselling and the Retro Quilt

Round 5 of reselling continues with home sourcing. I did buy one lot of how-to books from an online auction site. The profit margin is smaller but that is my style, many small items. I like posting these in rounds averaging 25 newly-listed items with 200 active listings. More listings = more sales. Sooner or later, you will have something listed that someone will want. As an example, I nearly thrifted back a vintage 1983 Warping all by Yourself, a cleaning-out-the-bookshelf item, sold for $25 + shipping. 

I learned another trick to EBay selling. I had a few auction-style posts that I converted to fixed price listings. It really is the same thing, it is bought at the listed price or by an offer. The best part is the listing is good until cancelled, you don't have to keep renewing the listing (or you can put it on auto-renew also). 

Digging deeper in the house going through long-forgotten cupboards, found this beauty of a bottle. Listing this empty Saint Grigor in perfect condition (sans liquor). I saw on one of the reseller's video that empty fancy liquor bottles will sell. The skeptic that I am I can only think of 2 reasons why someone would want this bottle, (1) decoration, or (2) refill it with an inferior liquor and sell shots.

I had sewing patterns for baby doll clothes. When am I ever going to make doll clothes? The twelfth of never. I listed all of those. I don't have grandchildren and there are none on the horizon. 

I've listed all of the CDs and cassettes. I have a few vinyl records that I double bought or that I just don't enjoy listening to (a Prince album comes to mind) going up for sale. 

Looking for a nine-patch project of mine that keeps disappearing, I discovered two more batches of quilt blocks I also listed. 

What will I do differently when my beloved thrift shops open back up? I am going to purchase more aggressively. I won't second guess my purchase items, I will buy them all! For the longest time I only bought in my size for me or my family. Now if it is quality clothing on trend, it doesn't matter what size it is, I am going to buy it! Should I buy that pair of ceramic Hawaiian girls? you betcha. One of the numerous items I have put back on the shelf after reviewing my purchases in line. 

Quilting update: Retro quilt flimsy is done! It was a quick put together. The odd thing was I was sure I squared up each block to 15" but when I combined the blocks, some didn't meet up. Now I have enough skill to add pieces as I go if one block comes up short. This Retro quilt I also think of as the "biker" quilt because of that tattoo border. This quilt has loads of personality! Off to the longarmer, I can't bear the thought of quilting another large one right now. 

There is also another change in my attitude. Life is short. Look how we have all taken for granted the simple pleasures. I am going to try out for the talent competition at work. I am going to save for that longed-for trip. I am going to laser focus on the things that make me happy. 

I am benefiting from Grandmillenial Style

I had not been a fan of the vintage sewing machines I had collected. Even after oiling and coaxing, I could never get them to work (I have 3 of them). My two-month sewing hiatus came to end when I pulled out the cast iron Franklin I have had for quite some time. With my Babylok still in repair, I was highly motivated in learning how to use it. Luckily, I found a YouTube video on threading it (I never would have guessed the way it is done) and did a short snip. I will be doing more videos because there are so few on vintage machines. 

The Franklin had been oiled and all parts were in working order. I promptly created a flimsy with my plaid wovens. I will finish it with a scrappy plaid border. I may add another border to the side, pushing it into king-sized.

The threaded Franklin

Tub o' Plaids

My two-month hiatus also gave me a new patience in rehabilitating a retro quilt block. My first attempt was unsuccessful, I didn't cut the pieces large enough. It was also around the holidays so I had other things crowding in on my time and attention. 

Before

After

I decided to go with gray, rather than cream. I was so pleased with myself. It is not perfection, but it means that series of blocks that I bought thrift will finally comprise an entire quilt top. I was one block short of 20. 

I trimmed them all to 15" square. Some had to be rehabilitated by adding fabric, others were a little larger so I had to trim into the stars. 

HGTV featured an article grandmillennial-style-2020-design-trend-pictures. Part of that trend is bringing back "knick knacks," with a style described as those who love "wicker, chintz and needlepoint." The majority of the items that I have for sale are needlework kits. My newest up for sale is this 1984 Autumn Bouquet kit by Creative Expressions. 

I will be out "sourcing" later today and picking up an automatic bobbin winder since I can't figure out how to do that on the Franklin. 

Just when you think all is lost

I had really lost hope in myself and my ability to organize when I found my tub of shame here. Turned out it was 2 tubs of shame that I ended up dumping into one big mountain. 

My mountain turned from frustration to inspiration. One blogger who inspires me is Wanda at exuberantcolor one who is quite experienced with the colorwash or watercolor technique of patchwork piecing. 

Luckily, I had done an original pull of fabric for a colorwash quilt and have the reference books for that project. In that grouping, I had also thrown unorganized remnant purchases, some surprises, other delights being such pretty patterns. I culled out the ugly fabric and organized others into feedsack, asian-inspired, batiks and holiday. 

Another bonus to craft of quilting is when you happen to be stalled in one area of creation, you can make progress in another area. Since my machine is in the shop, it is the perfect time for cutting fabric. 

I think I have settled on the border fabric for my retro quilt. This yardage made it into my stash being the last fabric I purchased in 2019. 

Have you ever lost hope looking at your fabric stash that you would never get things organized again?