There is Fine Art in the Thrift Shops

This amazing acrylic on canvas by Fred Draper has me stunned.  A gem from the great Thrift Shop Beyond that has found its way to me. I immediately hung it up on our living room wall.  It is almost criminal that I paid $6.25 cents for this high quality piece of art, marked $12.50, it was half off day at hospice thrift.  

Acrylic Glendole Grange #168 Moumouth Cty

Link to my i-dearly-love-maxfield-parrish find.

Included with the Draper delight were these clothes (the lot for less than $20). I score at these types of sales because I look for offbeat or professional suit type pieces.  A three piece black Pendelton suit/pant set, an unmarked beaded sweater (detail shown below), Studio Collection houndstooth pants, and a Woolrich gray shirt.  

I will replace the yellowed buttons and affix the loose beads on this sweater.

The second stop thrift shop finds were remnant material in a little black office cube with a ladies cape and two retro sewing books (images from those will find their way into my AtoZ posts).  

Other recent thrift shop finds were a Christopher & Banks embellished sweater and a Coldwater Creek plum knit top.

A to Z preparation continues for the April event.  As of this blog post, there are over 2,000 bloggers participating with the sign-up list now closed.  

I heart YOU

First up is Beverly at How sweet the sound for her weekly Pink Saturday linkup.  I have been image gathering, and as always with Beverly, I promise to behave myself (and am not always successful).

Continuing with the pink theme, I am showcasing my recent thrift shop finds of this embellished silk/cashmere sweater labeled Suzabelle Resurrected Couture ($2.50) and Luna Claire knit skirt ($3.99).  One reason I so enjoy shopping thrift is finding unique pieces like these for just a few dollars.  Helloo to all of my Visible-monday visitors!

The Leaning Tower of Tami

Finally, I Heart with Anne of Spygirl-amb.blogspot.com and her 52-pick-up weekly prompts.  

A body positive shout out link on a Huffington Post article about super-women-super-models-fashion-ads.  The focus being on models who are not the "usual" models, one being Ruth Bader Ginsberg.  

1987 Pink pattern of the day

Two thrift shop pinkies that I didn't buy - the beautiful beaded purse and the pretty pink picture.

I am gathering steam for the two month deadline for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April.  

Signups are still open a-to-z-challenge-sign-uplist-2015.  This will be my third year participating.  As of this post, there are over 500 bloggers participating.  

And then there was one

The Writing Challenge prompt "And then there was one," ending with images that intrigue me.

And then there was one baby doll mugshot, a recent inmate on www.shopgoodwill.com.

And then there was one Pattern of the Day, let's lounge around in a 1970's housecoat. 

And then there was one orchid illustration

An orchid a day and some patterns will appear in the posts I am preparing for the AtoZ Blog Challenge in April.  I am No. 128 on the sign-up list this year.  Woot woot!

And then there was one wayward llama that keeps visiting the ranch.  

Steamed

The writing challenge prompt for the day is "Steamed," and that fits right in with my mood.  My Dell red XPS laptop blue screened, fatal errored and we all know what that means.  She is no more.  Granted I was running Vista (some of you may ask, "What is that?") and it took forever to get the old gal up and running.  

My new XPS will arrive in about two weeks.  I admit I am brand loyal.  This will be my third XPS laptop and they have all served me well.  I get to try out Microsoft Office 365 and the Windows 8.1 operating system.  I hope I don't regret that decision but I can always upgrade to 10.  

If you are in the market for a laptop
Here-are-the-best-upcoming-laptops-2015-if-youre-planning-to-upgrade

Imagine that

The Writing Challenge prompt is "imagine that."  

Imagine that I have not worn a ring for nearly ten years, for various and sundry reasons.  I have missed it so and have decided it was time, time for a ring.  It was in part to celebrate completion of my one-year probation as a State employee and seemed an apt way to start 2015.

Oh, not just any ring but a pave of diamonds from the Le Vian Exotics line.   

I purchase fine jewelry in the days after Christmas when it is discounted to the lowest possible price.  While it is still outrageously expensive, this piece was worth the delight it will bring me for years to come.  

I have fallen in the love with the ring.  Irrevocably and totally in love.  It is like Gollum from the Lord of the Rings.




Imagine that.  

10 years ago, I was probably

The Writing Challenge prompt is "10 years ago, I was probably ...."

Climbing Mount Everest

Ok, probably not.  

Acting as lead singer for a Ska group

Another probably not - 

Ten years ago, I was probably listening to Right Said Fred.

(So I am a year off on time frame - still worth a revisit)


Ten years ago was not a good time in my life.  Thankfully, time, maturity and major changes have made for a better life for me today.  

Grow Your Blog and repairing a vintage baby quilt

It is blog-hopping time again with Vicki at 2 Bags Full.  

via phantomzucchini

To count myself worthy of this mainly fabric arts group, I complete at least one hand sewn project a year. This year's project was repairing my daughter's 25-year old baby blanket.  When she first brought it to me, I thought, "This thing should be thrown out."  It seemed it had sentimental value to her. Both sides of her vintage baby quilt were ripped from stem to stern and there were small holes and tears throughout. 

The floral print was a $1.50 remnant from the local thrift shop.  I made the patches and appliques by ironing in seams and trimming the corners then hand stitching to the fabric.

Pattern of the Day from 1967 

My recent thrift shop rescues - Madame ($5) and Fern ($2.50).

The Madame Alexander doll just required some bluing to brighten the dress.

Fern was embellished with a doll skirt and costume bracelet around her neck.

The week's thrift shop finds totaled less than $20 for 4 dinner plates in my stoneware pattern, an black and white orchid pot, and a Charter Club cashmere *sings the word* sweater and a scarf.

I am looking forward to visiting the others participating in this event.