Vintage Sheets For The Win

I purchased a big ol' bundle of not so perfect vintage sheet fat quarters from this shop on etsy.  There were 27 in all.  There was only one that didn't match all the rest so I used 26 funky fat quaters to make 3 quilt tops for X-Mas gifts for this next year.  I divided them up into sets.  Stripes, Polka Dots, and Flowers.  A picture of the floral quilt will be posted soon.  It's done, but I haven't taken a pic yet.

These are smallish quilt tops right now. I would say small lap size.  I'm thinking of bordering them though.  For backs I'll be using a vintage sheet that I'm hoping to find at our local thrift store.  I've found one blue and white floral for the back of the floral one.

 I think I'm going to do just simple quilting on these babies.  Free motion stipple for the border (if I do one) and then maybe using my wave stitch stretched on my machine for line quilting the rest.

If your looking for a way to make some quilts as gifts this is definitely a way to go.  For $21.50 I have 3 quilt tops!  And, the vintage goodness and patterns are perfect for the people who will be receiving them. 

Good Luck At The Goodwill

I've been finding some great things at the thrift stores this summer. Last week was no exception. I found some great yarns. With the coupon I had, all these yarns cost me under $8.00.
These four were handspun in the grease. They are bulky weight and maybe 20 - 30 yards each. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these. Maybe some super chunky balet style slipper socks?
These two are sooo pretty. Silk and acrylic. I will pair these up with one of the fuzzy ones to make small shawl.
The teal Plymouth Encore yarn will be some socks. And, all those gorgeous cottons will become clothing for some of the knit animals that I will be making for Christmas. More on those to come!

I Hit The Button Load!

It's been really busy the past few weeks. We've been painting, cleaning, and destashing all over the house. We had a big garage sale this last weekend. It always feels so good when were done unloading extra stuff. Monday I did manage to bring home more stuff though. I stopped at Value Village to see if they had any hardcase suitcases. The vintage kind maybe in a happy color like blue, yellow or green. Anyway... no suitcases but they did have a ton of crafting supplies. Usually I don't find much there but I sure did hit the mother load. Here's what I found:
A doll clothing fabric panel. This is soooo awesome! I've been wanting one of these for a long time but haven't found one until now. It's got two outfits for 18" dolls. One is a jumper and the other is a red dress. The girls will each get one outfit for christmas. I also found 2 more sweaters to recycle.
These I just couldn't resist. 3 balls of Katia Magic arcylic and wool yarn. It'll self stripe and it's perfect for Rachel's bavaclava that I'm going to make her. In the button load I found some some buttons that matched perfect!
I hit the button load! I found 4 bags of buttons. They obviously came from the same donator because I found buttons in differnent bags that go together. These aren't just plain ol buttons either. About 90% of them are fun, big, colorful, and decorative buttons. I love love love them all! And, best of all... There are at least 2-6 of every button! I love buttons.....Last but certainly not least. I found some wool roving! I never in a million years thought I would find roving at the thrift store. I have no idea what kinda wool it is. It's pretty scratchy and a funky color. I'm going to spin it up this weekend and see what happens!
I've also been busy spinning and recycling yarn. The pic at the top of the page shows my most recent yarns. Today I've got to finish my Phat Fiber samples for September. I can't wait to get my hands on my drum carder. It's been sitting unloved for far to long.

Goodwill Handbag Find

We went to the Goodwill this weekend. I love going there. Some days we don't find anything and others we fill a whole cart!! This weekend we filled a cart. I found a great wool striped sweater already partially felted, some jeans and summer dresses for my girls, a few tops to remake into jamies for my girls, and my hubby found a few work shirts. But, most importantly... I found a great little handbag. It has green leather handles and dividers inside. It looks like it's never been used (no dust or anything inside) and it's the perfect blank canvas to do something with. And, to top it off, it was only $1.00!! I also found a DIY felted flower kit, new! It has the same green for the stem and a lovely orangey red yarn for the flower. It was $1.49. I made up the flower last night. Felted it this morning. It's still drying, but when it's done, I will complete it and attach it to the bag. I'll post completed pics as soon as it's done. Hopefully tomorrow. There is nothing like a great little unique bag for only $2.49.

Quick Nightdress Recon

So, my mom and I went to the local thrift store this last Monday. On Monday's certain colored tags are only $1.28. I found a few things. Mostly sweaters to unravel and one leather coat that my mom found. (an amazing find) One of the things I found was this simple slip dress made of brown knit fabric. It was adult size medium with what look liked a bleach stain down near the bottom. For $1.28 I grabbed it and decided to recon it into a nightdress for my oldest daughter. (she's 7 and is very petite) She loves nightdress's and is growing like crazy, so I thought this dress may last a while. I shortened it up and cut the straps. I tied the cut straps to shorten them. (which can be retied as she grows) She specifically asked for a heart on the front. So, I cut two different colored corduroy hears and put them on the front of the dress. It all took me about 20 min to do. She absolutely loves it, and I will definitely be making more of these.

Photos show before and after. In the before, my 4 year old is holding up the dress. It was very long.

Goodwill Haul!!

I stopped by the local Goodwill yesterday. Bargain shopping is one of my favorite things to do. All pink tags were $1.28. I was on the prowl for wool jackets and knit sweaters that I could unravel for the yarn. Boy, did I hit the jackpot!! I found 5 wool jackets in various colors. Including a really pretty fuchia and black one. One was Pendelton wool and another was from someplace in Ireland. I will almost feel guilty about ripping out those two. (Just almost hehe) The lining on one of the jackets has a great pink paisley print on it. After I cut these jackets apart I'm going to dye some of them into co-ordinating color ways. I've been itching to make some wool art dolls and some plushies. Maybe even a new purse or needle caddy. The sweaters I found were all 100% cotton. I couldn't find any wool ones on sale. Maybe next time. I love cotton for scarfs, hats, and sweaters. I may also try putting some on Etsy at some point.