The last February thrift trip!

Good morning friends! Whew, after a week or so of balmy temperatures...the mercury has dipped to -26 Celcius again. It's cold and blustery, but later on I will bundle up for a walk before I start work. I am working from home, and I am getting alarmed at the amount of time I spend glued to a monitor. So I am forcing myself back into my walking regimen. 3km in the morning, and a longer 5 km on the weekend.

Remember the plague of garbage that Vix experienced? I collect my share of garbage too. And sometimes litterbugs are kind enough to throw away something useable. Here are 3 reusable shopping totes. After quarantine, and a good soak in dishwashing detergent, they are good as new. Here they are draining in my bathtub. 

Throwing litter on the streets and on people's property is a terrible thing. I used to suffer a plague of litter at my flophouse. It wasn't uncommon to find McD wrappers (it's everywhere!), empty liquor containers, cigarette butts etc. Since I have erected a fence, the garbage hasn't stopped! The dirty blighters drop their garbage in the gap between my fence and an adjacent low wall. They sit on the wall to enjoy their snacks and smokes, and then leave their garbage behind. I guess I'll have to install spikes next.

I come from a long line of garbage pickers. I hate it when things are wasted. I remember visiting my mom's parents in Turkey. It was the seventies. And I remember leaning out of my grandmother's salon window to watch the pedestrians and the odd horse-drawn wagon along the cobblestone street below. The street was narrow and always immaculately swept by local labourers. I remember watching an elderly gentlemen going for a stroll when he stopped suddenly, stooped down, and picked up a 8" length of discarded cord. He thriftily coiled it up and tucked it into a pocket. He resumed his stroll. Waste not, want not. Sadly the last time I visited Turkey, there was McD and Starbucks everywhere..and a lot of garbage.

I hope that we don't get buried in McD wrappers. 

Onto my last February thrift.

 Our Covid cases have increased dramatically. And pent up from staying inside so much,  I went on a spree. I visited a Salvation Army, Value Village, and a sewist shop.

Here is my new white serving dish. I use it for flowers.

Thrifted white tray holding my new plants. Tablecloth, Pyrex fridgie, condiment set and tray are all thrifted. Dining table and chair purchased second hand or thrifted. 

I purchased this dish at Salvation Army. I think it was meant to hold an assortment of ors d'oeuvres. I already had one that I use to hold necessary clutter on my kitchen counter. I like it because it corrals the small bits and pieces.

A local sewist shop is going out of business.  It's a sad day when we loose another small business. I stopped in to purchase some ribbon and zippers (I bought lots!). I chatted with the proprietor, who is a hard-working independant woman. Sadly she is another victim of mass consumerism. When Covid appeared she sewed masks and seemed to prosper. But then mass produced masks became available and her business declined.  She decided to sell everything and move away. 

The ribbon will be used to mend a thrifted cardigan.

My shopping didn't end there. The Salvation Army store had more kitchen treasures. 

I already have the dinner plates in this dish set. I remember buying them when my youngest was a baby. I dithered over this set, which is complete with lunch plates and 4 mugs and saucers. I couldn't leave them behind.   On a nostalgia trip, I also bought the avacodo Pyrex dish. 

I absolutely love the designs!

This little white dish is nothing particularly special. But I have a small collection of blue plates, and I think this will be a nice addition. I plan to display them on a wall.

The Salvation Army was having a 50% off sale on jackets and winter outerwear. Because as soon as the temperature starts to spike, people want to buy spring clothing.

I snapped up this wool plaid jacket. It looks very pretty on! Lately I have been inspired by plaids and oversized althleisure. I've been watching YouTube vidoes for a South Korean brand called Ader Error. I absolutely luuuurve how the pieces are mixed together. I am absolutely a fan of comfortable well-made clothing that you can travel in...and also swaddle yourself in for a quick nap on the bus.

I plan to pair this jacket with a knit maxi skirt, plaid boots and a touque. And lavish amounts of rhinestone jewelery!

After the Salvation Army thrift store, I nipped into Value Village.

I found something.

Vintage 80's men's shirt.

        I found this fabulous oversized silk shirt. I was a little shocked at the price! I remember that these shirts were always on special for $30. Nonetheless it came home with me. After quarantine, I tossed it in the drier at high heat, as a prevention against bed bugs. Then I washed it carefully. It's hanging to dry and I can hardly wait to wear it!!

A few other things jumped into my cart as well! Some large pieces of fabric...

....and this!!

This pristine top is another vintage find. Circa late 1980's  I plan to wear it with my new plaid jacket!

I didn't stop there. 

Federal Circus Mixing bowls

I had been eyeing the circus set of mixing bowls. They were posted for sale on our local marketplace. The price was high, but reasonable considering it was a complete set.  I spent a week thinking about the purchase. Then I checked and it was still available. I decided it was meant to be mine. I haggled a bit with the vendor and she was gracious enough to add this fridgie set.

Pyrex fridge set

I ended my spree with one last purchase. I moved into my house 8 years ago and I am still furnishing it. I found a second hand curio cabinet for $80!!! It was from a moving sale! I immediately snapped it up. When the quarantine is over, I will set it up, and get rid of the makeshift shelves that currently occupy it's place. Bliss!

 Happy thrifting everyone. I'm off for a quick walk before work.

Stay safe :)

Dogs and quilt making don't mix

Hello friends!!  I hope all is well and sunny where you are. We've been blessed with about 4 weeks of no snow or frost. Mind you, I got a bit careless with the last round of frost - and I neglected to bring my potted plants in.  The result was a trip to the greenhouse to buy more replacement plants ;)

I've been lucky enough to find fabric at the thrift stores. Normally a a few casual visits to the thrift store will yield a couple of pieces of fabric.

Nice bit of quilting fabric and stretch denim.

Lo and behold.  One day I popped into the thrift store between errands, and I came away with a whole load of fabric.  Most of it for quilting.  The black and white bundles are for clothing.

Jackpot!

Which lead me to my next conundrum.  Now almost all available surfaces in my sewing room are covered with fabric.  Which normally wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that I'm in the middle of piecing denim quilts.

The finished quilt top looks like this.

I have several more quilt tops to make...and I need to cut strips of fabric.  I need to cut a LOT of strips.

After I sew the fabric together, I lay the strips on the floor to get a sense of what they will look like when pieced together. I'm going for a 97% random look.

Hmmm, not random enough.

"Approaching 97% randomness Captain!!"

In order for my system to work. I need to lay material out on the floor and leave the house.  When I come back, the first impression of the material layout either works or doesn't. I'll rearrange the material then try again.

Here's the problem.

I like to roll in fabric :)

My dog is a lovely dog.  She sheds lots, and she loves it when I leave fabric on the ground where she can cover my beautiful, potential quilt with dog hair.

Which means I get to wash the fabric, again.  If I don't zigzag stitch the fabric, this is what it looks like when I pull it out of the dryer.

What a mess!

Untangling and ironing this bundle took a couple of hours, grrr! Because the fabric is now frayed, it's too narrow to use in the quilt.  It went into the scrap bin instead.  I went back to work cutting more fabric to replace what I lost.

This is why quilting can take a loooong time with a naughty dog in the house.  But I'm persisting.

Get 'er done!

I'm *hoping* to post pictures of 2 more quilt tops soon.  Then, dog willing, I'll be able to actually *finish* the quilts.  What a concept!!

happy thrifting ;)

When the going gets tough, the tough sew blocks!!

Happy New Year friends!!!  I hope that everyone in blogland had a restful and enjoyable holiday.  Here I am all bright-eyed and bushy tailed (hmmm, maybe it's all the caffeine).  And I'm fairly bursting with New Years goals (gosh, maybe I should start by finishing those late Christmas presents ;).

 

2014 was a good year, I'm hoping that 2015 will be even better.  Lately I've had a few poopy days - you know, where nothing seems to go right, and when everything seems against you.

 

So what do tough people do, when the going gets tough?

Erm, pardon the sideways pic.

 

 

 

Nothing vents steam like ironing :)

 

 

Log cabin blocks baby!!

You betcha...a couple of sessions cutting strips for log cabins, a couple of visits to the gym - where I rowed ferociously, and the rhythmic Zen-ness that is piecing and ironing.

Don't ever let life get you down.  Find something that you love, that is mindless and soothing (not TV) and JUST DO IT!!!

 

happy thrifting ;)

failure, Jacob's Tears

Hello friends!  Have you ever had a moment when you had to admit defeat?  Last week I experienced such a moment. After spending months lusting over a spectacular Jacob's Tears quilt, I decided to make my own.

I played with fabric and figured out my color scheme.

fabric

When I had a quiet moment, I cleared off the kitchen table (that was a feat in itself!) and started my calculations.

Hypotenuese

Despite my careful calculations, and allowances for diagonal seams, my pattern wouldn't draft properly, and I was left with this.

Argh!

So for the first time ever, I'm going to work from someone else's pattern.  I have given up trying to draft my own pattern.

I've asked Santa for a special quilting book this year.  I won't tell you the title yet.  Let's cross our fingers and hope that I was nice enough to get this book.  My intent is to read the pattern (and read the pattern all the way through, not just ooh and awww over the pictures), and diligently follow the pattern (which is going to be very tough for me).  

happy thrifting everyone ;)

Purchasing fabric from thrift stores

It's Friday, hurrah!  The weekend is fairly brimming with scintillating things to do - the air is ripe with promise!!  I plan to sew, snooze, tidy, admire my tidying and possibly read on my deck in the sunshine!!!  I should mention that the kind weather-people have predicted a sunshiny, warm weekend. Hmm, I also have to bring my steam-cleaner to work as I had a condiment mishap on one of the upholstered chairs (hey, that could happen to anyone, right?).

In the meantime, here are some pics of fabric that I purchased from the Salv Army.

3 yards of cotton, $5

5 yards of home decor and heavyweight fabric, $7

Scads of fabric!!

Upside-down closeup of selvage

Upside-down closeup of home decor canvas..look maw, there is a monkey!!

Thread!!!

Bags of thread for $2!!

happy thrifting ;)

Feelin' quilty

You know the feeling you get when you are in a rut?  You mindlessly do the same things, day in and day out. Eventually the things that bring you joy stop doing so.

Enter quilting.  For the past few months, I've been sifting through boxes of nine-patch blocks that I had sewn from old clothing.  I cut up old clothing like jeans and shirts.  Then using my rotary cutter, straight edge and cutting mat I cut the pieces into squares or triangles which I sew into blocks.  

I used to take a lot of joy in upcycling old clothing.  And I've been blessed with a boyfriend who has donated countless shirts and jeans to be snipped up for fabric.  The problem is the colors are limited to masculine colors - I was getting tired of working with navy, blue and white.

Here is a picture of 9 blocks that I've made from old jeans and plaid shirts.  I suspect I have buckets of these blocks.

The time has come to turn these blocks into a quilt, but I rebel against the idea of adding more dull colours...I'm craving brights.  I also rebel against the idea of another quilt made entirely of 9 patches...I want something different.  I mulled over adding sashing, borders, anything I could to jazz up these 9 blocks.

Then I discovered this blog.


The author blogged about this delightful mini-granny square quilt.  I admire anyone who has the stamina to make a KING sized quilt out of 5" blocks....whew!  That is a commitment!!

I plan to turn my largish 9" blocks into even larger granny squares. When complete each block will be about 15" square.  They should stitch up into a quilt in no time!!

I bought this 100% cotton duvet cover from the Sally Ann for $15.  The material is nice quality.  After I wash this cover, I'll snip away the front from the back.  This material will be used for the quilt backing, and possibly cushion covers. 




Always pre-wash your quilting fabrics.  If you are not sure if the colors will bleed, try tyeing fabrics together before throwing the fabric in the washing machine.





A while back, while I was thirsting for bright fabric, I popped by the fabric store.  I splurged on some discounted ends and other delightful fabric.

Behold some of my splurge.

Green!!!!

Hippos and stories!!

Ah!!!  I love the color palette that I found.  Brilliant greens, hippos, stories, and a designer floral print.  I plan to use this stash for a couple of quilts.

1. hippo material will go into a baby quilt for a friend's grandson - I'll have lots left for other projects

2. story fabric will be used as a border for a snuggly bedtime quilt

3.  the green material will be used in several quilts - I'll use small pieces of the bright green material to offset muted navy, red and blue colors.  I'll use the remaining pieces as sashing in a quilt made of bright colors

4. the designer floral material is going to be hoarded until I have enough fabric to make myself a quilt...this is my inspiration 

It's official, I'm a fabric hoarder. :)

happy thrifting everybody

Patchwork quilts from old clothes and reclaimed fabrics

I love sewing quilt blocks.  At the end of a stressful, hair-frazzling day, there is nothing more soothing than sitting down at my sewing machine and sewing quilt blocks.  The creative process of selecting and cutting fabric, sewing them together, and then ironing the final result is a refreshing balm.

I first got into quilting when I was 7 years old when I read "Little House in the Big Woods".   The idea of making a warm, snuggly quilt from castoffs appealed to me.  Not only was I creating something from nothing.  But I was also creating something substantial and beautiful a little piece at a time.

Both the quilt tops below were sewn from mostly reclaimed fabric.  These quilts are almost complete, I'm in the final stages of putting them together.

9 Patch Quilt with Glow-in-the-dark lips on the border

The quilt above (pardon the crappy picture)  has alternating nine-patches.  This quilt is made mostly from turquoise fabric which I received for free after an estate sale.  Other material used includes a pair of blue jeans, a pair of red jeans, a dark plaid shirt, and some leftover fabric from a previous quilting project.  The material on the border was purchased.  It features glow-in-the-dark lips.

The backing for this quilt is going to be a fleece sheet.  Instead of the traditional quilt batting in the middle, I'm going to have a wool blanket that can be buttoned in on the inside.

I started this quilt a few months ago.  So it was a relatively quick project.  Sewing the blocks was quick and easy.  But I took forever putting the blocks together in a way that made sense.  I kept arranging and rearranging the blocks and leaving it for a day or two.  Eventually I stumbled upon the idea of arranging the blocks into a larger 5 by 5 pattern.

Pinwheels!!

This pinwheel quilt was truly a labour of love.  I started it over a year ago.  I originally envisioned a quilt made of different plaids, but I didn't have enough plaid in my stash.  Then I focused on creating pinwheels from red, beige or white.  I ran out of beige and white, so I swapped in some gold fabric in the centre of the quilt.  

This quilt was made almost entirely from castoff clothing.  Around 6 shirts, 2 skirts and 4 pairs of pants went into this quilt.  The backing is a flannel sheet, the middle is a premium quality batting that I got on sale.  The binding is going to be some fabric I had purchased for another project.

Quilting isn't for everyone.  And a lot of people choose not to use reclaimed fabric. It's more time-consuming to cut up and piece.  But the material is definitely more durable and better quality than what you'd find in a fabric store.

Quilting doesn't have to be an expensive hobby.  Use what you have and you may be surprised with the results.

Happy thrifting everyone.