Thrift Store Finds Saturday and a Sale!

I haven't actually been to the thrift store much lately. The only way to stop myself from stashing more sheets than I can handle is to simply not go.

I did pop in the other day and came out without any sheets, but I did pick up a couple of odds and ends.
Vintage Dish (tea?) Towel with tag still attached.

A set of 4 napkins, designer unknown, but quite pretty. Each one is a bit different from the others.

A Vera Neumann Scarf.

And that is all my finds of late.
In honor of this being Labor Day weekend here in the USA, I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop for 20% savings on all currently stocked items. The code for the sale is LABOR20. I've been adding quite a few items from my personal stash of pillowcases that I'm just not going to get around to using, plus I'll be adding more destash items as I find time. The sale will run through September 7th.

Thrift Store Finds Saturday and Last Day to Enter Giveaway!

Just a short mention, today is the last day to enter my UFO challenge giveaway. All that is required is that you started a sewing project before June 1, 2012 and finished sometime during the month of June. You can enter as many projects that meet the requirements. See tab at the top to take you to the details.


I did some thrifting on Monday this week, which is not the norm for me, but Savers has started having random 50% off sales during the week instead of on the weekends.
Being Monday, I had to wait until after work, and of course I had the feeling that all of the good stuff was gone.


My biggest find was 3 pieces of Pyrex in the Woodland brown print. They weren't included in the half off sale, but less than $10 for the whole set isn't bad. I dithered about getting these, thinking why get them just to have them sit and look pretty, but then I thought, why shouldn't I use them! Yes, they may get stained or scratched, but so what?. Life is short and stuff is meant to be used. So, they came home with me.

Another find that I will be keeping and hopefully using are these 4 balls of DMC Perle floss. All four for only $1. There were other packages that I left behind because the colors didn't suit, but I'm pretty sure I'll get some use out of these.

Now some finds that will end up in my shop.
I wish I had a round table to use this lovely poppies table cloth on, but I don't. I thought about cutting it up for the fabric, but prefer to give it a chance in my shop before it comes to that. Poppies are a favorite of mine, so I could definitely make use of it if it doesn't find a home.

It looks like the trim may have been added on after the previous owner purchased the tablecloth.

Another Star Wars Sheet. I've seen dresses and things made out of sheets like these. It's pretty nifty and bold of the designers. Perhaps someone will do the same for this one. Tote bags would be good, too.

Roses on black and roses on peach plaid.

And that is all I have to share for this week's thrifting finds.

Thrift Store Finds Saturday: Picasso Edition

I'm always hopeful that I will find something really rare or terribly valuable at the thrift store and this past week I did. I found not 1, but 2 Picassos!


Of course, these Picasso items aren't paintings worth beaucoup bucks, but bed sheets! I didn't even know such a thing existed, but sometime in the olden days, someone had the nifty idea to feature Picasso's artwork on linens. I don't know how many different prints exist. The two I have are Dove with Olive Branch and Hands with Flowers.



Another find was this tin of paper Christmas coasters from 1985. I wasn't sure what they were until I brought them home, but they seem like a fun novelty item. What I don't really get is how helpful a thin paper coaster would be if you have a drink that sweats...


There were several other sheets and pillowcases that I will be listing in the shop over the next few days. Here's a little preview.

Thrift Store Finds Saturday on a Sunday

It was too late to get pictures for my finds yesterday, so my thrift store finds post comes a day late.
I'll be linking up with Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds.
First up, this lovely floral cushion. Only $1 and it has a zipper closure so that I could actually change the inside cushion if I wanted. I thought is was quite pretty so now it has a home with me.

Next up, these gorgeous sunflower curtains, 4 panels. I initially snagged these for my Etsy shop, but then I started thinking, why shouldn't I use them! I have some boring old light green things hanging in my living room windows, and I think these will make a beautiful change. I will have to modify the tops to work with our hardware, but that shouldn't be too difficult.

3 more Mikasa Plates. These are not the Ben Seibel designed ones I've been collecting, but still so pretty. I don't really have a use for these, but I didn't like the thought of them not having a home. This pattern is called Petals. The background fabric in the photo is also some vintage fabric yardage I found.

Next, an Exclusive Schumacher Screen Print! At least that is what is says on the selvedge. This is a nice bit of home deco fabric I found, and quite the season for it, too! I will be putting bits of this into the shop eventually, just have to see how much is usable.

And finally, there's this beautiful scarf full of elephants. If anyone can help me figure out the signature, I'd greatly appreciate it. All I can tell is that it's something (Gina?) Masso. Google has not given me any inkling as to the first name.

Thrift Store Finds

Only a few finds to show today. I vacillate between staying away from the shops for fear of adding more to my stash, with the sure knowledge that if I don't go, I'll miss out on some spectacular find. I went to 2 stores yesterday and was strong enough to put some things back on the racks that had somehow gotten into my cart. I did however come away with these little items.

My Ebay research informs me that they are Danish silk screen cocktail napkins. Perhaps from the 40s or 50s. I really have no clue, but they looked interesting and were a very nice price.

I finally took home this partial set of books. I had been eying them for months, but with all the info available on the internet, I was reluctant to add these large, heavy books. They were half off, and there really are some lovely quilts to look at, so I finally brought them home with me.
Here are a few of the quilts from the books.

Does this one remind anyone of a current quilt trend??

And a few patterns, which if complete, shall be going into the shop.

See, not too bad at all. I was able to restrain myself. Of course, that could be because I'm waiting for the really big sale on Monday...;)

Seek and You Shall Find...AKA Thrift Store Finds

And if not exactly what you were looking for, still darn close! I may have mentioned that I was going to add some linen to my stash to use in some upcoming sewing projects. Since I have to pass the thrift store on my way to the fabric store, I thought it couldn't hurt to stop and see if just maybe they had some linen that I could practice with. While I am interested mostly in the natural colored linen, as that's what all of those fun Zakka projects seem to use, I was open to any color I might find.
I think I hit the jackpot. At least my sister, who sews clothes and loves linen, thinks I hit the jackpot. I did not find any natural linen, but I did find this lovely piece of raspberry colored linen. 6 yards actually. And for only...wait for it...$3.99!! Is that crazy or what? At the fabric store they are selling their linen for $16.99/yd. This is what my find looks like, although probably prettier in person.

Since I'm occasionally nice, I'm only keeping 1yd to play with and giving my sister the remaining 5yds. She already has the pattern picked out and could be cutting into it right now... Other fabric finds at the thrift store today, this lovely red/white pinstripe. I believe it's vintage, but there isn't anything on the selvedge to identify it.

Then this one, that I'm calling a cotton lawn. I don't know that it's lawn, but it makes me think this is what lawn may be like. Again, no identifiers on the selvedge.

And a periwinkle linen tablecloth to play around with. There are a couple of small spots here and there, but it was cheap and the color is pretty.

I also found two bed sheets. I have been much more strict with myself regarding sheet buying. I have perhaps 200 sheets or so, and I am really out of room to store them. I will probably have a big sale soon to try and cut down on my stock. In the meantime, I am only getting what I really like and know I would use myself if it doesn't sell. So, brown and butterflies!

In other news, I made another bag before I went out shopping this morning. I used the other print that I showed in yesterdays post. This time I did the pocket a completely different way than what the pattern called for. I also did my lining differently. This time I sewed wrong sides together then turned inside out this way I didn't end up with such raw seams when sewing the front and back together. Because of that change, I had no need to finish the strap with rick rack, just some top stitching to neaten things up. My daughter claims to like this one better than the other. I like them both equally, and may make them in the medium and small size, too.

Linking up with Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures

Some Thrift Store Finds

Since I shared my newest stash additions the other day, I'll go ahead and show some of my recent thrift store finds. Some for me, some for my shop. First up, this oval divided Pyrex baking dish. This one is for me, it's a pattern that I like, plus the divided part will be quite useful.

That groovy fabric that the dish is sitting on was also a find, but it' all gone already. Next, some cute sunflower mugs. I have no idea what time period these are from, as there isn't any writing to be found on them, but I like the look; so even if they don't sell, they won't go to waste.

I also found these cute vintage trays, and there are enough for me, and another set that will be for sale. These could be used as wall decor as well as their intended use. No manufacturer information on these either, so who knows when they are from.

Here's another item destined for the shop. This ceramic(I believe) serving dish from Skoal Norway. I hadn't ever heard of this brand before, but I took a chance on it. It has a pleasing retro look, and I did see a whole set of pots and pans with this pattern on Etsy.

And, a stack of some of the truly vintage fabrics I found not so long ago. Most of these still had their Woolworth's sales tags still on them. It's hard to imagine that fabric was only .47/yd at one time. It's not quilt shop quality, but it's interesting to see how fabric has changed over the years.

And how about some vintage reading to go along with the vintage fabrics? Several Simplicity how to books and some other old(ish) quilting books have made their way into my stash.
Just look at the gingers on this cover!

And a sample of some of the clothing. BTW, that's a boy in the coat on the right.

And here's a couple of pictures of the Simplicity quilting book.

That's quite a unique skirt, but I don't really see that style coming back into fashion anytime soon, but you never know...