Score at the Store

Sometimes my timing is just perfect! A trip to the thrift store yields treasures beyond measure. (Is that too cheesy sounding? Who cares!)

Take a look at the latest finds:

Vogue Patterns for 19 cents each:

A shower curtain ($2.50) that will see new life as a window curtain in my bedroom: 

Oops! A photobombing Mr. Movie: 

A gorgeous quilt panel ($3.00) that quite possibly will be made into a wall hanging for the living room; but don't hold your breath, remember how slow I am.

Transformation Continued

I'm slow . . . at getting things changed and done around my house; at least in the redecorating department. I get daily and weekly things done like dishes and laundry. Anyway, last month I finally got my bedroom one step closer to being complete.

Before

After

I'm still working on curtains. But I think  it's come a long way. I love pretty things! The framed pictures were pages from calendars; the five smaller plates came from thrift stores, the larger one is from a set we used on Sunday's while I was growing up. The quilt is one my mother made for me, appliqued and liquid embroidery (Tri-chem). The butterfly pillows are from a thrift store as are the pretty pillow cases.

A pretty room is a restful room.

Something to Look Forward to!

Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty is my all-time favorite Book of Mormon story. We are at a point in our nation's history that we need a Captain Moroni to step up and lead the righteous to a restoration of our lost and crumbling liberties.

Lt. Lehi shared this with me on Facebook and I got so excited! Just want to share this with those I know. Spread the word! This is a vital story for the times we live in.

Cotton and Linen and Wool, Oh My!

Yesterday I spent three hours organizing my fabric store room. Seriously, I have enough to open a small store. I had gathered everything (I thought) into one place, then I found a few more things still in the old sewing room and brought them up. As I usually do when I clean a whole room I began in one corner and worked my way around the room.

I opened up the first tub, saw what the majority of contents consisted of, made a label (a piece of used paper and a Sharpie) and pulled out anything that wasn't supposed to be there; then on to the next tub. I ended up with twenty-two tubs, full to overflowing, and one empty (which came about because I shared a whole bunch with someone).

  1. cotton - plaids, stripes, gingham
  2. cotton - holiday, novelty prints
  3. quilting fabric - red, pink, orange, yellow, cream, floral on light ground
  4. quilting fabric - green, blue, purple, brown, black
  5. wool
  6. quilted double-faced, fleece, knit, terry cloth
  7. cotton dress goods
  8. solid colors - denim, cotton, linen, pique, etc.
  9. assorted, miscellaneous scraps (still needs to be sorted)
10. flannel scraps - less than one yard
11. flannel yardage - longer than one yard
12. U.F.O.'s (Un - Finished - Objects)
13. unbleached muslin
14. corduroy
15. silkies (real and otherwise)
16. linen, canvas, duck, upholstery
17. curtains (already made from other homes, waiting to be recycled)
18. interfacing
19. more flannel scraps (needs to be sorted)
20. costume fabric (mostly leftover from a biblical project)
21. white fabric - bleached muslin, eyelet, white on white stripe, etc.
22. unfinished quilt projects

Plus three tubs of "pretties" such as tablecloths, doilies, napkins, dresser scarves, tea towels, etc.

My next projects will be to further organize the quilting fabric into individual tubs by color so I don't have to dig; and further divide the novelty/holiday tub.

As we say in our family "I'm upcited!" My big sewing season is beginning and I'll be able to find fabric easily, put fabric away easily, and not have to buy more because I can't find what I thought I had.

End of Summer Beauty

I captured my gorgeous geranium bloom knowing that they won't survive the winter here. In San Diego, where I grew up, they are perennials growing into huge bushes; here they are annuals.

My tiny flower bed

The three Geraniums were the Mother's Day gift from the past three years, carefully nurtured inside; the Marigold was a gift from Lt. Lehi in 2012, also nurtured inside, and the tiny Sweet William at the left was transplanted from a shady spot where it grew but didn't bloom. When I rearranged the living room I needed to move the plants and decided to put them outside in this bed. In between the Geraniums are two Purple Cone Flower plants, perennials which are the beginnings of what I want this bed to be, a perennial garden. I removed all the rocks and the overgrown Sedum that was there, planted the flowers and have enjoyed the blooms all summer. More rocks to remove (at the right) and then more plants to go in, but that will have to wait for next year.