Categories
sewing thrifting/ yard sale

Look what I found!

I love yard sales! Yesterday we found this for $20! The seller thought about making it into a table…oh, the horror!

It is a White. I don’t know much about this brand. All the mechanisms are loose…nothing frozen or locked up. There are many, many YouTube videos about them. Thank goodness!

The drawers are in good shape. Only one little spot of veneer damage.

The decals are in good shape.

This is the back before I cleaned the wood. Beautiful!

Do you see the ruler inlaid in the wood case? Fantastic!

It was a little dusty underneath. It came with a nice ball of lint. It cleaned up easily.

I wiped it down with machine oil. What a beauty! I need to bring my treadle book back with me so I can put a new belt on it. (There is a new belt in one of the drawers.) I also need to watch some videos about threading it.

Oh, this will not be a table on my watch!
What wonderful treasures did you find recently?

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
Jewelry scraps thrifting/ yard sale

Old Becomes New v.2

Here are the first two pieces to be repaired. The blue bracelet on top needs a clasp. The white bracelet is missing a part that holds a joining link.

I found a link on a different, not repairable, bracelet. It is not the correct color, but it works.

My solution for the white bracelet was more elegant. I found a “bead” on a broken necklace that could be fastened to the bracelet pieces with jump rings. It is a little longer, but beautiful!

I showed you this bracelet in the original post, but I forgot to post about it with a follow up.

Most of the original cabochons were in the bag of pieces, but they were still a few missing. I improvised.

This cute little pin was in the bag .

I am not quite sure what someone did to bend the back like this. Oh my!

I straightened it as best I could with a pair of jeweler pliers… Not perfect, but functional.

These items need a little bit of glue or jewelry cement. The middle piece is a pin.

The two bracelets below just need a jump ring inserted to make them whole and useable again.

This pin was actually in two pieces. I glued one on top of the other to make it usable again. It measures 2 inches across…welcome back to the 60s or 70s.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the update on the bling from the scrap bag of jewelry pieces. There are many more of these to come.

I did finish the final quilt today and will be showing you that later this week…

What have you been recycling this week?

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
Jewelry scraps thrifting/ yard sale

Old Becomes New!

Here are a few pieces from the fix-it pile:

So much potential in just a few pieces!
I like the necklace, but rarely wear them. With a little snip of a link, it will become a bracelet. With some extra hardware, it will make three more!

By combining the large jewel beads and the crystal rosary pieces, I made this fantastic blinged out bracelet. Now I just need a party to go to…

The citrine pieces from the broken necklace were pulled off the pins on the chain segments. There was enough to make a bracelet on .7 mm elastic cord.

Glue time! These lovely pieces need a pin back glued on to them.

This bracelet is mostly intact. One gem needs reattached with some cement or glue. It also needs an o-ring to reattach the sections.

This bracelet has elastic in fantastic condition. Most of the missing cabochons were in the huge parts bags. Glue time!

What progress are you making on your latest project? I love hearing from you!

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
Jewelry scraps thrifting/ yard sale

Bling!

I am adding a new category to my blog…jewelry! I have been making jewelry for more than two decades. I don’t make jewelry often, but I do enjoy this as a hobby, too.

I like to fix pieces of jewelry so that I can continue to wear some of my favorite pieces, usually bracelets or earrings. Harbor Freight sells a set of 6 jeweler’s pliers to make this easy. Lots of big box stores carry findings for making earrings, bracelets, etc.

Last year, when our friends came to visit, I discovered that my friend enjoys making jewelry, too. I started stocking the cabin with jewelry making supplies, too.

I found a yard sale that had HUGE bags of scrap jewelry…parts, pieces, some unusual, but functional pieces. Again this year I bought another HUGE bag…I sorted for two days! I wish I had taken a picture of the huge bags…I probably only paid about 50 cents per pound! Here are a few pictures:

The table in the cabin seats six! It was covered with parts containers and all sorts of bits and pieces. I love using repurposed tackle boxes for parts containers. The lids close tight enough to keep the contents in the divided parts…no resorting required. I have four large containers: glass beads/shell beads, wooden beads, and assorted beads, and one for findings. Seed beads are bagged and kept in a separate box.

This bin contains jewelry that is usable as is…no fixing required. In a future post, I will lay out the pieces in categories, like bracelets, necklaces, etc. to share with you. Some of these I will gift to friends/ family…or wear myself…or donate to charity.

This is the small bits container before I sorted it. It contains all sorts of beads, findings and cabochons (things that need to be glued onto something else). The baggie to the right contains pairs of parts suitable for earrings.

The container in the picture shows larger beads that were once upon a time rather large and chunky bracelets. One bead at a time, with smaller beads to make up most of a bracelet, these will be beautiful.

Behind this container, to the left, is a silk flower pin. It has a glued on center made from seed beads. That flower now decorates a basket in my sewing area. It was too gaudy for me to wear, but looks great on a basket.

This pile has an interesting bunch of bits…some of them are clip on earrings. Look at those amber ball creations…and those silver “horseshoes”! Woo-wee! There are also blingy thingys that I will be turning into pins.

This basket is full of things that need a little bit of TLC (tender loving care)…a little glue here…an o-ring there…as good as new. I will post pictures of these reformed pieces later, too.

This is full of pendants…anything that can be put on a chain or choker. Look at that fabulose gold pendant. It is as big as the palm of my hand! There are some others buried under there, too.

These bags contain several other sorted items: Rings, button covers, tie clips, purse hangers, cuff links and a watch! I will picture these in a future post, too. Some of the rings are right out of the 1970’s. Oh, baby!

I also have a bin that I did not picture above. It is full of things to take apart and repurpose. I plan on decortating my world with all of this “junk”. I will share my repurposing adventure with you later, too!

What “new” craft or hobby have you tried recently?

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
quilting thrifting/ yard sale travel

Ready to be Quilted

I rarely buy kits, but while we were visiting our son in Colorado my husband picked this one up at Holly’s Quilt Cabin. It is a simple design. The fabric is the “star” of the show.
Here it is…ready to put on the quilt frame:

Ready to quilt…


My husband loved the wildlife fabric. It matches several of the decorative elements at the cabin.

Wildlife close up

I had several fabric finds and leftover pieces to use for a backing. It is pieced and ready, too.

The central piece of fabric has cabins with moose, fishing equipment, etc. The bark looking fabric was another find. I bought both of those fabrics at yard sales for about $1 a yard…new yardage at bargain basement prices.

I bought the small woods motif fabric somewhere in our travels…maybe that same year…maybe not. I have been saving it for this project.
The rest of the fabric was leftover from the kit.

Here are some more spring pictures:

First dandelion in the yard.
Pansies…
Pansies…
and more pansies…planted in yard sale pots.

I hope you are finding projects to work on and beautiful flowers to admire. Happy spring!

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
quilting thrifting/ yard sale

And this goes here…

This week I have been organizing my stash of fabric. I have been collecting for 30+ years…just waiting until I could retire and play! Mwahahaha! The time for leisure is here!

Here are my before pictures:

Fabric is in piles
I moved a bunch of containers of fabric and projects to the dining room to sort and straighten.
Notice the middle pile is 3 totes high.

Here are areas that I improved:

The dress form is looking over the room.


What did I find when I took a good, deep dive into things that I have stashed away?

Labeled and organized bins
More organized bins
My childhood dresser now has organized fabric.
Schematic
24 organized drawers!
Quilts and more quilts….

Well…5 queen size quilt tops that were out of sight, out of mind, plus a table runner, a wall hanging that is pinned together but needs assembly, and 2 sets of blocks that have been kitted up for assembly.

Looks like I am going to be busy for a little while! I will not be bored, now that I am “retired”…and working harder than ever!

What have you been working on recently? Have you found any hidden treasure?

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
scraps thrifting/ yard sale

No Waste

Normally, my idea of a fire starter is a crumpled piece of newspaper with sticks on top. Apply flame with a lighter, match or torch.

Our wonderful Michigan neighbor, Sheryl , made us some of her special fire starters. Got damp sticks or slightly wet firewood? These are the answer!

They are made using a cardboard, dryer lint, finely chopped up fabric scraps, and melted ugly or broken candles. Combine in layers. I put a piece of foil or a cookie sheet under it until the wax sets, to protect my countertop.

Fire starters in a chunk

To use these, I will simply rip off one “egg cup” at a time. I place this on top of the newspaper…between the sticks, then light.

WV fireplace
Michigan cabin fireplace

This is the best use for those garbage fabric scraps ever!

Have you ever tried making or using these? These are the best! I love hearing from you in the comments.

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
quilting scraps thrifting/ yard sale

Weekend Treasures

I found many goodies this weekend. Let me share a few of them with you:

This book is interesting for a variety of reasons. I always look at all of the pictures first. Then I start to read patterns, like they are a story. I know this is weird, but true. The measurements are written in inches and centimeters….hmmm. Wadding? What? That must be batting. Sometimes the fabrics aren’t cotton…Use silk for the yellow blocks? Then I looked for the copyright…London, Australia, New Zealand in 2002. Ah, ha! That explains it! I have many quilt books, but none from so far away.

49 cents at local thrift store…from 2008

This has a couple of nice star quilts that will make great patriotic themed quilts. Much better price than the original one!

Fabric! In a free bucket!

All this for a dollar! A yard and a half of Nightmare Before Christmas fabric, seven uncut fat quarters, four uncut handkerchiefs, and some other scraps. Score!

On Saturday we found organizers and kitchen treasures. Nothing that I can share…Some of them are surprises for other people who love treasure, too!

What treasures have you found recently?

Later,

Lorrie

Categories
thrifting/ yard sale

Yard Sale fabric & treasures

There is no better way to learn the roads in an area than garage sales. Today, we only found four sales. How sad! I think that people are not having sales because less people are traveling due to exorbitant gas prices. Oh, the prices have come down a couple of cents a gallon this week. Unfortunately, prices went up all most $3 a gallon before this decrease. Last year at this time gas costs $2.85 a gallon. Today’s low price: $4.39. Let me step off my soap box and apologize. Sorry for my venting.

I had great fun at two of the sales. At one sale, the hostess was selling her mother’s and great aunt’s fabric stashes. I got two grocery bags stuffed full of fabric. Most of it vintage. We had a great chat while she helped me pick out quilting cottons and items to make doll clothes. I passed on the wild polyesters. My grandmother would have used those, too, especially the purple polka dots. Those 2 bags filled an entire tote box. It needs to be washed before it is integrated into my stash. (I always pre-wash yard sale fabric, just to be safe.)

Included in the bags were these “pre-cuts”. They were in a stack that was basted together with a price tag that said 10 for 25 cents. Were these for Rob Peter to Pay Paul set of blocks? What a great assortment of 60’s to 80’s fabrics!

10 for 25 cents

She also had several blocks that were started. This is a basted and marked block. It has some very nice hand quilting started on it. The seller couldn’t remember which of her relatives had started this. She only remembered Grandma and Aunt tying quilts. My grandmother always tied her quilts, too, with the brightest colored yarn she could find. Red was her favorite yarn color. Speaking of colors, this block has classic 80’s colors and fabrics. I am going to finish it to decorate one of my sewing areas and honor the quilter that started this block.

Goose tracks

Love this! Nothing like a sock monkey to make me smile. This kit, which is still available from the company, sells for $19.99 plus shipping and handling. I paid 50 cents! Score, baby!

Where have you found your best deals lately? Enjoy life!

Later,

Lorrie