Thursday Thrifting

You can find my SMS giveaway here. Hurry! You have until the end of today to enter :)

Our thrifting this past week was all about the vintage fabric and supplies with a couple fun surprises (of course!).

nearly 4 yards, and only 25¢

a major score (and crazy deal) at our local embroiderer's guild biennial shop

another collection (read: obsession) begun

a cool little metal cart (50¢), soon to be spray painted

they fit Skye! watch out, roller derby...

one more day for the giveaway!!

Looking for my giveaway for Sew, Mama, Sew's May Giveaway Day? Click here! Comments will be closed tomorrow night at midnight (My time--what is it called? Eastern Standard?). Good luck!!

I am so completely blown away by the response I have gotten, not to mention the hundreds of amazingly talented and generous crafters who are participating. But, really, reading all of the (hundreds!) of comments from visitors has been so affirming. THANK YOU! I'm so excited to give this book away, I wish I could give something to everyone!

It's been a whirlwind week with the giveaway and the local Quilt Shop Hop I attended over the past three days with my Mom and cousin (two amazing crafters!). This was our first time and it was so much fun! We travelled over 500 miles to visit 14 fabric shops in 3 days. It was a bit insane but I picked up a LOT of pretty awesome fabric. I'm too embarrassed to tell you just how much so I'll just show you a few of my favorites:

love those little tulips!

could this possibly be any cuter?

$5/yard? I'll take it!

another $5 deal; no idea what I'll do with it but I couldn't pass it up!

in the sale bin at one of the last stores. Of course I bought what was left on the bolt!

Look out, kids, Mama's got more fabric!

sunday stash #3...on monday

Better late than never!
Here are a couple recent additions to my stash, both given to me by wonderful friends (thanks Tracy and Doreen!): mushrooms!

beautiful African tie dye

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Here are some pictures of our afternoon out in the neighborhood:

spring!

Lyric's philosophy: speak softly and carry a big stick

Tigerlily "fitting pipes"

Lyric and Miles making stick art

sunday stash #2

Wow, that week blew right by. The old man and I did some serious spring cleaning this weekend (though I'm kinda bummed we bowed out of our plans to see the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at the Clark Institute). And now it's Sunday once again and time for a glimpse into my (copious) stash!

I love this fabric. I can't remember what it is or where I got it (it wasn't that long ago, either...) and I only got a fat quarter (what was I thinking?!?!?). I would buy many yards if I could only find it.


Does anyone know what it is? Please help!

sunday stash #1

I joined the Sunday Stash blogroll! So here's numero uno:
My mom's been cleaning out her stash and handed down to me these two beautiful vintage calicos (1970's) among a bunch of other contemporary fabrics. They were instantly familiar to me and I felt like they had to be vintage, but I wanted to be sure so I asked my mom. Sure enough they're vintage and the reason they're so familiar to me is because she used them in the Dresden Plate quilt she started for me when I was a baby, the quilt that my daughter sleeps under most nights. I LOVE it and imagine little pinafores for any baby girls that might come into my life....

where will I put it all?

I admit it, I've been buying a bit of fabric lately. But, in case you haven't heard, I do have this business where I use a lot of fabric, so I'm feeling justified. Still, even my business couldn't justify the amount of fabric I bought yesterday--good thing it was all 50% off at my local quilt shop! Check it out:

Actually, at that price I probably should have gotten more...

And here's a picture of my handsome boy, just because (disregard the teetering pile of laundry in the background):

awesome customer + vintage fabric = true love forever!

I officially have the best customers ever.

My new friend Tracy ordered a really killer rock-themed book for her friend's baby. Here's an image from the book I made for her:

Yup, that's the Abbey Road album cover. Measuring about 3" x 3" this baby is a tiny little feat of amazing strength. The whole book turned out really great and I was thrilled to send it off to such an appreciative home. And then, to my delighted surprise, Tracy sent me a big box full of vintage fabric that once belonged to her grandmother!

A big ole pile of polyester double knit! Some may balk at this but I don't discriminate with vintage fabric, especially some that takes me back to my childhood of plaid polyester pants! I'm planning on making Lyric a pair of pants from that blue and grey plaid and Tigerlily an outfit of her design from the two coral fabrics. But there is a lot of fabric here so I started thinking of other things to do with it. Then it hit me--a rug! Rug-making has been high on my list of things to do and the polyester, super-strong and washable, is perfect for it. So I cut some of the fabric into strips and started crocheting (SO much faster than braiding):

:This will make a really sweet addition to my kids' play area and has inspired me to make a huge one out of some of my vintage wool fabric.

Thanks so much, Tracy!!