I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Friday, March 4, 2016

Thrift Shops and Snow Days



Hello! It's March! March blew in the other day with a strange wind squall, blew open all my doors! And scared me and Mo in the late evening quiet. Today we woke up to snow,


a Hokusai / Japanese print kind of morning. [Google images]



the frozen koi pond







I always think of march as our snowiest month. The ocean is finally cold and the soft wet snow sticks to the beach and the bare branches.



My friend and I went thrifting. I'm still penny pinching, but I had a small list and actually found what I needed.
Some men's shirts for my Wild Geese quilt project. I'm using my friend's shirts but he tends to be very conservative in his choices, so I added a few plaids. XXXL. On sale for a whopping $5.67, which I suppose is a bargain now that cotton is 14.oo a yard.


Beautiful soft fluffy flannel for my quilt backings stash. 4 yards, 1.99. Much nicer once washed. I wish I bought the other two pieces.


An expensive but pretty white on white quilted pillow sham. 10.99. Machine quilted, probably would cost the same at Home Goods.


A candlestick for a velvet fruit pin keep. I'm thinking a big fat classic tomato, maybe.


Awesome / amazing Alpine hiking boots. I just love the Tyrolean accents, speaks to my Swiss roots, I guess. I 've wanted these classic boots for years as I pore over the ski clothes  or Sundance catalogs.


Oiled leather and look at these great grip-y soles, for me, the one who is so clumsy on ice and snow. A good buy but no bargain, 39.99. [But my size! never worn!]


And I could not pass up this small Blue Birds china platter. I love the crazed, crackled glaze and old funny 20's cottage effect.


I knew I had a similar platter from the Fall flea, though, so one or both may go onto my etsy page, to share.





I think the little birds and roses are so sweet. Like Disney's Snow White birds.


I was surprised to see the new platter is by a different maker, not Homer Laughlin, of Fiestaware fame. I thought Blue Bird china was always Laughlin, so that was an interesting note.


We then tried to find a supposedly new local quilt store, but only found an empty building with For Rent signs. Too bad. And a quick stop at Joann's, my sole live fabric resource. Ugh! What a chaotic place that is. Took me an hour to find spray baste...and they stock only a few types of basic ''sharps'' needles, what's with that? Hello, I sew, I need needles. Hard to order needles online, I need to see them, being partial to very thin long milliners or straw needles. Hard to find.


Back home I have my 1.49 thrifty daffodils. [Trader Joe's] They do brighten a grey snowy day, don't they?




And a new candle, exceptional fragrance, called Bergamot Water [from B&BW]. Bergamot  is the scent of Earl Grey tea, so the candle's perfume fills the house with a cozy smell.


I also ordered two Georgia Peach candles, my all time fave, and another with bergamot scent, called London---tea and lemon ''flavor". Bath and Body Works Candles, free shipping HERE

Have a great weekend! I hope to finish the borders of Pokeberry! And prep some thing for hand sewing, because believe it or not next week is supposed to be 70*! Beach days! Yay!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....











no shops or items mentioned were sponsors, just sharing my resources w/ friends. Japanese print images form Google.

8 comments:

  1. From snow to seventies weather! Crazy!! Love those bluebird plates.

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  2. My favourite needles are Bohin size10 or 11 Applique. So much easier on the knuckles to hold a long needle than the tiny short ones. We have gone back to Summer yesterday was another day of 40C and the next week days of 30C's due. The longer it lasts the shorter Winter wil be.Yah!

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  3. The snow looks like cotton doesn't it? So perfect and delicate.

    Fun thrifts for you! The flannel sure is cute...maybe at that price you should have purchased the other two pieces. Gosh, cotton is $14 a yard? Great find on the oh so cute hiking shoes. They look tiny, you must have small feet.

    I almost bought some of the daffodils at TJ's this week, but I really was in a frugal mood ;)

    Have a nice weekend!

    Kelley

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    Replies
    1. Hi! The daffs were 1.49. I m not that frugal. Yet. But I passed on the $$ ranunculas.

      The boots are a European size 38, which fots me if I don t wear very bulky socks. I usually wear an 8 or 8 1/2, except in barefoot shoes like ballet flats, then I might wear a 7 1/2. I m not fussy,lol.

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  4. I liked the Japanese prints, yes very much like your photos! Hard to believe with snow on the ground that it'll be 70 in a week.

    You found some great stuff on your thrift trip! I even like the boots! The little bluebirds on the platter are so nice.

    Visiting JoAnn's is much easier on weekdays. On weekends it's very hard to get fabric cut, or get help of any kind (at least here) because they're too busy and never have enough people working. It's annoying.

    Enjoy your weekend!

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    Replies
    1. It was a Monday afternoon at Joann's. Looked like a hurricane went thru.

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  5. Isn't it awful there are hardly any fabric stores left?

    By the way, cute shoes!! And great flowers!!

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  6. Congrats on the thrifties! I agree with JoAnn's. The store here was down sized a few years ago. Not always a great selection. The larger store about a half hour from here usually has a better remnant selection. Ironically, I was looking on-line for antique malls in the area just before I read your blog this am. Might check one out today that I have driven past many times. Oh, BTW, Project Yo Yo is humming along. Love ya!

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