Valerean

My spate of Twilight nostalgia led me to read the first book in another series favored by my kid: Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses . Kat actually left behind the books when she started traveling the world, so I didn't have to buy them. This series is also making the leap to television in the near future, so it stands to become even more famous than it already is. Let's see, a few disclaimers are in order before I get to the write up: it's fairy fantasy, which is really not my thing (blame Laurell K. Hamilton and Tolkkien for ruining fairy fantasy for me.) It's YA, I think (or what passes as YA these days) which is likewise not something I enjoy reading. It did remind me a lot of Twilight , and I really did not like that series. Finally it's a spin on Beauty and the Beast, which frankly has been done to death in all ways shapes and forms, so nothing new here. Okay, I think that covers all my prejudices and biases upfront. The story tells t...

You remember the $43.00 bag of yarn I thrifted, yes? It arrived last month in near-pristine condition, with 39 skeins of unsoiled yarn, a project the original owner got started, the two crochet hooks, three stitch markers and some yarn needles. It looks bigger than it is, too; this bag is only a little larger than my purse. Most of the yarn was still wrapped up in the original packaging. Only things that were missing were a single skein and the pamphlet that had six e-books of patterns (which I really don't need.) I am glad I only paid twelve bucks for it, as you can see just how small the skeins of yarn are compared to a super saver skein. They're about 40 yards each, which isn't much. It's perfect for what I need it for, however, as amigurumi patterns often require very small amounts of different color yarns, like the green top on this carrot. Would I pay $43.00 for this new? Nope. But if you can thrift it for twelve bucks like I did, it...

Vintage quilts can be tricky things to thrift online. Last month two crazy quilts went up for auction at ShopGoodwill.com that turned out to be little mysteries. I bid on this first one, which may date back to 1905 (there's a silk flag dated that on the top), with a max bid of $50.00. When I was outbid on the second day of the listing I decided to drop out; to me it wasn't worth more than fifty bucks. It finally sold for a whopping $289.99. The problem with this crazy was the photos that showed the general condition, but not very clearly. Despite that I noticed signs of shattered fabrics (also an indicator of age) that made it less valuable. The embroidery seemed pretty simple, too. Gambling on a vintage quilt's condition that you can't inspect in person is always risky, but a quilt that is probably 119 years old is not a good investment unless it's in pristine condition. By the time I noticed this second crazy, incorrectly listed as an embroidere...

A good friend sent me a fun rescue box from Thred Up, an online consignment service that buys used garments, accessories and shoes and resells them. They also offer rescue boxes like mine, which can contain anything from coach handbags to designer active wear, and resellers evidently love these. My friend asked me to rate the ten items in my box for value and suitability. I will say I was surprised at the excellent, clean condition of all the items, which appeared new and unused. Small items included two pair of tights, two pair of socks, a cell phone protective case, a sterling silver morse code bracelet, and a pair of Ray Bans sunglasses in brand-new condition (if they're authentic, they retail for over $100.00.) I got two purses -- the green one still had tags. This Great Smoky Mountains canvas tote took me right back to the seventies. This is a pet sweater, quite adorable, too. :) The cheeky underwear is pretty, but alas, not the sort I...

I'm starting to seriously slow down with just about everything I do, and not by choice. Writing now takes most of the day just to reach quota (I've been trying to go back to my one-session method, which is not working.) It's all I can do to get my housework finished each week. Meals seem to take forever to prepare. All the quilting and art projects I want to do are piling up; finishing one seems to take all the time in which I used to complete three or four. I suspect it's my age, and like everything about this time of my life I need to accept it. Since my spirit animal is a cheetah, this is going to take some doing. Slow stitch has helped me appreciate the journey more than the results, so I've got a bit of a jump on slowing down. I can go back to my two session method for work. Housework is always going to be unfinished, and I know I need to devote a little more time to it. I'm already looking for simpler and quick-fix dinner recipes (found some g...

For my first upcycle of the cigar boxes I thrifted I chose this paper box, four colors of dollar store acrylic paint (I ended up only using one, as the box was more fragile than I realized), and the lighthouse diamond painting I recently finished. First I painted the entire box inside and out. I removed the lid (which after painting was just hanging on by a thread) and hot-glued the diamond art painting on the top. I reassembled the box and used some blue scrap fabric to create a lid hinge, circle the outside of the box as extra support, and pad the inside. Here's the finished box. I'm going to use this one to hold cards. The inside. It's not perfect, but I like how it turned out.

Last month my guy and I went out after dinner to run errands, and I saw the sky had turned lavender. This is the actual sky, without any retouching. I've seen sunsets in virtually every color, but not this lovely pale purple. So of course I took pictures! Ha.