Valerean

When I saw a major lot of journals go up for auction I couldn't resist putting in a minimal bid. I've already burned through one journal this year and started another, so I'm going to need more. One other bidder challenged me, but dropped out right away and I won the lot. The lot arrived and it's even bigger and better in person. Most of the journals are typical of the thrifted variety; most are brand new and unused, and a few have a couple of the first pages torn out. Many were beautiful. I think I've seen this Van Gogh journal a million times and considered buying it, only to stop myself because it was expensive. Not this one. In the lot there were several advertising-type books like this silver journal embossed with Indiana Furniture; some came with pens. The peacock book in the center is an address book. Even the ones with covers I'm not terribly fond of (these three are my least favorites) I can make over with quilted covers. A...

After thrifting my brand new Skechers sneakers for a pittance I decided to hunt for another pair, as it's time to retire my old white sneakers. I also wanted a pair that were a bit more lightweight for my daily walking, and last month bid on and won these light blue New Balance sneakers, which were brand-new and still had the tags and store paper stuffing in them, so they had never been worn. When they arrived I was really happy, as they are my size and also wide, and fit my duck feet as if made for them. Later, while my guy and I were in the city, I checked out the exact same pair at a shoe outlet to see how much I saved by thrifting them. They were $134.99 retail, which really shocked me. People pay that much for sneakers now? Really? I paid $9.99 for mine. Yep. Savings: $125.00 Image credit: the first pic in this post was copied from the auction listing at ShopGoodwill.com.

Here's the rest of the lot I got with the two old quilts I want to use for my dogs to nap on in my home office, starting with the round table cover, also an import like the runner (pretty sure they're both vintage Pier 1.) This tablecloth is really vintage; my guess is it's at least forty or fifty years old (maybe older.) There isn't a tear or stain on it, and in mint condition like this it's worth about $50.00. Another vintage tablecloth, about the same age as the previous one. Also in mint condition and worth just as much. Both fit my kitchen table, so I'm going to keep them. This tablecloth is vintage, hand-embroidered and also in spotless condition. I'd price this one at $75.00 resale because the stitching is so nice. I may use this on our porch table (which it fits) this summer when we barbecue. Finally the larger of the two quilts. This is an old import that probably dates back to the eighties or nineties (the manufacturin...

I needed an old and not very valuable quilt for my office for the dogs to nap on, as they've have been reverting to their teething days lately and actually gnawed a hole in one of my good quilts. Last month I saw a lot that was listed as "Assorted Hand Made Quilt Collection LOT + Extra" which looked like a couple of baby quilts and maybe an old tablecloth. I bid the minimum and won the lot with no challengers (and to be fair, I wasn't expecting much.) The lot arrived and along with the two quilts there were extras: three tablecloths (one hand-embroidered), a round table cover and a table runner. Although everything was fairly old, the linens were in excellent condition for their age, and the quilts were intact. The smallest rag-style flannel baby quilt had adorable machine embroidery in all the blocks of elephants. The table runner, which I'm guessing was an import from someplace like Pier 1, was really pretty. Stop by tomorrow to see the res...

Since my ability to walk long distances has greatly improved, my guy took me to Disney springs to walk their promenade. This place has free parking and admission, as it is made up of merchandise shops and restaurants, most of which are quite pricey. Still, it's nice to walk the place and people watch. There was an exhibit of art murals by local artists that was fun. Some of the shops had gorgeous fixtures and interior designs, like this lighting installation at the Vera Bradley store. Nessie does exist, and she's made out of Legos! Ha. The architecture of the retailer's buildings was quite fun, but most of the restaurants were over priced, as were the coffee and snack shops. There were a lot of beautiful fountains and the art walk was quite interesting. My guy and I split a cuban sandwich as a snack (the Earl of Sandwich does have the lowest prices in the place.) I also bought a couple of relatively inexpensive things for Kat, but spent the rest of my ti...

Since I had good luck thrifting a lot of pants I decided to watch for one more. My criteria: I prefer black, blue or dark color pants, I didn't want to spend a bundle, and I wanted them new with tags if possible. A lot of ten pair of pants did come up that fit my first two needs, and most looked like they still had tags. What clinched the deal for me: it was an only buy-it-now lot with a very reasonable shipping charge. So I bought it. The lot arrived and . . . have mercy. While I show you this new pair of Calvin Klein suit pants, let me rattle off a few stats. Everything in the lot was new with tags. The ones tagged Talbots and Chicos cost $119.00. Each. The Calvin Klein pair were $89.00. I've never been able to afford Vera Wang clothes. I now own a pair of chocolate slimming jeans that retail for $60.00 at Kohls. I also have Hilary Radley, Diane Gilman, Isaac Mizrahi, Lee and Dockers pants. All new with tags. Two pair are a bit too small for me...

Among the large fabric lot I recently thrifted were some red, white and blue scraps that were probably leftover scraps from an Americana project. I've never worked with these type fabrics for quilting, so I decided to make an Independence Day table runner out of them using only fabrics from the lot. Since I wanted to use as much of the small scraps as I could I went with a simple rail fence type patchwork, and framed it with a complimentary print. For the backing I picked this big scrap of a Susan Winget patriotic puppy print that was also included in the lot. The batting I used was a scrap leftover from another project, as was the navy blue binding. I decided not to get into any dense quilting, but just outlined each block with silver holographic Sulky. Here's the finished runner. Got to mark off the scraps-only space on my Art Quilter's bingo card, too.