Top 3 Finds of the Day

Today was my first real yard/estate sale foray of the season!  I love these sales for a lot of reasons. First, since many of the things that do not sell at a yard sale end up in the trash, I feel as though I am diverting things from landfills. Second, they are a wealth of raw materials to the crafter or sewist. Today was particularly productive for me.  I hit about five sales, and purchased things at three of them.  Here are my top three finds, which were all sewing related!

I just love this little pewter finish Timex sewing machine clock.  I'm not certain of the age of the item, but some quick online research says sometime between 1970 and the present.  The replaceable battery sits under the base and is reachable with a tiny screwdriver.  This is a welcome addition to my little sewing room!

The second sale at which I made a purchase yielded these lovely vintage linen pieces.  I just love vintage linens.  I use them around the house, and I also use them in crafting and sewing.  These do show some staining and wear, so a little bath is in order to see how these will be used.

Last, and possibly the most exciting to me is this large haul of sewing patterns.  I scored about 250 patterns in one stop.  Most of these are 1960's and newer, but nothing that looks to be newer than 2000.  You are seeing them after I transferred them into these wire baskets.  They were stored in a large cardboard box which was coming apart at the seams, and in a plastic garbage bag. In other words, not really stored in an archival manner! However, the treasure trove here is incredible.  Children's, women's, men's ... Simplicity, Vogue, Butterick, McCall and a few smaller brands ... day clothes, evening wear, accessories and even a few craft patterns.  I will be keeping some to use myself, but the vast majority will be posted for sale in my Etsy shop!

So, I had a productive morning (back home by noon)!  Leave me a comment sharing what your best yard sale find has been!  Oh, and please let me know how you feel about the new design of the blog... good? Or do I need to keep working on it?

The Absolute Best Way to Reduce Textiles in Landfills!

In a previous post we talked about the fact that the average American family discards approximately 68 pounds of textile waste into landfills annually.  I am doing my best to decrease this amount, both personally, and hopefully I can influence a few other people as well <winking at you!>.

It should come as no surprise that keeping used clothing and other textiles out of landfills begins with...

...SHOPPING LESS!  Shopping has become an end in itself in our culture.  A pastime or even a hobby.  In part, we're responding to the siren song of advertisers and even our government about the need to keep the economy moving through spending.  And, I often wonder whether we're harking back to some primal hunter-gatherer instinct basic to the human psyche.

I often find sustainability closely linked to frugality, though I am far from immune to consumer culture.  My name is Dee, and I am (at times) a recreational shopper.  I have lofty goals of spending minimally and strategically.  I won't shop at stores which support policies and politics which I cannot support (examples would be Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby), though I realize that I'm not always aware of all hidden agendas.  I buy re-used and recycled whenever possible, and I'm obviously a huge proponent of DIY.

I am far from perfect... but, instead of hitting the mall, I go to yard sales, thrift stores and used goods stores. I also frequently use Pinterest as a shopping substitute - just because I pin it does not mean I have to buy it - and I can go back and look at it whenever I want!  What strategies do you use to decrease your urge to shop?

Next in this series:  Knowing When to Let Go: 7 Reasons to Remove an Item From Your Wardrobe!

Shared at: My Repurposed Life

Yard Sale Booty

Fridays are my yard sale day.  I can drive around the area going to sale after sale, just browsing and enjoying myself.  Not much in today's haul, I'm afraid.  Two yardsticks...

Some pretty antique hankies...

A small bag of bias tape, piping and ribbon...

12 cards of buttons...

An antique bottle for a friend... it says Cramer's Kidney Cure on it.  I bought it for a friend who has kidney disease.  I also got a cute pair of costume earrings that will go with my lavendar suit dress, and this book.

The book is full of the former owner's cuttings from other books and papers...mostly poetry, so it will be fun to go through.  That's all folks!  Did you find anything cool this week?

Progressions

Lot's of progress to report today.  The top to Butterick 4228 is coming along.  Here's a shot of the top zipper.

I know, it looks a lot like the skirt zipper!  But honest, it's two different things.  I hope to complete this one sometime tomorrow.  I already love it!

I've also been working on my decoupage notions box.  Making some real progress there as well.  I'm enjoying doing this, as it's a little different from my daily routine.

I also promised apeak at my garage sale treasures from last week.  I went to about seven sales last Friday, and only bought things at two.  At the first I got a duvet and sham set covered with ribbon embreoidery, in really good shape.  Not sure yet what I'm going to do with it.

At that sale, I also got yet another "mom jumper".  I really love these for restyling.  The possibilities are almost endless.

The second sale at which I purchased yielded a non-sewing treasure!  For $5 I got this pretty wooden box (which I do not plan to alter in any way!).

But the best part was inside the box.  A myriad of little tools and cutters.  I plan to use these in my paper crafting and jewelry making.  I was so psyched that the contents were included in that price of $5.00!

So, there's the booty for the week.  I'm excited to see what I can do with the ribbon embroidery stuff.  Any suggestions?

Bits and Pieces

I'm so happy, I actually won another giveaway!  I got a super package in the mail yesterday from Molly over at Molly Sews.  There are four patterns in the package.

These are going to be fun to play with. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm cleaning my sewing room.  While in that process I unpacked a bag of things I acquired at a yard sale about a week ago, and a lot of it is perfect for these patterns.  Some of this stuff is OLD, as evidenced by the bag some of it was packed in.

Do any of you remember Zayre's?  Wow!  Blast from the past.  I was very excited about my haul from this yard sale.  I got everything in the following pictures, AND MORE for only $6.50!  Gotta love the yard sale!

I'm seeing some very 60s-70s sewing ahead.  Also, the homeowner was clearly into lace.  This is a wonderful thing because I have several projects on the horizon for lace, including my wedding dress. I also want to do another Lady Mary Armistice Blouse, this time in cream and laces. 

I also snagged some cream satin ribbon,

and some pink satin that might make a cute flower girl dress.

Well, back to work I suppose!  Gotta get things prepped for my next few projects!  While cleaning, I'm also pre-washing that lavender linen for my sixties suit dress re-do.  What's on your slate this week?