Sometimes the thrift stores call to me...
10-07-2018, 08:39 AM
#1
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
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Sometimes the thrift stores call to me...
No, I don't have them actually call me but this little voice goes off in my head. I do a lot of my fabric shopping at thrift stores I mostly work with scraps anyway and I love the challenge that finding a lovely piece of yardage that is only XX long and what can I do with it. One time when the message came to go to a particular Goodwill I went and found one of the things I was looking for, a metal mail box. Living in Seattle my old box was plastic and would get really nasty algae growths and stuff. Anyway, I went to the Goodwill and there it was, a perfect condition mail box -- with my house number already on it! I mean, what are the odds of that? Anyway, since then I've been listening to the voice.
So yesterday I was supposed to meet up with a guy from Craig's List, he's had an ad up for more than a month selling off scraps/fat quarters from his mom's collection, 25-26 pounds worth. Finally gave in after telling myself for weeks that I have enough fabric, enough from that time period, etc. and convinced myself that I needed some retail therapy (helps to have some unexpected money come in). He had a last minute change of plans but I had already committed to bringing a woman relatively nearby some food (I've been watching the wanted section for a couple of months, had a number of good unopened products that I can no longer eat due to my diabetes) so I figured I'd do that and give in to that inner voice and visit the store that's been calling to me despite being 30+ minutes away from home.
Wowza! There was a lot of yardage and a number of bags. I controlled myself and picked up just one bag, it was $8.00 which I felt was a lot for a bag of scraps but was 20% off and an elephant fabric caught my eye. When I opened it up the first three fabrics I pulled out were a Moda, a Michael Miller, and a Makower (I'm calling it the 3M bag). It just kept going from there, most of the pieces are WOF, less than a yard. And lots of stripes! I love working with stripes!
So yesterday I was supposed to meet up with a guy from Craig's List, he's had an ad up for more than a month selling off scraps/fat quarters from his mom's collection, 25-26 pounds worth. Finally gave in after telling myself for weeks that I have enough fabric, enough from that time period, etc. and convinced myself that I needed some retail therapy (helps to have some unexpected money come in). He had a last minute change of plans but I had already committed to bringing a woman relatively nearby some food (I've been watching the wanted section for a couple of months, had a number of good unopened products that I can no longer eat due to my diabetes) so I figured I'd do that and give in to that inner voice and visit the store that's been calling to me despite being 30+ minutes away from home.
Wowza! There was a lot of yardage and a number of bags. I controlled myself and picked up just one bag, it was $8.00 which I felt was a lot for a bag of scraps but was 20% off and an elephant fabric caught my eye. When I opened it up the first three fabrics I pulled out were a Moda, a Michael Miller, and a Makower (I'm calling it the 3M bag). It just kept going from there, most of the pieces are WOF, less than a yard. And lots of stripes! I love working with stripes!
10-07-2018, 10:50 AM
#7
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,127
Being in the Seattle area, a relatively wealthy part of the country, means I have access to a lot of things in thrift stores that people in other areas don't have. But timing is everything -- that's why we must listen to the voice!
My last great find was at the same store back in August, I call it the "6 Dollar Top" for obvious reasons. It is a grandmother's flower garden, all hand sewn in tiny little hexes that measure 3/4" finished edge. It is huge, almost king sized and I feel that it just became too big/too difficult for the original piecer to finish. It seems to be a true scrap bag quilt, some definite 70s, some older, some maybe early 80s. The center and inner first row are the same in each set. Most of the blocks are in diagonal rows but some are just similar colors.
My last great find was at the same store back in August, I call it the "6 Dollar Top" for obvious reasons. It is a grandmother's flower garden, all hand sewn in tiny little hexes that measure 3/4" finished edge. It is huge, almost king sized and I feel that it just became too big/too difficult for the original piecer to finish. It seems to be a true scrap bag quilt, some definite 70s, some older, some maybe early 80s. The center and inner first row are the same in each set. Most of the blocks are in diagonal rows but some are just similar colors.
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