Random #3: Experimental Crafting!

Howdy!  Now it's really, truly, officially spring!  I planted my bargain bin daffodils purchased late last year (it was too late to plant in fall).  With these and the ones I planted last year, I may finally have enough to make a small bouquet this year!  It's been too long since I've had a bunch of daffodils in the house so I'm really excited for them.

First up in the crafty world, it's time for the winner announcement!  I'm glad each pattern has had a few people like it each time. This past giveaway was a Calico Crossroads design called Furever. It had two people enter and the random number generator chose number one!

image found through Google search

Mini, you are the winner~  I know you will be moving soon, so if you want me to hold onto the pattern until you get settled down, I don't mind.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

cozy comfort

I did manage to finish the cover for the hot water bottle!  And it has already been put to use... nightly.  The propane for our furnace is very low and it's so expensive to restock this time of year, eep.  So, we've been rationing which leads to some cold feet at night.  Hooray for hot water bottles (and my husband, the disbeliever that he was, loves it)!  And hooray for Banana Berry colorways!  I still have a healthy amount of this yarn left too.

My gauge was a little off since I used size 10½ needles.  10 would've been better, I think.  I just adjusted the increases and decreases to fit my bottle. I used Jeny's super stretchy bind off for the cuff which was an interesting experience.  It really is stretchy, thank goodness, but I feel like the sewn bind off would've been moreso.  This cover is a little awkward to use as-is.  The bottle has to be empty to slip in/out of the cover.  I have to be a bit more careful when filling/emptying it or the cover would get wet from splashes.

Technical Details

• "All You Need - A Classic" freebie pattern by LondonLeo can be found here (ravelry).
• My ravelry project page found here.
• Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver acrylic in colorway banana berry. ♥♥♥♥
• Needles: 10½ (6.5mm) short tips and 16" cable.
• Started February 17, 2019, finished March 10, 2019; unknown hours.

All in all, this is such a simple pattern!  And hugely customizable since it includes all the math with the pattern.  I'm glad I made this useful and pretty little thing!  I love that folks over the puddle call these "hotties".  They're just "hot water bottles" here.  What're they know as for you?

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

vintage stash!

I occasionally tease myself with looking things up on eBay but I couldn't pass up this lot of (mostly) vintage craft booklets, especially when it wound up being about $0.50 per booklet.  The Priscilla Irish Crochet Book is a reproduction but it's nicely done.  There were lots(!) of different edging books in this lot which are always so fun to go through and think of the dainty trims to put on everything.  It's also kind of fun to see my collection so far on the "shelves" of Ravelry! (That link may only work for those who have an account; I'm not sure.)

make everything

Here are some of my favorites of the lot, partly because of the beautiful patterns, partly because of the fun covers!  I'm really interested in the two needle mittens.  I think this will be a great way to practice seaming for a future sweater.  Speaking of sweaters...

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

start with an older sweater

This is a new-to-me attempt at being thrifty, possibly thrifty to the extreme.  I've often seen people take apart sweaters to reclaim the yarn but have never braved it myself.  I picked a sweater with a somewhat nice fiber content, but was too big for me, and also wasn't quite my style.  This sweater cost a terrible $0.87 at a thrift store and net 9oz (255g) over 4 hanks of wool.  I learned what sort of construction to watch for so I didn't wind up with 20 billion tiny pieces of yarn.

looks remarkably like ramen noodles

Unraveling the sweater was sort of cathartic.  It took quite a long time too, with the unpicking of the seams, unraveling, and winding the yarn onto the back of a chair to make the hanks.  I would guess I spent around 10 hours total undoing everything.

a gentle bath

I had to be quite careful washing the yarn or else it would felt into an unusable mess.  I soaked it in cold water with a small amount of a gentle soap.  No swishing around!  It was more like... smooshing.  Then it was rolled in a towel to remove excess wetness and then hung to dry.  Washing it like this helped get rid of some of the ramen-noodliness.  I'm sure I could've weighted it down some to stretch it out more, but I was afraid of over-stretching it.

a healthy weight

It's not very fancy yarn, but it is 45% angora, 40% wool, and 15% nylon.  I'll probably never afford true angora wool unless it appears by luck but I can certainly buy sweaters in thrift stores (I'm watching for a pretty cashmere next)!  I estimate it to be somewhere between a light fingering/heavy lace weight so maybe about 1,000-1,200 yards?  While undoing the sweater, the yarn seemed to be whispering that it would like to become a shawl in its next life.  I've picked out (and even printed so you know it's serious) the pattern I'd like to attempt.

It will be a lot of firsts!  First reclaimed wool.  First knit lace.  First beading (oh my!).  First nupps which I've never even heard of before this pattern.  I'm a little anxious to see how the yarn will work up since it was reclaimed plus I have very little experience using actual wool fibers.  I hope the shawl will be wonderful and maybe make me feel like a princess instead of my usual tomboy self.  :)

yes, they are in a small daffodil glass

:D

Advent Calendar Blog Hop: Day 5

Hello there, jolly blog hoppers! It is time for this year's Advent Calendar hosted by the fantabulous Jo at Serendipitous Stitching.  You can go here to see the others in the calendar so far and the doors yet to come!

5 Christmas Lane

This is my ornament for this year! I picked up this little kit at a truly amazing yard sale (I love crafter sales!) along with a small box of several others of the same type (plus a plethora of other items).

a delicious house

A little gingerbread house with a good amount of backstitching to make it pop.  I really like how small and cheerful it is but that thread!  It was like stitching with crochet thread (or maybe perle cotton?) -- very twisty and thick.  I wasn't much for the single strand of gold for the loop so I cut it in half and found another leftover bit from a different kit that was the same type.  A braid should be a little more sturdy!

Technical Details

• "Gingerbread House" Item 3356, a Stitch 'N Hang ornament kit by NeedleMagic, Inc.
• 2-over-1 on a 14-count plastic canvas.
• Finished size: 2.5" x 3".
• Started ????, finished November 27, 2018, unknown hours.

without backstitching

This was one of those pieces that have what seems like an absurd amount of backstitching for such a little piece but it really made a nice difference!  I still like backstitching so this wasn't a troublesome task for me but it was a bit difficult with that twisty thread!

The theme for this year is our favorite Christmas song. This was tough for me! I like so many of them and usually sing my way through the days, especially while decorating and baking cookies.  Though it's already been in the calendar, "O Holy Night" is one of my favorites, particularly the version by Willie K.  The Hawaiian language (second verse) is beautiful!

And if I can be so silly, I will include a bonus Christmas song that I'm sure most of you have never heard before: The Twelve Days of Starcraft.  This version is from the original PC game when Blizzard (the maker) made a special map for Christmas one year, each day being sung by a different unit.  It definitely makes more sense to have played the game hah.  My favorite part is when the archon gets annoyed and makes up new lyrics. :D

Peanut wants the vent, Klondike wants to play, Oreo wants the package

That is all from me this advent!  Be sure to check out everyone else's beautiful Christmas pieces and listen to all their songs~

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*MERRY CHRISTMAS!*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

As usual with these blog hops, I've scheduled this post to appear overnight here so the people in the future (read: the rest of the world) can have the post in a timely fashion.

July GG ~ I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

Actually, I live my whole life not knowing what I'm doing. \:D/

click for more info

Hi, folks! It's summer time in full swing (since May...) and here's a little not-so-secret secret: I HATE SUMMER. I absolutely despise being hot. That feeling when you walk outdoors and your breath is burned away and you can swim through the air? No, thank you. I'll grudgingly accept it because it means my tomatoes and peppers are thriving.  I have to water everything every morning (some items get more in the evening too) or they burn to a crisp.  At least I have some pretty blooms...

hibiscus #3

My GG post is late this time, mostly because I kind of feel like I've sort of hit a stitchy block but the overall crafting bug is still there.  I have a little thing I've been working on but it really deserves its own post and subsequent exclamation marks.  Can you possibly guess what it will be?  :)))

In actual, honest-to-goodness GG stitching, I have the next (and last!) side of the Husband Cube charted and floss tossed, but I got wind of the fact that DMC's latest colors can be bought individually at Hobby Lobby.  I want to check out those grays before I commit to the ones currently kitted.

I did make this hat on a whim.  I can shoehorn this in for GG as the white and dark blue yarns were originally bought for the Little Cowboy Afghan that I gifted last year.  So this was a bonus stash busting; I have only about a yard of white left and even less of the aqua!  It is also kind of a prototype as I wanted to see how it looked worked up.  I think I know someone who will really like this in a different colorway.

a little feminine cloche

Technical Details

• "Ridge Hat with Brim" freebie pattern by Kool Stitch on ravelry.
• Hook: G (4.00mm).
• Yarn: Caron Simply Soft; Colorway: white, aqua, and dark country blue
• My ravelry project page here.
• Started: July 3, 2018, Finished July 5, 2018, unknown hours.

I loved making this!  It's a very simple and quick pattern with cute results.  Even though I went up to a 4.00mm hook, I think a 4.25mm (which I do not have; this is an odd size to find in the US) would’ve been perfect for me as it's just a little snug.  It won't be blowing away!  The little flower is currently held on by a safety pin.  I thought this would allow me to make different flowers or even just remove it for a different feel.  I did a crab stitched edge in the aqua for a little extra splash of color. It's a good thing I've been on such a stash busting kick lately because...

thrifting is life

This little pile was "gifted" to the local thrift store and of course I couldn't pass it by.  There are four skeins of Malabrigo yarn (the purples and blues - 100% merino wool), two skeins of Knit Picks Palatte (red - 100% wool), two skeins of Louet (grey, 100% merino wool), and one skein of Noro (multi-blue/grey - 50% wool, 25% angora, 25% nylon).  These are all really pricey yarns around here!  The Noro alone would've cost $23 before tax and I got all the yarn for $14.  The Spring Blossom casserole dishes were an added bonus, though I goofed when I bought the green one -- I already have that size!  My little spreadsheet was not updated with this information.  I fixed that immediately and took this dish back.  Another little set within a set completed!

now let's all move into child's pose

Peanut gifts his adorableness to you all. ;)  He decided that I worked out enough and needed to move on to other things, like filling my phone up with more cat pictures.

That's all from me; a bit meager, I know.  Too much tenuous shoehorning going on here!  I hope next month will be better~

April Smalls: 'Merica

Hello to you all!  Here we are for a proper Small SAL post at a proper Smalls SAL time.   I rummaged through my Drawer of Wonder and chose this little kit to work up.  I did not notice it was double-sided even though it says it in plain English right on the front of the package.  Luckily even double-sided it is quite small sooooo...

click for info!

Of course this kit was found in a thrift store, this time by my mother.  I thought perhaps I could cheat on the French knots with little glass beads but alas, they turned out just a tad bit too large.  I don't hate French knots but this plastic canvas was so tough to get the needle through with just stitching.  Then to go on after with the knots... eh, I persevered.  100 little knots later, I had a completed American flag.

Klondike, don't eat that

Boy, they knew what they were doing with this kit!  Each length of floss was just enough to finish one line of a stripe.  The plastic canvas was cut to size which led to a terrifying second flag until I knew it would fit!  The kit also came with the tiny dowel and stand so it could be displayed upright.  And the front and back were mirrored images so it can look correct no matter which way the wind blows.

little LEGO dude, don't eat that

This is actually my first Americana anything if you can believe that.  I'll set it on the little shelf beside the door all by its lonesome self (and the ever-present candy for guests and a husband coming/going) during all the flag-y holidays.   Yay!

Technical Details

• "Stitch 'N Hang kit #2001: American Flag
• Three-over-one on white 14-count plastic canvas
• Approximately 8 hours stitching.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
This is obviously not for the Smalls SAL as it is very much not small (although they certainly had a lot of "small" issues).  I took Final Fantasy III and VIII back to the framer to address some of problems.  She straightened out III and VIII got a new cutout design entirely. In case you've forgotten the speech bubble:

before, plus bonus VII

after - the difference

I am still not happy with the workmanship of this framer and unfortunately I do not think I will be going back to her.  There was not the attention to detail that I guess I was expecting.  III never should have been presented crooked although to be fair, when they are viewed at a flat angle, it is not noticeable.  But wouldn't a framer set them upright?  Or notice the fabric is warped?  I mean it's not like cross-stitch fabric doesn't have "lines" to make sure things are even...  I can still tell it's a bit crooked in the "fixed" version. Is this something only a stitcher (particularly the one who did the work) would notice?  I will say this (again) though: The fabric for III was horrible and could have very well contributed to this drama.

VIII... I'm not sure how I feel about it though it certainly looks better than before.  It was not re-stretched so there is an outline of the previous cutout mats' shape on the fabric.  There is some sort of water damage on the red mat, under the glass.  The red mat was not supposed to have the little "flairs" at the corners.  Apparently the mat cutter available could not do the curve all the way?  She did not discuss this with me and instead just left it (this is the second time I felt like I was "supposed" to like it so she wouldn't have to do anything else).  I did not want to argue the point so I just went with "they're fine" to be done with it.  They may grow on me as I do not hate them, just the surprise that they were.  The water staining and the outlines aren't acceptable.  That doesn't inspire confidence on how the actual stitching was handled.

All-in-all, kind of an underwhelming experience especially for projects that I get SO OVERLY EXCITED over.   Maybe these pieces are just too weird in the cross-stitch world to be easily framed.  I have saved the information and will keep future finished stitches until I can do the 200 miles (~320km) drive to my old framer.  I will probably bring these two with me and see if she can do anything to fix them.  I am incredibly patient, but on the flipside, incredibly picky.  Or maybe my pickiness is justified this time.

Okay, I've complained enough hah~ Tune in next time for another edition of Ishkabibble Babble! :D

Easter Treasure Hunt - A Blog Hop!

Hooray, it's time for Jo's Easter Blog Hop! Please start at her blog and hop around like the little bunny you are and collect the letters.  Spring is Best Season so of course any excuse is good to work up more seasonal goodies for this hop.

old readers - remember these guys?

Here is my contribution for this year! I actually wasn't sure I would be able to get anything done due to a whole lotta life happening this past month but I did manage to squeak in a finish just in time for the hop and last-second-begged asked to be included.

some flowers for you

Beads!  It is not my first beaded piece, though it is my first fully beaded piece!  What a fun thing to try.  This little kit was picked up in a thrift store (are you familiar with that phrase yet?) and has an option to make the piece into a brooch.  I do not think I am going to go that way as it is quite large for a brooch, at least, larger than I'd wear without fear of it getting damaged!  Instead I finished it off into a little hanging ornament to put out with other Easter decorations.  I like ornaments.  And seasonal decorations.

sparkly

There were a few small issues with this kit.  Veterans of older Mill Hill kits may know this but there was no way to tell what colors were what and of course they come all jumbled together.  I had to make Educated(?) Guesses about the differences between the various pinks and blues which all look mighty similar in the container although their differences are obvious worked up.  I found out early on I couldn't rely on the finished image either!  Oh well, we all like winging it, right? :D

Technical Details

• "Floral Bouquet" #MHSB10, a counted glass bead ornament kit by Mill Hill
• Perforated paper, glass beads
• Started: March 20, Finished: March 27, ~4 hours.  

And here's what you've all been waiting breathlessly for -- the letter!

the letter S

Thanks for stopping by! :D  I am the last stop so you should be heading back to Jo's blog to assemble your collected letters!  I hope you all have (had) a lovely Good Friday and a Joyous Easter!

As usual with these blog hops, I've scheduled this post to appear overnight here so the people in the future (read: the rest of the world) can have the post in a timely fashion.  I am also linking up with the Small SAL as this is really quite small!

A Surprisingly Not-So-Small(?) January Small

click for info!

Well isn't this embarrassing! I am apparently too used to posting at the end of the month that I completely forgot the first check-in for the Smalls SAL is NOT actually at the end of the month, oops!  I suppose it worked out in the end as I didn't finish stitching until yesterday. :)

before

after - much better light!

I guess it might be obvious it's not a cupcake now.  This was a very happy little stitch, and one of those that magically come to life when the miles of backstitching go on.  I did make a few changes: I did not add the second chimney, nor the majority of the French knots.  Nothing against French knots, but they just looked odd on this piece.  I also left off the "Thinking of You" sentiment and all the random blue dots which I think are supposed to be raindrops.  I didn't want raindrops, thank you very much.

Technical Details

• Cross Stitch Greetings #911 "Birdhouse", a kit by Design Works Crafts
• Designer: Joan Elliot
• 2-over-1 on white 18-count Aida.
• Finished size: approximately 3.5" x 5.5" (~9cm x 14cm).
• Started: January 8, finished January 30, 16 hours.  

The floss supplied was not so great. It tangled very easily and when trying to untangle, it would break! This was incredibly frustrating.  It also is a bit larger than I expected!  I think for the next Smalls, I should go Smaller.

scissors for weight

Here is what it will look like in the card. I was puzzled as to what the recipient could do with the stitching afterwards. What could be done with it and still be sent as a card?  Solution(?): I have a very thin magnet (think of those that come stuck on things as advertising) that should work to attach to the back.  It won't be able to hold much but would look nice on their fridge or filing cabinet... maybe?  I might be the only goofball who loves magnets all over everything.  Any other ideas out there?  It has to be very, very flat.

Okay, that's all I have this time~  I shall endeavor to remember the SAL date is not the end of the month next time haha~

Advent Calendar Blog Hop: Day 21!

Hello, hello~  Are you here for Jo's Advent Blog Hop on this fine Winter's Solstice?  Sure you are!

Ooo we are so close to Christmas; are you ready?!  I can safely say all the Christmas cards are mailed and so are all the cookies!  I am now working on the "local" cookie batches, mostly the cookies that I love to make but would never survive mailing (decorated sugar cookies, etc) or that my husband loves and I have to make another batch of (thin mints).

Here is what I've created for you behind door 21!  I can assure you it took an awful lot of work to assemble this intricate piece.

almost staying still

Wait, that's not a craft...

Okay, okay, enough with the silliness and on to the Real Stuff.  Every year I've been trying to make something for the tree and this is 2017's contribution.

baby, it's COLD outside

I bought this little kit in a thrift store. I really like brass ornaments so finding a cross-stitch one was awesome!  There doesn't seem to be any images of this particular kit online, but there are stockings and wreaths out there somewhere.  I enjoyed the easy finish of it but it was a bit rough "seeing" the beginning stitches; I simply couldn't process the squares!  I just started at the bottom and worked my way up until it made sense.   Plus the 3-over-1 was remarkably tough despite the the large holes.  Back stitching required a thimble just to stuff the needle through some places!

Technical Details

• Brass Stitchables "Snowman Mitten", a kit by Bucilla.
  
• 3 over 1 on 14-count brass.
  
• Finished Size:
• Started: November ?, 2017, Finished: December 8th, 2017. Unknown hours.

I added a bit of red felt to the back to hide protect the stitches.  I thought I'd get all fancy pants and attach the felt with gold metallic floss to match the brass.  Trying to do that blindly and neatly....... Nope, not happening!  Glue gun to the rescue hah.

And because I felt this was a pretty sparse post, I will share two previous ornaments I don't believe were ever on the blog.

naughty or nice

delicious house

Both of these little kits were picked up in thrift stores (of course).  I believe the gingerbread house is the first Christmas ornament I've ever made in cross-stitch; I scribbled a date on the back of August of 2009 which is the year I started.  It was a fun stitch, although I obviously needed a bit more practice centering in a frame!  Santa  was stitched closer to Christmas that same year and was finished by being glued to cardboard, and then of course that looked ugly on the back, so I cut another piece of cardboard and used Christmas wrapping paper and a fat ribbon for hanging.  I do remember designing the M and C myself because the plain font looked too, well, plain!

Christmas... worm?

And this little guy was made when I was a tiny Rosey in kindergarten.  Our teacher cut out the little pieces of felt and we assembled them into these ornaments with glue.  Then we "sewed" around the edges and stuffed the bottom with a bit of fluff.  Such trust with a needle!  I'm sure nowadays someone would demand that children are too young and would eat the needles or some other disaster.


Jo asks: How do you plan to spend Boxing Day?  Do you have any traditions associated with this day?

Welp, like a few others on this hop, I'm also American and have no specific traditions associated with this day! My husband does actually have off the day after Christmas though, but this is more of a fluke of the days lining up just so.  It's a day for lazing around, eating cookies (and I guess leftovers), and playing with any new toys that Santa deposited under the tree.  Although after reading all the hops so far, I feel this might actually fit in haha.  I could pretend to be a milkgal and you could slip a note under the door on the way out. ;)

Okay, that's enough from me.  Thank you for visiting!  Your next stop is a Double Delight.  Please knock on Craftartista and A Snapshot of my Life's door tomorrow~

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* MERRY CHRISTMAS! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

As usual with these blog hops, I've scheduled this post to appear overnight here so the people in the future (read: the rest of the world) can have the post in a timely fashion.

August Edition: GG, IHSW (Part 1), TUSAL

That's a lot of acronyms! I would rather have everything in one large post than several smaller ones. Apologies to those of you who have gotten comment spam from me lately.  I have been trying to catch up on blogs and have decided the easiest way to do this is just go down the list alphabetically instead of chronologically!

click to join the fun!

Firstly! Gifted Gorgeousness hosted by the Serendipitous Jo. I have continued on with Rathalos after finding a pinkish sort of brown that actually looks right (for the interested it wound up being DMC 758 lol). I felt kinda silly having my husband pick out a matching color (since this gift is for him!) but I think he had fun playing with all the floss in the store haha. :D

before

after

He finally has his full lower jaw and it is finally not being frogged. I've also started progress on his wing. There's really not much left to him!  I've been saving his fireball for last since he really doesn't need more weapons right now.

click to join more fun!

Next(ly) part 1! IHSW hosted by the Random Rambling Joyce! It appears I wasn't the only one curfluffled by the "full" weekends in August.  We'll have two this month though I don't know if I will get much done next weekend due to prior engagements.  Final Fantasy III came out to see the light of day but not a whole lot got accomplished this weekend.

before

after

I managed to fill in more of his cape in the previously-frogged area above the I and N as well as finish the F in Fantasy. I am hesitating on the rest of the cape as it seems like the next color, as much as I love it, is clashing with the rest of them. I need more time to think on it.  Luckily "Fantasy" is a long word. :b

Next(ly) part 2! Singer sewing machine!  I think I may have borrowed some serendipity from Jo. Would you believe I found attachments for it in my last foray into a thrift store?  I think they must be from the same people as the machine -- the buttonhole attachment was missing the plate adapter... and guess what was in the drawer of the Singer!  :D  It's funny how the things have wound up in different places.

joyous finds

If you cannot see from the picture, the haul included:

• Buttonhole attachment and five cams (green case)
• Zigzag attachment (unfortunately not the automatic one with all the really neat cams for different style stitches but I will keep watching for it!)
• Eight packages of needles, different sizes (9-16)
• Blind stitch attachment
• Hemstitch and Picot attachment (!)
• Stocking Darner
• Multi-slotted Binder foot
• Lubricant and motor lubricant, both still sealed though I'm unsure if they can still be used.  I shall contact Singer directly and see what they have to say.

All for a grand total of $7.50!  I could barely contain my joy.  And every single one has the original manual and all are in such good shape.  From the manuals, I've been able to identify some other odds and ends that were in the drawers of the sewing machine, too.

join all the fun!

Lastly! TUSAL!

one of my favorite manga

I feel like there's all sorts of stuff in there since last time, most of which are the frogged bits from Rathalos and FFIII. So my TUSAL progress is mostly negative stitching progress!  What fun is that!  >:|

And that's all she wrote~ Quick, run away before she finds more to talk about!  :D

IHSW - July! And a Few Finds!

Hiya, hermiters! I hope you were all productive enough for your tastes!

click me for more info!

I had progress... and negative progress! I work on FFIII during IHSW and this time, the mistake finally showed itself! Doing the letters worked! This is more exciting than it really should be being that I spent a good portion of my stitchy time frogging haha.

before

after - FINAL(ly)

wrong!

A close up of the area before I picked it out. The letters are to have a 1-block "border" around them where the color touches. The top left corner of the N does not! But, the right side does. So at least I knew the mistake was everywhere to the left of the N which wound up not being too terrible to fix, especially since I start out the colored portions in half-stitches only (see, I learn from previous mistakes lol).  I took out the entire area above N just in case though; in the after picture, you can see the outline of the frogged area.  I put a small length in before I started stitching the I... not letting another mistake happen again (famous last words :b)!  I am very pleased that this mistake is gone, Gone, GONE!

☆*･゜ﾟ･* \(^▽^)/ *･゜ﾟ･*☆
Since I don't have a lot of IHSW to show off, how about some of my thrifty finds? If you don't know, I get most of my crafty supplies in thrift stores.  I am definitely my mother's daughter when it comes to spotting bargains!

most were 25¢ each

Crochet books, leaflets, and magazines! I adore the older Star/American Thread Co. magazines and squeal like an overly-excited dolphin whenever I find one.  I was particularly happy with the "Doily Bouquet"; there are some truly stunning pieces in there.  Unfortunately they are not always in the best shape!  Some are missing covers or are falling apart at the seams.

tatting supplies - $5

A tatting kit! My great-great-aunt was a prolific tatter and I love the delicate look it produces on the edge of things. I was tickled to find this in the thrift store. It came with two large balls of thread, two small balls, and two different shuttles, all with the original prices lol. Anyone know some good resources to learn this amazing art? Preferably books as our poor Internet does not much like YouTube.  Though if there is an absolutely amazing tutorial I will haul my laptop to the library and practice with headphones!

front, minor cosmetic damage - free!

This is probably my most exciting discovery. Since we live in a rural area, we do not have trash or recycling pickup. So, I take my recycling down to the center once a month and always toss a glance at their bulk trash pile. There's usually some interesting things, though almost always broken. This time, I noticed a nice little desk looking thing (only the back was visible). I like old furniture so I snooped. It's a sewing machine! I am unashamed to ask for trash (lol) so the guys helped me load it into the truck.

cast iron glory - free!!

After spending a few hours looking things up and taking a "what is it?" sewing machine quiz, it is a 1951 Singer 201-2 (potted motor).  I am unsure if it is the original cabinet but knowing the area, I would suspect it is. It was obviously well-loved at one time, and came with a great little diagram on how to thread the machine written on the back of an envelope. :)  It also came with an assortment of feet (including 4 hemming feet of different makes lol), spare bulbs, and a tiny mountain of metal bobbins.

I had low expectations of it working (it was put out for recycling after all). BUT IT WORKS. There is just something about older machines' sound that I just love. It does need a good cleaning and I'll have to get some fresh oil and grease for it. I think I will have it rewired as well. Most of the wiring was intact but from the machine to the pedal you can tell it's showing its age.  I really look forward to playing with it and sewing again.  More to learn! Maybe I'll finally be able to create some finish-finishes!  :D

beautiful!  FREE!!!

It is really amazing what people will throw out. Those of you who thrift shop or perhaps get lucky in recycling centers, what are your great crafty finds?

Have I talked you to death?  Maybe I should stop rambling.  I'll just leave you with a friendly reminder about my little giveaway!  Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely life this week~! :D