Friday, September 16, 2011

A little this, a little that...

I'm an on again, off again thrifter. Usually, when I have a good find, it will spur me to keep looking. Last week, while in Virginia Beach, I found 2 decent vintage sheets. That's all the encouragement I needed to strike out a few times this week. Frankly I've been a little disappointed in the Baltimore thrift scene. All I could were Goodwills and Salvation Armys. Then, with a little googling, I found something called Value Village. Seemed promising. Then I talked to my friend Linda, and she said, "oh, I love Value Village!" Who knew? Well, apparently lots of people. Here's what I found this week:
The yellow Pyrex comes from SA. I want to state for the record that I am not collecting Pyrex. Repeat, I am not collecting Pyrex. But, I do have a thing for bowls, so I allowed myself this lovely #404 (and those of you who do collect Pyrex I'm sure are most impressed that I know the number of the bowl!) Next is my minty fire king bowl (is it considered jadeite?)  from my new favorite place, Value Village. Again, not collecting fire king, but for $.90, how could I pass it up? The knitting needles? I have no idea why I bought them. I have no intention of learning to knit. I'm strongly resisting learning to knit. But heck, they're useful for things other than knitting, right? But just in case, got any simple knitting patterns? Last is my make my heart beat faster vintage sheet, also from VV. Looks like it's brand new with only the tiniest smudge of dirt, which I'm confident will come out.  Can't wait to work this into a quilt!

Next, on this and that, The Farmer's Wife QAL. This flickr group started up in early June, and I enthusiastically jumped right in. I bought my book, printed out templates, joined the yahoo group, and then nothing. Nada. Nary a block. I don't know what the problem was, but I couldn't get started. Actually, I kind of know what the problem was. I was seeing all these other great quilters with their great blocks and their great color schemes and I got intimidated. I mean, what if I do it wrong or choose the wrong colors. What if it comes out a hot mess? And so, nothing. Until yesterday. Tada...



My first two blocks: Attic Windows and Autumn tints. I decided to just haul out my bucket of scraps, choose what fabrics I happen to like in that moment, and make a block. Simple. And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't matter. It's about learning new things, right? I decided to do the book in order, instead of jumping all around. Easier to keep track of, and one less decision to make. I think the QAL is officially in it's 15th week, so about 30 blocks done. I figure, if I squeeze in one block per day, I'll catch up by the end of October. Or not.

Vintage Sheet WIPs. I've got two of them, both of which I hope to wrap up by the end of the weekend. The first is my VS dresdens, from my Bee Vintage bee. I've got 12  16" blocks, which should make a nice sized lap quilt. I think the blocks need some sashing so I've been auditioning colors.
First, with Kona mint:


The second is with Kona celery:




(Sorry for the crummy quilt cave pictures.) At first, I thought the mint would give it a more vintagey feel. But now I'm kinda leaning towards the celery. What do you think?

My other VS WIP is my 100 squares blocks. I've got 11 so far, so will have to make at least one more.
I may also add 4 nine patches to square it up. The blocks are 15". I want this to ultimately be a picnic blanket, so 60"x60" should be a good size. Sashing? No sashing? Opinions welcome!

So, that's what's been going on around here. Got any sewing plans this weekend?

6 comments:

Linda said...

What wonderful finds!!! I love the little jadeite bowl. I would collect them if I ever found any!
Good job on the VS blocks, too!

evelyn said...

I have a few jadeite pieces from my mom. There is a VV near here. I am gonna look next time for bowls!
I like the celery color with your vintage sheet blocks. You gave me a good idea though. I have collected vintage table clothes. Maybe I should look at them with fresh eyes.

Dawn said...

I love that yellow bowl, my mom had one just like it! You'll have to tell me where your Value Village is.

I love your future picnic blanket. It'll be very cute, and I don't think it needs sashing at all.

Michele said...

I wish I had time to sew this weekend. We are having guests tomorrow and I need to get the cleaning done. The only sewing I may get to is hemming my son's school pants.

For the sashing, honestly I'm not crazy about either option. My eye is seeing something in a pale blue instead.

Michelle said...

Vintage sheet Dresden plates? And postage stamps? I am *so* in love with your projects! Now I want to go hunting for pillowcases so I can get as many different vintage sheet prints as possible. Or I cold just look up in the sewing room and figure out what I've actually got...

Value Village around here is kind of pricey. At least for kids' clothes, which is what I was looking for the last time I was there. Have you tried St. Vincent de Paul? I have the best luck there.

Mary said...

That sounds like a great place to shop. Do you mind telling me how much the yellow bowl was? I recently got my mom's when we were settling my parents' estate. I have wonderful memories of my mom using that bowl to make so many yummy things. My sister-in-law was trying to make me feel guilty and said she had seen one selling for $75!