Cheap thrills... OR It pays to read the local paper

because otherwise you may have missed a sale - the kind that would make seamsters, crafters, quilters and needle workers swoon. The ad said that funds were being raised for charity and that it would be a sale of 'unwanted fabrics, notions and crafting supplies'.
Luckily, I saw the wee ad in the paper and made my way to the sale. There was a main room devoted to an assortment of fabrics and then rooms devoted to specifics such as the quilting room, the novelty fabric room, fabric by the bolt and then individual rooms for notions, craft supplies or knitting and crochet. There was so much to see that I actually limited myself from visiting every room ( to keep from having creative overload meltdown).
Want to see some sewing related loot that did come home with me?
I stocked up on zippers (10cents each - no matter their size), self-cover buttons,

and ric-rac. I loved that everything was only a dime - so now you know why I came home with over 2 dozen zippers and all the ric-rac I could lay my hands on.

In the pattern/craft supply room I scored some craft batting (full 2lb bags for 50cents each...) and some vintage patterns, including this beauty above.

I just had to show you a close-up of the vintage packaging on the ric-rac. Judging they are vintage, (by the labels and the price stamps) I wonder how many years these lay in someones stash waiting to be used?

I've been collecting snaps from thrift stores for quite sometime, by this is the first time I've found any that look like this. Love those horseshoes and stars!

I did visit the sample room at the sale - where they were overflowing with sample books of fabric from decorating shops. I will admit to staying in that room for a considerable time. I love looking at decorator fabric swatches! I think that got started years ago when I was being trained as a drapery and upholstery seamstress. I still have bits of fabric in my stash from my days of working in the drapery business. Despite the lure of all the gorgeous samples, I only came home with one sample book (just a peek at it in the above photo) and about a dozen individual swatches.

Okay, you know I wouldn't go to an 'unwanted fabric sale' without buying any fabric, right? Let me tell you it was really, really hard to restrain myself from buying more. The prices were so cheap. Cut fabrics were $1 to start with, but were slashed to 50% off before the end of the sale (smart me to avoid the early birds and be there in time for the price slash).

In total, I spent a mere $11.50, which is a fraction of what this would be retail. Cheap thrills for this sewing enthusiast and the money spent goes to a charity. I'm glad I read the paper. ;o)