Thrifting Delights

A few weekends ago, I braved a miserable, snowy, cold morning to be among the first let in the doors at the annual Unwanted Crafts and Fabrics Sale.  This was my 4th year to attend and when you see some of the goodies I came home with, you will understand why this sale is a highlight of my year (thrift-wise!).

Previously, I steered clear of the "yarn room", focusing instead on all things sewing/quilting related.  This year though, I had an extra set of hands along.  My hubby willingly accompanied me and good-naturedly toted treasures for me.;o)

I went into the yarn room (he said afterwards, that he thought I was never coming out again... lol).  I secured over 40 skeins of yarn - either wool or cotton - for under $20.  I thought I showed careful restraint to only gather this much. hee hee

I was on a mission.  Only 100% wool (good for felting projects) or 100% cotton yarns.  I found some lovely brights and a few fabulous neutrals to aid my knitting/crocheting projects.  You just can't beat 50 cents/ skein.

This year I had pre-determined that I wanted to gather some staple fabrics.  I collected some pieces of denim, some muslin, a couple of cotton prints that caught my eye and corduroy fabrics.  Let's just say I've got a few project ideas for using them,  so I set out to find any brightly coloured ones I could find first, with neutrals second in priority.  Here's the corduroy line-up:

Not bad for $2/ piece for these beauties (and they range for 1.5m - 3.5m)!

 The next photo will come as no surprise to those of you that are familiar with my thrifting tendencies.  I grabbed bags of zippers (10 zippers for $1 - regardless of their length) and loaded up.  Instead of scaring you with a photo of the whole varied lot, I opted to show you just a few in a rainbow grouping. ;o)

I can't resist buying zippers at this price.  It means I'm covered for nearly any project which requires a zipper!

 This year, as a new feature to the sale, quilting books and magazines made an appearance.  You can imagine the crowd of folks gathered around this display!  I didn't bother elbowing into that mob, but waited until things had thinned out, so I could have a leisurely look about.  The two that I chose were in brand new condition and are the perfect addition to my selective library on quilting (I have to be a little choosy because otherwise my home would be wall to wall books in every room!  I'm serious.  I love books THAT MUCH. lol)

Not only did I find some handy block reference materials, I scored some quilting pins and a guide!

 Well, you already know that I love vintage Singers, so you know that this next find makes me a little giddy.  Amongst a variety of sewing odds and ends I found a few vintage sewing bits that I could use with my machines.  A buttonholer with extra templates AND the original manual!  The machine brushes for dealing with lint, were also a happy surprise that will be very handy for machine maintenance.

I am always on the lookout for anything that will help me keep my tools and sewing notions organized and toward that end, I found this plastic case.  Inside were feet for a sewing machine - they won't work for my Janome or my Singer, but I hope I'll find someone that can use them.  I bought it as storage for the bobbins I have for quilting only.  I like having them separate from the bobbins loaded with regular sewing threads.

 Another little, but happy find, were these binding tools.  I love making self-made binding and the tools I have for making it don't work as nicely as these newer made ones.  Now I'm able to make binding in 3 different sizes.  Yay!

This is a group shot of more of my sewing related finds (except for those quilting threads - those I already had.  I thought the storage case I found at the sale looked better filled with pretty threads).

I tend to always look for snaps and self-cover buttons.  These simple notions often make the perfect finishing touch to a project, so I can't have too many on hand, I find.

I'll wrap up this thrifting parade with this picture of buckles.  Unlike past years, these treasures weren't packaged up and gathering them became an exercise in patience as they were placed on the edge of an upper shelf.  This meant that as I tried to sort through them, one-handed (hubby was getting a tally on the bags of stuff he was carrying and I was balancing an armful of new finds), the buckles would scatter and start tumbling off the shelf.  Anyways, I'm happy to have found a few new options for hardware for bag making.  I'm loving the variety!

I bet you're now wondering how I manage to store all these new treasures!  I'm a big believer in organization, because I don't want to search endlessly when I'm needing something.  I was able to tuck everything I bought into my sewing space, with all the small bits going into clear containers.

  I'm so thankful for this annual sale as it keeps me well stocked on things like zippers, snaps and buttons, plus, I get some fun and unusual sewing goodies each year.  All at an affordable price.  Love it!