Vintage Linens Found Today

These are the vintage hand embroidered items I found at a yard sale this morning. Some also feature crochet or applique. I appreciate these because I know how much work went into them.

A pair of pillowcases with embroidered roses.

These have lace hand sewn to the edges.

A single pillowcase with embroidered calla lilies.

This has a green crocheted edging.

An embroidered dresser scarf with a crocheted edging.

A dish towel with appliqued dress and embroidered details.

I paid $4 for the lot.  

Late Season Yard Sales

I haven't been going to many yard sales this summer. I am trying to downsize and pack for my upcoming move to a homestead property. I really need to concentrate on giving things away, not dragging more home. Today my love of garage sales won out over common sense and I ventured out to a few sales in the near by neighborhoods. This was my haul. Or most of it. I also picked up some nice pinking shears and some vintage linens but those didn't make it into the photos.

MAD MEN style vintage red patent leather purse. Probably from the 50's. It's in very good condition, structurally, but it does have some black dye transfer....mostly on the back. Heck, it was only $1. I still love it and plan to actually carry it out in public. I want to collect more vintage purses.

A pristine harvest gold Grind O Mat from the 70's. With all the pieces. It clamps down onto the counter with suction. I have a fancy motorized grinder/sausage stuffer but this will come in handy for grinding something quickly. I have a recipe for Italian sausage I want to try out. This grinder was $2.

Set of 3 nesting baskets with lids. $1 for the set. These will be great for using in my sewing room.

And a few books on self sufficiency, gardening and upholstering. $.50 each. These will be useful on the homestead.

All that for under $5.50! You gotta love yard sales.  

A Couple of Last Minute Details

I thought I was done but not quite. Today I added some French tacks to the inside, to anchor the lining to the shirt bottom. Now it won't end up bunched under my arm pits.

I also added one of my exclusive labels. LOL!

Today I also returned to Jo-Ann's to pick up more of the metallic embroidery thread. While there I couldn't resist grabbing one of the Jo-Ann's 70th Anniversary Bags. How cute is this!?!! I'm a sucker for vintage sewing machines and fashions.

My Bargain Norwood Loom

A couple of days ago I was out running errands when I noticed a flyer for a yard sale tacked to a telephone pole. It was close to my home and I hadn't stopped at any sales yet this season, so I turned around and headed back. There were 2 small signs taped to a vehicle in front of the house. I almost missed it. Went inside and looked around. There wasn't much left in the home. It is being foreclosed and the owners are also divorcing. They seemed upbeat and still the best of friends. Anyway I am always looking for sewing items so asked the lady if she had any. No, those things went to her new apartment as she is keeping them. However she did have a loom. Well, I really don't need another loom. I have 2 floor looms already. But maybe it was a table loom? I sold my table loom and rather miss it. No, she informed me it was a floor loom. Curiosity got the better of me and I headed out to the garage to have a peek at it. I immediately recognized it to be an extremely well made loom, of nice solid cherry wood. It was very wide (50" weaving width) but folded up nicely. No, I don't need another loom. I just recently sold my lovely barn frame loom, Agda. Still, I had to ask the price. She thought about it a second and said she couldn't sell it for less than $100. $100!?!!??? Heck, you can't hardly buy a used rigid heddle loom for that. No, I didn't need another loom. But this was such a good deal. Too good, in fact. Rather like an offer I couldn't refuse. I thought if nothing else I would buy it, clean it up and re-sell it. I told the lady I would go home and ask the husband if he would mind another huge loom in the living room. I also needed his manly gorilla strength to get it home. There was no way I could stuff it in the Outback. It would have to be partially dismantled. Long story short, we had the thing in our home within the hour. We had to make 2 trips to bring it all home, but they lived just around the corner. Now I need to clean it up and get it put back together. Here are pictures of the loom from the lady's Craigslist ad. This is exactly how it looked when I found it.

Apparently this is a much sought after loom. Norwood looms are no longer made of cherry and this older style loom is much better made than the Norwood looms currently produced. It has a sectional back beam and chain tie ups. It came with the original manual, extra heddles, a Glimakra swift, warping board and 2 Leclerc shuttles with bobbins. This was my best yard sale find, ever.

Recent Sewing Bargains

I recently found these lovely vintage patterns for $.99 each plus shipping. I have a serious "thing" about vintage patterns. Can't resist them. I swear I am going to sew myself a bunch of vintage style dresses....just as soon as I fully understand altering patterns to fit my pudgy body.

Until then these will go live in the pattern file with the rest of my collection. I don't want to jinx it but there is the possibility I will be dragging home a box full of vintage patterns this weekend. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Yesterday I was bored and decided to make the run of the local thrift shops in search of bargains. I found these 2 books on using a serger, for $1.99 each.

Apparently the Singer book is THE book to get if you want to learn about your serger. I also found these 3 fabrics in a bag for 30% off $2.99. The first are cottons and there are 3 yards each.

There was also this super groovy piece of knit fabric in there. Sadly it is only half a yard. I'll have to wait until I get a solid knit to mix it with.

Hanging Hand Towels

These turned out so nice, makes me wish I'd used better quality towels. However it was the three Dollar Tree towels that gave me the inspiration in the first place. I was there to pick up some $1 tape measures to use in making "snap shut" bags as shown in this tutorial (I guess I need some duct tape, too). Here are my first set of hanging towels. I still have to put in the buttonholes and sew on the buttons, but you get the idea.

I made them a little different than was shown in the tutorial. I didn't have quite enough of the produce print fabric to cut out all the patterns pieces. 

I opted not to tape the 2 pattern pieces together but to cut the fabric pieces and sew them together with 1/2" seams. This allowed me to use a plain green on the backside.

I also chose to use fusible interfacing instead of fleece. This added some stability without adding a lot of bulk. Besides, I have a bunch of old interfacing that's probably been around since the 70's. I need to use it up.

The finished tops. First the front and then the back. I used a 3/4" seam at the opening because I wanted as much of the cute fabric to show as possible.

Now to insert the half towel. First I added some pleats so the top measures 6" wide. I pinned the pleats in place and secured them with 2 rows of basting stitches.

Now for the fun part. I inserted the pleated towel into the hanging top so that the basting stitches didn't show. I then edge stitched all around the topper which secured the towel in place. To make it extra strong I also used a decorative cam to sew some satin stitch diamonds a little ways from where the towel was inserted into the topper opening. I wanted to be sure that towel wasn't going to be pulled out while folks are drying their hands. The bow was an afterthought. I am sewing these on my vintage Kenmore because I want to take my Bernina in for a tune-up. Unfortunately my Kenmore seems to have a mind of its own as far as stitch length and width are concerned. The diamonds were an inconsistent size. The bows are meant to distract you from that fact. Is it working? The final picture shows the back. The green fabric helped stretch the pretty print.

I used cherry red thread for the edge stitching and will be using matching red buttons. Everything was from my stash except the $1 towel. Not bad for a quick and thrifty Christmas gift. Now to make the other 2 sets.

Bargains and Craftsy Love

I headed back to JoAnn Fabrics on Saturday. I had another 50% off and 25% off coupon. This is what I came home with.

I had been looking for a good way to store my sewing threads. I used to have a couple of those thread holders that hang on your wall but thread that is out and uncovered is a dust magnet. I needed a way to keep the thread clean while still being able to see the colors. I found these nifty double-sided, clear cases, above. They each hold twice the amount of thread shown. Two of them were almost enough to hold my entire collection. I did go back on Sunday and pick up a third since they were still priced at 50% off. Saturday I used my 50% off coupon to buy that little sleeve sized ironing board. It will come in handy for pressing smaller items, like bags.

Sunday the husbeast and I began to clean up my Kenmore model 51. I want to eventually (hopefully soon) place this machine into a treadle base and make it people powered.

We spent about an hour freeing up the feed dog mechanism. First I un-stuck the knob that should lower the dogs. I got the knob to move but nothing else happened. The feed dogs refused to budge. The oil had turned to varnish and they were glued in one position. The husbeast finally got them back into working order. Now they drop as intended. Today we got the tension assembly fixed. Someone before us had dismantled it and put it back together out of order and also managed to get the tension knob on crooked. I feared the shaft was bent but we lucked out. I located the proper schematic and we got it back together correctly.

Here is the wonky knob before:

And here it is all fixed.

We make a pretty good sewing machine repair team. Today I will start cleaning and lubing the upper workings. I am anxious to see if the cams I bought will work in here.

I also want to put in another positive plug for Craftsy.com. I have signed up for many of their courses but there was one that I just couldn't watch. Something about the instructor's speech mannerisms drove me up the wall. Like nails on a chalkboard. The nice folks at Craftsy allowed me to trade that course for another. I chose the wax resist dyeing class. I hope to create some lovely batik fabrics using my bees wax. Darn it, I gave away all of my cellulose dyes. I didn't think I'd have a need for dyeing cottons. Oh well, I know where to get more.

My Lame Black Friday Shopping

I admit it. I'm not much of a Black Friday shopper. I wasn't even going to participate but there were a few things I had on my "wants list" and it is hard to resist 50-75% off. First on the wants list: Doll Shoes. You heard me right. American Girl doll shoes, to be specific. Long story short: I was given a bunch (like 30) patterns to sew 18" doll clothes, I wish to sew some doll dresses, I bought a used AG doll to use as a model, she came with tennis shoes, you cannot wear tennis shoes with nice dresses. Thus I need some fancy doll shoes. Someone told me Artco had the type of shoes I was seeking and I happened to have 2 coupons in my possession. Both were for today. The 50% off coupon was for before 9am and the 40% coupon was for after. Wanting to use both coupons on the same visit I had to time my arrival at a few minutes before 9. I barely made it. I ran in with just 2 minutes to spare, asked the lady at the counter to point me in the direction of said shoes, and made it to the checkout counter in the nick of time. Once she rang me up it was after 9 and I could use the second coupon. All that to get 50 and 40% off of $4.99 doll shoes. I'm just that cheap. The white espadrilles are awful damn cute.

Next stop, JoAnn Fabrics. A place sane sewists avoid like the plague on Black Friday. However, I wanted some heat resistant fabric to make pot holders and I also heard their flannel was going to be 75% off. What a zoo. I pulled a number for the cutting counter as soon as I walked in. They were on number F80. My number was G61. It was going to be a while. The good news was the desired heat proof fabric was not on sale which meant I could use my 50% off coupon. Good thing, since the regular price is $14.99 per yard. I bought 2 yards.

Over the next couple of hours I had plenty of time to browse through the stacks of flannel fabrics. The selection kept changing as people would get their choices cut and those bolts made their way back onto the sales floor. I settled on 3 yards of the sewing themed flannel (how could I resist the hand crank machines???) and 1 yard each of the red chocolates and the brown/teal heart print. The latter two are intended for some girly pipe bags.

I still had lots of browsing time so I looked through the Butterick patterns which were 99 cents each. I decided I needed more bag patterns.

After being trapped in JoAnn's for 2 hours I was finally free to return home with my bounty. That was the extent of my Black Friday shopping. I know. Lame. I didn't even spend $40.

Trip To Bothell For Free Sewing Machine

I am always looking for sewing machines to refurbish. It's almost comical how much I enjoy tinkering with them, especially since I would not describe myself as mechanically inclined. When the Army gave me the aptitude tests they did not place me around tools. But then I also suck at math and Uncle Sam thought it a good idea to place me in stock control & accounting. Go figure? Friday evening I happened upon a lady in Bothell who was offering up a vintage Kenmore, in a cabinet, with a stool...for FREE. She said the hand wheel was stuck. I took that to mean the hand wheel would not turn. That can be something easy (tangled bobbin) or something hard (cracked gear). Even if the machine was beyond hope, the cabinet looked nice and I could sure use the stool. Yesterday I informed the poor husbeast that he was taking me to Bothell on Sunday morning. And that's just where we headed bright and early today. The first thing I did when we arrived was give the hand wheel a turn. It moved easily. That ruled out a cracked gear which meant it was probably something easy to fix. I kept that knowledge to myself. We loaded up the Subaru and headed for home. Later this afternoon I got a chance to play with the machine a bit more. When I plugged it in the belt turned but the needle bar stayed still. Nothing was gummed up so it dawned on my that the clutch was not engaged. The clutch on this particular model is controlled by a button on top of the machine, not by loosening or tightening the hand wheel knob. It seems the levers, under that knob, were stuck. I applied a few drops of oil and we were in business. This is a Kenmore model 158.1603 and it is in mint condition.

See the button on the top front of the machine, just to the left of the bobbin winder. That was the culprit. It's working fine now. This is the beautiful, solid wood cabinet that came with the machine.

And here is the stool which has generous storage under the seat. I'm keeping the stool but will be selling the machine and cabinet.

I almost kept the cabinet but I really don't have enough room. It is lovely, though. Maybe I'll change my mind.

Well, I'm Still Alive.

I bought more fabric today and the husbeast didn't shoot me. In fact he chauffeured me over to JoAnn's and waiting patiently in the car while I shopped. I had a 50% off coupon and wanted to pick up a copy of the book, 'Successful Serging'. I had already purchased 'The Complete Serger Handbook' from Amazon when I  ordered the serger. Both of these books received rave reviews. I'm sure they'll be a huge help.

JoAnn's is having 60% off all their flannel so I had to make one last swing through that aisle. I'm enjoying sewing myself pajamas and can always use more.

I came home and promptly signed up for the online Craftsy.com course, 'Beginner Serging'. I am determined to master the serger. Speaking of the devil, here is my new Brother 1034D.

Classier Pattern Weights

No sewing yet. I decided to take a break and try to weed out some more clutter from the sewing room. I was making progress until a local gal made an offer that was too good to resist. I am now the happy owner of a full set of vintage June Tailor pattern weights. I paid $8 for the set. The same set, in poor condition recently sold on eBay for $29.99. Now I won't have to use my table knives to hold down patterns.

I also scored this giant spool of quilting thread for $2 (it sells for over $20) and 25 assorted zippers for $10. 

I really love the pattern weights and can't wait to use them.

Two Huge Boxes of Patterns!

Or...How My Mail Lady Got A Hernia. All my sewing friends, prepare to be jealous and hate me very much. These are what arrived on my doorstep this afternoon and man, are they a couple of heavy suckers. It cost the sender $43 to ship them parcel post.

That's right, 2 good sized cardboard boxes packed full with uncut sewing patterns. SQUEE!!!! How much did I pay for them? Absolutely nothing. This lady was cleaning out her craft room and no longer wanted the patterns. All she asked for was the shipping cost and she was willing to barter. I happened to have an unworn pair of hand knit alpaca socks in just her size. Someone had knit them for me a couple of years ago but they had knit them about 1.5" too short for my big feet. The yarn cost over $20...and then you have to factor in what it would cost for someone to knit them. I figured they were worth between $40 and $60. So that is how I turned these....

...into over $500 worth of sewing patterns (and that would be if they were on sale). I can't stop saying, "wow!" The coolest part is they are almost all my size and things I would actually sew and wear. Or things I would sew for my daughters. These are recent patterns, very up-to-date. Now to try to find some place to store them. If I try to buy more patterns my husband has permission to shoot me on the spot.