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.

Turning Yarn Into Fabric

My dilemma? I find myself with a mountain of yarn and no desire to knit. Wouldn't it be great if I could magically turn all that yarn into fabric? That is what I have been trying to accomplish. It's not happening overnight and takes a bit of effort, but I have managed to find quite a few folks with mountains of fabric who wish to turn it into yarn. First on Ravelry, but that costs quite a bit in postage. Not to mention the risk you take whenever mailing things. The USPS managed to lose (as in vanished into thin air) a box filled with $150 of high end yarn. I'm pretty sure a postal employee, somewhere, is happily knitting away. I'd rather not have to mail things unless absolutely necessary. Thanks to Craigslist I managed to find 2 local ladies, with huge fabric stashes, who are happy to barter. One came to visit yesterday and we traded toys. I received this big stack of fabric.

True, it's not as much fun as visiting the fabric store and being able to choose from 1000's of bolts, but I'd rather have fabric to sew than yarn I will never knit. Here are details of the new fabrics. Most are yardage (a couple of 5 yd pieces) but there are also some fat quarters and panels.

I am not a fan of pre-stamped quilt panels but I had to have these. Especially the vintage sewing machine prints.

I certainly didn't need another quilting book but I had to get this one. The title lured me in. Bees?

I think I have another lady coming to visit this weekend. Slowly but surely that yarn is turning into fabric.

J-Made 4 Harness Loom (no longer) For Sale.

On the way to a new home in Idaho. :-)

Now that I possess three 4 harness floor looms, it is time to cull the herd. My 4 Harness J-Made Conversion is available. This loom was built in the 70's by a fellow in Portland, Oregon. He is still around but no longer builds looms. I think he's now into building yachts or some such. I was able to track him down and he provided the original assembly documents. This is a well built loom which can do everything that more expensive floor looms can. The top half is a table loom with approx. 30" weaving width. The bottom half is the floor loom conversion stand which has 6 treadles and lamms. The 2 parts clamp securely together, but are easy to separate for transport. We brought it home in my husband's Subaru WRX Wagon. The treadle stand was bungeed to the roof while the loom rode inside the vehicle. The loom comes with a 27" 12 dent reed. I will include a couple of stick shuttles, 3 weaving books and the above mentioned documentation which includes detailed schematics and assembly instructions. Possible delivery in the Tacoma area. Otherwise must be picked up.

Note: I will consider bartering for a Bernina 830 or 730 Record sewing machine in very good condition.

Bartering. Gotta Love It.

Since I seem to be in a state of flux, changing from knitting to quilting and weaving, there are a lot of yarns in my stash that I am no longer very interested in. I got this wild idea to barter my yarn for other folks' unwanted fabric. Today I received my first package in the mail, which contained the following.

That is over 6 yards of fabric. The ones to the left are all at least one yard pieces. The ones to the right are little leftovers she threw in.  And what did she want in return?

It's a win-win. New toys, without having to spend much other than postage.