Vintage Quilt...........

I went shopping yesterday for my daughter. She is in need of some play cloths for school. This school asks that kids where them. So during this trip to the thrift store I came around the linens as I always do and there it was. I could hardly believe it was there. It was a beautiful home made quilt. Very bright with all the colors and white back round. I would say its somewhere in the late 60's early 70's and it is in fabulous shape. It looks as if its been stored for many years and never loved. I put it in the hand wash cycle and it started looking more like a quilt. I don't think it had ever been washed. The quilt has a couple of stains here and there but are hardly noticeable. The stains I believe are from storage. Oh and the quilt still had dust on it. Dust!

Pay no mind to the dead grass and the weeds. Drought is prevalent in our area.
If anyone knows the name of this design I would love to know.

 

The attention to detail is amazing. Some one put a great deal of time into this and that person was very good at quilting. 

 I wish I knew more of a history for this quilt but I know it will gain new history. It will be loved and cared for in its new home. It looks fabulous on our bed. Hard to believe I found it for 9.99 at Goodwill.

I just can't get over this fantastic find.

Hang in there....

I want to thank every one who is visiting my blog and am sorry that I have been lacking in posts. I am still here and am working on a tutorial for your viewing and reading pleasure.  September is also fast approaching with many pet sitting jobs scheduled. However I will do my best to keep up on this blog.

Hang in there and thank you for visiting. I will read each and every comment so please leave me feedback.

Allison

This tutorial uses old sheets. A way to sew on a budget, cause I am all about saving some money.

Busy few days.......

I just wanted to get on blogger and say something quick. It has been very busy these past few days. The kids and I have been off to pet sitting jobs as well as a brief car issue. Man its been crazy. So since I have been busy and have not posted anything lately I thought I would put some pics up of previous things I have made.

Zipper pouch made out of a vintage sheet with raised dot lining and a thrifted vintage zipper.

Pillow case dress for my daughter. I only bought the thread for this. The rest was given to me. I made a pattern from one of my daughters other dresses. Not bad for nearly free huh. :)

This is an outfit I made for my son. The shorts and embellishment are made from some fabric I bought and the shirt is made from some fabric from one of my husbands old shirts.The shirt is actually my own pattern made from one of my sons other shirts.
I hope this inspires you to get sewing. Have a happy Thursday.

Cool Finds that I have to share............

I was out today looking for vintage character sheets and found none however I did find these.

Set of 8 embroidered linen napkins. They look to be from the 70's and are in very good condition. Thought I might put them up for sale. Not sure just yet because I was thinking they would be nice to add to a clothing project.

This beautiful hand made dress. It looks to be about a 9 month to 12 month size. I will be placing this item up for sale. It is a darling dress that is light weight and breathable with embroidery all the way around.

And last but not least this cute jar that I found at a garage sale. It appears to be early 80's but I am not sure. This item will also be going up for sale. 

The fastest skirt project ever......

I started out by saying I wonder if I could fit a pillow case if its made into a skirt. Thus the idea was born. Then I said why don't I take pictures and create a tutorial.
You will first need a pillow case ( I got a vintage pillow case from my stash.) and some scrap to use for embellishment. (My scrap is from a previous vintage pillow case project for my daughter) I cut my scrap into a four inch strip and I then cut two inches off the top of the pillow case. (the closed end)

Then I placed my four inch strip where I wanted it on the skirt then pinned ( I do not advocate sewing over your straight pins. Though it looks like I am about to I did not.) and took it to the sewing machine.(Forgot to mention I did fold over a half inch on each side of my four inch strip. This was to hide my raw edges. I did pin both sides of my strip so that it would stay in place as I sewed on it. Be careful though because the pins are sharp and can poke you while your sewing.

 Ok, almost done. Then I created a pocket for my elastic. I used 3/4 inch elastic for the waist band. Because I had so much material to work with (i am short) as far as length. I first folded a half inch at the raw edge and then folded and ironed and inch to create my pocket. Ironing is key to keeping a uniform pocket for your elastic or what ever your working on. Don't forget to pin before you sew and leave about a 1 and 1/2 inch opening to insert elastic.

I inserted the elastic by using a safety pin. Attach the safety pin to one side of the elastic and feed it through. Once you have put the elastic in you can sew them together. I like sewing the ends on a scrap then trimming the excess scrap. I think it holds better then elastic on elastic.

 You are ready to wear. I kinda like the way it turned out. Looks like something I saw in  a year book from the 70's. I'll post a pic later of it me wearing it.

Let me know if you liked this tutorial. It is my very first one ever so please be kind. :)

Cool finds to share on Wednesday......

While in the thrift store looking for some play cloths for my daughter I came across a couple great finds. Oh and by the way I love this particular store because not only are the toddler cloths a 1.50 the quality of the vintage sheets I have found there is usually very good.

 This is a picture of the pattern on a vintage pillow case I found a couple of days ago. There where two in the original package. I was happy to find them very cheap and NIP because the fabric looks awesome. I am thinking a shirt for myself. Hmmmmm......

You might be wondering what the heck these are. They are macrame beads. When I pulled out the basket at the thrift store there they where. It was like they where saying please take us home because we have been in this package for so long. I thought to myself that since it was such a steal I had to take them. You just can't find wooden beads like this at the craft store for so cheap. Plus there is 100 of them.Woo Hoo.

I just wanted to share because you never know what treasures you will find in a thrift store.

Packing and Saying Good Bye

My daughter had a birthday party to attend yesterday and upon arrival the host (my daughters friends mother) was visibly upset.
A little back round. She is a military wife with a 4 year old living alone waiting for her husband to come home from over seas. Our daughters attended gymnastics together while she and I had some grown up conversation. Much needed when your a stay at home mommy. She is doing this move to North Carolina with a friend.
Now  back to the story. When everyone was asking her what was wrong she was telling us about how she had hired this company "Student Movers" to pack this tractor trailer for her. They came 5 hours past the time they where set to arrive, did a horrible job packing, she paid for their dinner and the boxes where crumbling underneath each other.  I quickly volunteered my dear husband and I to help sort it out. With the help of a couple of other of her friends we unpacked the whole truck and repacked it. Wow. That is an awesomely large job. However I would not have done it differently. I just could not leaver her in tears.
The best part about this experience is getting to know someone outside the norm. I hope that we can keep in touch through email and seeing them when they visit.  I am so happy that my daughter got to visit a while longer with her friend and we where able to take a huge weight off of Someone's shoulders.

I guess the moral of the story is to be selfless and give when others are in times of need. You might be surprised at the fulfilling feeling you get as well as the friendships you may strengthen.

I also wanted to show my outfit for the party. I wore my skirt and a pink top. Of course I added some funky jewelry to top it off.

Vintage Linens.

So I have mentioned in the "About Me" that I love vintage linens to sew on. I have recently made a skirt for myself out of a cheery yellow sheet. Its a little big but it will work. This idea of using vintage linens came from Whitney Sews. She is on Facebook as well as You Tube. She is very good at what she does and I would definitely recommend watching her channel.
The newest adventure I have decided to embark on is the find of vintage character sheets. This is a very hard thing to do as I know I am not the only one looking for them. The "Holey Grail" right now is "Star Wars". I keep looking to no avail. No, I will not purchase online because I am not willing to pay huge amount of money plus shipping to get it. Yes, I am doing in the old fashioned way. Most of the thrift stores around her have seen me more than a few times. Now I will say I have found two character sheets so far. One was a Kermit the Frog sheet circa "1980" and a TMNT sheet circa "1988". Both where in fabulous condition. The funny thing about the TMNT sheet was that a lady was contemplating it as I came down the isle. She glanced away for a brief second. and I swiped it. Rule of thumb in the thrifting world is if you are looking at something you better pick it up. If you don't pick it up then someone else is bound to snatch it. I have learned this very quickly. I was so excited to get these home and wash them that I flew out of the store, after paying of course. As far as finding the "Star Wars", I know I will. Though I do not like it it is for my sister. When I finally do get this highly sought after sheet it will become a scrub top.
So tonight as I cook my fabulous home made chicken noodle soup I will contemplate my next project. I am very excited to get started on another one. However I do have some on my to do list. I am at this moment thinking of ways to put NB tour shirts together to make a messenger bag. This bag has to be good which is why I have not started it yet. Planning is key when I only don't want to make any mistakes. Yes, I do take my projects seriously. Well most times anyway.