Thrift Store Shopping With Hubby

Over the past few weeks, my husband has been going to thrift shops with me. We visited the first one to look for luggage for an upcoming trip because I'm convinced that we can find something like new, or close enough to "like new," for way cheaper than the ones we saw at Costco. Since then, there's been another and another.

I've never been able to figure out what my husband, who loves barn sales and antique shops and estate sales and some junk shops that I find just plain scary, has against plain old thrift shops. (It's not that the stuff is used.) Years ago, I took him to Red White and Blue -- which is probably the least icky thrift shop I know. He couldn't stand the place. 

Value Village and Goodwill have been new experiences for him, with the whole colored tag (or tags) of the day thing. The kids and I have always taken it for granted. You figure out what color tag is the right one and whether it's 50% off or everything for $2.  I know there's got to be a system to the color changes, but I'm not in town enough to worry about it.

I'm just happy that he's willing to go with me. There's a St. Vincent's next to the Costco in Eugene that I've never had time to check out because I'm usually not down there without him.  

We stopped and it wasn't the best or worst thrift shop I've been in. Hubby had just commented that everything was kind of old and beat up... 

And then he saw this and was happy as a clam:  

Honestly, I wasn't sure what the difference was between this one and the one we found in the garage. Except this one seems to be much newer and has a box and more parts.

I know some of you have and use these. Is this rectangular bit part of the chopper, or some random bit that found its way into the box? I'm not seeing it in any of my online searches.

Now we're searching for a No. 1 food chopper. Because he wants one. And if that search gets me into more thrift shops, I'm not complaining!

Plenty of Time...

I keep hearing that we've got plenty of time to knit this pair of socks before the deadline, but each round takes absolutely forever. I've got it down from twenty minutes a round to a little over ten minutes. That's an improvement, but I'm not sure it's enough of one.

On the bright side, I'm loving this yarn -- Knitpicks Hawthorne, Sauvie Island. It looks questionable in the skein but in this stitch pattern it's gorgeous and completely lives up to the manufacturer's description of "woodsmoke drifting over a pumpkin patch."

And speaking of green trees and pumpkin patches, if I was trying to match up yarn and a book I couldn't do any better than combing this one with Bitter Harvest by Wendy Tyson.



I picked this book to read because of its gorgeous cover. The first few paragraphs immediately pulled me into the world of Megan Sawyer and her farm, Washington Acres, and I didn't read the rest almost straight through. The characters are fully developed and their conflicts are believable. I haven't read the first book in the series (yet), but I didn't feel at all lost.  There's one reference to Megan's land that's obviously from the first book, but not knowing what was going on there didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of this one. I highly recommend Bitter Harvest.



The Trophy Child by Paula Daly promises a glimpse behind the scenes in a family dominated by an obsessive tiger mother type. But Karen Bloom is really only focused on the success of one of her children. Even before tragedy strikes, things in the Bloom household aren't as perfect as they appear on the surface. The plot twists and turns in some mildly entertaining but improbable ways, concluding with a revelation that still has me puzzled. I enjoyed the author's previous book, Just What Kind of Mother Are You? more.



Based on the book's description, I was hoping that Kneaded to Death by Winnie Archer would help me learn more about the Mexican pastries our family has been enjoying so much lately. (I probably need to find myself a cookbook.)  It's the background that motivates me to pick up a new cozy series. There is a lot of focus on the cooking classes, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The mystery is complicated, but it all manages to tie together. I'm hoping that a couple of characters who really intrigued me will make an appearance in future books.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copies by the publishers. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, Crazy Mom Quilts , Wrap up Friday  

Quick and Easy Library Bag from Vintage Pillowcases

I need more bags. Lots more bags. As many as I've got around this house, there are never enough empty ones handy to haul everything we need to take with us. Add the single use grocery bag bans in a couple of the larger towns near us and now I apparently need to carry empty bags in both vehicles. 

So the idea was to use existing pillowcases to make nice, sturdy bags with as little waste and extra sewing as possible. I used a lot of the same techniques as I'd use to make a bag from scratch and cut corners by using the existing seams and measurements.  Now I'm on the prowl for some pillowcases in brighter prints because I want more of these. A lot more.

Start with two pillowcases, both the same size. You're going to lose whatever pretty details are along the cuff, so save the ones with fancy embroidery or lace trim for a different project. For this bag, we want fabric with a lot of life left in it. Vintage bedding can be worn thin, so take a careful look before buying it.  

Cut each pillowcase into three pieces. Starting with the sewn together end of the pillowcase (Is there correct pillowcase terminology?) on the let and measure 17 or 18." That will be the bag itself. Now go to the other end and cut an inch and a half farther into the pillowcase than the stitching lines that form the hemmed  edge. That will become a strap.  Cut both pillowcases the same way. (That middle piece can go in your scrap bags.)

Different pillowcases have different structures. If there's a seam down one side, cut that open so that you won't have one in the middle of your strap. If there are seams down both sides, cut one open and don't worry about the other. That 1 1/2" from the seam you measured -- fold the raw edge in over the strip and then fold everything else in half lengthwise so that the raw edge is encased by the rest. You're making a strap that has at least four layers of fabric. Press the whole thing, pin if you like pins, and then sew a layer of top stitching 1/4" from each long edge. Make on strap from each pillowcase.

Now take the two bag portions and box the corners of each. Your pillowcase may or may not have seams down both sides. If there aren't seams to use as a guideline, use the existing fold.  Turn the bottom portion of your pillowcase inside out and line up the bottom seam with the side seam to form a triangle. Measure up three inches from the point and mark a line from one edge to the other. Stitch along the line.

Boxing the corners will give the bag more structure and help it stand up once it's full of library books, but you can skip this step if you'd like. I trimmed away the extra triangles, but that's another step you can get away with skipping.

Nest one bag section inside of the other, with their right sides together. You'll have visible seams on the outside of the outer section and the inside of the inner section. Match up the side seams (or folds) and pin around the raw edge. Sew around the whole bag, leaving an open space wide enough to turn it right side out. Four inches or so should be plenty

Turn the bag right side out and top stitch around the top edge, using the top stitching to close up the space you left for turning. (If I was making a bag from scratch, I'd hide that opening in a side seam of the lining, but the goal here was to use as many existing seams as possible.

Turn under the raw edges at the short end of each strap and securely sew them to the outside of the bag. (You could hide the ends in that top seam and make the bag truly reversible, but I've lost a lot of bags to torn straps over the years and want the extra layers of stitching as well as an easy way to resew them if they do come loose. After four years of carrying around my Nancy Drew Tote, which has straps attached the same way, they're showing no signs of failing.)

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Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs

I have very strong feelings about tea. It's a long story, but I'm an adult now and I don't have to drink it and no one can make me. My husband and children love the stuff, but I won't touch it. My feelings about tea didn't stop me from absolutely loving Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs. The yummy descriptions are almost enough to convince me I'd enjoy visiting Theodosia's tea shop. If nothing else, I'm sure I'd enjoy the scones!

It was the idea of a "Rat Tea" that made me want to pick up this book. Elegantly dressed servers in rat heads staff the event, which is a recreation of the parties originally held to bring attention to the need for public sanitation in early twentieth-century Charleston. It's an odd enough experience for Theodosia and her friend, Drayton, even before a centerpiece bursts into flames and one of the gentlemen seated at her tables dramatically goes into convulsions and dies.

There's a lot of great detail in this book and I think the mystery was deeper and more complex than a lot of the other cozies I've been reading lately. The characters were three-dimensional people with developed relationships and possible motives. I'll be looking for the earlier books in the series so that I can get caught up.

About The Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

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{Weekly Stash Report} Needles and Sock Yarn

These are my favorite type of circular needles and I pick them up whenever I stumble across a cheap pair at an estate sale or thrift shop. They're great for lace knitting because the tips are sharp and the joins are smooth...and I don't think I had any this long or in these sizes. I know I've never had any in the original packaging. 

Weekly Stash Report

There's a ridiculous amount of new sock yarn headed my way. Nordic Mart has their DROPS sock yarn on sale this month and I've been waiting for another sale.  Self striping sock yarn has made me very happy over the past couple of years and if I can knit a pair for $4.60 I'm even happier. So I ordered pretty much all of the pretty colors I didn't get in my first order. And now I'm holding my breath until Monday because I can't wait to hold it in my hands.

It's my first yarn purchase at all in more than three and a half months, and my first big yarn purchase since I can't remember when. If things work out the way they usually do, spending all of my yarn money means those pretty colors I've been eyeing at Knit Picks will go on sale almost immediately...but I'll cross that bridge when/if I get to it.

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 2 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 0
Net used for 2017: 2 yards

Yarn used this Week:  400  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 1800 yards
Yarn added this Week: 8800 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 8800 yards
Net added for 2017: 7000 yards

A Thrift Store Scrap Bag

Before I got sick, I found a couple of small scrap bags at the thrift store. The one that looks full of fabric scraps is still unopened, because I've got a plan for that. The other had a pretty star block wrapped around the rest of the contents and for $1.11 ($1.49 at 25% off) I figured that block alone was worth the price. 

There were no regular fabric scraps in the bag at all. Folded up inside the pretty star block was all of this...

I have no idea what's going on there. It has to be leftover bits from several different projects, but (except for the pinwheels) I don't know what I'd do with any of it Those big blocks could be cut up for the fabric. Maybe I could use the half square triangles for the corners of scrappy string blocks? I'll figure it out later.

The star block was even better than it looked through the bag because there are eight of them!

Not nine. Nine would make things too easy. Before I got healthy enough to take the pictures I thought I'd counted four with dark corners and four with white corners, which I could imagine a couple of different layouts for.

But no, there are five with white corners. If there were five with dark corners, I could have swapped out some white fabric and gone with the original plan. But there aren't. Now I'm thinking that I could find something in my stash that's similar to the dark blue floral and do that instead of the white....but I won't sew these together or make any commitments until I figure out what to do about my free motion quilting woes.

It's not the worst dollar I've ever spent, but it's definitely not what I was expecting to find.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {3/3/17}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Invitation to the Dance

 Pattern: Invitation to the Dance   Yarn: Knitpicks Stroll (Dogwood Heather and Ash)

Sock Madness 11 has started! I was hoping to get the warm up pair finished before the first round's pattern became available. Then I got sick and decided that it wasn't worth making myself crazy over since this pair is optional, then I started feeling better...and I got them done by the skin of my teeth.

My favorite thing about Sock Madness is that it makes me push myself. In order for the pair to qualify, it has to be knit exactly as the pattern is written. Which means I not only tackled the colorwork, I also  kitchnered my toes and did an eye of partridge heel. AND got them done in time.

As soon as this is posted, I'm casting on for the Round One socks, Twisted Madness. Ever since I downloaded the pattern this morning, I've been shifting between "That looks do-able" and "I don't know how to do that..."

Wish me luck!

Second Socks

Well, I apparently blew it this morning! If you're looking for my finish from the Finish it up Friday linky party, it's the Incan Clay Socks. The same ones shown at the top of this post, but they're finished now. 

The issue here isn't second sock syndrome...or that I've been sick... It's that there's too much fun to be had right now when it comes to the sock yarn.

This is the project I'm working on when I have other things going on and can't count or follow a chart:

This is Longing for Spring, the pair I was working on while I waited for the first round of Sock Madness. I'd forgotten that there was a warm up pattern, so once that became available I set these aside. (I think I'll need those dpns for Round One.)

And this is the warm up pattern, Invitation to the Dance. I'm almost ready to start the second heel flap.

Bad Little Girl by Frances Vick

Claire Penny can't shake her concern for a disheveled student, Lorna Bell. The little girl's older brother had quite a reputation at the school and the others teachers expect Lorna to follow in his footsteps. What else could they expect of a child from that family?  The stories that Lorna tells her fill Claire with concern, but there's just not enough solid information for the school to take legal action. She knows that with the right care and encouragement, Lorna would grow into a lovely young lady. The book took a while to pick up speed but once things got going I was holding my breath. It's a thriller that will keep you wondering what's next.

Disclosure -- I was provided with an advance review copy by the publisher. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along, 

Completely and Totally Derailed

Sorry about that! I didn't intend to go more than a week without a blog post, but I've been sick and the boys have been sick. Hubby seems to have sneezed two or three times and bounced back.  I'm thrilled for him, but also really jealous.

It's just a nasty cold, but the two days I would've spent planning posts for last week were spent huddled in the corner of the couch and having chills...and a week later and I'm still not back to normal. I've got barely enough energy to take care of the family, which has meant no blog posts.

If there's a bright side, it's that I know where I left off on everything before the room started spinning.
There's a new tutorial coming. I did the sewing and took the pictures, but when it came time to explain the steps in writing I just couldn't find the words.

I've almost got the socks from the warm up round of Sock Madness done. Last year I dropped out after the second round because I came down with a nasty bug that was an awful lot like what I've got now. Maybe I'm getting it out of the way and will be healthy for the next few weeks?

And I thought of the one little thing that's changed since my last successful free motion quilting. I'm going to change it back and see what happens. If it turns out that's the root of my problems, I've got a whole new problem to deal with, but I'm not going to panic yet.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {2/24/17}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

{Thrift Store Temptations} Not Even Tempted This Time

This week's stop at the thrift store was to search for a couple of cute pillowcases. I found them, and I was also briefly puzzled when I got out of the car and spotted this-- 

Just...what? It's identity is much clearer from the opposite side.

If  the rollers don't give it away, the Maytag logo definitely does.

This one, just a couple of feet further down the walkway, was easier to identify and maybe in better shape. At least it's in one piece, if that counts. It was also a hundred and ninety-nine dollars.

I have no idea what the going rate for old wringer washers is. What I know is that I'm not tempted by these because there's a prettier one in my barn right now that I'm told, by the friend who sold it to me for seventy-five bucks because she was moving and no longer had the space for it,  is in working condition. Someday, I'll wrestle it out and take pretty pictures but on the day it came home (along with an industrial Singer sewing machine that my friend also needed gone right that second) I was just lucky that Hubby was willing to haul them and store them safely away.

Anything tempting (or not) you this week?

{Weekly Stash Report} Sock Needles

While I waited for the Sock Madness warm up pattern to become available, I went through my knitting stuff and freed as many sets of dpns as I could find from half finished socks. I also looked at my leftover yarn with fresh eyes, trying to figure out what I can combine for more leftover socks when the madness loses its hold on me.

As of Saturday night, when I'm writing this, I've only had one evening's worth of time to spend on the warm up round, which is voluntary. I  don't know if I'll try to finish or if I'll give up and just wait for the qualifying round.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric used this week: 0 yards
Fabric used year to date: 2 yards
Fabric added this week:  0 yards
Fabric added year  to date: 0
Net used for 2017: 2 yards

Yarn used this Week:  0  yards
Yarn used year to Date: 1400 yards
Yarn added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net used for 2017: 1400 yards

What Are You Getting Better At?

The more I knit and quilt, the more I find myself getting better at things I couldn't do before. Lately, it's been pressing tiny half square triangles without singing my fingertips. This batch was completely "ouch" free.

What have you gotten better at without consciously trying? (I'd given up on pain free ironing years ago, when I still used the iron on clothing.)

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {2/17/17}

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules: 
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned,  as long as it's about baby quilts. You're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

{Sock Madness} The First Night

My favorite thing about Sock Madness last year was that it forced me to learn some new techniques. This year it looks like the first one is going to be colorwork.

Seriously, why didn't anyone ever tell me that instead of holding both yarns I could do the round with one color first (slipping the stitches of the opposite color) and then go around again with the second color? I could've made the We Call Them Pirates hat years ago!

{Yarn Along} Two Brand New Pairs

Remember the Laburnum stitch socks I showed you last week? There was a mishap and I wound up pulling one needle loose from the stitches. I was already wishing I'd seen the pattern for Longing for Spring before casting on with the Laburnum stitch...so now I'm making Longing for Spring and rethinking my choices yet again. 

The stitch pattern shows up  better in real life than it photographs. And, except for a mishap when I didn't realize that there was a separate chart for the leg and instep, it's been fun to knit. This far in, I'm realizing that the yarn would've made nice stockinette socks after all but I'm not planning to start over a third time.

And because I can't read charts while watching television with Hubby, I cast on these --

I'm having a lot of fun with my yarn while waiting for Sock Madness to start.




Playmates by Eva Hanagan

For their entire lives, Lucy has been the one to take care of Biddy. The two elderly sisters live alone and get along just fine, until Lucy falls ill and dies in her bed. Biddy understands just enough about their finances and situation to realize that she won't be able to stay in their home if anyone realizes that her older sister is gone, so she keeps up the pretense that Lucy is feeling poorly and doesn't want visitors. The book was originally published in 1978 and it definitely reads like something that was written almost forty years ago. With more than one unreliable narrator, I've still got some questions about what actually happened. That that didn't keep me from enjoying the story, at least not until the very end.



Every Part of the Animal by Duncan Ralston

An off-the-grid hunter and her young son cross paths with an anti-hunting activist. The description promised lots of conflict and I'd already enjoyed Salvage, another book by the same author. But when it came down to it, I didn't really care for either of the two women to win. It's a fast paced thriller and well-written, but I didn't sympathize with the characters.  According to the author's Facebook page, you can get a free copy of this one by signing up for his email list.

Disclosure -- I was provided with advance review copies by the publishers. All opinions are my own. This post is linked to Patchwork Times, Yarn Along