My Longest Year

going somewhere?

Last year it was dressers.  This year its chairs and suitcases.

If you saw the growing collection of both in my garage, you'd think I either planned to do a lot of sitting or a lot of going.

You remember MAD's suitcase?  I didn't stop there.  When I spied the mustard American Tourister in a dark corner under a shelf at our dumpy Salvation Army I snatched it up.

Then I saw this strawberry Carousel suitcase and couldn't believe it.  I mean who gives up a suitcase that color?  There was a matching train case perched on the shelf above it that I probably should have picked up but I didn't. 

I'm hoping to use these in a session sometime.  At prices like these I just couldn't pass it up.

 

weekend junk score

If you live near the Raleigh area and love to go junking you have to go to the Raleigh Flea Market.  Have to.  It is a total treat.  There is beautiful junk of every kind there. 

Suitcases are, it seems, all the rage.  I saw this one and was intrigued by it - some poor little soul whose initials spell MAD.  I don't know why; I just imagined it belonged to some grumpy little boy with a cowlick.  Or a girl with freckles and striped socks (wha?). 

And the chair - well, it's an unfortunate shade of yellow (I love yellow but not this yellow).  I'm picturing it apple green or a 50's turquoise.  That's easy enough to fix.  And it was five bucks.  My magic number for furniture.   I'm hoping to use both these finds as photo props.

These...

ah, the locker bins.  I was so excited to find them.  But I wonder if I had my flea market goggles on - you know, where you've seen so much junk that the quirky starts to look cuter than it is.  I am fascinated with old wire-y things, containers, and stuff with metal labels on them.  But these - they weren't as cute once I got them home and tried them on a shelf or two.  But we'll see.  I can make it work.

These are just plain ugly.  But I have been looking for frames exactly this size and depth to go in a nook in our bathroom. 

I'll rip out the ugly tile scene and paint the frame black, maybe mount something on them, a la Nester.  Old keys or drawer pulls or something.

I found a few more things, to be turned into other things.  But I'm too lazy to go get them off my camera.  So just picture an ugly plastic gold ornate mirror frame (to be painted white and used as molding), a beautiful aged wooden crate (also a photo prop), and an poppy and yellow. tea towel (to become a summer tote).

Til next time!

love, multiplied

A while ago I was marveling at how much joy my little E. is.  She really is an amazing kid.  And I find myself so full of love for her I wondered how I could love another as much.  You all wrote to say that somehow your heart just grows, and the love multiplies.  We will be finding out for ourselves sometime in November, as J. and I are expecting Amazing Kid #2. 

The timing would be better if we were more settled, for sure.  I guess we just figured with all the change in our life, why not just add one more to the pile?  I reached the height of my nausea and anemia while J. was marathon-interviewing for jobs.  Hence, the cluttered house and depression.  And while my recent posts regarding my thoughts on politics, the military life, etc, are truly genuine, pregnancy probably does account for it moving me to tears every time I write about it.

I've been labeling, organizing, and purging to deal with all the change and prepare for the move.  But I still can't help myself when I find small vintage and handmade treasures, like the bibs pictured above that were handmade by a group of seniors at a small consignment shop downtown, or this vintage child's teacup I found at a going-out-of-business sale:

And just as we shed layers of stuff in the garage, I found myself filling it back up again, most recently with an antique chest (on major sale), antique dresser (also on major sale), and this jenny lind changing table I found at Goodwill for $15.  These are all going to be my summer projects - so watch for them to pop back up on the blog. 

I've recently started to feel the baby kick (even as I write this).  It makes me smile.  I'm starting to understand what you mean about loving the next as much as the first...

p.s.  Speaking of things that make me smile, I still remember packing away E.'s baby gear in boxes, and looking up on the garage shelf to see my husband's sweet handwriting on the boxes:

thrift score

I was on my way out of the thrift store when I decided to do a "sweep" of the store to make sure E. hadn't dropped anything.  That's when I found this on a quick glance down the book aisle:

Yay!!! This 1964 children's party book is awesomely vintage and still so much fun!  It provides a thorough catalog of games divided by type (guessing games, games of skill, hunts, relay races, games for the youngest, and for older children):

It includes party themes, complete with game list and recipes, like this "Spacemen's Party":

And there are lots of little party-planning notes, including a page on how to include your child in the planning, the best time of day to have it depending on age group, and an entire section on adapting a party for disabilities.

And the graphics are too cute.  In fact, it's one of E.'s new favorite books:

 

I wish you could flip through this book yourself.  The games are creative and the descriptions are quite detailed.  I love that they have several games that don't require any materials at all.  But then I started thinking: do people do these kind of parties anymore?  Would today's 11-year-old mind being rounded up for an old-fashioned party game?

*ps.  Thank you very much for all the sweet comments about the sweater tote.  I don't always get to respond to comments individually but I do always appreciate them.

the tote formerly known as a sweater

I don't know how to knit, and these days I am short on the patience required to fashion an entire bag in crochet (though I do have my eye on several patterns I'd like to try this spring).  But I love the idea of a knit bag.  And I love making new things from old things.  This one used to be a pretty thrifted sweater.  Now it's a pretty tote - caught somewhere between winter and spring, kinda like this month.

Thrift-Treasures

I love thrifting as treasure-hunting.  I've been meaning to post pics of these finds for a while now.

First, one of my favorites - REAL blocks.  You know, the kind that are large enough to really do something with.  I picked up a pack of assorted blocks at Walmart one time, but they turned out to be a bit whimpy.  I found these at Goodwill ($3!).  James thought they looked like junk ("there's writing all over them").  But I thought the writing was sweet (did you know tomatoes come in a "court"? eta: other favorites included "rode closed," "fir department," and "papa mom's restaurant"), and I do plan to use some of these a decoupage projects, ala Martha.

Next, these awesome shot glasses, also from Goodwill. I can't tell if the glasses are vintage or not, but they depict vintage cars and have a marking on the bottom that I can't seem to place anywhere on the web.  You can't see it, but one of the scenes is a graveyard that says, "Berlin, 500 Km <----."

And, these didn't come from Goodwill but they were a great find.  Can you believe these tea towels came from Big Lots?  I love the print on them.  The butterflies remind me of a vintage tablecloth and the aqua-pink ones remind me of a vintage barkcloth panel I have in my stash.  These will become spring projects (they're in the dryer now):

And finally, pricey by Goodwill standards ($3 and hidden behind the glass counter), this lovely vintage Irish teacup (complete with crackles):

Must run.  J. is circling the computer; I guess I'm messing with his studying mojo.

By Request

From time to time I get requests for custom gifts from readers and friends. I take such requests because I really enjoy making things for people.  So far, none of my sewing projects are from patterns and everything is entirely custom and unique.  So, like most crafters, I work best with very loose parameters.  The result is more inspired. 

This package was custom-made for a reader who needed a gift for a baby (boy) shower.  I dug into my stash and pulled out a pair of thrifted J Crew corduroys, some gingham, and this kiddie print.  The tote is made from a pant leg and pocket I reclaimed from the seat, and I used a stencil I found on Martha's site for the applique.  The travel changing pad is appliqued to match. 

While sewing, I happened to notice this abandoned project - a crochet beanie I had finished but wasn't exactly awed by.  That's when I realized the green wool felt I had just purchased on a whim would complement it nicely.  A couple of stitches later, it was a (very) bonus gift!

Swappy Goodness

If you want to experience Christmas-like happiness all year round, sign up for swaps.  When I first started blogging, I noticed a lot of bloggers posting about their latest swap-venture, and I was both curious and envious.  No more! I found two  swap sites shortly before J's return and signed up immediately.

My  first package arrived from Suzy.  The very first thing I opened made me shriek with happy  - I LOVE these jelly jars!

Delicately  wrapped were these vintage Christmas ornaments. I especially like the curious and bright wooden ones:

And this string of lights (I spent as much time admiring the vintage type and graphics on the box as I did the lights):

She also gave me Christmas linens (unfortunately, those pics are on my computer at home), including a couple of Vera napkins!  The last item was a stack of vintage magazines (the name is escaping me right now) - these are always fun for digging for crafts to bring back, but I also had fun perusing their suggestions for the season's "party fashions" (bless their hearts). Regrettably, the picture of the "Christmas cumber-bun" is at home.  Thanks for the awesome package, Suzy!

The following week, I received another swappy Christmas box from my other partner, Kris, who was equally generous - taking pictures would have been overwhelming so I picked out a few of my favorites (can you believe there's even more?).  Everything came wrapped in fabric pieces (my stash thanks you, Kris).  Everything in this picture was an instant favorite and I am especially grateful for the acknowledgement of our  military background with the nostalgic book, A Wartime Christmas.

Kris is a collage artist and she made the pretty notecard/ornament in the bottom right.  She also included an assortment of stickers and images - much to my delight.  I have always been a huge fan of all things paper and graphic.  I already have too many crafty ventures taking up my time (and dining room slash craft space), but collage and altered art have recently piqued my interest so these paper goodies are a treat.

His & Hers

I sewed these "Daddy & Me Sunday Lounge Pants" from a thrifted Nautica flat sheet using the cuts from two patterns: Simplicity 3947 & 4336.  I picked these particular patterns because I liked the wider-leg hem.  I used a 3/4" non-roll elastic tape (instead of the twill tape), and I sewed it directly to the fabric.  I have found the best way to do this is to pin it to the fabric in four equal sections and sew one section at a time.  J. & E. actually did lounge around in these on Sunday and they were adorable (J. says they're pretty comfy, too). 

Links of interest: how to make easy kids pants (a tutorial I've used to make summer capris for E.); t-shirts as pants

Kitsch, anyone?

Found this group of fabric samples at the thrift store.  Not sure exactly how I'll incorporate them into a project but I loved the colors and how kitschy the motif is!  Suggestions? <!-- ckey="5E77DA4E" -->