Thrift store finds

I must start going to bed earlier (at my usual time) instead of later because my body wants 8 hours of sleep. So I'm losing my two productive morning hours because I'm going to bed later and getting up after 8 hours! I will say that when I go to sleep, I'm out like a light, and I have never slept so well! 

I had two big adventures yesterday, which didn't allow me to touch much in Studio B. I had to move stuff off a table so we could work, but it still looks like a disaster and is very uninviting to work. I think that's the problem—it's now so uninviting that I can't motivate myself to get there. But hopefully, I can get something done later today. 

I have to drive my MIL to an appointment, which will take a while, and then I have a dentist appointment, so I don't expect to get much done today. 

Someone came over yesterday, and I helped her learn her "new" embroidery machine. She had purchased it from someone else, so we had a lot of stuff to dig through to understand whether it was useful or not. We sorted the good from the not-so-useful. The previous owner bought EVERYTHING. She had all the feet, lots of embroidery software, magazines, hoops, etc. 

Then, we tackled the machine itself. Oh boy --- at first, I thought we might have a serious problem when only ONE hoop could be selected. Then I remembered that you can set that feature on this machine. So can you tell me why, when she had at least 7 hoops, she only had ONE active in the machine? That doesn't make sense. 

We got that straightened up, and everyone felt much better! That's enough to freak you out when you buy a machine, and you can only use one hoop size! 

With her help, my Pony Express staging area is almost clean. 

The Pony Express area is almost empty

After she left (thanks for the brownies!!!), I decided to go for a walk, and the thrift store just happened to be on my way. No - it wasn't seniors day and I forgot my 20% coupon at home! 

I love to check out many areas, and this was one of the first things I spotted: some plastic placemats with machine embroidery on them. 

Plastic placemats with machine embroidery

I don't know if they were done commercially or by someone, but my first comment would be that the designs are a bit small. And my second is—look at the back!!! That's not pretty. 

The back of the embroidery

I forgot to take pictures of the ones I did, but I'll dig them out for tomorrow. My backs are as nice as the fronts! Learning how to make the backs look good is one of the things that I pride myself on. 

I'm always on the lookout for quilted bedspreads, which are commercially quilted with an overall pattern. Yikes—I found three of them yesterday. Two of them were priced at $20.49. 

Pricey bedspread

And another

While potentially reasonable if it's senior's day or you have a 20% coupon, I wasn't paying that. However, if you're buying it to cut up to make a jacket, $20.49 is very cheap, considering how much you would pay for fabric and batting if you were going to make it yourself. So, it's not a bad deal. I did like the grey one. 

However, I found a pale orange one for $11, so that one came home with me. It's enormous, so I might get two items out of it. And if I buy another one of these covers without making something from the two I now have—well, you are allowed to yell at me!!!

My thrift store haul

I got two large BLANK cushion covers (IKEA brand) with a zipper in the bottom. They are brand new and will make good samples for large embroidery with the new turnable hoop. They cost $10 for two. I could NOT make them for that price. 

Brand new IKEA cushion covers

I spotted this, which is really just a hemmed piece of fabric. It was so bright and cheery that I could NOT leave it in the store, even though it was $11. It has a slight flaw on it—nothing that a marker can't conceal. Now, I have to figure out something to do with it. It's a coarser material, but I should find some project to make with it. 

A piece of fabric

And then I found this, which was a bit surprising. It's an EXIT game, which is usually a one-time play only. 

EXIT Game

The box contains four small jigsaw puzzles. I checked that all the other game materials were in the box. Fortunately, this one didn't get destroyed or cut up when played. For $3.49, I couldn't resist. Two of the puzzle bags weren't even open. 

Everything is in the box

Without any discounts, my haul, including taxes, was $45. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got a quilt book as well. It was definitely my lucky day! If I had had that coupon with me, I could have saved $8 —next time! So while some people lament the higher prices at thrift stores, if you are careful in what you buy, you can usually get really good deals!!! I was happy with my treasures of the day. 

And honestly, I don't shop at a thrift store to get a bargain. I shop to find treasures that others don't want. It's a good place to find older or partially used things, which would cost much more in a regular store. The thrill of the hunt is the fun of going to a thrift store - you never know what you'll find.

But I better only purchase something else once I use up some of what I have here!

I had the weirdest dreams. Tons of quilters came to my house just to visit. And then my basement was having water issues, but I was NOT in my basement, but some unfinished place. And there was water on the floor—perhaps I should stop checking the weather app and see Milton's path. 

I checked out my walking challenges for the remainder of the year, and I'm back to needing 12 KM each day until the end of the year. I managed to get that yesterday.

So, I'm off to get to these appointments and complete some paperwork. I touched NOTHING yesterday, which is not good. My body is still craving sleep, and I'm giving in to that, but I did not need a nap, so that's a bonus! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!