Well, What Would You Do?

A very nice thrift store

Recently moved to a new location

Lots of parking

All christmas items are 50% off

What would you do?

I KNOW what I would do 

And I did

I cruised through the christmas stuff - and they had a LOT of it

These cute skating bears had to come home with me

And another Santa for my collection

Santa and his reindeer  reinmoose

You just gotta love that face!

Four pretty metal napkin rings - one can never have too many napkin rings

And then I saw it - oh could it be - yes it is

A Double Wedding Ring tree skirt.

I've been looking for a new tree skirt for a long time - We've had our old one since before our kids were born - and our oldest will be 48 tomorrow - time for a change?

Ohhhh - a Boyd's Bear - brand new - still had the hang tag - and only 3.00, no wait!

Half price - he was 1.50  -  His name is Winter Mintly - we'll just call him Mintly

He likes the new tree skirt - me too!

He wanted me to show you his mint on his paw - he's quite proud of that, and wants some peppermint ice cream.

And a pretty tablerunner - it is long enough to go the length of the dining room table, with the giant leaf in it.  I might use this over a crocheted tablecloth for christmas dinner.

And of course - after the half price christmas items, I had to look at the rest of the store.

It just wouldn't be polite to go to their newly opened store (they used to be downtown with no parking and a much smaller store) and not look at all they had to offer.

So I looked at the Majolica, made in Italy plates

Two of each design  -  and only 10.00 for all four.  So why am I telling you the price?  Because I was stunned, shocked, amazed, when I got them home and on the back - the original price tag

$207.00 EACH - each - I can't believe that.  First, that anyone would pay that much, and second, that I'd find them in a thrift store.  This is one nice thrift store!

I will definitely use these leaf plates for something at Thanksgiving

And a cute tea set - with a platter  - this will be great for spring teas on the deck (5.00 for the entire set)  This was my lucky day!

And a pretty autumn dish - it had a candle in it - but I microwaved it and slid the candle out when it was soft 

I want to use this for a candy dish - or a relish dish

Pretty leaves on the side.

So - what would you have done?

Let's Crochet a Little - or Not

I am making a round tablecloth - pineapple design, for our new round dining room table.  We got the table last spring when our SIL found it at Ben's school yard sale.  I have wanted a round table for years, seems like centuries - and finally I have one.  I love crocheted tablecloths and looked and looked for this pattern.  I had made a tablecloth like this for the museum raffle when we lived in Blue Lake, CA - but couldn't find the pattern.  There are many pineapple design crocheted tablecloth patterns out there - but this one seemed to have disappeared. 

First I started crocheting this pattern - but I never really liked that center - with the swirling sticks

I got this far and ripped it out - and continued looking for the pattern I wanted.

I thought about this pattern - but I don't like the wavy look to it - I seem to be very particular about my pineapple tablecloths.

Then I found it - on ebay - and not a a buy-it-now  -  so I had to wait for the auction to end - and it ended in the middle of the night so I put in my bid - went to bed - got up early and I had won it!  It is from a vintage magazine and this was the only copy the seller had.  If I hadn't won it I had hoped to convince her to copy it and sell me a copy - but she wasn't interested in that, even though the copyright had expired long ago - so I was lucky that I won the pattern.

So I started again to crochet this last spring.

This is the one I love - the one I won on ebay - and I crocheted all spring and all summer.  I spent delightful hours on the deck, the sunshine on my back, crocheting and enjoying being outdoors.

I've had so many requests for this pattern - it is now available on etsy - HERE.  

So today I wanted to spread the tablecloth out on the round table and see how far I had gotten.  I felt that it was about as big as the table top and all I would have to do is finish crocheting until it was big enough to hang down 12 inches.

It is just about to the edge of the table

OH NO!!!

What do I see?

Ruffles on the edge - where it should be flat

A big mistake in my increases - nothing to do but pull it all out, back to where it would lie flat again - see how close it is to the edge of the table.

Over half an hour later, 16 rows - about 7 inches - have been pulled out  and it lies flat again

But look how small it is - most of the summer's work - undone - but it has to be.  Unwanted ruffles in the tablecloth and it would never lie flat and I'd not like it.

This is what the ball of thread looked like before I started pulling out the crocheting

The one on the left shows how much thread I pulled out.  It is going to take me most of the winter to re-crochet all that thread.  If each row took about 2 hours to crochet and I pulled out 16 rows - that is 32 hours of crocheting.  I guess I'll have something to keep me busy on these blustery winter days.  

But it must be done - and I'm happy, not that I had to pull some out - but that I discovered the mistake before I got even farther.  I will be spreading the tablecloth out on the table more often now - you can count on that.

Have you had to take out a project and redo it?  Not fun I know - but necessary.  When you think of me this winter, think of me crocheting and crocheting - to catch up - and maybe even get ahead again.

Thrift Store - Look At What I Found!!!!!

Last post I told you we had been to a thrift store and that I'd tell you more about it later - then I sat down to look at the wondrous things I had gotten - and I got some wondrous things - a tiny teacup with butterflies on it - and a butterfly handle, lots of crafting things for 49 cents and 99 cents - a pretty milk glass plate - some red candles and glass candle holders.  Even though those are nice things - that is not my prize purchase.

I've been looking for a certain craft magazine for over 5 years now.  In 1969, just before our youngest daughter was born, I was busy making felt christmas decorations.  I had bought a magazine for 1.00 and figured if I was going to pay that much for a magazine I'd better use a lot of the patterns - and so I did.  Over the years the items wore out and were discarded - or they were damaged in a move and had to be tossed.  So I have been looking for that magazine for a long time now - hoping to discover those patterns.

Yesterday in the thrift store I was browsing in the craft section - found a couple craft magazines about plastic canvas - wandered down to the craft book section and just went lightly through them - ran my fingers along the edges of the magazines and pulled this one out.  I didn't even look inside - it was marked 99 cents and I liked the look of the wreath on the front - it seemed familiar.  Later when I got home I settled in with a cup of tea and the magazine - WOW - was I ever surprised.

This is the Twelve Days of Christmas Tree that I had made - way back in 1969.  And it was the main reason I had been searching for this magazine for years, but with no luck.  The tree is 43" tall - and the figures are tiny.

These are the patterns in the magazine - I put the end of the fine point sharpie in there for scale - those pieces are TINY!

And then on through the magazine - I had also made these felt cottages, the top two gingerbread people ornaments and the felt tree.  I would go to a big department store in Wisconsin with two kids in the shopping cart, and buy felt by the yard - for 45 cents a yard.  I bought a lot of felt that year.

This page is in Black and White.  I made several of these mice ornaments - the two top ones and the one in the bottom left.  We still have these and use them on our tree every year - they are 44 years old.  The bottom left mouse is missing one eye - I need to cut another teeny felt on for him - poor Elf Mouse.

I made many of these felt Della Robia Swags 

And I made this felt wreath - I still have the Della Robia Swags - but not the wreath.  The swags looked more like the wreath than like the drawing of the swags in the magazine.

And then there were christmas stocking in felt.  I made these for our family - the Victorian boot for me, the angel for our oldest daughter who had just turned 4.

(I made two versions of the Victorian stocking - red like in the photo, and green)

The train for our year and a half old son and the baby stocking for our youngest daughter, who was born on Dec. 11, 1969.

A friend saw the stockings and wanted to take some to work with her to sell them to her friends.  Ok - I'll make a few extra stockings and a few dollars for spending money - maybe cover the cost of the felt.

She came back day after day - with new orders - these things were really selling.  I made 400.00 that year, selling the stockings for 4.00 each (a higher price than store bought stockings were selling for in 1969).  I had started making the stockings in October and had made and sold all of them before our daughter was born.

This is the patterns for the stockings in the magazine - so not only did I have to cut out all those tiny felt pieces, I first had to enlarge the patterns by drawing them on 1 inch squares.  There were no copy place like Kinkos to make photocopy enlargements and I didn't have graph paper - I drew the squares and on taped together pieces of typing paper to make the patterns.  It was a wonderful year - ending with our youngest daughter being born.

And then today I happened upon this BLOG - about the same magazine - isn't that strange?

Do you think I will re-make that Twelve Days of Christmas?  I'd really like to have one.

Trumpeter Swans, Snow Geese and A Hawk

Today was a busy day - we left early to stop and pick up one color of yarn I needed for a craft project - then on the road, to the butcher in Stanwood (about an hour south of here), then lunch with friends and a good shopping at a big thrift store in Stanwood. (More about the thrift store another day).

We picked up our order from the butcher (we go about every 6 months), had a great lunch at an old fashioned cafe with old fashioned prices and absolutely delicious food - and then after the thrift shop we all headed home.  We took the back roads - looking for Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans - and for a long time we didn't see any - then just before we got to Bow and Edison we saw some circling - ready to land.  A quick turn down a narrow road - and there they were.  A very small flock - well actually two very small flocks - one of Snow Geese and one of Trumpeter Swans - mixed together.

The Snow Geese will fly up and land again - over and over.  They are in a plowed over corn field - eating what they can find there.

It was a cloudy day, but they still showed up against the gray clouds.  They have beautiful black tips on their wings

Coming in for a landing

The black feathers on their wings look like fingers

Look out below!

A little fuzzy - but I love the position of the wings and feet as he prepares to land.

Mixed in with the Snow Geese are Trumpeter Swans - which are much larger.  The brown on the face of the swan is from contact with ferrous minerals in the soil .

Stretching their wings - the wingspread of a Trumpeter Swan can reach up to 8 feet and the average male weighs 26 pounds, average female 22 pounds.  Compared to the smaller Snow Geese, which weigh 3 to 7 pounds, with a wingspread of 4.5 feet

The Trumpeter Swans don't fly as often as the Snow Geese - but they are majestic when they fly

Stretching

Taking off

And just down the road - was a hawk on a pole

What a day!