Monday Miscellany

I wanted to share a picture of the treasures I picked up at SOWA with June last week. I scored a Vera Neumann scarf & pillowcase and a yard of elephant ribbon.  I don't know what the pillowcase will be just yet but I couldn't resist.

It seems a bit early to be thinking about Christmas but the folks at Craft Hope have posted a new project  making Christmas stockings for families who were impacted by the tornadoes in Alabama. I have friends in Alabama (who thankfully survived the tornadoes without suffering any damage) and have some experience making Christmas stockings so I might have to make some time to participate. 

In non-crafting news, I've recently discovered and become obsessed with Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza on the game show network.  I find Jeff Davis hilarious.  Check out one of my favorite clips below

Happy Monday!

Drab to Fab

I picked up a classic folding knitting basket at a yard sale a few years ago and had been using it to store my embroidery notions and pattern books. Sadly, one too many books and the thin cotton fabric gave out.

I pulled apart the somewhat dated original fabric and used it to make a pattern.

Now my knitting basket is sporting a new look with my favorite echino print and a sturdy canvas lining.

Brimfield Adventure

The Brimfield antique show is the largest in New England and draws dealers from all over the country. It's held three times a year in May, July and September. July is typical the slowest month but we still managed to find plenty of good stuff on Sunday.

Buttons, notions and rick rack - oh my!

Pretty painted furniture

Beautiful jadite dishware

And a few conversation pieces.

Since I live in a small space I tried not to do too much shopping but a few things did manage to find their way home with me....


That's a vintage scarf box (perfect to hold my growing collection of Vera Neumann scarves), yet another Vera scarf, and elephant ring holder, a sweet vintage curtain valance with pom pom fringe for my kitchen and a hand-pieced quilt top. Not a bad haul for less than $40.

Shopping Spree

I was a little jealous of all June's great finds so I stopped by one of my favorite thrift stores to try my luck. While I didn't do quite as well as June, I'm pretty happy with my treasures. My haul included: a cute embellished t-shirt, 2 wooden embroidery hoops, a bag of sewing notions (bias tape, twill tape & my favorite -- rick rack!), a beautiful Japanese paper wallet from Zemliya Paper Products and another Vera scarf. A few more and I'll have enough to make something like this.

Score!

I stopped in my local thrift store last night and hit the jackpot. I found 4 vintage Vera Neumann scarves for $1.99 each! Actually the first 3 were $1.99 and the 4th was free with my coupon.--SCORE! Clearly I was taught well by my thrifty (cheap) dad and mom whose favorite sport is yard saling.

Here are some pics of my beautiful new scarves:

I'm no expert, but from what I was able to find online about the changes in her signature I would guess these date from the early 60s-mid70s. They probably don't hold much real value as vintage Vera scarves, while collectible, are still fairly easy to find in vintage stores and these do show some signs of age (a few pin holes and some small spots). But for $6 they are definitely one of my favorite finds. Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with them. I could wear them as intended or maybe repurpose them into something fabulous like this.

Hmmmm...

Treasures

A lunchtime visit to the Salvation Army netted these fun finds. I love the red purse with it's adjustable strap. The sweet white pitcher will be perfect filled with flowers from the farmer's market. And every New Englander needs a lobster plate. This set of two plastic plates look like they probably had a previous life in a local lobster shack. They will be perfect for our next picnic. Not a bad haul for $5.