Thrift Store Finds!

It’s time for another edition of Thrift Store Finds. For awhile there, I was getting disappointed because there didn’t seem to be much out there for a few weeks. One weekend I visited all my usual thrift stores and a few garage sales and I couldn’t find one thing! However, that all changed last weekend – I hit the jackpot!

The first stop was a local thrift store that’s open only on weekends. For about $10, I walked out with several pieces of vintage fabric, some vintage hand embroidered table linens, a spice rack, and two super cute vintage aprons!

Embroidered Springtime Topper — Embroidered Springtime Table Topper

These embroidered toppers need some TLC, but after I wash and starch them, they should look pretty good.

Black checkered Apron — Vintage Black Checkered Apron

Grandma Red Checkered Apron — Grandma's Red Checkered Apron

I was especially pleased with the red apron. When I was little, my grandma’s main form of discipline when she was watching my brother and me was to say, “Don’t do that, or I will have to put on my red-checkered apron.” To this day, I have no idea what would happen if she actually put it on – but in my mind I envisioned her chasing me around the house with a rolling pin and swatting my bottom with it. Needless to say, my brother and I were always concerned when she said this and usually stopped whatever we were doing and snapped to attention. Of course, when I was little, I never actually saw this apron (although I certainly tried to find it). I remember asking my grandma one time where she kept it and she said it was hidden in the kitchen. Well, guess what? I found it!

One other treasure I also was excited about was a hand-pieced quilt top. The piecing is almost complete, it just needs a few more diamonds added to the outside border. I plan to finish this and use it on my kitchen table. You can’t see it very well in the picture, but the fabrics are vintage and quite lovely. Luckily, the fabric scraps were also included, so I can finish it up with the original fabric.

The next stop was a local yard sale. The owners were cleaning out the attic of all their children’s toys. They had tons of vintage board games and toys from the 60’s and 70’s for dirt cheap! She even had an Easy Bake oven (with box!) – which I thought would look cute displayed in my kitchen.

The last deal of the day was this Kenmore Sewing machine. It’s about 10 years old, but hardly ever used. You can always use another basic sewing machine. Also, I’ve been kicking around the idea of doing offering sewing lessons and this would be great for teaching beginners.

Keep it thimble!

Spaceship Apron and Sundress

My son had a birthday party a few days ago and the theme was Outer Space. My plan was to make individual drawstring bags for each child with this cool spaceship fabric I found at JoAnn’s. Needless to say, I was running short of time and didn’t have a chance to sew a bag for each child. (I did manage to personalize ready-made canvas bags for them – which still were super cute). Instead, I used some of the fabric to make myself an apron to wear to the party.

I love the colors, especially the orange ruffle and pocket. The pattern is by Cindy Taylor Oates from her “More Retro Aprons”. The yellow rick-rack turned out well – it was all I had to choose from in my stash.

On another note, I was able to get a great dress form from my friend Laura. She had this in her attic for years and sold it to me for a great price. She is about my height, so this is a petite dress form. My polka sundress (which I finished last week) fits perfectly :).

I’ve worn this a few time and people always ask me wear I got it. My standard reply is “this old thing? I made it myself.” They usually don’t believe me – one person swore she saw the same dress at target awhile back (then she asked me to make her one). I have the pattern and fabric for my next dress, so it should be finished in the next few weeks.

I am working on my next free pattern, I know it’s been awhile – so please hang in there!

Vintage Apron

This is a fun little apron that goes together pretty quickly. This make a great gift, and it’s a good way to use up some of your stash! So without further ado, I present the Vintage Apron.

One More Apron

My son really liked the Church Ladies’ Apron I made yesterday, so I decided to make him one too. I present the “Spongebob Sea Creature Apron”:

He picked out the fabric himself – Spongebob Squarepants for one side and sea creatures for the other. I modified the Church Ladies’ Apron pattern to fit a toddler, and I think it turned out really well. A lot was guess work, so I might tweak the pattern a bit if I make anymore (which I’m sure I will).

Aprons

I love making Aprons! There’s just something satisfying about wearing one in the kitchen – even though I hardly ever cook.

I just finished this apron tonight from Mary Mulari’s Church Ladies Apron Pattern. The cool thing about this one is that it is reversible. I know that this isn’t the ideal picture, but I didn’t have a model handy.

I read in a book that aprons are acceptable to wear in public as well, especially when you are out running errands. The pockets come in very handy, and it’s a great way to keep your clothes tidy (since you can get pretty dirty going to the bank and the post office). I can see how they would be useful while at the grocery store – you would have something to wipe your hands on if you had the misfortune to pick up a leaky meat package. This one was made from Vanilla House’s Sunday Dinner Apron pattern. I love the fabric on this one, it features cherries. Yum!

I actually did wear this one to my son’s pre-school Halloween party, thinking I was so retro AND hip, but 2 year olds are a tough crowd; my cutting edge fashion statement just went over their heads. They were more interested in what types of treats I brought for the party (Oreos if any of you were wondering). It was made from Cindy Taylor Oates book “More Retro Aprons”. This is a fun pattern because you use one charm pack and 1/2 yard of fabric.

Finally, here is another one from “More Retro Aprons.” This one is kind of sexy 😉 since it accents your cleavage. That’s all for now!