Ravelry Swap Reveal: Part Three

This is Part Three of the Ravelry Swap Reveal.
Part One can be found here
Part Two can be found here.

I've already shown you the yarn and fabric related items I sent in my swap.  
Remember the theme was "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,"
 

so I thrifted this Pyrex mug in the Terra pattern.  I chose it because of the orange and brown color, and because of it's unique shape.  Unlike most Pyrex mugs, this one is very thick, has no handle, and holds a generous 13 ounces.  Besides being a mug, it makes a great pencil holder, or a pot for a plant.  Plus, it's sturdy enough to ship easily.

I also sent a selection of my storybook envelopes and blank cards.

I found out my swappee likes Star Wars, so I cut up some old Scholastic story books based on the original trio of movies.

Then I added some Disney and Sponge Bob, including extras because she has kids.

 

And I made some new ones from a book I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet.

It's full of these really cool satellite photos

printed on nice, glossy paper.  Isn't the color distribution lovely?

She's also a Harry Potter fan, so I went in search of something to use as the cover for a notebook.

I found this paperback book at the Salvation Army Family Store for $1.00.  I just love the graphics.

I peeled the cover off and trimmed it down to make a front and back cover for the notebook, and kept the spine for a bookmark.  Then I went looking for something to use to stiffen up the cover.  I found two pieces of Grafix medium weight chipboard left over from a project I did a few years ago, that were just the right size.

I tested a scrap of the chipboard first with my bind-it all machine and it punched right through it, so I thought I was all set.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I selected a nice piece of scrapbook paper to use for the interior lining of the cover, and used spray adhesive to glue the book cover pieces to one side of the chipboard and the scrapbook pieces to the other side.  Now all I had to do was trim down the edges to make the covers.  

One problem.  Nothing I had would cut through the chipboard.  I thought I remembered using scissors before.  Apparently not, because they wouldn't do it.  I don't know what I used before, maybe black magic, witchcraft and trickery.  I tried the Exact-o knife.  No dice.  I tried a linoleum knife.  No way.  I started calling friends and finally found a Fiskars rotary paper trimmer to borrow, and even it had a tough time cutting the chipboard.  I had to do ten passes with the trimmer to cut all the way through, but I finally got it. 

Then I saw it.  The spray adhesive was loosening up.  Aarrgh!  So I very carefully peeled back the paper in sections, painted a layer of white glue, rolled a rolling pin over it to get out any excess glue, and pressed it under a stack of books.  Then I repeated this procedure for the other three faces.  It was quite a learning process, but I finally had my front and back cover ready to be punched and assembled.

And what did I learn?

                      
                       1.  Chipboard is a pain in the asterisk.

                       2.  Chipboard is a pain...
                       3.  Spray adhesive isn't as strong as one might think.

                       4.  I really should build that book press I've been thinking about.

                       5.  Sometimes the ends do justify the means

Here's the finished notebook.  It was kind of a pain to put together, but it was definitely worth it.  I really like the way it turned out.

The inside of the front and back covers are lined with blue/pink/purple "spray dyed" scrapbook paper, and it is filled with sheets of blank paper.  The back of the bookmark was covered in orange card stock (this time spray adhesive worked).

Here's the back cover.

I had one other item to fit into the box.
I bought a bag of children's books at the Goodwill Outlet some weeks before the swap - 12/$1.00.

This cute little story is about a group of sheep who visit an English Tea House, cause trouble, as you can imagine, and end up lunching on the lawn by munching on the lawn.  I thought it was especially appropriate since I was sending wool, and it was Easter time.

And that's the end of the reveal.  I stuffed everything into a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Box and sent it off to Texas.  My swappee was very appreciative with her kind "Thank You"s.

I really enjoyed doing this swap, but I'm glad it's finally done.  I hope you all enjoyed seeing it.

I'm linking up with these parties:
Show and Share

Make It Pretty Monday
Roses of Inspiration
Think Tank Thursday

The Week in Thrifting: April 20-26

My friend Rachael and I made a trip to The Goodwill Outlet last week, and here are some of my finds:

 

For those of you who aren't aware, The Goodwill Outlet (commonly known as The Bins) is where they send items deemed not good enough to be put in a Goodwill Store, or things that were in the store for several weeks and didn't sell.  Everything is jumbled together in shallow bins that people rummage through and almost everything is sold by the pound.  It's kind of a mess, and not for the squeamish.  You never know what you will find, but I usually find a bargain or two.

Like a Vera Bradley purse!!  It looks like it's never been used.  I cannot for the life of me figure out how it ended up at The Bins,  I'm just glad it did.  There are several pockets in it that should make it a great project bag for crochet.

 

A cashmere sweater.  Mom and I have already started unraveling it for the yarn, and I think I will try overdyeing it to get a darker variegated purple color.  It will eventually become a shawl for a friend.

 

I picked out the silk tie because I want to try using it to dye eggs.  The small skein of yarn feels like chenille, so I had to get it, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it.  The Santa needs some repair and will go into my Christmas supplies, and I couldn't pass up toy Corningware.  Rachael and I wanted something for a journal cover, and we really liked the pretty green pattern of the heavy library binding on this book.
 

Although the Vera bag is definitely the best deal, this is my favorite find.  It's a wool hat, I'm guessing from the 1930s or 1940s, and I would have rescued it from The Bins regardless, but the best part is, it fits my giant head.

Here's the label stamped inside.  I can't find anything about Henry Pollak hats on the internet, but there are an awful lot of them being offered for sale, so he must have been pretty successful. 

I was looking for something that could serve as a small tray and found this shadow box picture frame.  It will be repainted and decorated with scrapbook paper.  I was also able to find a few Shiny Brites and similar ornaments. 

 

These must be from the sixties.  They're wearing fishnet stockings.

 

Silverware - some to keep and some to turn into herb markers.

There was a whole bundle of wrapping paper pieces.  I searched through it all and finally chose these to bring home.

These three are my favorites.  Sweet little babies and a vintage-looking wedding shower pattern.  I'm hoping they will be strong enough to use for crafting.

In addition to the pictured items Rachael picked up a Tolkien boxed set in paperback.  We each got a few articles of clothing and I admit I bought some discontinued nail polishes.  I actually found a few colors I've been keeping an eye out for.

The two most fun things to find were a pristine women's motorcycle jacket from Wilson's Leathers for Rachael and a hilariously ridiculous knitting and crochet pattern book entitled "Sexy Little Knits" and filled with bikinis, crop tops and lots of mesh.

I found a picture of the book on Amazon.  According to the reviews there, this book is horrible; the patterns are full of errors and unworkable.  Good thing we only bought it for the laughs.

Our trip to the bins yielded several things we were both searching for and at a great price point.  I paid about $7.00 for everything I showed you.  What great deals have you been finding at the thrift store lately?

I'm linking up with these parties:
Show and Share
Vintage Bliss Tuesdays
Roses of Inspiration
Vintage Inspiration Party
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Thrifter Share
Frugal Friday
 

Bar Keeper's Friend Should Be Your Friend, Too

Today's post is written by my Mom.

Isn't she lovely?  Ok, not so much.  

I found this Pyrex Spring Blossom patterned 1 1/2 qt oval casserole at the Goodwill Outlet a couple of years ago.  I often see glass baking pans at the Outlet covered in baked on grease, like this.  Most people think they're ruined, but I know better.  I have a secret weapon.

Bar Keeper's Friend (BKF)

Bar Keeper's Friend is a powdered cleansing product.  Unlike Comet or Ajax, BKF uses oxalic acid as it's main ingredient, making it especially effective at removing rust stains and polishing up copper bottom pans.  It is less abrasive, as well.  We use it around the house on the glass cooktop, stainless steel and aluminum pans, and of course, all our glass cookware.

Unfortunately,  I can't find a picture of that casserole after I cleaned it up, but let me assure you, a little bit of BKF and it cleaned up so well it looked brand new.  I found a lid for it and gave it to a friend as a housewarming gift.

I do have some other before and after pictures, though.

This is a glass cake plate I bought at an estate sale for 50c.  

It was covered in what appeared to be mineral deposits.

This is what it looked like partway through cleaning it.

I bought this sorry looking refrigerator dish for 25c because I wanted it's lid, but then decided to experiment with the BKF just to see how much it could be cleaned up.  It's still not a pretty Pyrex, but you can see the difference a little BKF can make.

Here are the two of them together, all cleaned up. 

Another Pyrex piece before

and after.

I bought this Blue Butterprint casserole even thought it was a bit faded from the dishwasher and had lots of little grey marks, because Blue Butterprint doesn't come along every day. 

I wasn't able to restore the shine, but I did get rid of the dark marks and the baked on food.

You do have to be a little bit careful with BKF.  Even though it is not as abrasive as some other cleansers, it is still an abrasive product.  I found out the hard way that it will scratch mirror-finish aluminum.  Duh.  I should have known.  It can also scratch plastic. And as with anything on Pyrex, tread lightly.

I have one other suggestion for cleaning Pyrex.  When it comes to getting crud out of the edges, try a toothpick.  Often you can rub crud off with the point of the toothpick.

So the next time you're at a garage sale and see a baking dish that looks like it's been cooked to death, don't be afraid to take it home and try some BKF resurrection of your own.

By the way, I have no affiliation with the people who make BKF.  I just like their product. 

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Share The Wealth Sunday
Roses of Inspiration

Ravelry Swap Reveal: Part Two, The Project Bag

I live close enough to one of the two Pendleton Woolen Mills (where Pendleton blankets and shirts are born) that I have driven past it countless times over the years on my way to church, friends' houses or estate sales.  For years I've wondered whether there was a factory store open to the public and what the hours would be.  One day, on my way to church, God sent me a sign.  Well actually, it was the factory sign that had apparently been there all along, just obscured by a grove of cottonwood trees.  Somebody cut down the trees, and I discovered the Mill Store.

Soon I stopped in and discovered that a decent variety of wool remnants could be found at reasonable prices.  Additionally, every cut fabric was 30% off, including remnants.  I wanted to do a project bag for the Ravelry swap, and after a very enjoyable time looking through all the goodies, I found three pieces I was sure would work.

I chose a solid piece in orange, and two coordinating plaids, one with a grey base, and one with a yellow base.  Each remnant was about a half yard of fabric.

I knew I wanted to make a Japanese Knot style bag, because this was going to be my first project ever sewn on a machine, and it doesn't require a zipper, drawstring or any other fastenings.  I found a pattern online and modified it to the size I wanted.  Then I set to work.

Unfortunately, being a novice at sewing, I didn't realize that working with wool brings it's own challenges.  The edges needed to be finished so they wouldn't ravel, and the weight of the fabric made it more difficult to manipulate and gather.  I also did not know that a Japanese Knot bag is a tricky pattern, no matter how straight forward it may seem.  Mom was confined to bed, so unable to help beyond giving advice, so I was on my own.  It was quite an adventure.   But I managed to pull it together just in time for shipping.

Here's the finished object.  I used the solid orange with the grey plaid for contrast. 

The lining is done in the grey plaid with an orange bottom, and the bag is fully reversible.  Even though the wool was a challenge for a novice to work with, it makes for a very sturdy bag, and I'm very pleased with the choice.  My swappee sews and she was very impressed.  Because she sews, I sent along the leftover material, including the majority of the yellow and orange plaid.

When I was practicing with the sewing machine, I made this little needle book, which I also sent.  Wool makes an excellent needle book.  Now that the sewing machine is set up again, maybe I can sew a make-up bag in less than 24 hours (sewing by hand isn't difficult, but it is time-consuming, lol).

Part Three of the Ravelry Swap Reveal is coming soon.
If you haven't seen Part One, it was mostly yarn.

I'm linking up with these parties:
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
Think Tank Thursday
Frugal Friday

Ravelry Swap Reveal: Part One

For my crochet projects, I use Ravelry, a networking site for fiber arts, where one can find patterns for free or purchase, pattern help and yarn or notions venders.  They have a wide network of social forums and groups.  I am a member of a group specifically for swapping, and I just completed a swap. 

The theme for this swap was "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle."  This fit so well with things I like to do, such as thrifting, repurposing, and crafting, that I was able to fill a large Priority Mail flat rate box and stay well within my budget.  

 One of the requirements for the swaps that I do is to include at least one skein of yarn for my swappee to use.  I also like to send one item that I crocheted.  Mom likes to unravel or dismantle sweaters, and I help, so between the two of us, we were able to compile a good amount of yarn for this swap.

 

This 25c wool/angora/nylon J. Crew sweater

became a pair of fingerless mittens

and a lot of bulky weight yarn for my swappee to craft with.

The color in my picture is a little off; the yarn itself is a bit more mustard yellow.

I'm always on the lookout for a good white wool sweater that can be unraveled and dyed. 

So I pulled this one from my stash.  This was a 2XL woman's sweater, wool/nylon blend, that I picked up at Value Village for about $3.50.

First, Mom took out the seams, then she unraveled the sweater, resulting in about 2000 yards of sport weight yarn.

I used felted joins to make two skeins, 455 yards each, and then dyed them using Wilton Gel Color and vinegar to get a nice variegated orange colorway.  My swappee's favorite color is orange.  You can see I still have a little more than half the yarn left for another project. 

We learned how to unravel sweaters and reclaim the yarn from THIS website.

I've been cannibalizing jewelry for years, so I was able to put together a row counter bracelet and some stitch markers.  And there are the Tupperware measuring spoons I found back in February. 

These are just some of the things I was able to get into my swap box.  I'll show more soon.

I'm linking up with these parties:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
Think Tank Thursday
Frugal Friday
Tips & Tricks
Bouquet of Talent

What the Frickety-Frack? Friday #2

Welcome to "What the Frickety-Frack Friday," where I share the weird, unusual, creepy, puzzling, or even downright terrifying things I've seen offered for sale or just around town.  The things that make me say, "What the Frickety-Frack?"

Because of Mom's situation with her back, we can't get out to the estate sales, and wouldn't you know it, there are a lot of great sales right now.  But we do have a local website full of pictures from the sales to look at, so I present this:

You tell me.  

What the Frickety-Frack is this?  

It appears to be a lamp, because I can see a cord and a switch behind it.  But it also appears to be melted... or broken...  Is it supposed to look like this?  Or did somebody go crazy with the E-6000 adhesive and some bits and pieces?  It's probably a valuable antique, but I just don't get it.

 Here we have the remains of a Pyrex primary colors refrigerator set.  This is what years of dishwasher use will do to Pyrex.  Let us observe a moment of silence in remembrance of what this set once was.  Hope they're not asking much.

Metlox Peach Blossom

 Pretty,  pretty,  pretty

Nothing Frickety-Frack about this.

I love this pattern of dishes and wish I could go to the local sale just to see them. 

I hope everyone else is blessed with great sales this weekend and finds wonderful things.

I'm linking up with these parties:

Thrifter Share
Show and Share
Roses of Inspiration
 Vintage Bliss Tuesdays
Vintage Inspiration Party 

Happy Late Easter!

I had to take a break from blogging because my mother is dealing with a herniated disk in her back which put her on complete bed rest.  She is responding well to medication now and is able to be up and about, but still needs full time help.  She is scheduled for surgery in June so I should be able to post a little more frequently now.  

In case you hadn't noticed, last week Sunday April 5, 2015 was Easter Sunday.  My boyfriend didn't grow up in the church and had actually never celebrated Easter before in his life so this year I decided to give him an Easter basket.  It was nothing fancy, just some candy, a card and a child's Easter puzzle but he loved it.  

Seeing as I was putting together a basket for him, Mom decided to surprise me with a basket of my own and the results were pretty hilarious.  She put it together when her alarm when off for her middle of the night dose of muscle relaxers and pain medication.

LOOK!
A yellow Tupperware serving bowl - an Easter bowl holding a mink pillbox hat!  The color of the hat is more blonde than Betty or my muff but I like it very much, anyway.  It's quite soft and my father actually retrieved it from an Estate Sale at Mom's request while she was on bed rest a few weeks ago. 



Check out her totally awesome kindergarten style artwork!



If you look carefully, you will see The Easter Alligator guarding his nest.
Yes, that's right, after the 4:00 am medication, one gets an Easter Alligator.
Dad said the alligator needed the mink to keep him warm (and HE wasn't even on meds.)
Doesn't he look cozy?

 

When I took the hat off the bowl I discovered a white chocolate rabbit, a package of pink peeps, a "bracelet" made from pipe cleaners (gee thanks) and one of my plastic alligators - yes I own more than one - guarding it's eggs in the Easter grass.

In unrelated news I finished my yarn swap on Ravelry and here's a sneak peek!

I hope that everyone had a lovely Easter holiday and spent some fun time with family and friends.

I'm linking up with these parties:

Roses of Inspiration