Quilting

I thought this was kind of fun, it is self updating as each block is complete.

As I am completing each block I started to think about how to use recycled clothing as cloth for blocks. This is how quilts were originally made. History of Quilting in Canada

Perhaps I will start to look for cotton shirts on my next shopping trip....

...the rest of the shopping trip

Here are the other things I bought yesterday. The cotton tie up pants for bumming around home, the black and white lace to go under the crushed velvet vest and the merino sweater that I am not sure if it will be slippers or hats because it is quite thin.

cute outfit

I met a friend for coffee today and asked her if she would like to check out a thrift store I hadn't been to before. We were both surprised that the prices were a bit high for a Salvation Army Thrift store but we did find many things to try on.

Here is the outfit I came out with for a grand total of $10:

please excuse the wrinkles I haven't washed them yet

The skirt is cotton and the top is linen, both look to be almost new. That is until I was setting up for the photo above when I discovered this:

The CA07043 is a sticker which means this top is new never washed. A big score in thrift shopping.

Besides these scores I also found a merino sweater that will look great as slippers, a lacy top to wear under the crushed velvet vest from the other day and a pair of flowery capris for bumming around home. These are pictures for another day.

more sweater slippers

My cousin Michelle requested a pair of sweater slippers; so here they are decorated with a purple rosette.

The turquoise ones are an experiment in using the bottom ribbing from the sweater to create the cuff. They turned out okay but I think the ribbing may have stretched a bit giving the slippers a wider opening than I like. I need to see how they wash up anyway so I am going to try on those ones first.

I have been wearing the first ones I made around the house. The floors in our house are always cool even in summer (could be a slight lack of insulation...) so having a light slipper is perfect. My next adventure is a pair for Roger, he isn't a slipper guy but maybe if they are light and easy to wash he will like them more.

sweaters and jeans

I decided to go shopping at Value Village today in hopes of finding those elusive wool sweaters I need for my new project of sweater slippers. The reason I haven't been to Value Village in recent years is because their prices have gone up and the are double or more what other thrift stores are. On the other hand it is a different thrift experience. Here in Courtenay our store looks more like a department store than a thrift store it is freshly built, open less than a year, the aisles are orderly with everything in its place. On the other hand they have a bigger selection than the others because they are a chain and instead of relying on donations they buy from organizations like the Canadian Diabetes Association.

My shopping adventure was successful as you might imagine from the photo posted above. The red and grey sweaters were already partially felted and the green one has a bunch of holes in it but once it is felted I just have to work around them.

I also found a couple pairs of jeans. The bright red ones are going to make a great bag but I am especially interested in the other pair because they have silver thread woven into the denim. They will make a particularly sparkly and pretty bag.

cashmere shrug

Several years ago I found this gorgeous dark pink cashmere V-neck sweater. Unfortunately it was way to big on me so I would wear it around the house on cool days but never wore it out anywhere.

Over the last few months I have been taking classes on a site named Craftsy. You learn at your own pace with video instruction. If you have questions you can email the instructor. The classes are very well done and you can learn at your own pace. I have made several things including a fully tailored suit, 2 blouses and I am half way through a couture made dress. Then I discovered Project Upcycle by Betz White! She Recycles or rather Upcycles clothes and one of her projects is turning a cashmere sweater into a shrug.

This is my result, I am very happy with it and can't wait to wear it to work this week!

upcycled shrug

Today's great finds...

Today was my errands day. I went to the thrift store, fabric store, Walmart, the hardware store, garden store and gas station. It was a busy trip but when you live 1/2 hour from town you tend to want to do all stops at one time.

t-shirts to make bags

I had the best thrift shopping though, I went for sweaters (still very hard to find, only found one) and t-shirts (for shopping and hand bags).

summer tops and a hoodie

Then I found these great tops for summer. I just love the crushed velvet with the cream cami under it. The hoodie looks like its never been worn and the green cotton tank is just my colour.

25 cent rack

Now for the topper.... both of these were on the 25 cent clearance rack. The French Dressing jeans are going to make a lovely hand bag and the blue tank is so summery and pretty.