Vintage Sheet Windfall

First order of business - Gah!  No blog posts in over a month.  I hate when that happens, but life is busy - like, crazy busy.  So from now on; when I blog, awesome!  And if I don't blog, no apologies.  But if you really care to know what I'm up to, (or what I'm eating, or sewing, or thrifting, or what crazy things my kids are doing) then you should be following me on instagram - because I'm on there alll the time.  EmmmyLizzzy.  Follow me.

Anyways, a windfall has blown my way.  A windfall of vintage sheets that is.  The picture above is what I picked up in ONE DAY.  One estate sale and one thrift shop.  I hit it big.



Brand new, in the package, never been opened vintage sheets - I've got em!



An entire sheet set of retro kitties?  Got that too!  Plus lots of other fun prints such as vintage trains, astronauts, clowns (cute or creepy - you decide!), and of course butterflies and tons of retro florals.



These are taking over my house, so in order to get them outta here, use the coupon WINDFALL to take 20% off of your order through November 18th.  I've got most of the sheets listed, but I'll be adding some additional items such as vintage tea towels, some silk scarves, and other retro linens in the next few days.  I look forward to seeing what you make out of these beauties!

Penellogram

Gah!  I totally hate it when more than a week goes by in between blog posts.  And it's definitely not for lack of things to blog about.  I've got about a billion posts in my head, but these kids are just sucking the life out of me! 

And it is only being reinforced by my current Instagram obsession, because everyone keeps posting these gorgeous pictures of themselves sewing and working on projects all day long, and it only makes me seethe with jealousy that I can't get more sewing/blogging/thrifting/cleaning/laundry/sleep/alone time/etc. in everyday.  Sigh.  One day when the kids are grown I'll miss these days of endless games of Hi Ho Cherry-O, right?

But I digress....

Here's another baby quilt that I made for a very soon to be born little boy. 

I just love the range of fabrics I chose for this quilt - some are from current lines of fabric, some are from vintage sheets, and I even used some cotton napkins that I picked up at Target awhile back. 

Phoebe kept calling these diamonds when I was sewing this together, but I informed her that they are actually parallelograms.  Henceforth, Phoebe's favorite shape is the "Penellogram".  Obviously, she seems to be doing much better with her little sister :)

This measures about 45" square and is backed in a vintage sheet that seems to match perfectly.  And speaking of vintage sheets, I've recently added quite a bit to the shop.  Stop by and take a look and I'll give you 15% off your order through the end of the month if you use the code PENELLOGRAM!

New and vintage fabric acquisitions

I've been stuck in a bit of a thifting rut lately.  It's pretty much darn near impossible to scour the cut throat estate sales with a toddler and a newborn in tow.  Plus, estate sales are pretty few and far between in the middle of winter.  Luckily, I've got quite a backlog of items that have been in need of being washed, photographed, and listed in my shop.


A couple months ago I went to an estate sale that happened to be in the home of a former quilter.  In addition to this quilt that I already showed you, I picked up eight doll quilts, a lap quilt and two gorgeous, hand pieced, trip around the world quilts.


This lady must have finished each quilt then immediately stashed it away, because all of these are in such amazing condition - they look like they were just made yesterday.  And each one of them contains the most beautiful little pieces of vintage fabric that look like they were just cut right off the bolt.


All of these - plus lots of more vintage sheets, fabric, and pillowcases - are all now available in my shop. 


And if vintage quilts and sheets aren't your thing - how about some new fabric?  Brenda, owner of Pink Castle Fabric, has asked me to come up with my own fabric Blogger Bundle to celebrate the move of Pink Castle from their Etsy shop to the new PinkCastleFabrics.com!

I usually gravitate towards aquas, greens, and blues, but I'm ready for some sunshine and warmer weather, so this bundle entitled Citrus Sunrise is full of cheery lemon yellows, watermelon pinks, and tangerine oranges.  Delicious!  You can find this designer 12 fat quarter set available here in Brenda's shop.

Project snippets, updates, and a giveaway!

**Giveaway is now closed!  Thanks for everyone who played along - winner will be announced once I get my act in gear and take some photos for my next blog post :)

Welcome Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway groupies - and of course my lovely friends and followers.  I'm finally getting over my never ending virus (knock on wood!), and I think my nesting is finally kicking back in - we're in the home stretch regarding all things Christmas and new baby.  Eeeks!

Here's what I've been up to.....

Making my favorite Christmas recipe to package up for gifts - Salted Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Bark.  You can find a link to the recipe from last year's post.

Remember this quilt top from waaaaaay back when?  Well I finally got it basted and ready for quilting.  I'm really hoping to get it done before new baby gets here because it will be great for the whole family to cuddle under since it's so ginormous.  Although I think my arm muscles keep chickening out at the thought of manuvering that monstrosity through my machine.

Here's the progress I've made on new baby's crocheted afghan.  Two more strips to go, weaving in some ends, and possibly a border if I have time.  I'm finding it funny how much the color scheme from this blanket and the above quilt match each other - especially since I started both projects about eight months apart!

I'm absolutely loving Dottie Angel's tutorial on joining the squares as you go - I think it looks amazing and it saves so much work in the end!

In shop news, I had great luck picking up some simply gorgeous vintage sheets this weekend.  They've been washed, ironed, and are already for sale in my Etsy shop!

I also found some simply stunning vintage baby quilts in pristine condition.  Each individual fabric is just more beautiful than the last.  I'm keeping this one for myself, but I've got one more in the shop that I'm forcing myself to part with.

And as if I don't have enough projects going on right now, I finally completed my Folksy Flannel collection thanks to Pink Castle Fabrics (who currently have bundles of the entire line in stock!) and have something fantastic in the works.  More on that later....

And because I couldn't resist, I also picked up these flannel prints from Anna Maria Horner's  Loulouthi line (from Pink Castle as well).  You know how luxurious her Folksy Flannels are?  Well, if it's possible, these are even softer and cozier! 

Okay, giveaway time!  This giveaway is sponsored by none other than Pink Castle Fabrics!  I'm super in love with the Ruby line by Moda and these Sundae Stripe prints are my favorite.

Just leave a comment telling me what you hope to get for Christmas this year, and you'll be in the running for a fat quarter from each of the colorways - six in total!  As for me, I'm hoping that this baby will arrive early, but I'm definitely not holding my breath :)  I guess I'd settle for a Liberty Mini Fabric Bundle - I've been pining after one of those for a long time!

Good luck everyone - the giveaway will stay open until Friday at 5pm EST and yes, I'm willing to ship internationally.  I'll be back in the next day or two with with a sneak peek of the new nursery!

Winner, winner - and shop news!

Whew - what a week of giveaways!  Definitely a great way to celebrate a year of blogging.  Without further ado, Mr. Random.org picked the following winners....

The voile fat quarter pack is off to Susan, the vintage sheets go to Nikko, and the Flea market fancy/Heather Ross scraps go to Bree.  Congrats winners!  Your packages are already in the mail.

And after being flooded with comments about the Showoff Bag (thanks Rae - and thanks all of you for your kind words!), the winner is #74 - Alli!  Congrats Alli, Rae will send you a copy once the pattern has been finalized.

Whew, back to crafting.  I've got lots of things to post about these days, since I've been in full force nesting mode for the past couple of months.  But first I wanted to let you all know that I finally got my act together and am getting my shop up and running!

My stash of vintage linens is getting incredibly out of hand, but that doesn't seem to stop me from continuing to thrift for them, so I've decided to share the wealth!  I've already listed a small section (and had a couple of sales - woo-hoo!), but I've got TONS more to go through - and even picked up a few more this morning (it's a disease, I tell you).  So keep checking in.

Most of them are listed as fat quarters, but I don't actually cut anything until I receive an order, so most of the times, continuous yardage is available for your larger projects.  I'll also be throwing in some pre-cuts, and handmade quilts as well - so stay tuned!

Open for Business!

Even though I've still got 4 months before this baby gets here, I have been in major nesting mode lately - which I have been quite enjoying since it never really kicked in when I was pregnant with Phoebe. 

I guess I just keep thinking that if I don't do it now, then it will never get done once I have two kids.  Plus, I might as well use all of this energy while I have it.  I remember all too well how I felt last time during my 3rd trimester! 

So we've been doing lots of cosmetic work on the house lately - painting, making curtains, rearranging rooms, hanging pictures, and refinishing some recent thrift store finds.  I can't wait to show you the final reveal on the dresser above - including the amazing price I got it for!  Here it is all sanded, primed, and ready for paint.

This little table has gotten a new paint job, and I just need to pick out some fabric that is going to cover the top.

To go along with the nesting, I've decided to put a few things in my Etsy shop that has been sitting abandoned for way too long.  I'm still not quite sure which direction my shop is going to take - be it quilts and other handmade goods, custom orders, vintage finds, or fabric destash (particularly vintage sheets :), but I'll add a few things here or there until I get a better idea of where it's going.

This quilt was actually made over a year ago as a gift, but it didn't end up being large enough after I used up all of my Jenean Morrison's Moondance line.  However I think it would make a perfect baby quilt and playmat - especially for a boy or gender neutral nursery!

I'm also putting this little gem in the shop as well.  I love it to death, but we seriously just have more quilts than we know what to do with around here.  I'm sure it will find a great home with someone who will really treasure it!

I hope you all are having a great weekend.  Wish me luck in the coming week - we've decided it's time to break Phoebe of her paci, so I'm hoping we can all make it through in one piece!

Some recenty thrifty finds - for both me and you!

If I had a day all to myself, thrifting would definitely be a part of it.  My dad started taking my sister and I to garage sales before we could even walk, and it became a weekly occurrence every Saturday throughout the summer.  Some of my most treasured possessions are from garage sales and thrift stores and I love how my entire house is pieced together with these finds.

I haven't been able to do as much thrifting as I would like because a) I've been put on a budget (bleh) and b) thrifting is HARD to do with an 18 month old.  But here are some pieces that I've picked up here and there these past couple weeks.

I'm lucky in that Ann Arbor has some seriously good thrifting spots to keep me busy all year round.  The pink depression juicer and the cookware above are both from the Treasure Mart.  This place is probably more pricey than your average Goodwill or Salvation Army, but they always have amazing goods and are considerably less expensive than an antique shop.  And with three floors and 8500 square feet, you can always find something you can't live without.

I found this little tea strainer at the State Street Salvation Army for a mere fifty cents.  I usually can't tell one Salvation Army from the next, but this one is seriously HUGE.  I never leave there without finding multiple sets of vintage sheets, and they have a huge selection of glassware, furniture, and wool sweaters for felting.

I also found this child's folding chair at Salvation Army for only three dollars.  Three dollars!  I am so in love with this thing.  I only wish they had a whole set in my size.

Phoebe likes it too :)

This green, cut-glass, spouted bowl was found at the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop.  All of the proceeds from the store go to the Ann Arbor public schools PTO organizations, and they by far have the most gigantic craft section I've ever seen.  More about that in an upcoming post...

And finally, I found this coat at Such a Find Antiques.  

This coat brings me such joy and such sadness at the same time.  Joy because it is so amazingly awesome, and completely my style; sadness because it does not fit me and never will.  Even if I did lose 20 pounds (which I'm working on because my sister is getting married this summer :), it is just too tight across the shoulders and short in the sleeves.  

 

So I decided to offer it up to you guys!  This lovely gal is for sale in my Etsy shop.  I hope that someone will be just as excited about her as I am.