Yesterday was one of those mornings where I thought I’d never make it out of the house. Leil was home sick for day two and Caitlin came down with the same thing. Greg also has it which made for one cranky family. I rose early to get my work finished but the phone kept ringing, wholesale orders came alive and the e-mail poured in. All good, but hey, I have a sale to get to!
The Kitsap County Clothing & Textile Advisors’ volunteers put an amazing amount of work into this annual fundraising sale. Donations are collected all year long. The week prior to the sale is spent sorting and organizing. All for a 5 hour sale that provides funds for a year’s worth of community programs.
The sale puts off great energy on so many levels. Donating goods is a positive way to cleanse oneself of the excess that accumulates over time in the sewing stash. Purchasing puts money back into the organization. The recirculation of sewing supplies and materials back out to a community of eager sewists is the ultimate in re-use on a local level.
One of the great things about a sale like this is that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Showing up an hour late didn’t hinder me in finding my own personal bargains. Patterns were $1 for as many as you could fit into a single plastic bag. I tried to pay separate for the embroidery designs but they ladies were like ‘oh no, they’re all patterns, just put them in the same bag.’
My biggest score was the vintage cotton in the top photo (red with a paisley design). An uncut 3 1/4 yards, 36″ wide, I’m still woozy over finding that at the bottom of the quilting cotton table. I also picked up some knits to practice making t-shirts and some cotton and wool scraps to play with. 9 pounds of textile goodness for $9.
I got to see friends, had to skip out on plans for lunch (that motherly pull of wanting to return home to tend to sick children), and left with a huge smile on my face. A very fun hour of digging through piles of fabric, patterns and books, imagining what could be created with each find.
I always find it more exciting to find a secondhand deal than buying retail — and you are helping you community and keeping things out of landfills! YAY!
Sounds like a great morning, and the perfect antidote to a cranky house. The sugar bowl and creamer pattern are so kitschy cute and I can see some cool stuff coming from the animal embroidery too. Oh, and I’d totally make/wear McCalls 2309. I bet it would look good in that red fabric too.
I am so jealous of the bounty you came away with! I don’t get to “go junking” (as my family calls it) any more. I can’t walk without my walker and can only shop in places that have those electric scooters………and here that means only my Vons (Safeway) grocery and Walmart…………sigh. I live vicariously through my friends when it comes to that kind of thing.
Enjoy your swag………….and I’m sorry to hear about the cranky house, it brings back memories…………lol………I have 7 kids, so you can imagine………8-)
Linda
I’m glad you were able to make the sale. My friend Diana and I were there first thing and looked for you. We must have missed you by only a few minutes. We also found a few treasures. Diana has a great eye for the hidden gems and I was a bit overwhelmed. I will definately go with a better game plan next year. Anyway I had a great time bumped into a few friends and have some fun goodies to experiment with. Thanks for the tip. Did you check IBOL today? Amost at 2000 boxes…Yea
!
So bummed I missed you xoxoxo Clarice
that sounds like TOO MUCH FUN! and it’s all fabric and patterns? WOW! We have the rummage sales and the thrift stores…but it’s hard to find things like fabric and notions sometimes.
what a wonderful way to spend an hour!
Those embroidery transfers are gold. I have fond memories of my grandmother teaching me to embroider (and keeping me out of trouble) with them during long summer days at her house. You can’t really find them anymore, at least around here.
Excellent! Sounds like great fun and lots of good bargains. I just wanted to say how much I love the idea of the downloadable patterns you just started. That’s a fantastic idea. I also had no idea you sell so many patterns. Great work Kathy! I’m always pleased to see Pink Chalk Fabrics getting great publicity.
What a lovely time that must have been (minus the sickies)! Your haul is something to be envious of, for certain.
Makes me want to go thrifting!
Also wanted to let you know that I moved my blog to a new location and have a few new surprises up my sleeve! To kick things off, I have a free downloadable gift. Stop by if you get a chance.
The new address is: http://reclaimingthehome.blogspot.com/
HUGS!
Kristin
Oh my! Where is that sale and how do I find out more? I don’t want to miss next year but google didn’t give me any leads…
Thanks!
So glad to have made the sale! I will add this to my list of favorites. As Carrie mentioned we were so bummed to have missed seeing you there. Hope the kids are getting well. We had to fly thru the sale quickly. We were there at the start and for a total of 45 min. I was flying to SoCal for a family reunion and Carrie was off to see a play. But it was a very satisfying 45 min. What a stash of fabrics I have now! My big score was the vintage drapery panels and strawberry print yardage. Can’t wait for next year. 15 lbs of fabric for $15 plus an extra $2 donation to the sweet lady selling raffle tickets! Thanks again for the HOT tip!
Lucky you!!! What fun! And you o n l y….. spent 1 hour??? WoW! You do have willpower! I’m thinking it would have been hard to leave after only an hour! You sure did get some great patterns though! What fun… yep… that’s my kind of fun!
Take care!
I just found you blog through Mountain Mom Report. I am so jealous! I wish there was something like that in area! I love vintage supplies like what you found. I usually comb the flea markets and good wills to find my goodies…which is also very rewarding.