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I went to an estate sale on Saturday that said in its ad on Craig’s List that it was full of bargains. Right, I laughed, bargains! Like stuff for $50 instead of $100. Hahahahaha!
As I entered the sale, I saw that it was one of my favorite kind of sales, a packrat’s sale! It was a tiny house with the place packed to the rafters and they pulled down more stuff from the packed attic and basement. Stuff was strewn about and organized as best they could with very little space.
As I was looking around the gentleman running the sale came into the room I was in and said “did you hear about the fill a basket?” He then handed me a basket and said that all I could stuff in it was only $5. I am a good stuffer and was now in heaven at the very thought. As I was in the bedroom digging through the stuff tossed on the twin bed (hankies, linens, and etc.) another lady picked up a plastic bag with something in it. The full size quilt in the picture was what was in it.
I then willed her to put it down. She dropped it with the comment, “ugh, a quilt!” I almost smacked her, but my hands were too busy reaching for the quilt she dropped. After filling my basked with lots of vintage hankies, some old school books (spelling books!!), some jewelry bits (seed beads, letters, and metal spacer beads), a pair of figurines, an old red metal piggy bank, and lots of etc. I walked out to the living room to pay for my stuff. I also picked up an old 1956 vintage bingo game.
I waited for a lady that was oblivious to others waiting in line and had to make us all stand there while she wrapped her glass items (even though there was a table not 3 feet to her left for that very purpose)! Then the cashier lady said you got a basket and those two items. It will be $7!!!!! SEVEN DOLLARS!!!!!!!! When I got out to my car I pinched myself at my good fortune at getting a barely used handmade quilt for $1!!!!! The Estate Sale gods were truly good to me, no?
Aren’t the butterflies pretty? There seems to be no two alike on the quilt. The body and wings are appliquéd and the antenna are drawn on. The colors are vibrant and happy and it only has a few tiny spots on the top. The bottom is just pristine.
I also participated in a winter or holiday swap. Here are the charms I received.
This lovely is from Linda.
And Heather made two!
I will post another as soon as I locate it. It was made by the same person of the ornament I cannot locate. She mailed them together so there is an envelope somewhere. Since my back has been hurt some of my organization has fallen by the way side!
You can see the charms I made here.
I showed you the angel ornaments I made for a Christmas ornie swap I hosted, but didn’t show you what I received.
From Linda, this lovely with a great image and a glittered snowflake.
And from Heather a two-fer.
You can see what I made here. There is also one more that I have misplaced. As soon as I find it I will share it with you.
One of the nice parts of meeting crafty people is admiring their work. Then letting them know that and their offering to make you one. You offer to pay and then a trade is reached. So you get to share your creativity and they share theirs. You both win, right?
So for a trade for a pendant (which ended up being two) I made this bracelet using my Kumihimo braider and some fancy yarns.
I hope that the crafty friend I am trading with enjoys it! I love the colors and the yarns I used to make it. She said her favorite color is read and after I started to make this bracelet realized how little red I have. All of the yarns I used with the exception of two had red in it.
I have to finish a charm to go with it and then it will be in the mail.
Hearts for the ears…
and Hearts for the neck…
Hearts no matter how many chins you may have…
Hearts for every day of the month…
I was racking my brain trying to come up with a Valentine’s Day design that was no so Valentines Day that you couldn’t wear it any time of the year. I knew I wanted to use a heart punch, but was unsure what I was punching. So I ripped out two text filled pages from a Russian children’s book that I thrifted.
I then mixed some glitter paint with clear gesso and painted it on. On top of that I sponge painted some light blue paint and then put a layer of a pinky red on top of that. As it was drying I dipped a pint brush in water and then blended it all a bit. I came up with this slightly variegated pinkish color hearts with a bit of sparkle. I then used scrapbook papers of all colors for the background and then found the punched heart that had a complementary color. All this is on top of a scrabble tile.
Cute, no? I am claiming the pendant with the polka dots for me! There are plenty of leftover hearts, too.
…for tied dyed shirts to say thanks for picking up some vintage napkins here and there for Vicki to use (and for letting me “borrow” her pic of them).
She asked me a while ago if I wanted a tie dyed shirt and I said yes. Imagine my surprise to get 3! I have already worn the one on the right to Physical Therapy and it was quite a hit with the rehab tech.
Thanks, Vicki! I love my new shirts.
If you are interested in tie dyed shirts, you might contact Vicki through her Etsy shop to see if she might make one for you, too.
I am sure you are all familiar with the saga now. In early November I learned that I had herniated a disc in my back. It is the very last one that sits on top of the pelvis at the bottom of the spine. And for a little extra agony it was pressing into my sciatic nerve. I had no idea it was my back that was hurt as the excruciating pain was all in my left leg. Stabbing, cruel, mean, make you “cry until it stops” kind of pain!
As I began my healing odyssey I learned so many new things, like that sciatic nerves do not like heat. That heat makes it worse. This was learned after a week of heating it per my primary care doctor! So it was learned the hard way.
As you go you learn how to treat thyself. You sit straighter, you walk straighter, you learn to roll on your back to put your pants on so you don’t have to lift your legs. You learn alternative methods to put on socks, and you learn (most of all) how very few slip in type shoes you have that you can wear to work!
When you head back to work you learn to work in PT appointments during your lunch hour, after work, and learn how to make up the time you miss for those appointments. It is all part of the “medical” process. You learn how to ice yourself while you are working by placing the ice pack on your chair and sitting on it! Fonzie would be so proud! LOL!
You learn things about the healing process of the spine and the sciatic nerve. That it is slow and it has a mind of its own. That it doesn’t work on your timetable, but ITS timetable and you are just along for the ride. Being a person that hates to sit around and take it easy, at times I have overdone it a bit, but the next day it reminds me that it is there and it is healing so I slow it back down and give it the time it needs.
I learned something new last week at PT. The fact that the pain is moving up my leg and toward the injured place on my back is very good. It means it is healing. So today I announced to my Physical Therapist that “I have never been so happy to have a pain in my ass!” For 3 weeks it was parked in my left thigh just below my butt and over the weekend it moved to my butt cheek. I was ecstatic. Of course as the nerve pain goes away I am starting to feel my back a bit more. But we are keeping on! Twice weekly PT and the anti-inflammatory to take the edge off. I may, after this prescription is out, try it for a bit without it. I think I am at that point.
So sorry that the blog has been so dormant, but I have been trying to get better and behaving myself. I have so much I have seen that I want to do. I brought home my new needle felting machine right before Christmas and want desperately to try it out. So cross your fingers as I can finally see the light at the end of the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONGEST tunnel I have been through thus far. I appreciate each and every one of you for hanging in there with me. Y’all are the best!
A classic from Abba.
Cindy Is Crafty...and she makes things, too! 