Even with 9.3 inches of snow today and getting stuck in my driveway, I managed to get the kids to school on time and to go to an estate sale that sounded really good. Caring Transitions does alot of estate sales in the area and they were having one in Woodstock today. (I didn't get to the library sale in Richmond though.) There wasn't a line today. I guess the snow scared alot of people away. I found my first vintage Vera tablecloth for $5. I was so excited. It has vibrant flowers on it with Vera written large in the corner. It has some yellow stains, but I soaked it in Oxy Clean and got alot of it out. Vera linens are very collectible and now I have one to add to my collection. I won't be selling it at this time. I also found a really cute snowman tablerunner that was hand embroidered plus an elf ornament. I have a few animal pins by Gerry and when I found 2 turtle pins ($5 for both) by them, I couldn't pass them up. My mother gave me a set of rose dishes that were made in Japan. A few years ago, I found some replacement and extra pieces on Ebay to go with them. Today, I was happy to find a covered butter dish that matches the pattern. I paid a little extra for it ($8), but I had never seen a butter dish in that pattern and didn't want to risk losing it.
Flea Market Style Magazine is out. I love this magazine. Ki is a master at recreating items into something completely different. I have been looking up sales/flea markets that she lists in the magazine to go to in the summer. Lots of fun awaits. I would like to explore more in Wisconsin and Iowa this year.
For a snowy day, I didn't do that badly. Tomorrow we are off to the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora. I have my coupons in my purse already....
Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
McHenry County Wide Garage Sale March 31 in Huntley
I am all signed up to sell my items at the McHenry County Wide Garage Sale at the Huntley Rec Center on March 31st. Doors open from 8am-2pm. This is my fourth year selling at it. It has changed locations 3 times since then. I have so much fun with it and boy do I sell things. Last year, supposedly 2,500 people came through the sale. It's a lot of work setting up at 6am, but Ethan and Austin have been a great help. They leave before 10am to go to their Pokemon league and then come back to help me clean up. Usually, right after the sale, I donate everything. Sometimes there is a Salvation Army truck waiting for the donations. I think that this year I will drive all of the leftover items to the Goodwill in Huntley since it is only down the road from the sale. I have lots of boys clothes, size 10 and up, to get rid of. They usually sell well. I also have vintage linens and metal trays, household items, "lego" table, adult clothes, toys, books, Christmas, you name it. The booth size is 8x10 and I manage every year to fit all of my stuff into that small space. The people in charge of the sale are always amazed that the stuff fits. I am still cleaning around the house and will probably have more items by then. I still need to go through my garden pots and stands. I am hoping to fit a vintage orange hand chair into my van to sell. I think it will be a good place to try to sell it.
Speaking of Huntley, Ethan needed a whole new wardrobe since he is growing so quickly, so we went to the outlets in Huntley this past weekend. The President's Day sales were fabulous. I also had 20% off coupons for most of the stores we were shopping at, plus, free dollars to spend. Always sign up for the free store rewards cards. You will get coupons and money back to spend based on your sales totals. It is worth it and I have gotten a good deal of free things. I filled up my whole trunk for less than $100. I was pretty happy. JC Penney is another good store to stop in right now. They have great clearance sales going on from about $4 and up and it is not only winter clothes. I found some great Liz Claiborne tops for the summer for $4-$6. I love Liz Claiborne clothes.
Rummage sale season is beginning!!!!!!! I can't wait. The first one at the Church on First Street in Cary starts on March 1 and then the following week is the one in Prairie Grove. Usually they are both on the same day, but since they started at different times I could go to both. They are 2 of my favorite sales. I expect that the rummage sales will be crowded this year with a lot of people who have not shopped at them before.
I'll try to take pictures of my finds and the sale if I can.
April 14th is Gardenfest at McHenry County College put on by the University of Illinois McHenry County Master Gardeners. It is a great way to welcome Spring and to learn about all things gardening. The price is right and the lunch (wraps) are delicious. I will be teaching a class on composting and rain barrels this year. There are some great vendors at the show. I hope to see you there.
Oh, I almost forgot. I found a great wooden shelf the other day by a dumpster. Of course I had to stop and pick it up. I will find a use for it. Keep your eyes open for things that people throw out. I love free things.
The thrift stores haven't had much the past few weeks. The kids and I stopped in at the Savers Thrift Store in Crystal Lake on Monday since most items were 50% off. We did find quite a few Genesis video games and even a brand new, never opened, 3DS game for $5. The video games were 25% off. Most of the games cost us about $1. They love Sonic the Hedgehog and most of the Genesis games were of him. That was a nice unexpected find for a fabulous price. You never know what you will find. The thrill of the find is what makes it fun.
Speaking of Huntley, Ethan needed a whole new wardrobe since he is growing so quickly, so we went to the outlets in Huntley this past weekend. The President's Day sales were fabulous. I also had 20% off coupons for most of the stores we were shopping at, plus, free dollars to spend. Always sign up for the free store rewards cards. You will get coupons and money back to spend based on your sales totals. It is worth it and I have gotten a good deal of free things. I filled up my whole trunk for less than $100. I was pretty happy. JC Penney is another good store to stop in right now. They have great clearance sales going on from about $4 and up and it is not only winter clothes. I found some great Liz Claiborne tops for the summer for $4-$6. I love Liz Claiborne clothes.
Rummage sale season is beginning!!!!!!! I can't wait. The first one at the Church on First Street in Cary starts on March 1 and then the following week is the one in Prairie Grove. Usually they are both on the same day, but since they started at different times I could go to both. They are 2 of my favorite sales. I expect that the rummage sales will be crowded this year with a lot of people who have not shopped at them before.
I'll try to take pictures of my finds and the sale if I can.
April 14th is Gardenfest at McHenry County College put on by the University of Illinois McHenry County Master Gardeners. It is a great way to welcome Spring and to learn about all things gardening. The price is right and the lunch (wraps) are delicious. I will be teaching a class on composting and rain barrels this year. There are some great vendors at the show. I hope to see you there.
Oh, I almost forgot. I found a great wooden shelf the other day by a dumpster. Of course I had to stop and pick it up. I will find a use for it. Keep your eyes open for things that people throw out. I love free things.
The thrift stores haven't had much the past few weeks. The kids and I stopped in at the Savers Thrift Store in Crystal Lake on Monday since most items were 50% off. We did find quite a few Genesis video games and even a brand new, never opened, 3DS game for $5. The video games were 25% off. Most of the games cost us about $1. They love Sonic the Hedgehog and most of the Genesis games were of him. That was a nice unexpected find for a fabulous price. You never know what you will find. The thrill of the find is what makes it fun.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Vintage Linen Pillows
As you all know, I love vintage linens. Especially embroidered pieces and tablecloths. (Christmas and floral ones) I buy the tablecloths that have holes in them to make pillows with. I never cut up linens that are in good condition. Those are for my collection. I have even started to make aprons and Christmas stockings.
I started making pillows quite a few years ago and like to use vintage trim on them whenever possible. Sometimes the trim looks vintage, but really isn't. For the most part though, the more vintage the better. I even make pillows from chenille bedbreads. When I started making pillows, I entered them in the McHenry County (4H) Fair and won first prize 2 years in a row. The kids started to call me the pillow queen. On the picture that I have posted, the middle pillow and the one to the right of it, won the blue ribbons. I have vintage linen pillows all over the house. They are fun and easy to make and can be changed with the seasons. It's another way for me to add to my linen collection.
I started making pillows quite a few years ago and like to use vintage trim on them whenever possible. Sometimes the trim looks vintage, but really isn't. For the most part though, the more vintage the better. I even make pillows from chenille bedbreads. When I started making pillows, I entered them in the McHenry County (4H) Fair and won first prize 2 years in a row. The kids started to call me the pillow queen. On the picture that I have posted, the middle pillow and the one to the right of it, won the blue ribbons. I have vintage linen pillows all over the house. They are fun and easy to make and can be changed with the seasons. It's another way for me to add to my linen collection.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Thrift Stores Here I Come
I spent some time today visiting some thrift stores. I went back to the Sparrows Nest in Cary to look at the vintage linens. Alot had been sold since I was there on Saturday. I did buy 3 today. One was pretty with daisies, one was with crochet flowers and the other one had orange beads sewn right in while it was being crocheted. I really loved all of the pieces. Others on line were buying doilies too. They change them seasonally in their homes just as I do. I think we convinced another lady on line to do that too. I also bought a flower sign to use outside in my garden. It will be cute when I find the perfect spot for it in the Spring.
I also stopped at Savers in Crystal Lake. Monday is 25% off. I found some blue material (74 cents and $1.49) to finally begin the quilt I want to make for Austin's room. I needed some blue material and now that I found it, I have no more excuses to start it. I also found a great vintage Christmas tablecloth with Santa and his reindeers ($2.99-fabulous price). Love it! I splurged a little on a Fenton (signed) milk glass basket with roses all around it. It was, with the discount, $11.00. I also found a cute aluminum piece for $1.49. On Feb 20th, the store will be 50% off. Guess where I'll be?
I also stopped at Savers in Crystal Lake. Monday is 25% off. I found some blue material (74 cents and $1.49) to finally begin the quilt I want to make for Austin's room. I needed some blue material and now that I found it, I have no more excuses to start it. I also found a great vintage Christmas tablecloth with Santa and his reindeers ($2.99-fabulous price). Love it! I splurged a little on a Fenton (signed) milk glass basket with roses all around it. It was, with the discount, $11.00. I also found a cute aluminum piece for $1.49. On Feb 20th, the store will be 50% off. Guess where I'll be?
Sunday, February 5, 2012
New Doilies
I was so happy that there were 2 Estate Sales this weekend in Woodstock. I was starting to get withdrawals from not going to sales. I only found a really nice hanky from Japan, a child's Christmas apron and a Christmas runner. A little disappointing, but still fun to go to.
I was at the Sparrow's Nest in Cary on Saturday where someone had donated a huge collection of vintage doilies, hankies, aprons, towels, embroided pieces and tablecloths. Talk about joy! I spent so much time going through each piece, and only bought a few pieces. I was so proud of myself. It was very hard to pass up pieces, but I kept telling myself that I just got rid of a lot of similar pieces and had to be choosier. I would like to go back soon to take another look. There are a few pieces that I may still purchase if they are still there. I got a few nice crochet pieces that were unique to my collection. I also found some hankies that I don't have: Valentine's Day, Happy Birthday and the state of Wisconsin. The prices were about average rangeing from $1.25 and up. Most of the ones I bought were from $1.25 to $6.00. Just like estate sale prices.
Here is how I clean them (I was lucky that these recent pieces were in very good clean condition). I fill the washer up with extremely hot water and put in 5 scoops of Oxyclean. Then, I let them sit for as long as possible (sometimes overnight). Be careful with red colors though. I find that with crochet pieces this works extremely well because it softens up the fibers and they don't rip. I have great success with this for taking out the yellow stains or at least lightening them up considerably. Then, I put them in the dryer without fabric softener for at least 30 minutes. Crochet pieces I usually hang to dry so that they don't shrink.
The kids and I stopped at the Goodwill in Huntley. Target had donated an amazing amount of new clearance items from clothes to toys and more. Of course, we bought a Nerf set. The store was very busy and the employees were bringing out more Target items the whole time. Definitely worth the trip in the next few days. Last week they had new Tommy Hilfiger sweaters for $10 and they were gone by today. I'm sure these Target items won't be around for long.
I can't wait to see what this weeks sales will be...
I was at the Sparrow's Nest in Cary on Saturday where someone had donated a huge collection of vintage doilies, hankies, aprons, towels, embroided pieces and tablecloths. Talk about joy! I spent so much time going through each piece, and only bought a few pieces. I was so proud of myself. It was very hard to pass up pieces, but I kept telling myself that I just got rid of a lot of similar pieces and had to be choosier. I would like to go back soon to take another look. There are a few pieces that I may still purchase if they are still there. I got a few nice crochet pieces that were unique to my collection. I also found some hankies that I don't have: Valentine's Day, Happy Birthday and the state of Wisconsin. The prices were about average rangeing from $1.25 and up. Most of the ones I bought were from $1.25 to $6.00. Just like estate sale prices.
Here is how I clean them (I was lucky that these recent pieces were in very good clean condition). I fill the washer up with extremely hot water and put in 5 scoops of Oxyclean. Then, I let them sit for as long as possible (sometimes overnight). Be careful with red colors though. I find that with crochet pieces this works extremely well because it softens up the fibers and they don't rip. I have great success with this for taking out the yellow stains or at least lightening them up considerably. Then, I put them in the dryer without fabric softener for at least 30 minutes. Crochet pieces I usually hang to dry so that they don't shrink.
The kids and I stopped at the Goodwill in Huntley. Target had donated an amazing amount of new clearance items from clothes to toys and more. Of course, we bought a Nerf set. The store was very busy and the employees were bringing out more Target items the whole time. Definitely worth the trip in the next few days. Last week they had new Tommy Hilfiger sweaters for $10 and they were gone by today. I'm sure these Target items won't be around for long.
I can't wait to see what this weeks sales will be...
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