Current Mood : Happily sleepy
Current Image Notes : Here's the final TOTY jar, filled with candy ! And there's the four discs included. I'm happy with it, and I think she is, too.
Spring's definitely here - the winds are up to 40mph, and the monsoon period seems to have passed. And it's yard sale time ! As usual, most of yer huge ‘six family' sales are in other towns, but there were several to choose from here, and I hit two today. The first one wasn't much, but what can I say, looking around someone else's yard and garage for goodies is fun whether I find anything or not ! And with all the good finds last year, it's harder to get me to buy stuff, with all that's already at home.
Second sale was great. I scored a great windbreaker jacket that's a bit lighter than my sweatsuit-fabric hoodie, so it's about perfect for these sunny days that'd be perfectly warm without the fierce winds cooling things off. It's blue with yellow, sprinkled with a star print and an antique ‘moon and sun' design, all nylon with a knit lining. It even fits me !
I also scored two nice wooden frames, and three small bundles of pretty stationery. One set of cards will be perfect to hold and give small pieces of embroidery, and I've already used one of the frames (more later). I picked up the nice linen napkins - 6 for $1. - but now I see that several are stained and they may be a bit too heavy for the embroidery project I was considering for Aunt Sue.
Rummaging around in boxes provided me a cool plastic cookie container, with those space-age 60s asterisks and a green lid, an Elphie-sized porcelain piggy bank, and a Barbie Swan Lake pocket folder that'll be perfect to store my embroidery print outs and notes. Got it all, from jacket to folder, for just $3. It's no wonder I miss yard sale season so much, when I get good deals like those ! Even the napkins are still a decent deal.
Since I was in the area anyway, I hit Big Lots again, this time with the antique radio stitch guide print-out. Snagged three shades of brown thread and a nice cream, all at 40% off. And I just couldn't resist the Pelleon Peltex - a very firm interfacing - at 25% off, so I got a yard of it, too. Peltex is often used for fabric bowls and other projects that require an almost-cardboard like layer, but has to remain washable. I'm thinking it'll be great for refrigerator magnets and other embroidery projects, too.
Only problem with it was that it was a brand new bolt, still in the plastic wrap, but one corner'd gotten torn and dirty. They didn't have an open bolt, just this one. I kinda hated to buy it like that, and even if I bought a half-yard, it'd be there. Well, with good positioning, I could probably cut it away... But I was lucky. The nice lady who was slowly being overwhelmed at the cutting table - I'd evidently arrived just before Rush Hour in Fabrics - saw it, and cut it off, set it aside. She then cut and labeled my yard, and then tossed in the rejected strip, saying maybe I could use most of it. Wow ! I thanked her profusely - I hadn't asked, thinking they'd need to save the damaged bit for accounting or somesuch. But it was so nice of her ! I not only got the Peltex on sale, but I got over a quarter-yard extra, for free !
While I'd intended to stay out for a bit longer, Beloved Hubby needed directions, so I headed home. It'd been a great shopping day, and I hadn't overspent and had to drag a buncha stuff in. I unpacked the yard sale goodies, and located one of the earliest designs I made. After I failed at initials - something I haven't yet attempted again - I decided to stitch out a small heart that came with Brody. It came out so pretty, I wasn't sure what to do with it. I thought to give it to Beloved, since he already has my real heart !
But it looked so plain and small on the big piece of fabric. So I rehooped it, and decided to sew a shield shape around it. The shields - also a part of Brody's original designs - were what made him an easy sell to Beloved to begin with. He liked all three, and could easily imagine making use of them.
I didn't know anything of positioning or centering, so predictably, the heart looks quite a bit off-center in the shield. But I decided to give it to him anyway, telling him he'll always have my off-center heart. He folded it and propped it on the bookends on his desk. I decided to frame it using one of today's yard sale finds, but it would look rather small in the frame by itself. Minutes later, with Embroidery Fonts Plus (you know I love the freebies !), I had words added to Brody, and they were being stitched out below the shield. In dark green. It says, simply, ‘You'll Always Hold / My Off-Center Heart !'. I had it ironed and framed before he got home. It's now hanging over his desk. You get to see it tomorrow.
The rest of the day, we just sort of goofed off, watched various shows on our computers, and ate junk food. It was a really nice day ! On the downside, I may have broken my embroidery hoop, the one that came with Brody, but it's probably just a stripped nut or somesuch. Beloved says he'll look at it, and if that's it, it's an easy fix after a trip to Ace Hardware or Lowe's. It just doesn't tighten the way it used to - it slips back out. Since the hoop is basically two pieces of Lexan-like nylon-plastic, from the look of it, and the screw and nuts, it must be the screw. I've only broken Lexan-type stuff once, and that was my first Badge-A-Minit press. And there's barely even usage scratches on the plastic parts. Here's hoping !
