Thrift Score: Sweaters Galore!

I do not think there is much I find more satisfying (when it comes to shopping) than scoring a ton of wonderful wearables from the thrift store. The savings compared to buying first hand are enormous, and it's just too fun to paw through all that random assortment in search of a gem.

On my last thrifting trip, I indeed hit the mother load. In my hometown there is an amazing thrift store run by one of the area Churches. It is called "Share Stuff." It is entirely staffed by volunteers, and all the proceeds go directly to our local "Sharefest" which is an annual project where volunteers work to refurbish local schools. Too cool, right? Not only does Share Stuff have the best selection of used clothing, I can feel extra good about where my money is going!

Added bonuses about Share Stuff are the fact that they pretty much wash all the clothing that comes in, and they are picky about what they accept. No major stains or holes or defect on their wares!! It's awesome. As if all that is not enough, they have weekly sales that are pretty much insane. When I went in, they were having a Winter Sale. All their sweaters, flannels, fleeces, button-ups, and coats were $1.

ONE DOLLAR. I don't know where else you can get a better deal. Enough blabbing. Onto my haul!!

This was the first beauty I saw when I started going through the racks. I swooned. It had the store tags still on it!! Brand spankin' new, for one dollah. Heck yeah, it came home with me!!! It has such a folksy, romantic feel to it. This winter has been long and brutal, and shows no sign of giving way to spring any time soon. So why not supplement my winter wear with some blooms?

My camera went a little nuts. In real life, the sweater is navy, not purple.

The embroidery is to die for. So cute!!

Never heard of this brand, but I'm not one to be loyal to a brand.

 The embroidery even continued to the back yoke of the cardigan. Just stunning. I love articles of clothing with nice, unexpected details and this cardi certainly fit that bill. I can't wait to wear it!! I already have several outfits in mind.

Dat stitchery.

Next up was a drapey knit cardigan with all sorts of stripes. There are no pockets, which normally is a turn off for me on this type of garment, but for a dollar, I think I can deal with it. Besides, since this sweater is synthetic it is machine washable and super soft. Those are very important traits when it comes to sweaters for me!!

 This stripey sweater also had brand new store tags on it. Never been worn!! What, whaaattt?? It must have been my lucky day. Finding one "brand new" thrift item is a big deal, but two in one day? Winning. Pure winning.

 Can I take a moment to point out how nicely the stripes line up on the sleeves? Maybe I'm a fiber nerd, but not a ton of clothing manufacturers seem to be putting this kind of thought into their garments anymore. I keep seeing sloppy seams, raw edges, and all sorts of other shortcuts in the stores lately. I understand companies are pressured to make a high volume of stuff for a low low cost, but I for one am willing to pay the extra bit for quality clothing construction. If it weren't so expensive, I'd make all my clothes myself. -pouts-

These next two tops I got at another local charity thrift store. This one supports the Rescue Mission for homeless in our area. It's another Christian organization that I can feel good about supporting. Unlike some of the -ahem- big name thrift stores with executives making six figures. I just don't get that.

Anyways, this first top is pretty spiffy, if you ask me. Bohemian and delicious. It's flowy, too, so hopefully I'll be able to wear it for a few more weeks. Dat baby bump is growin'!!

 I just love the colors and the pattern. The fabric has a really nice feel to it as well. This one was $3. Oh man. Breaking the bank, yo. Haha.

Dat pattern.

 This top also came from the Rescue Mission thrift store. I am discovering that I really do want to be a gypsy when I grow up. All these floraly, flowy tops! I am just drawn to them! So boho.

Love that little pleated detail.

The fabric kind of reminds me of retro calico prints. Just another reason to love it!!

 This brown shirt was $3. I was on a roll with the good deals that day!!

Another super exciting find at the Rescue Mission Mart was this denim skirt! I have a lot of maxi skirts in my wardrobe, but not a good work-horse denim skirt. I fell in love with this one immediately. It's big for me, but that will be beneficial as the baby bump progresses. And it is pretty much the perfect length: mid knee. I can wear it in the summer or now, with sweater leggings. The latter I have already done. Love it!

Another example the type of construction details I adore on clothes: these pleats. They aren't just any pleats, they are three structured, fully finished off, beautifully seamed pleats. They add to the structure and flow of the skirt without being ridiculous or flimsy. Just look at them. Looooookkk aaattt theeeeemmm. Maybe you all aren't as obsessed with details like this as I am, but you have to at least admit, this is a niiicceee skirt.

Those pleats. Just. Yes.

 Another fashion bonus with this skirt (besides the fact it was $5) is that it is a dark enough denim that you can really dress it up if you want to. I'm not going to go all fashion theory on you guys, since I've ranted enough about pleats, but not all denim is created equal. Some denim is just for casual times. Argue if you want, but you are wrong, and I am right. This denim goes both ways. Dark enough to be fancy, and denim enough to be casual. -drops mic- Fashion bully ranter girl, out!

You may have seen this lil beaut yesterday when I was wearing it in some pictures. This is another one of the $1 sweaters from Share Stuff and let me tell you, it is a lot of sweater for just one dollar. This thing is sturdy. It's heavy. Made out of cotton and knitted into these thick, rich cables I mean, hello! This thing is a work of art. Albeit mass-produced art, but art nonetheless. And it's green, so hey. I had to have it.

 It's a little bit small on me in the sleeve department, but nothing unbearable. It's super cozy and great to wear around on these frigid days when all I want to do is stay in bed and wear a hoodie. This is a good alternative that allows me to be just as warm and less of a bum. Pullovers are so classy, right? Right. And this one is green, so....come on. Can't fail, here.

Those cables!!!

Do you see how poofy the collar is? So thick. So warm. Love it.

 I also scored two tea cups for a dollar and the Rescue Mission Mart. I have been in such a cutesy mood since we moved and these swirly cups just called to me.

"Carolyn, Carolyn, you don't have your own house but you need us! Drinking tea out of us will make you feel like you aren't living in someone else's house. You'll feel fancy!"

So I bought them. Because teacups.

And a few parting fashion shots of outfits I compiled out of stuff I had on hand and my new goodies. I had to play with them once they were all washed. Couldn't help it. No regrets.

Had to crop my derp face out. It was pretty special.

 That teal top with my first pair of prego jeans. Awwww yeah. Elastic on top. I know it doesn't look like it in this picture, but the bump is making itself known. And making me not be able to fit in my clothes. Haha. But this is the best reason for not fitting. A baby is coming!!

Love dis outfit.

And this red maxi skirt and I are going to be bffs, I can already tell. I got it a couple of weeks ago and already want to pair it with everything. Maxi skirts > sweatpants. So comfy. So flowy. So good.

That about wraps that up! Have you had any good thrift scores lately??
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Darling Deer Hat: A Custom Order

Oh deer!

 An adorable custom ordered deer hat for a return customer! Nothing warms me up more than having a customer come back for more. Except perhaps, when they come back in want of a custom order!

Right before the move, a customer contacted me on Etsy in want of a deer hat. This was in fact, the same customer who ordered this unicorn hat before Christmas. I was a bit wary to take on an order, considering the high rate of possibility that I could completely lose the project in the midst of packing and chaos. But this dear lady assured me she was in no rush to get the hat. So we settled to details and I got some yarn and started cracking!

Oh, and you get a sneak peek in these pics for tomorrows post! Hehe. Guess what it is?

 I cannot tell you how incredibly pleased I am with the outcome of this hat. She wanted the antlers to be felted, which I thought was super fun. I got to pop them in the washing machine and let the wool work its magic on the spin cycle. Easy peasey, with a super cute turn out. I could not help but take a few pics of the hat at this stage. I love it so much just plain like this!!

Such a cute lil Bambi.

The customer wanted some flowers as embellishments, so I may have gone a bit overboard. Not really, but them are some bold blooms, yo! The big one is deep purple with a faded pink center to match the two little flowers. I think it is super whimsical and romantic. Which is good. Yes.

I feel like you could wear this hat to a tea party. Flowery and cute.

I made up my own pattern for the flowers. Too fun!!

Dem antlers, yo. I love.

I really didn't want to take it off.

Hopefully she is just as smitten with it as I am. I love lovelovelove LOVE custom orders! Never know what sort of adorable things my customers will dream up. This hat has inspired me to work out a lil baby version of this Darling Deer hat. Keep your eyes peeled!!

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Crochet Scrap Blanket: Fourteen Years in the Making

My grandmothers both impressed upon me a desire to save any useful thing. As a result, I've been saving my scraps of yarn since I was eight years old. I wound them into a big ball with plans that when, someday far off in the future, I was pregnant, I would make a scrappy rainbow blanket.

Many people have seen my ridiculously huge yarn ball and have heard my plans for it. At long last, the day has come. I'm expecting my first child and that means it's time to work on a huge blanket made of little pieces of past projects.

It's a bit emotional for me, and no, that's not just the pregnancy hormones talking. I've been saving this yarn since two years after I learned to crochet. That's essentially my whole crocheting life wrapped up on this ball. It's just kind of supernatural to think "Wow, I planned this project when I was a little kid...and now I'm doing it because I'm going to have a kid." All the years of wondering who I will marry, what my life will be like, and how it will really feel to know that I am going to soon be a mother, and now it's happening. To say that all this is "exciting" is a bit of an understatement.

Before adding all my scraps I had on hand

 I had a pretty substantial ball before I added all the other scraps I had on hand, so you can imagine that I was excited to see how beastly the ball would become when I finished adding all the yarn. It weighed in at about six pounds!! The pictures do not do it justice. This thing is massive.

After adding all the scraps I had around

I had decided on what type of blanket to make long ago: a ripple afghan. Every winter, my Grandma who taught me to crochet makes a "mountain" blanket. Of course, since this whole project is all about the past and the future being meshed together, I needed to do a similar blanket.

However, I did change a few things. She always crochets hers in single crochet. SINGLE CROCHET. I tell you, she is a mad woman. I went with double crochet for mine because not only will it go a bit faster, I decided that if I don't finish it before the weather gets warm, it will be a more bearable blanket to work on in the summer.

Humble beginnings

So, before we moved down here, I started on the blanket. I kind of got a little obsessed with working on it. I mean, come on. I've been waiting 14 years to make this! And each scrap of yarn is a memory of a project. It's such fun seeing the colors work with each other in such unexpected ways. I could not have asked for a better outcome so far!

Here you are seeing pictures from what the blanket looked like about a month ago. It's grown a bit since then. Heh. In fact (to my horror) I ran out of yarn. I guess I've been spoiled by knitting and forgot how much yarn is required for double crochet. Oops. But, never fear. This blanket will go on. I have been hounding scraps from my mom, sister, aunt, and close friends. I will have plenty of yarn to finish this beast up. Plus, it kind of gives the project even more sappy sentimental value: just like me, it is made up of pieces from the people who love me. Awwwwwwww.

Come on, you know you like the sap.

Currently, the Scrapghan is about 6 feet wide and 4 feet long. This monster is going to be the ultimate cuddle blanket, I swear. I am already picturing blanket forts made of it. It will be glorious.

-Swoon- Family, history, scraps, and memories all in one project? I don't know if I'll be able to top this one for "amount of feels in a craft project".

Have you ever made a scrap blanket? How did it go? (Crochet, knit, quilted or whatever it is you do.)
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An Update and a DIY: What's in the Cards for us?

As you may have noticed, I have been sort of missing in action the last few weeks. Things have been a touch crazy here since Phase #1 of our big move. In fact, they have been so crazy that our entire plan for moving and the whole reason we were going to move across the country fell apart.

Say whaattt?

Yeah, that's kind of how I felt when it all happened. The job Sailor got out West has been postponed until further notice. His employer gave him the choice to wait it out, or say "no thanks" and pursue other opportunities. After much talking and prayer, we went with the latter option. That meant that a) we were no longer moving, b) he didn't have a job anymore, and most importantly c) we would be staying in the area where both our families live. Pros and cons all over the place. And stress. Did I mention I was a bit stressed about all this? I was. Juussttt a bit.

This story has an amazingly happy ending though. Within four days of saying "no thanks" to several months of waiting to move and not having a pay check, Sailor got a job. What. A. Blessing. I cannot stop thanking God for providing for us. I mean, the job market is a bit slim where we will be living now, and he was able to find a job in four days. Four days people!! I've been doing my happy dance for a week now. Booyah!

How well this all worked out makes me feel super silly for stressing out so much. God finds a way to make schtuff happen no matter what. Gotta look through the clouds and rain and prepare for the sun.



Speaking of rain, it was super gross-nasty in the Midwest last week. Nasty rain-snow slush poo winter weather. I am so ready for spring. The last few days though, there's been hope. Sunshiney, slightly above freezing-y hope. But it's supposed to be below zero in a few days again. Gotta take what I can get, I suppose.

Bleck. Rainsnow.

 What better way to cheer the sloopy weather than by making pretty things?? And what better than making pretty things you can send to other people to spread the cheer?? I don't know! What could be better? Nothing, I think.

There is nothing more cheerful than a big stack of mail to send that isn't all bills.

 I've been taking any downtime I've had these last crazy weeks to distract myself with crafting. My sister is giddy with joy that Sailor and I will be in the area so she can throw "a billion baby showers" for Baby Z. Her words, not mine.

With the prospect of many thank you notes in need of being written in the near future, I decided to get a jump on making thank you cards. I promise, I'm not one of those crazy overachievers who creates time-intensive and stunning cards. I make simple cards. I don't know if it even counts as making cards, because really, I just stamp cute stuff on some cards and call it a day.

REGARDLESS. I am very pleased with these ahdorable cards I churned out.

I had all the stamps on hand from various impulse buys at Michael's. Their dollar stamps are irresistible!! Dat hedgehog! Come on. Can you blame me?

I also found the blank cards and envelopes at Michael's. They were sold in sets of 8 for $1.50. I bought two packages of cards with lil word bubbles cut out of them. I also bought a blue ink pad (also $1.50).

So my grand total so far for these thank you notes is: $4.50. Breaking the bank here, yo. That's probably cheaper than buying sixteen thank-you notes, and I got the added joy of designing my own.

I can't get over that hedgie. Sooo cuuutteee.

I am having a very hard time not knowing what gender Baby Z is. I just want to theme all the things. All the baby colors and things and stuff. It's hard to be neutral. -dramatic sigh- At least hedgehogs are pretty neutral, right? The flowers might be a little girly, but it's close enough, right?

Love the cut out! So fun.

 And because doing 16 cards wasn't enough, I had to dazzle up the envelopes too. It's totally legit to have matching cards and envelopes; it makes the card seem even more special!!! I stuck with the same stamps, even though I was tempted to use all the stamps I own on the outside. Gotta practice restraint sometimes.

Gotta have matching envelopes!!

Return address fancy-ness. I feel so posh.

I was surprised how fast I got done with all the baby thank yous. I had some other kind folks I needed to thank for non-baby related things, so I decided to make some other notes to send out. And since I only have black and blue ink, I went with nautical themed thank-yous. It may or may not also be true that I have a ton of nautical stamps. Maybe. Kinda. I have a theme problem. It's a bit of an obsession.

AHOY SHIPMATE!!!

I had to make the cards for these notes, but it was super easy. I snatched some cardstock, measured my envelopes, and went to town. I added graph paper accents because, why not? Plus, the blue lines match my blue ink and matching is best. Always.

One of my fave stamps: "Just a Quick Note"

Again, matching envelopes. I cannot resist the matchingness.

I just love getting and sending mail. I've already used one of the baby notes and three of the nautical ones. I have a hankering to make even MORE cards and just send them to people. If I have your address, beware. Prepare your mailbox for an overload. Hehe.

Do you make cards?
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