Hubby and I had a late start this morning, after a night out at the Iron Horse Festival, where Itty Bitty played another gig, filling in on bass for TWO bands!  But when we had finally rubbed the sleep from our eyes, we hit the Talbot Trail, first travelling west as far as Fingal, and then doubling back as far east as Aylmer for the annual Talbot Trail of Yard Sales. 

I brought home several bags of fabric scraps, and came out alright with a nice handful of older calicoes which will go nicely into my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, lots of Christmas fabrics (most of them Kauffman), 2 yards of the Debbie Mumm chicken fabric, and a stack of others that I will burn test later to see if they can earn a home in my stash.  In exchange for a quarter, I received two old Sampler Quilt calendars.  There's a photo and pattern for each block of the month.  One is all stars, and one is traditionals.  They will be a good reference.

My FAVOURITE FIND????  HAS TO BE - - HANDS DOWN - - the Nellie McClung 1912 book of short stories.  Among the stories written by Canada's famous suffragette and politician (among lots of other wonderful things as well, to be sure) is one entitled "The Elusive Vote".  CLICK HERE to see a little video from Histor!ca about Nellie McClung, and then, let me share the Dedication:

To the Pioneer Women of the West, who made life

tolerable, and even comfortable, for the others of

us ; who fed the hungry, advised the erring,

nursed the sick, cheered the duying, comforted the

sorrowing, and performed the last sad rites for

the dead;

The beloved Pioneer Women, old before their time with

hard work, privations, and doing without things,

yet in whose hearts ther was always burning the

hope of better things to come;

The godly Pioneer Women, who kept alive the

conscience of the neighbourhood, and perserved for us

the best traditions of the race;

To these noble Women of the early days, some of whom

we see no more, for they have entered into their

inheritance, this book is respectfully dedicated by

their humble admirer,

                                           The Author.

I picked up another book by a mor contemporary Canadian authoress Gail Anderson-Dargatz "A Recipe for Bees".  Ah....yet another book for the shelf, that I'll never have time to read.  I got a few other treasures: a blanket, some other books, a silver bookmark, all cut with Celtic knots that Baby Soldier will like, a little china kitten, and other things.

Oh!  We did much better this morning than past weeks.  I think this is the first Saturday all summer that it hasn't rained, but I won't swear to it - - the day is young, it may just rain yet! For the second year, we went to scrounge the  Town wide yard sales in Thorndale. In addition to the quilty stuff in the photos, I also bought a desk and chair ($20), two brand new memory foam pillows, still in the boxes ($30) a dress, two pair of jeans, a skirt and a top for myself ($14) and STUFF!

• a tablet of air-mail writing paper - I thought this would be good for printing paper foundation patterns
• "Quilts, Quilts, and More Quilts"
• a couple of books to add to the stack I'll never get to read
• pattern to make bags, totes,and stuff
• tin coin bank with Cathedral Windows quilt and cats
• a trinket box shaped like a sewing machine
• a toy sewing machine - unfortunately, not a "SINGER"  - I think it's Necchi??
• a vintage lamp that I'll need to rewire.  I'm in love with it.  It's small, but in good shape.
• A crystal lidded bowl.  It's filthy, and rusty - but rings true, and I bet it was a lot of money when it was first purchased.  I'll shine it up, and store buttons in it or spools of thread or something.
• FABRIC!!!!!! 

EVEN A GROCERY BAG FULL OF SCRAPS!

We were up before the crack of dawn, and on the road to Bothwell, Ontario for town-wide yard sales (It's Civic Holiday in Ont, Canada).What a nice day we had!  It was just nice to have Hubby's uninterupted time for the hour on the road, enjoying our morning coffee-to-go, and then scrounging for treasures in a little friendly town that neither of us had visited before.  We took gravel roads all the way home, with the truck windows rolled down and going perhaps a little faster than was expressly necessary.  Lots of fun! 

The final stop on the tour was lunch at Mackie's in Port Stanley.  Unless you are semi-local, this mention of Mackie's is meaningless.  Locals, however?  Drooling on their keyboards.  Words fail when it comes to that secret fry sauce.  And where else are you going to get cole slaw on your hot dog?

Now you know we found some good bargains.  Here's my quilty finds:

I got the two shoeboxes full of sewing items for 50¢ each.  Each of the quilting magazines (all of them less than a year old) were 25¢, as were each of the metal storage boxes.  I paid $2 for the Quilt Masterpieces book.  And look at the little puppy head to put my glasses on!  Isn't he cute?  And worth every penny of the 50¢  I paid for him.  Oh, I got a handful of ugly ties for a dime, and some books that I'll never get to read.  Hubby got some great bargains too!

It was a short morning of yard sale-ing, as we needed to be home early for a funeral, and we really didn't find too much.  Again, a couple of books.  But I have to show you the funky fabric I picked up.  It's vintage, and I haven't given it a burn test yet, but it was irresistable.  Of course I refer to the one on the right.  I found these old fashioned sock shaper/stretcher/dryer thinger-ma-bobs too, for all the socks I'm knitting in Psych lecture.

I got a box full of vintage threads and trims, and after sorting out what was of no use to me, I still have a shoebox full.  And this cute little framed picture of the log cabin quilt hanging over a split rail fence only cost me a quarter.

Today I must get caught up on laundry today, so maybe I'll work on a few blocks between loads

Ah....it's getting more difficult to find authentic treasures these days, as summer swoops by.  But I did manage to find a few little treats, though nothing spectacular.

I picked up this dirty, yellowed zippered bag full of sewing things for a quarter.  I could tell that most of it was going in the trash from across the yard, but suspected I might find twenty-five cents worth of something when I got a chance to sort through it.  Here's what I found:

There's a half dozen of those little lace applique pieces that might be nice as an embellishment on something or other, The Mettler thread is brand new, with the plastic wrap still around the thread, and the metallic threads might be fun to play with at some point. 

I spied the pattern to make fabric slippers at another yard sale (fifty cents).  On our way home, I stopped at the fabric store to buy a 14" zipper for a purse I want to sew today (the price 1.60) and then went to the next block to the thrift store, and found another 14" zipper for 11 cents!!!!  That will be a reminder to me to look at zippers with a more open mind when I see them at yard sales and thrift stores.

Lastly I picked up a few books: "The Jane Austen Book Club" (a dime)  and "Pilgrim" (a quarter). 

Slim pickings out there this morning.  I picked up a couple of books (which I'll never have time to read, but, hey...I'm an incurable optimist).  I pulled some cotton fabrics out of a box of material scraps, and paid a quarter for the bundle.  They are all seasonal/holiday prints, and one of them is quite a large piece of Mary Engelbreit Hallowe'en fabric.  This must be Mary Engelbreit week or something.  I also got a large plastic storage box to hold scraps and stuff, and a beautiful old book for fifty cents.

If anyone can tell me anything about this book or the author, I'd appreciate it.  I think the cover is just lovely.

But oh...how hot and muggy it is.  I'm indoors for the remainder of the day for sure now.

No treasures today of a quilty nature.  The closest I got was this little ceramic basket that I thought I would put on the shelf in my laundry room (right next door to where I sew) to store my clothespegs in.  It's a cute little thing, and is more likely to make me smile than the freezer bag I keep them in presently!

Baby Soldier has texted that he's already made the first leg of his journey.  He enjoyed his first flight, and his next flight is delayed.  He won't get to his final destination until near midnight tonight, if indeed, not later.

All is quiet here.  I think I'll indulge in a bubble bath, put on a nightie, and sew the evening away (and watch Baby Soldier's flights online!)

Gorgeous day out today.  Unfortunately, DH isn't feeling all that hot.  He's been rubbing his belly for three days, and I suspect he's developing another flare up of diverticulitis.  His doctor has clinic hours this morning, so he's gone there now, and I imagine they will send him back home with prescriptions for two antibiotics and an order for a couple days of clear fluids and bedrest (which he'll ignore).  I'll confess I nagged a bit, and the winning argument was: "Do you want to wait until you have to spend three weeks in the hospital, or would three hours in the waiting room NOW be better?"  Anyway, he tried valiantly to pretend that he was absolutely fine, but I'd catch him in the corner of my eye, supporting his RLQ when he walked, and everytime we drove over a bump he'd quietly "oof!" So, we came home early for our treasure hunting.

I picked up a small box of men's neckties.  I had to show you a close up of these two.  The flowers on the blue tie are dimensional and lacy, and I like the "embroidered" look of it..  The second tie has tiny yellow teddy bears woven into it.  I have no intention of doing a quilt with ties, but my grandmother has expressed interest, so when I see a good deal, I get them for her. 

I got a basket of goodies for a dollar.  I find these baskets irresistable, because one never knows what's going to be lurking in the bottom of those baskets.  One of my favourite finds in the basket is the tiny metal screwdriver (not the yellow one).  It's marked "Simanco" which I believe is related to the Singer sewing machine company somehow - (one of you more clever ladies will fill me in on that) - and I've already stuck it on my magnetic pin cushion to keep handy for popping off  the throat plate of my machine for a quick clean.

The flower shaped buttons will make a cute embellishment on something, someday - a few spools of handquilting thread, and two stencils for making foundation patterns and some other things. 

I also picked up a pair of vintage pillowcase embellished with hand embroidered ladies wearing crocheted hoop skirts. Please consider this an object lesson (Joanne, I'm talking to YOU!).  If you have beautiful linens stored in your closet that you've never used because they are "too good" for ordinary use......use them.  Your children will not treasure them.  They will sell them at a yard sale - - or in this particular case - - will give them away for free.  (When I asked the price of them, the seller snatched them from my hand, shoved them in the basket I had bought and said "oh just take them!")

I've been "cutting" not "sewing".  I've cut my next three quilts.  One is all scraps, and I've pieced two blocks.  The other is a kit that I got a few months ago.

I did, however, finish a quilt top on Thursday evening.  It was a mystery quilt from Persimmon Quilts.

I suppose I should share my yard sale finds of the day.  It was POURING when we stepped out this morning, but being hard-core yard sale-ers, a little precipitation wasn't going to keep US home.

I got quite a LOT of fabric this morning. The bottom three have quite a bit of 80's flavour to them, but the other 4 will be nice to have in the stash.  White-on-white prints are always a welcome addition.  The sewing machine is a music box that plays "A Few of my Favourite Things" - so cute!  I picked up a couple of cook books and an APA Style Guide which will come in handy over the next few years.  I also got a couple of things for the garden. 

Yesterday, after my hair appointment I went thrift shopping.  I didn't find any treasures, really, except a PINK bucket.  I don't know what the heck I'm gonna do with a pink bucket, but it was pink...it had to be brought home.  But I did pop into a fabric store that I said I'd never go into again.  (never say never, I guess!) They bag up samples from their sample books, and sell them by the freezer bag full for a dollar.  I treated myself to a few baggies for a treat. Look at the little Scottie dogs on the pink background!  Love them!  And I couldn't resist the vintage-y looking Hallowe'en prints.

I FINISHED something yesterday.  I've been working on this Messenger Bag for several weeks now.  It's front and back have charm squares, and there's lots of quilted pockets.  I sewed some flower shaped buttons at the centres of the 3-D pinwheels

One final thing to share: another Dear Jane block: H1 Peek-a-boo

It was a little grey out there, and a few drops of rain fell, but I managed to find a few treasures.

1. 3 carabiners that say "Canadian Forces" on them.  The boys will like them. Three for 25¢
2. 8 vintage ties (not for me - my grandmother is pondering the idea of making a quilt from ties) The gold one and the royal blue with lilac diamonds one are my favourites. All eight for 25¢
3. White muslin sheet - PERFECT for my Dear Jane backgrounds - $1
4. Retro sheet - ooooh....imagine matching cloth grocery bags - $3
5. Old tin with embossed kitten on top - 25¢
6. Embroidered pillowcases and vintage tea towel.  The tea towel has never been used.  It still has the adhesive from a sticker on it.  Let this be a lesson to you: do not save your nice linens because they are "too good" to use for everyday.  Some day when you're dead and gone, your children will donate them to a church rummage sale, and someone will buy them for 75¢ (total)
7. Quilt books.  They are worthy of a look, and much cheaper than a magazine.  I paid $2 for the three of them.