Thrift Find- Book Storage

A few weeks ago I posted about my theme for this year: Everything has a place. The lovely little book shelf my husband brought home was enough space for our ever growing collection of food related books, but we still had a plethora of other books to contend with. The formerly formal dining room in our home is an dumping ground for things we don't know what to do with. It has a recliner my husband doesn't like to sit in, an odd table, boxes of magazines, and a hanging chandelier that people can bump their heads on.

This room will grow as our family grows. I can imagine we'll gate this space off for future kiddos and then it will become the reading/homework room and the family computer will eventually reside in here. But for now it'll hold our newest book storage solution!

Isn't she lovely?! I found her at a local used furniture place. Actually "the place" is more like a steel Morton building with no heat that I was scavenging around in the middle of a January snow storm. But totally worth it! She's solid walnut and in good condition. The top portion is removable. When I saw her in the barn I called my husband (at work) to tell him how much I liked her. I had to give my disclaimer that this piece was more my style of furniture, but if he trusts me I know some minor tweaks would bring her to out of the 70's and into our home. (Now how could he not trust me!) So I put the money down, traded some babysitting for a friend to haul her home for me and there she sits. Eventually we'll put built in bookcases in this corner for a library effect, but for $150 I think I got an excellent deal. You can't buy a good Target bookshelf that won't sag for under that.

I promised my husband I would switch out the hardware and replace the woven thatch in the side panels. The hardware will be easy, the thatch is another thing. At first I thought it would pop right out and I would use it as a template for its glass replacement. Then we could see the books lost in the far right and left portions of the shelves. But its glued onto a solid piece of wood that runs underneath the trim. Hmmm. I may need someone with more knowledge to help me remove it.

The bottom portion holds all of our board games, odd household papers and some DVDs. I thought for sure the drawers would be able to store all our DVDs but the cases are 1/8'' to high! If they did fit, it would have been perfect.

Everything has a place

I do have a theme for this year and that theme is "Everything has a place." We have officially been moved into our home for 16 months and we still had boxes just jammed into an upstairs bedroom. Our household nemesis is books. In particular, we may have an problem with collecting cookbooks.

So here is the dilemma.

• A crazy amount of cook books.
• Storage near the kitchen is key.
• Limited budget.

So check this out!

I love it! Don't hate me either when I tell you I got it for FREE! My husband's company is renovating their offices and updating all the furniture. They offered the employees a chance to buy back the old desks, shelving, etc... So my husband calls me. I drive down for a look. We were looking for some metal shelving for the garage/basement, when as I walked through the sea of cubicles I turned the corner and saw IT. "Be still my heart," I said. Turns out a co-worker of his brought this in from his own home. So don't go thinking there was a plethera of oak furniture around for the taking. Try to imagine a basement that hasn't been cleaned in 30 years, drop ceilings, florescent lights, and late 80's laminate furniture. So, yeah. Clearly a gem. In an effort to make this long story shorter, I begged my husband to speak with the owner of this bookshelf to see if he still wanted it. Weeks go by and nothing. I ask husband again. He says it was thrown away! I almost died. I immediately asked if he checked the dumpster! Little did I know he was just pulling my leg and he surprised me with it around Xmas. Little stinker. So anyways, it is exactly what we need.

(I'm not usually a OMG kind of gal but "OMG look! It has a working key!")

Am I the only grown women that still has a childhood thing for things that lock and secret places? Because I really want to build a secret passage way in my house.

Just a few random photos

Over Thanksgiving I scoured a couple thrift and consignment stores for some new books. Since our Xmas present to ourselves was a vacation (just got back!) I wanted a few new books to read. I read through Three Bags Full in a day and a half. Throughly mindless entertainment which what I was going for. I rarely read fiction, so it was a nice escape and had me laughing out loud at times. And I am over half way on the Handmade Life. I stopped flagging recipes in the book since I was flagging every other one! Lots of cooking inspiration in there. I didn't read as much as I thought I would. The hot tub and massages took up a lot of time!

Before we left for vacation, Jeff hung up a new coat rack in the mudroom. I found it Ikea and just tried to find a link to it, but had no luck. I wanted extra hooks to allow guests to always have a spot to hang up their coats but it had to have a slim profile to not interfere with the door opening and closing from the garage. It is a perfect fit! And to our amazement, the predetermined spots on the back of the coat rack where it is suppose to attach to screws mounted in your wall were actually spaced to accommodate mounting into wall studs. So it is very secure!

And I spent a little time in my cashmere stash and made this sweet broach using this tutorial located on Holidash. I made use of my glue gun with this project because I decided I just had to have it made in one evening. I used my most favorite vintage sparkling button for the center. I want to make a few more because they would make super sweet gifts. And I'd like to make a smaller one for my hair. After completing this project, I decided I need to grow dahlia's in the garden this year. The root stock is crazy expensive, but I ran into a local gardener over the summer that says each year she digs up her dahlia roots and they double in size each year allowing her to split them and have free plants each year. Too bad I didn't get her number! If any gardener is reading this and finds that they have too many dahlia plants, I'll trade you some canna lilies for them! :P

And because my husband is amazing he also surprised me with this and this for Xmas!

Finish Skirt!

I have to say that pin tucks aren't as easy as they look. Using a twin needle and special foot may require a bit more practice. Maybe I missed something? There was certainly a lack of information online about sewing pin tucks. The lady at the sewing store did give me the tip about adjusting the bobbin tension. It worked somewhat, but I really really hate to mess with the tension on my machine.
Regardless of my troubles, the skirt is finally done and I plan on wearing it in public.

Tomorrow we leave for Panama. (Bocas Del Toro, Panama) We have some friends that are currently living there and they invited us down for a visit. We couldn't say no could we? This past weekend we spent some time preparing for our trip which included lots of laundry and a trip to Borders where I picked up two fun books. 99% of the time I am a non-fiction reader, but I needed some imagination and ended up purchasing Water for Elephants and The Friday Night Knitting Club (BOGO 1/2 off!) Jeff proceeded to tell me by just holding the Knitting Club book he was growing a set of ovaries. So I suppose I made a good plane ride reading choice. :)

48 hours before departure I decided that I needed a new bag to hold my new books. It took me over 8 days to finish the skirt. How would I finish a new bag? This is what it looked like this morning. I made it up as I went. Just measuring, cutting, interfacing, and sewing. No looking back.
It was finished a 7pm this evening. I got to use some new Amy Butler fabric. It's your standard over-sized tote with a pocket on each side of the exterior and 2 slip pocket, a zipper pocket and pen holder on the interior. 4'' finished gusset/ fully interfaced. Maybe you'll get an action shot of the finished bag and skirt in Panama!

See you all in about a week or so.....

Thanks for all the sewing machine love! I got that baby oiled up and ready to work. One good thing about the older models (as many of you pointed out) is all the gears are made of metal and rarely do they ever get out of time. I still have to take in to get serviced, but right now it's acting as a well needed bedside table. Got to make do with what you got right!

Last week I drove by a huge fabric sale hosted by the local womens auxiliary. I swung in after work and found this very groovy Singer sewing book. It is by far the most colorful sewing book I have read. But it has some good tips on altering patterns and sewing 3-D object. So this book along with the Alabama Stitch book, Sew U: Home Stretch, and How to Eat Supper are all sitting around the house to be read. I am so serious about sewing clothing this summer. I figured I would start with a T-shirt design. I picked up the pattern Simplicity 4589 during JoAnn's $1.99 sale. AND DID YOU KNOW Simplicity now offers a B,C,D cup adjustment collection? Hello? This is where some of my fit problems come from! I see two work dresses in my near future.

Oh, also in the photo above I found that huge roll of chocolate polka dot bias tape. Oh ya! I have completed a few sewing projects recently, but they are all gifts. And since word has spread about my little blog space here, I have to wait till the recipients get their gifts before I post.

Keeping busy

I can count on one hand the days until I am home from Chicago.

I am so excited to get back on my sewing machine. I think I may try my hand at sewing clothing again. Staying at a hotel for 28 nights will make you get out to do some shopping. I found two great dresses on clearance that fit me perfectly. Now I can use those measurements to adjust patterns. I also browsed those expensive brands to see what details they are including in there designs and picked up a few ideas.

By the way, if you are looking to go camping Old Navy is selling tents labeled as shirts. Seriously, absolutely no structure in most of their designs. I felt like I was trying on pillowcases and looked just as attractive.

I also spent some time at the book store checking out the new Amy Butler book "Midwest Modern". I really enjoyed looking through all the pages. If I didn't have to worry about overweight luggage I would have bought it. Barnes and Noble's didn't have her "Sew-It Kit" available, but I am excited to look at that when I can.

I also browsed Joelle Hoverson's "Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts". I can see myself making a project or two from this book.

I ended up coming home with the latest edition of Threads magazine. I really enjoy all the tips they include. I will definitely be using some of their articles when I restart my clothes making adventure.

When I do get home I have to unpack my sewing room. I am very excited about putting up my $8 brand new thrifted curtains. Time to make another place a home!

Fun with sheets

I finally cut into the stockpile of thrifted sheets that has been piling up. I really don't feel bad if I mess something up when I use them. I mean at $1.00 to $1.50 per pop that's a lot of cheap yardage.


I used these two patterns. The stripey fabric (which was a king size sheet!) I cut on a 45 degree angle to make a saw tooth pattern. I think it turned out neat. I didn't make any premeasurements. I just decided to cut and sew as I go.


It turned out rather large. The front panels are 18''x18'' with a 3 '' gusset made of recycled jean denim. I used the hem of the sheet for the handles. I added two large interior pockets and called it quits. This bag would be perfect for an overnight stay or one fruitful flea market adventure.


I made a skirt for myself out of the stripey fabric too. I used the same saw tooth technique. I used the book "Sew What? Skirts!" for help drafting the pattern. I have discovered that I overestimate roominess. And draw string skirts are not flattering on me. Only zipper a-line skirts for me here on out. But I will still wear it. I had to do some major reconstruction after I tried it on and it was 4 sizes too big for me. But it hasn't been warm enough to wear so I haven't taken any pictures.

Today was a wonderful day and I hope tomorrow follows suit. I spent the day with my parents and sister at the VA Beef Expo. It was fun. I enjoyed the classic ribeye steak sandwich for lunch, but was disappointed when they served it on a hamburger bun. I mean come on? Hamburger bun? Now that's just silliness. I also put a dent in the new book I am reading- "The spirit catches you and you fall down" A Hmong Child. Her American doctors. And the collision of two cultures. By Anne Fadiman

It's turning into a really good book. I might stay up and finish it tonight.

New inspiration

Last week I was running my errands and a thrift store was on my way. I said "why not?" and stopped in for a brief visit. And I am glad I did because I found the cutest metal hutch for sale. Awful color, but that's why us thrifters are blessed with seeing potential!

It cleaned up quite nicely. Before it was a mustard-y/green. But the mustard must have been nicotine because now its a faded sage green with a hint of yellow. The color still doesn't do anything for me, so I am considering a deep red. But alas, we are still renting and the remodel will have to wait until we have a well ventilated space. Until then it is sitting in our mishmash mess of a living room. Which is OK because we are living like college students until we purchase a house. No sense buying furniture that won't match or fit into a new home! And in case you are wondering the milk crates are stacked and acting as end tables. :p

But it fits all my crafting supplies and fabric. It's fulfilling its purpose and that is a good thing.

This weekend I also picked up the book Sew U by Wendy Mullin with Eviana Hartman. It's the basic "how to sew clothing" book I have been craving. I finally understand how to read a pattern. It is not Greek! And understanding the basics of how fabric acts on the bias, weft, warp, etc... was a great for me. I mean I knew all the terms, but not what they really implied. Oh, and how to finish an edge. I never made garments before because I don't like unfinished edges and I don't have a serger. This book shows three different alternatives.

I can't wait to get started. Also while thrifting I picked up this ugly styled house dress with the most beautiful black and white print for $2. It's a few sizes too big for me, but a perfect item to try and refashion into something I would wear. I love the challenge of it! It's actually a hand-made item too. But the fabric is quite thin and it I wore any underwear you'd see it. So I also must make a lining for it or buy a slip. I haven't worn a slip since I was 6.

Once I refashion the item I'll show before and after pictures. It's a beautiful day today and plan on spending most of it outside!