better late than without photos

i had mentioned in one of my previous posts that i had a shy new camera, digi. after reading that post miss amybel was kind enough suggest a card reader so that mimi and digi really wouldn't even need to talk to each other. well i'm so happy to tell you all that it works wonders. i was able to transfer the pix i had taken to mimi and she was happily none the wiser about where they came from. so without further ado a story and some pix....

one fine, sunny, summer day, my mum and i took the two youngest boys with us sale-ing. we had already stopped at a couple of sales and really hadn't picked up anything of great note. the last sale we came across was a bit off the beaten path, meaning for the life of me i can't even remember where it was. we looked around and found a few things. my mum and i decided that i would watch the boys why she went to pay for the items. the boys and i wandered over to a flat bed trailer that had "manly" things on it. i also like to look at old tools and "manly" things because you never know when you might find some odd treasure or some rusty thing that inspires me to create something. I saw what looked to be a sewing machine case. I saw a price, written on some masking tape, that said $2. I figured a case for $2 wasn't bad and i could have fun decorating the outside of it. I went to look at the case more closely and discovered that it was actually quite heavy. something still resided inside. I unlatched the sides and lifted off the top. well what do you suppose was there? yup a sewing machine. i know startling, (grin). by this time my mum joined me. we both slyly looked at each other, and i quietly showed her the price. i could tell she had the same thought as i, was this really the price and did the thing work. she went back to ask about the machine, as i went to take the boys back to the car. i saw a gentleman start to bring over an extension cord. my mum came over to say that yes the machine was really only $2, and that it did work, he was bringing the cord over to show her how it ran. now sewing machines are my mum's area when it comes to how they sound and how they run. she has been sewing for the better part of her life. i on the other hand am as inexperienced about sewing machines as...a priest is in a bordello. now don't get me wrong i can sew, and i can thread a machine and make it go forward and backward. but as far as being able to say if the machine sounds good or it's running well, i'm a complete noob. The next thing I know the gentleman is walking towards the car with the machine in hand. needless to say my mum and i were very excited. i already have a sewing machine. one that my mum and dad gave to me about 20 years ago. it has worked well, but myrtle is getting a little tired. her foot pedal has some issues and ever once in awhile her stitches skip. she probably just needs a good going over and wee bit of adjustment. but my mum and i felt that maybe this new vintage sewing machine might be one thing to help poor myrtle get a break. 

lottie decided she wanted to introduce the newest member to our crafty home.

meet sadie the pink sewing lady. of course sedro, our wee sheep, had to get in the picture. he's such a ham.

this a closer look at sadie. she is pink as you can see. she is an atlas sewing machine. it just does the basic, forward and reverse straight stitch. i do need to get her a new rubber ring for her bobbin winder wheel, other than that, she is in great shape. 

she has a great decal on the plate of atlas with the world in his shoulder. the smaller design that runs around the edge is a small worlds. i have yet to put her through her paces, but i'm confident she will do great.

another amazing find i came across this sale-ing season made sadie quite happy. no it wasn't another machine. well i did find a couple of other machines but nothing like sadie. 

it was about a week ago. it was one of those weeks in which you find yourself rather casse (which is french for broke, or at least according to the film victor/victoria). i had to run to the store to pick up some milk. i was feeling rather glum but decided to stop by a garage sale that happens every year. there is always a bevy of things to go through. i figured i was sporting the last two dollars i had as spare change, and who knew what i might find. so i began to poke around. i over heard two ladies chatting, and realized that one of the ladies was the running the sale. her friend then asked how much she wanted for the fabric. me ears immediately pricked up and i realized i was standing right next to where she was pointing. i looked down and began to focus on a small pile of fabric. my curiosity quickly grew. the lady running the sale told her friend to fill up a bag and that she would make her a deal. i figure that this would apply to me as well. as i began to tentatively look through the fabric i realized that the pieces i was lifting up were quite heavy indicating that they were pieces with some yardage to them. i began to fill up my arms. i also began to notice that there were two more piles sitting off to the side that no one was even paying attention to . not only that but there was a plastic tote of trims sitting next to the fabric. i grabbed two trims and quietly asked another lady, helping with the sale, if she had a bag i could place the fabric in. she gave me a rather big bag and so i was able to place a few more "pieces" in. i looked around the sale and began to get a wee bit nervous. maybe the whole "fill a bag and i'll make you a deal" was only for her friend. or maybe her idea of deal would be different than mine. i took a deep breath and walked up to the table. both ladies that were running the sale were sitting at a table, when i approached i reminded the one lady about her deal for the fabric. i then offered her $2. at first she hesitated, but then she agreed. woo hooo! my mum had come over while i was out and i showed her what i had came across. we both got a twinkle in our eyes. my mum then asked if there was anymore fabric there. so we scrounged around the piggy bank and found two more dollars. i ran back down to the sale and even brought the bag they had given me to fill up again. when i approached the table where the two ladies sat, i announced that i was back. the lady said good and asked for the now customary two dollars. i quickly came home and my mum and i began to tote up exactly how much yardage we had gained. our nearest estimation, because we were doing the old stretch-your-arm-out-as-far-as-it-goes-with-one-end-of-the-fabric-and-touch-your-nose-with-the-other-end-of-fabric form of measuring off yards, was that we had bought 33 yards of fabric for $4.  yup that comes out to $.12 a yard. yes that's twelve cents. we were thrilled. 

here is what that much fabric looks like

the black fabric is 9 yards alone. 

i also picked up a few little bits of fabric and two pieces of faux fur to try and create a werewolf doll for the 

boys. two lace trims (there sitting next to lottie on the green suitcase) and a bag of various ric-rac.

this is a little better pix of the trim i found. it's two different types of lace edging.

this is where all that lovely fabric is living, along with some of the other fabric in our stash.. i placed them on cardboard cores and made them into mini bolts. it helps keep them neat and looking wonderful. 

cheers!