yard sale-ing I will go…


ย I’ve never been a big garage or yard sale-ing person. I prefer to go to thrift stores-to use a shopping cart, and to also walk around checking things out without the person who’s things they were, there.

(wow, could I have written a more confusing sentence? actually I probably could…better not try, for all our sakes)ย 

Yet Saturday for some inexplicable reason I wanted to go check some out, so we all piled in the car mid morning to see what we could find. After a stop at the bank, and a trip through the car wash (which neither of the girls cared for), we headed off to find some junk treasures!
We hit up a couple, drove past even more, and ended up getting some books at the few we did stop at. Golden Books for the collection, and some children’s classics. The one in the back was free-the guy’s dog had torn up the binding so he just gave it to us. I love Richard Scarry’s illustrations, so I’m brainstorming a fun project to use it for. I spent $2.25 on all of these books.
Then we found it. The Mother Lode-the Shangri La-the best yard sale I’ve ever been to. I think it was more of an estate sale-actually, of a lady I once knew. Her daughter was my age in our church group, growing up. This lady passed away a few years back, and she was an avid quilter, seamstress, and crafter. At least that’s what I have to assume, by the amount of fabric, patterns, and supplies she had! The lady running the sale said there had been lots more too that she had sold already.ย 
So, I started looking through bin number 1 of, like, 15, and Rory started looking nervous, whislt wrangling two kids. So I took pity and we headed home for lunch (a quick one for me), and then I headed back out while Rory put the kiddos down for their naps. He’s kind of awesome like that. Doesn’t bat an eye when I want to dig through tons of fabric and there’s no telling how much I’ll bring home. ๐Ÿ˜‰
Anyways, on to the fabric I found! (I also found those cool block thingys in the above picture at the same sale)
I scored a sizable mound of cute scraps! Good thing I had just cleared out a bunch of my scraps. ๐Ÿ™‚
I also scored some adorable vintage patterns!
Also a stack of yardage-some quilting cottons, gauzey fabric, denim, muslin, etc.
These are a few of my favorites-I absolutely ADORE the alphabet fabric! I have a project in mind, I just hope I have enough of it!
The floral in the middle makes my heart go pitter patter.
A close up of some of my favorite scraps.
…and a few more!
I grabbed a bunch of these fab vintage christmas fabric-already cut into squares. I have every intention of making a quilt (hopefully this year!) with these adorable fabrics. I like the idea of finishing a quilt someone else set out to make, it makes it a little more meaningful.ย 
Anyways…I am giddy from my haul. The total? For all that fabric.
$10.00
Bestill my heart.

Comments

  1. For crying out loud… call me next time you find something like this! I’m a good sharer… ๐Ÿ™‚ So jealous!

  2. Jealous!!!! That is totally awesome for you… I guess this means I need to go yard-sale looking.

  3. Wow! What a haul! It is kind of strange actually looking at those pictures though…..I have a few of those fabrics! I wonder if that makes me a little bit of a hoarder!?

  4. Wow! I wish i had the patience to go to that kind of thing. It must feel great when you find something fantastic amongst the junk!

    p.s. the block thingies are called stickle bricks!

  5. oh how awesome!! i can’t wait to see what magic you come up with! ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Oh I am so jealous! A lovely bundle of fabrics and also all those patterns! Great find!

  7. Wowzers that is so awesome, I am so envious I don’t have any more words except enjoy!

  8. Such great finds! I also love Richard Scarry illustrations and I recently needed something to adorn the walls of my new baby daughter’s room – took apart one of my old Richard Scarry Golden Books and placed my fave pages in some simple white frames and voila! Gorgeous art for a gorgeous baby!

  9. Wowzers, you really scored! I guess you’ve been converted to yard sale shopper now! Those bricks are called Bristle Blocks. My two boys had them when they were young. What are you going to do with all that fabric? ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. hahhaha!
    Can’t be possible!!
    Here don’t exist yard sales…
    grrr

  11. wow! wow! I don’t even know what to say. It’s like I’m stuck on repeat….WOW. Lol. Those fabrics are fabulous! ……WOW!

  12. My mom comes home with boxes of fabric from yard sales. I have quite a bit thanks to browsing her finds. ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. You really did find the motherload!
    And for only $10!
    Can’t wait to see what you make out of it all.
    Oh and I loved Stickle bricks when I was a kid.

  14. Fabric looks amazing. Those blocks are ‘Sticklebricks’. My little boy loves the ones my Mother In Law kept which belonged to my husband and his brother. I’m sure your girls will love playing with them, and can’t wait to see what you create with this lovely stash.

  15. Very fun!

    I prefer thrift stores to yard sales too. At this point, it’s just so much easier to put my daughter in a cart, than to get her in and out of her car seat. Takes less gas too. ๐Ÿ˜€

  16. Shut up! $10? I am totally jealous. I don’t do yard sales either. They are so hit and miss. I tried a few years ago but all I did was waste gas driving around for a few hours and nothing to show for it. I can see how an estate sale would be better. Selling everything in the house instead of just the unwanted junk.

  17. I was given some vintage fabric a while back – I have some of those same prints!! I LOVE old fabric! And what a score on all the patterns! I have a stack of vintage ones that were also given to me that I have yet to go through and sort. I don’t usually like the clothes, but the bodice pattern pieces are good to have! Congrats on your awesome finds ๐Ÿ™‚ Can’t wait to see the super cute stuff you make!

  18. Oh my soul!!! I am jealous for ever!!! What a killer score!

  19. SCORE!!!! COngrats on the fab finds. I did scan your patterns to see if you found the one Ive been looking for. Not sure where its ended up. (insert frown here)

  20. I’m so jealous! I can’t wait to see all the cuteness you stitch up with that awesome fabric.

  21. Anonymous says

    Those block thingys are called Bristle Blocks. My kids had them when they were young – in the 80s.

  22. awesome finds jess. those fabrics are all soooo cute! ๐Ÿ™‚

  23. Wonderful finds!! I do quite a bit of garage saleing but don’t often find fabrics, although the other day I found a huge estate sale like the one you mentioned. This woman was a serious sewer, but she could have also been on Hoarders. There was an entire upstairs bedroom full of patterns… I am not exaggerating when I say that there were thousands. It was overwhelming. The fabric was all over the downstairs and backyard, and they were letting people fill huge plastic storage tubs with fabric for $5. I was in heaven. I had to send my husband and kids home, too. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Can’t wait to see what you make with all your finds!

  24. SCORE!!!!

  25. YEAH sticklebricks!! I love them almost as much as that fabric! Brilliant day for you, well done!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. Wow! You really did score… I cant wait to see what you make with all those scraps!
    ~JamieS

  27. My mom is a big yard sale shopper, and has been my whole life, so there is a soft spot in my heart for it. I just recently had a baby, and she found a Graco stroller/carseat combo that was in fabulous condition for $25. Now that I’ve just started sewing and crafting, she will bring me fabric and trims that she finds. I love it because I hate to buy expensive fabric and then waste it on my lack of talent. I can’t believe you found all that fabric for ten dollars though!

  28. Ohhhhh soooooo jealous! Congrats on the score!

  29. Fab finds on both the fabrics and the stickle bricks!

  30. You hit the mother lode! Wow! FYI old sewing tools (seam rippers for one) are better quality than what’s at the store. I always sort through boxes of notions and sewing accessories, I’ll offer a dollar for the whole box & usually get it.

    I like that you’re interested in making a quilt someone else started. I also have batches of cut pieces, and pieced squares I would love to see finished. I’m going to put some on etsy. If I can’t finish the project maybe I can find someone else who would put another layer of love into it. Maybe not a full quilt, but a pillow, wall hanging, or baby blanket would be nice.

    Those are bristle blocks. My son played with them when he was a toddler. His set also came from a garage sale!

  31. SCORE! What a great haul!

    I’m not a yard-sale person either. I’ve never found anything worthwhile at a yard sale. I don’t mind flea markets, though. And I love love love antique auctions.

  32. Are you kidding me?!?! Amazing finds!!!! PS we had those blocks when we were kids.

  33. Total awesome-ness! That is a bundle plus more. Love, love, love!

  34. Awesome score! The fabric and patterns are amazing but those Bristle Blocks are what I really love. The stuff they sell nowadays kinda suck. The original by Playskool are what you’ve got there, they have the big cubes which the new sets don’t have.

  35. Oh man. I am SO jealous. Haha. Way to go!

  36. OMG!!! What a score!

  37. Ah, nostalgia! We called those bricks ‘Nopper’ in Germany. I played with them in nursery, but totally forgot about them until your post. :o)

    Great haul of fabric, too!

  38. All this talk of sticklebricks is throwing me for a loop. When I had them as a kid they were bristle blocks. I wonder if they were made by different companies or the name changed at some point. Anyway… awesome finds, Jess. I love that you found fabric, and great fabric at that.

    Oh, and have you ever seen “I am a Bunny” by Ole Risom? It was illustrated by Richard Scarry, and it is much different (beautiful and really detailed) than the typical Richard Scarry illustrations (which I love, too).

  39. The blocks are Bristle Blocks, my kids have ours from when we were little!

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