Thrift shop treasures

I have stopped going to garage sales, auctions and thrift stores because, quite frankly, we already have too much stuff!

However...........something told me to pop into our nearest Thrift Store today when I was in town.  A sixth sense or something like that.

I got 2 jigsaw puzzles, both 1000 pieces, an 18" doll, not an American Girl doll, but one of the  copycats, a set off embroidery rings, some green ribbon and a pair of big bum jeans.  All for the princely amount of $4.

I have had a hankering to do a jigsaw puzzle for a while now so they will be perfect. One of them for sure should be complete as it stated so on the box.

The doll will be a model for the doll clothes I want to make for our grand daughter.  I have looked on the internet and there are lot's of free downloadable patterns for these dolls.  I had mentioned in a previous post I would keep an eye out for a doll and I had looked on Facebook market place but couldn't find one under $40 so I am extremely happy with the $1 I paid for this one.

The embroidery rings will be used to make a dream catcher like the one I saw here on Artsy Fartsy's blog.

How to make a dream catcher using doilies

The ribbon will be used when making my Christmas cards this year and lastly the big bum jeans will come in handy this winter.

They are not pictured as they went straight into the washing basket.  I didn't try them on so if all else fails I will use the fabric from them for one thing or another.  For $1 it was worth the gamble.  They are a good brand and show no signs of wear.

The doll has some home made clothes on and I think the previous owner may have given her a hair cut but it is very well styled.  Her hair is actually lovely and very thick.

I was very happy with my little excursion into the Thrift Store today.

Hospital appointment for my husband's plasma exchange later this week.  He felt a little better for a couple of days but has been pretty worn out today.  The appointment is on my 70th birthday so we will travel up tomorrow night and go for a nice meal before he has to get it done the next day.  He won't be up for much afterwards.  

Had some pretty nice weather the past week or more, very welcome but unusual for this time of year. No doubt it will heat back up soon.

I made another hat

I must have a thing about hats. 😊

I made this one while the World Cup was on but forgot to post about it.

I like the color,  it was some yarn left over from the king size blanket I made.

Woopsie, I thought I had downloaded the picture from my camera, will be right back!

Here it is!

Waste not, want not and the Big guy!

Yesterday I set up and cleaned my SK155 knitting machine, aka The Big Guy.  It is so beaten up, poor thing, I am amazed it still knits, but it does. My husband says it has heart!

The story in a nutshell is that I bought it off ebay late 2013.  It was a reasonable price, $300 as they are quite sought after.  It arrived all battered and beaten up.  Obviously, it had been mishandled in the shipping as the sellers photographs showed it in good condition.  The cover was beaten and cracked as was the needle bed base which had been broken.  The carriage, seemed OK but it had lost one of the things that triggers the row counter.  I notified the shippers straight away and made a claim because the seller had insured it.  Eventually, they paid up and allowed me to keep the machine.  I got the full price and the shipping refunded.  So the Big Guy didn't cost me anything in the end.

I lovingly fixed it up the best I could, it has lots of duct tape where the plastic pieces got broken and cracked.  I was able to glue some bits back together and cobble the needle bed so it actually worked. The punch card operation still worked which is what makes it a sought after machine.

I bought a bulky machine because my husband wanted me to make him a bulky cardigan.  My preference is for a standard gauge machine which is what my SK 700 is.

I made him his cardigan and he loves it.

Then, for various reasons, I didn't use my knitting machines for three plus years.

After cleaning and oiling the Big Guy, I tried it and it knitted fine, better than I remembered.  So I did a sample piece and cast it off.

Now what to do with a white piece of knitting? The wool was not very soft, just some old acrylic that I had inherited from my MIL.

What else!

A toilet roll cover 😏

I added a bit of crochet trim and voila!

I also sewed up and trimmed the Barbie dress which is put away for our next visit from the grand kids.




I hate waste!!!!

Gave my knitting machine and ribber a whirl yesterday

I was like a bumbling nincompoop.  I had forgotten so much, even how to thread the yarn (wool)!  Good job I have all the manuals.

It took three or four attempts to cast on the ribbing correctly.  It knitted just fine once started.

I gave the machine a good oiling first so thought I would give it a test run.  I can tell you it isn't like riding a bike!  You do forget, well at least I did.

I made my customary Barbie dress which is what I turn all my practice pieces into.  Have to sew it together and put a row of crochet around the bottom to save it curling.  The top is a bit wrinkly because I forgot to reduce the tension when casting on but hey ho, it will be a feature 😉

My Barbie doll model and her clothes went home with the littlest grand daughter this past visit so no model to display it on.

I might look for an American doll in a garage sale and make some clothes for it both on the knitting machine and sewing machine. I fancy doing something like that for a bit.

Today I will get the big guy out, the battered up old SK151 (see posts below for it's history) and oil it and give it a whirl.  No ribber for that one so hopefully an easier session.

The saga of the SK 151

I was a little concerned that I had forgotten so much so checked back on my blog and it had been three years since I had used the machine and made something so I didn't feel quite so bad then.

In the way of everyday stuff, my husband is having to get plasma exchange every three weeks now and the last one didn't seem to help much.  He may have to go back on the immunotherapy with the chemo drug but he has to be careful with that, last time it wiped out all his white cells. He isn't feeling too well since the procedure last week, lots of dizziness and weakness,  Hoping he will rebound soon.

We had a visitor this week, unfortunately!  Haven't seen any in a few months but this one showed up today. He looked like he had been dead a while though so he may have just been under the dresser or something.  Will be keeping a sharp look out from now on though.

It's been a busy time!

We have had a busy month or more.  Firstly, getting ready for family to visit.  You know how that is, have to make the whole place sparkle!  Silly, because the family is just happy to see us and us them but it is how we are.  So my husband tackled the outside mowing and I did indoors.

Then the visit which was lovely.  The children grow so fast, so there is such a big difference when we see them each year.

I showed the treadle sewing machine to our granddaughter and daughter in law and they both wanted to try it. 

The daughter in law is a professional photographer so takes pictures of everything!  She doesn't care if your hair is out of place or you are in your tatty clothes, she just snaps away.

Some of her photos this time:-

A cushion made on the treadle by our grand daughter

Using the treadle machine, she aced it!

Maggie playing with one of her favourite sticks

A day at our good friend's lake house

We took a trip to our good friend's lake house and the family got to try out all of his cool lake toys.  It was a wonderful day for all topped off with great barbecue from our host Bruce.  Beef tenderloin steaks and pulled pork.  So delicious!

So that's what we've been up to this past month.

Back to VA this week twice, 3 appointments and plasma exchange for my husband. Back to reality!