Windmill Quilt From Vintage Sheets

Ok guys, it's been a while. This blog of mine is always on my mind and I have been secret squirreling away a whole bunch of projects that never get shown. All these little projects seem to take up so much time (along with the trials of a toddler, trying to be a good wife and making sure I get at least a little bit of me time once the kidlet is in bed). But I just did a browse of my camera and found a bunch of old (and new) projects I did manage to take photos of and I will set about sharing them over the next wee while.

First up is one of my recent completions. I had been helping a friend with her first baby quilt and it sparked an idea in my head for a quilt. As you have probably noticed I collect vintage floral sheets and use them in loads of projects. I love the mix between brights and pastels, large and small scale patterns. I also love how they look with white as the main background colour. I found a couple of brand new white sheets at an op shop for $1 each and along with the vintage sheets and an old duvet inner that had seen better days, I had the makings of a quilt. For a total of $2. Score!

This quilt made me think quite a bit. Literally. I had to do a bunch of math to figure out how big to cut each section of the windmill. I can't quite remember but I think I wanted the finished squares to be around 30cm each. So taking into account seam allowances and the rest of it, my brain turned to mush.

But after cutting and sewing, basting and wrestling with quilting a big quilt on a small machine, making some rainbow binding from the sheets and hand-stitching it on, it was finished. It aint a small task!

I really enjoy making quilts, I learn more each time and I try to do something different as well. This one will be destined for Addison's Big Girl Bed when she eventually gets to that point. But for now it keeps Dave and I warm while watching whatever TV series we are up to. (Currently Elementary)

Rainbow Chevron Quilt

It has been quiet here on the blog lately, but it's because this happened:

We officially own our very first house! Things got a bit stressful at the end there and I am planning a blog post on First Home Buying In Canterbury Right Now. It's madness I tell you!

But more about that later, we have 6 weeks to pack up and sort out our stuffs. And we have plenty of it.

My latest project (I have two on the go but one is a secret) is a pretty Rainbow Chevron Quilt.

I am making it out of vintage floral sheets and the solid colours are from pillowcases.

I think the entire material for this quilt with a tonne left over was $20. Take that Spotlight! 

*Not including batting but I have a cheap source (Kutwell Fabrics).

I am in love with some of these fabrics! I couldn't find a red one because apparantly they weren't made in red! So I found some red floral in the scrap bin and it fits in perfectly.

Killer was 'helping' me lay out my pieces but what you don't see is her going mental and messing everything up. She loves it when I get the big sheets out and likes to hide under them. She also sits on everything important.

Photo bomb

I was hoping it would be double size but it looks like it will be a single quilt. I love when it is all spread out like this but it is highly impractical. 

So here is half of it, I have altered the green stripe to make it looks a bit more green - I found the solid green I bought! The rest is yet to be cut. So slowly but surely!

Cow Print Footstool - Re-Upholstered

Last weekends project was to finally re-cover this footstool. It had been waiting for some fabric because the stuff I was going to use was too short.
I finally made it to Kutwell Fabrics and hunted for suitable fabric, and nothing caught my eye. Then all of a sudden I saw this cow print fabric and had a revelation. I could cover the stool in this fabric* and give it to two of my amazing friends!

* The cow print refers to their last name (Mutu) which they lovingly refer to as moo2. Baby moo2 has a very awesome cow onesie and a cow print cup so I was just going with the trend..)

As I was buying the fabric I realised that it was quite thin and a bit see-through so I decided to grab some calico to put underneath. Kutwell is a seriously amazing bargain fabric store, they have the basics (calico, batting, zips etc) for super cheap and although their fabric selection may not be 'on trend' they still have a wide range of fabrics.

Anyway the point of that promo was to say that the total price for 1.5m calico and 1.5m cow print was $7. What the!

The Re-Upholstry Run Down

Like usual, the first step was to remove the black fabric underneath the footstool with a pointy tool to remove the staples. I use the flat head screwdriver attachment on my multi-tool.

The next step was removing more staples that held on the fabric.

Once the staples were pulled, the fabric was removed to reveal the bare-bones footstool.

I sanded the chipped varnish off the legs of the stool at this point.

I unpicked the fabric I had just removed and used that as the pattern for my new calico and cow print layers.

Following the same seam lines that were on the original fabric, I sewed down each corner of the calico fabric and tried it on the stool. Each corner sat well so I went ahead and pulled it tight and stapled it on.

I followed  the same process with the cow print fabric but when I tried it on the stool, one of the corners was a bit too tight so I had to unpick and sew the seam a bit smaller. 

I stapled down the cow fabric carefully then stapled a new piece of leftover calico underneath because the old black piece was getting a bit ratty.

I am really amped about how this footstool turned out! It was way out of my comfort zone using fabric like this but I really love how funky it looks.

I hope the Moo2's are enjoying their footstool and get a smile on their face when they put their feet up!

Also dont forget to enter my GIVEAWAY on my last post!

January Op-shop Finds

 During the week, I was on holiday and also at home in Christchurch, I managed to get a bit of op-shopping done. I have my own way of finding things and I tend to stick away from the clothes. I am sure I will get back into restyling clothes sometime but at the moment I head straight for the linen (vintage sheets & wool blankets), the nick-nacks (brass frames), the furniture (to do up) and the books (atlases, classics and the odd cookbook)

 This frame is one of the largest I have seen in my years of collecting (see HERE) and it was pretty expensive at $12.50 but I have plans to make this into a mirror so a cool vintage mirror for that price doesn't seem so bad.

 This footstool was $4! bargain! Hidden under a pile of random goods I spotted it and claimed it. It shall be recovered when I next visit Spotlight (to spend my voucher yay!)

This wee chain of frames is so cute! it was $2.

These suitcases technically wern't from an op-shop but I am going to claim it. My friend Treena-Marie popped over and gave me these amazing suitcases (filled with some cool fabric and lots and lots of lycra - anyone want any?)

They have now turned into blanket-storing suitcases.

Linking up with Max over at Blackbird has Spoken

Bought, Found, Made

Last weekend was relatively productive on a scale of time vs productivity.
On Saturday I had my first day alone at the bridal shop, I was horribly daunted, especially since I hadn't worked there for a while but luckily all was well and no one ran out crying so I shall call that a success.

BOUGHT
I purchased the wool* for the outside of sonic! Thanks for all your suggestions , I decided to go for the blue sky, green grass effect and I got a ball of gold wool* so I will try and figure out how to attach some gold rings. So far I have made 1 square!
*when I say wool, I really mean cheap acrylic

FOUND
On Sunday we went out for lunch at a place called Gorilla (it was delicious thanks for asking) and on the way home I spotted a pair of wooden chairs on the curb side amongst a pile of other stuff. A couple of people pulled up at the same time but I managed to nab the chairs (there was a free sign by the way). I'm going to have to pull them apart if I want to recover them but I think it will be worth the effort.

MADE
Last weekend in Tekapo, when Dave got his saw for $3, I bought a mirror. It is made of plastic and has a crack in the border but it had potential. It was poo brown when I bought it and I used some ivory spray paint to give it a few coats, then thanks to the plastic surface I lightly sanded back some of the edged and behold, one awesome shabby chic frame. I am running out of wall space so I might have to start selling things- the hoarder in me is screaming noooooo!

So all in all a productive weekend- I also sorted out my wardobe and nearly halved it in preparation for a clothes swap next week.

Enjoy the sun - long may it last!

New (Kenwood) Toy

Last Saturday, Dave and I went to a garage sale as soon as it opened for once. We usually sleep in and go looking around 10.30ish and miss out on the good stuff. This time just after 9 we turned up and I am so glad we did!

Sitting on the ground in a box surrounded by other unloved items was a Kenwood Chef A700 mixer. Made in the 1950s out of cast steel, these bad boys never die. Sure the paint was a little worse for wear but it still worked and had all the important attachments: whisk, k-beater, dough hook and even a blender to sit on top.

The price? $85. A little steep for a garage sale ill give you that, but one of these has been on my present list for ages. They also get snapped up pretty fast on Trademe. So it was a done deal and away we walked with a pretty (and heavy) bench top assistant.

As soon as I got home and got it cleaned up I put it to good use and made a mud cake with whipped ganache. Yum!

I am still trying to figure out a name for my mixer, Ken maybe? Or Betsy?

Op Shop Finds

Saturday gave me a quick opportunity (pun intended) to head to our local (sort of) Salvation Army store. I say sort of because the closest two have closed because of earthquakes.

Anyway, I picked up a few good bargains, for the nice total of $5

A pretty picture frame

A pillowcase with pretty material and a single bed duvet cover with a honeycomb pattern

Some new sheet music for crafts and a tiny crochet hook

Not bad huh.

I have also been out spotting some funny stuff and photographing it:

In the self-serve drink bay at McDonalds - I just paid for my drink, I think I'll have some water.

I'd like a set of Wenches please!

Sunday Bargains

A few crafty goings on this week, my quilt has made progress! Alas, it is smaller than I had hoped, I only had a pillowcase worth of material for some of the squares, so I am being creative!

But more on that later. On todays agenda is the cool bargains Dave and I bought.

Only one of these things is from an op-shop but the others were heavily discounted so they totally count.

Okay so first up is this awesome tray with a map of Canada on it.

Pretty cool ay!

It now hangs in our entrance-way. The background is matte silver and the outlines are shiny silver so it gives a cool effect. Total cost - $3.00 from the Eco Shed.

Next up are two cool pictures of old keys.

Key #1

Key #2

These now hang in an old frame we have had for years.

These were $12 each from a cool gift shop in Dressmart.

Finally a sign that suits us well here in Christchurch, as well as our love of a good coffee.
It now proudly hangs in our kitchen. It cost $11 from the same gift shop.

And to end this post here is some paper bunting hung on my kitchen window.

Ahh.

Garage Sale Treasures

Saturday is Garage Sale day in New Zealand. Dave and I had a nice wee sleep in then decided to head out to check out some local garage sales.

The first thing we did was get the Saturday newspaper. In the classified section there is always a list of a good few sales. The way we do it is look through the ads, circle ones we like the sound of eg they have a whole house-lot, a combined street/family one, or have antiques and furniture.

Then we filter by area, Christchurch is relatively big and you want to get to see as many sales as possible in a couple of hours. We pick a general area eg north + west Chch and head off to the closest ones. Because it costs to put an ad in the paper, some people just put out signs on the street. If we see one en-route we usually pop in to check it out. Most sales start at 8am and run until around midday but there are always exceptions.

The trick is to get in early to get the good stuff but who wants to get up that early on a Saturday? Also, the later you go, the more willing people are to haggling. The whole point of a garage sale is to get rid of stuff and after 5 hours they just want it gone. So make your best offer! You never know!

Anyway, those are my secret tips, I highly recommend going, make sure you have a large-ish car for those bulky items and set a budget.

Our budget this week was $50

Here are our sweet scores:

A gas torch for Dave

A table saw for Dave

A standard lamp and shade

A tripod

This is what the tripod will turn into. A slightly more modern shade though.

All together these items cost $50. The table saw was priced at $50 but this was the last sale we went to around 10.30am. The guy said to make an offer and we had already seen the other 3 things we wanted. So we said thanks and looked around a bit more, then told him we had an offer for him. '$50 for the table saw, the gas torch, this wee tripod and that wooden lamp over there.' The deal was done. Dave was over the moon.

This book was 10c

This book looks hilarious. 10c. Bargain.

Small wooden box. Has some scribbles on lid.

 This box was 50c. It is slightly vandalized by small children but it has potential. Maybe covered in fabric, or decoupage, or painted.

The two identical tulip prints were $5 together.

The light in our lounge does nothing for these pictures. They are quite big, nice pinks and greens and add a splash of colour to our lounge. When we have our own place they will probably grace the wall of a hallway or guest room.

The find of the day.

Beautiful molding

Cool legs too!

So this was the find of the day. An old writing desk that someone had tried (and failed) to paint green and distress. I missed it because of the colour but Dave singled it out to me and I was sold. This is what we have been looking for for ages. Cool old furniture to do up. Except the second hand shops get picked clean. So this was amazing! We are going to strip it back, paint it white and add some nice brass handles on the draw and cupboards, line the insides and paint the molding some cool contrast. What colour? We were thinking baby blue/pastel blue.


How much did this cost you ask?

Ten dollars. Ten dollars!

WOHOOO!!!!

So all up we went slightly over budget but we got what we were looking for and lets face it. We would pay that much just for the table saw.

Table saw, tripod, gas torch, and lamp - $50
Writing desk - $10
Tulip prints - $5
Small wooden box - $0.50
Book - $0.10
Total: $65.60

Happy Garage Saleing everyone!