Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Springtime, and the pickin' is easy...


It was a long, cold winter here in Rochester. Too cold for thrifting, too cold for antiquing, and---woe is me!---far, far, too cold to cruise for curbside treasure along the snowy streets of my newly chosen hometown. Sure, there were the occasional desperate forays to the (very) local charity shop, and the rare dumpster drive-by, just to stave off the pangs of emptiness, but I was jonesin' for a yard sale (multi-family! huge!) or a big, fascinating pile of 'one man's trash' to comb for treasure.

Spring has sprung here in the Flower City, and in the wake of the tulips, the rejects, the castoffs, and the glorious
garbage have blossomed. And the yard sales! Plentiful and cheap, and everywhere you look! Every trip to the grocery, each commute to work, has become a bonanza. The back of my van is never empty, and the cockles of my thrifty little heart are warm.

For ages now, I've been a hoarder of vintage sewing notions. You see, I have had Great Intentions of learning to sew. (I even have Two! Vintage! Sewing Machines!) Naturally, I have amassed a vast array of vintage thread and notions, so as to be prepared for the day when the Sewing commenced.

The Sewing Day arrived recently, and with it, the shattering of my thrifty bubble: thread has a shelf life. Vintage thread is quite nearly as useful as, say, vintage lettuce. And so, my quandary:
What to do with my carefully acquired bounty of splendid spools?

Yesterday, while driving my brood to the library, we hit the mother lode. A bag of fabric from JoAnn's, complete with the receipt. Two dozen cloth diapers, still in the bag from the service. Beads. An ironing board. A sled. And finally...a long, wooden frame.

Don't you love it when all of the pieces come together?

8 comments:

melissa said...

OMG, you're me! :)

How have I not fought you for a vintage sewing supply stash at a garage sale in Rochester yet? Hee.

Anonymous said...

Hey!!

I live in Rochester, I have two vintage sewing machines (and a new Husky), and I have every intention of learning to sew as well!!! : )

Amazing.

I went today to Bits and Pieces (my favorite little stitching store) but couldn't get through because of Canal Days. Who knew? I did manage to find an antique show around the corner and that was fun. Kind of pricey but fun. I will do a little ironing and post a picture soon ....

Anonymous said...

I am another "junk-ie" from Rochester. And I love Bits and Pieces, too. In fact, last week the girls were hoarding a lot of stuff away for Canal Days...they wanted to have a good stash for all the festival goers!I love to hang near the little divider back where they all work and check out the fabric.They have the most interesting conversations!I always seem to be able to fill a basket in that place.
I hope to read more about you all here soon.

And aren't you all just thrilled that it is garbage season! Last year, my 11 year old and I were on the way to the Y. I made myself pass up a huge pile on the way only to find it still there on the way home. Bag after bag of garage sale cast-offs. We finally threw it all in the van and couldn't believe when we got home....Martha Stewart hardcover books, new $30 sled, marble wine cooler and cheese board from Pottery Barn, etc....I added it all up [some had original store tags] and it was $300 worth of stuff! I know it is hard to believe but it remains my best garbage picking day to date!!! The only thing that would have made it better would have been a little vintage junk....

Julie

Wendy said...

It's amazing that there's room in this here town for the four of us! I look forward to meeting up with you guys at one trash pile or another...
Wendy

Allison said...

Where are the good thrift stores in Rochester? I live in Syracuse and there are many good ones but I'm always game for a road trip!
Sorry to hear you are closing down your site. I have enjoyed reading your blog.

Anonymous said...

Not all has an interest on vintage sewing but most of moms love this one whether vintage or a brand new one

Anonymous said...

I buy old, faded and half-empty spools of thread at tag sales, flea markets and garage sales; it's great for basting quilts. Since basting thread only gets thrown away, why use new?

Anonymous said...

This post made me laugh, because I am another non-sewer who collects sewing notions! Although I don't come across thread too often for some reason (or maybe it's just unreasonably priced). You could always throw it in a pretty jar and decorate with it-at least the ones on old wooden spools. That's probably what I'd do.