Crafty Thrift Store Finds

Last week was a busy one. We had to go to Austin twice, which meant I got to go to Savers Thrift. Yay, Savers!

All I found when we went Monday was five chenille upholstery samples. 

They're large, approximately 26" square. And they're luxurious. These pictures aren't the best, especially the last one. I took them in a hurry while out in my studio this afternoon with the light from a clip-on. Believe me, they're the kind of colors that make you want to snuggle up in them.

I've made them into so many things in my head since I brought them home. I've mentally clipped them to curtain rings to make a semi-valance over my curtains; I've sewn them into a valance for my dining room/kitchen windows; I've covered the 24" pillows at each end of my sofa; I've made seat cushions for my six dining chairs. Oh, and I even mentally used each of them as backing for the b'day pillow I made for my SIL!

I'm thinking though that they'll probably become chair cushions. I was wavering on that because they are five and my chairs are six, but my friend, whom I talk with every Sunday, suggested I use the leftovers from each sample to patch a cushion for the sixth chair. That'll work!

Two of the swatches are the same pattern. I thought at first they were different colorways, but checked the label when I was photographing and found they're the same colors too.

In these photos the first four appear to be similar--they are--with the last looking very different. It's much the same as well. Actually, the next few pictures gives a better representation of the color.

These five swatches were $2.99 apiece. All in all it wasn't a bad buy, though maybe not a great one. But I love the pieces! And the way they've kept me entertained all week long, they've probably more than paid for themselves.

This though was a great buy. The funny thing is I bought it from a thrift store that's quite proud of its stuff--and I almost didn't buy it. It's a bolt of felt that cost $4.30. Since I prefer using wool felt and couldn't tell what this was made of, I really hesitated, finally convincing myself that at the price I could find some use for it.

But guess what? It's wool! I tried the burn test on it and couldn't tell much from that. It didn't crinkle up like synthetic, but it didn't smell all that much like burning hair either. (Notice the color of the sample it's sitting on--that's the true color range for that last fabric I photographed.) But I read online that if you put a fabric into bleach and leave overnight, whatever's wool in it will melt. Mine melted. Yay! I don't even know how many yards I have of this--36" wide--but it's all pure wool. And I've never seen pure wool felt for less than $20 a yard. Doncha love bargains!

My final pics today are of the pillow I made for my SIL's birthday. That birthday's a week away, but Sunny doesn't do computers so I think I'm safe. See how the colors in her pillow don't go with the ones in my samples? That's why I nixed using one as a pillow back.

This was her fabric--she just had window treatments done--and her pillow form; all I did for the gift was sew the pillow and make the tassels.

Here's a closer look at one of the tassels. I made each a bit different. Hey, why not? The yarn I used is something I picked up in Washington state about five years ago, a textured thick and thin yarn with all kinds of fibers--and all kinds of colors--in it. It's got burgundy and purple and turquoise. So one tassel has a wooden bead with red and gold dots and the other end has a painted purple bead with white and black dots. I like it--I'm hoping she does too.

I guess that's all for today. (I really am working on my office, y'all. I started cleaning out the bookcase today. I hate giving up books, but I think it's time some of them blessed someone else! The writing ones are hardest for me to give donate--and some of them I won't even now, even knowing I'll probably never write again.)

I'm also linking this post to Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.

 

Ta, y'all.